There are many different ways of doing intermittent fasting. Let us introduce you to the most popular ones, so that you can decide which would be best for you.
Your choice of fasting method may be influenced by your personality, your lifestyle, or your goals. One of the great things about fasting is that you can experiment – you can always change your approach, or mix and match to create your own method.
There are four main methods of Intermittent fasting. Learn more about each of them:
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Fasting 2 days a week (usually called The Fast Diet or 5:2 Diet)
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Fasting every other day (The Every Other Day Diet or Alternate Day Fasting)
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Fasting for a few hours every day (usually called an Eating Window approach)
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Flexible fasting (a regime to suit you!)
If you’re not sure which fasting method to try, read on!
Tips to help you decide on the best method for you
Until you try a fast, you don’t know how your body will react, so pick a method and just do it! The type of fasting that’s right for you may change over time but you have to start somewhere.
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If you need to lose weight but want to keep your diet days to a minimum and continue eating your favourite foods, start with fasting two days a week with the 5:2 Diet/Fast Diet. Learn more about fasting two days a week
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If you want to gain health benefits of fasting but don’t need to lose much or any weight, try Eat Stop Eat, fasting once or twice a week. Learn more about fasting two days a week
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If you already eat a healthy Mediterranean-type diet, the Two-Day Diet might be right for you. Learn more about fasting two days a week
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If you need to shift the weight fast and/or worry about overeating on your non-fast days, try alternate day fasting or three days a week (4:3). Learn more about alternate day fasting
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If you want to ease gradually into fasting and you’re happy to skip breakfast, you could start with a daily ‘eating window’ approach such as the 8-Hour Diet (16:8) and, if necessary, increase the fasting time as required. You can then either keep up with daily fasting or change to two or three days of longer fasts. Learn more about fasting every day
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If you want to combine fasting with muscle building try daily fasting with Leangains or the Warrior Diet. Learn more about fasting every day
Although intermittent fasting is very flexible and can be changed around to suit you, it’s a good idea to try to keep to the method you’ve chosen for a month or more to see how it affects you. It takes time to adapt to fasting and while some people will show immediate weight loss, for others it can take several weeks. Be patient and allow your body time to adjust to your new way of eating.
Read why our FastDay forum members picked their fasting method