Easy ways to get the best out of intermittent fasting

This is a contribution post by Neha Jain

Intermittent Fasting or IF is one of the most popular fitness trends nowadays. You must have tried it or heard about it before. It is a way of eating and fasting with a regular schedule. Many people tried it and achieved their goals of weight loss, and good health. It is very popular among people for its health benefits. Moreover, it can even reverse some health problems. 

Different ways to go about it

There are many ways in which you can do intermittent fasting. It could be in 5:2 mode, which means five days of proper food and two days of fasting (very less number of calories). It could be done as per fasting to eating window ratio, that is 16:8, 18:6 etc. It means fasting for 16 hours and having proper food for eight hours (in the eating window) and so on. 

Among these, the mode I tried is 16:8. It is your personal choice which one you choose to stick with. In my personal experience, this method helped me regulate my sugar levels too.

Tips to keep you going

To keep it going with ease so that one can follow for a longer period to reap maximum health gains, here are some tips which can help you:

Start with easy goals:

You should start slow, don’t aim too high when you begin. Move gradually towards your goal. Start with a shorter fasting window and later shift to a long fasting period.

Eat well before starting your fast: 

Don’t eat your last meal at 4 pm if you start fasting from 6 pm. Eating meals at the proper time is important to stop your cravings later.

Drink a lot of water: 

This needs no explanation. You should drink a lot of water to regulate your digestive system as it will help you remove all the toxins from your body.

Eat plenty of protein and fibre: 

With intermittent fasting, one could eat all types of food but, a good amount of protein and fibre will take care of your gut health and help you feel fuller for a long time.

Zero-calorie drinks: 

Even when you are on intermittent fasting, you can still satiate your craving for food by drinks like black coffee, Green Tea, Water with apple cider vinegar.

Keep an engaging activity of your interest for the time of your fasting:

 After having dinner or before opening your eating window, you should engage in any activity of your interest. It could be your office work, could be a hobby or anything. Suit yourself. 

Try to get good sleep: 

Sleep for at least eight hours a day as it will give you the glow you could dream of. It will cover 8 hours from the 16-hour fasting window. It will also help you restore your energy and thoughts.

Keep a buddy and motivate yourself:

Friends, a family member or support groups can help greatly in keeping you motivated.

Keep the reminders near you:

 It could be your alarms of when to start or stop fasting. It could be the poster of any motivational quote or reminders of the reasons why are you doing this. It will make it easier to keep you going.

These are the few pointers that helped me to be regular with my fasting. Later it will become a habit for you. You will even start enjoying your new lifestyle, your new energy levels, and your weighing scale readings too.

Neha is a teacher, author, blogger, reader, writer and mother of two amazing kids. She did her higher studies in mathematics and education. She believes growing as a person is evident more if we share our experiences.

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