As you begin to consider engaging in intermittent fasting (IF), you will learn that there have been quite many different types of IF developed over the last few years.
Many of these are a result of the numerous research into the IF methods and human metabolism in general. More importantly, these different types became very helpful when it came to getting all kinds of people to incorporate this dieting method into their lifestyle.
Deciding which type of IF to engage in can be very challenging especially when it comes to figuring out which type will be the most effective and doable for yourself. To demystify this challenge, here’s a quick rundown of the most well-known IF types.
1. Time Restricted Eating
Time-restricted IF diets have a lot of variations. However, the most well-known ones are the 12-hour 16/8 and 18/6 routines. These have been reported to be the easiest forms of the IF and are best suited for beginners.
As their names imply, the 12-hour IF is simply a fast that lasts for 12 hours or more (when one fast from 7 pm to 7 am the next day. The 16/8 routine is a slightly more challenging version in which the fast is 16 hours with an 8-hour eating window (eating the last meal at 6 pm and the next one at 10 am the next day) IF routine. Just in the same way for the 18/6, the fasting is for 18 hours (from 6 pm to 12 noon the next day) with 6 6-hour eating window. As a side note, beginners should start with the IF type that they find easier and less stressful and increase their fasting window as they become more comfortable with it. Also, having a sufficient night’s sleep is very important for this type of IF. It is often recommended that these fasting windows coincide with bedtime to help reduce those hunger pangs.
2. Alternate Day (ADF)
Alternate Day Fasting (or ADF for short) is essentially eating one day and then fasting the next day. One could see this as the start of the more challenging types of IFs. A lot of experts already consider it an “extreme diet intervention.” And thus, this is a type that must be taken with great care.
On the other hand, some variations of the ADF allow a consumption of 500 calories during fasting days (as opposed to stricter versions that do not allow any food intake). Another thing to be wary of is the tendency to overeat during non-fasting days, thereby undermining any benefits.
3. One Meal a Day
The One Meal a Day type of IF is not as extreme as its ADF cousin and can have simpler timekeeping even compared to the 16/8 method.
Still, its success partly hinges on when you prefer to have your meals. For some people, dinner is the most important meal of the day. Others are more inclined to have heavy meals during dinner or lunch. Depending on your lifestyle, you can start transitioning to this type of IF by cutting back on two of your three daily meals instead of going all the way.
3. Eat Stop Eat
The Eat Stop Eat strategy tends to have the same intensity as ADF but is a bit easier in practice. It generally involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice per week. This implies forgoing food for the whole 24 hours for the two designated days of the week.
This can be ideal for certain lifestyles where there is not much eating during a particular part of the week. And like many other types, you should consider giving yourself a little allowance of about 500 calories to make it easier.
The main idea of IF is to get your body to start taking in fewer calories as compared to how much you are burning. (This is why exercise is just as important to make the method work!) So, take a moment to see which type of IF is an easy transition for your lifestyle. Don’t go too crazy, but don’t be too complacent either. Just take this one step at a time and remember to drink a lot of zero-calorie drinks like green, and black tea, black coffee without creamer and sweetener, and water during your fasting window. Also, remember that IF is not a type of diet. It is a lifestyle change that you need to engage in to reset your metabolism and improve your health generally.
I also explained many of these types in greater detail in my book Intermittent Fasting for Women Over 50: Reset Your Metabolism, Lose Weight, Boost Your Energy, Improve Memory, and Enjoy a Healthy Life. If you want to check it out, then you can find it on Amazon.