Types of Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss

The only catch in IF is you must be in a calorie deficit to start losing weight and inches off your waist. So, if you are all ready to explore intermittent fasting, here are the types to choose from: 

12:12 

This is the easiest IF for beginners. You can even follow this fasting without even thinking about it. With this regimen, you fast for 12 hours and then have a 12-hour window during which you can eat. 

You are therefore already intermittently fasting if you have breakfast at seven in the morning before going to work or school and dinner at seven at night.  

16:8 

The 16:8 intermittent fasting plan is for people with some experience. It takes some time to get used to fasting for 16 hours, including your 8-hour sleep. It takes two to three weeks for those who have never fasted to get used to the 16:8 fasting.  

You will have already fasted for ten hours if you finish your last meal by eight in the evening, go to bed at ten, and wake up at six every day. If you follow the 16:8 IF, you will skip breakfast and eat your first meal at precisely 12 noon.  

18:6 

Do you want a tough intermittent fasting option? Go with the 18:6 method. In this method, you should wait an extra two hours than the 16:8 method before taking your first meal.  

In this method, you have almost six hours to eat. It offers just enough time for two large meals plus one short meal in between. Moreover, you have the option to continue your intermittent fasting at 18:6 for the duration of your fast.   

20:4 

The 20:4 intermittent fasting schedule is quite difficult to follow, and most people will find it impossible to maintain on a regular basis. 

You hardly have time to fit in two meals with the 4-hour meal slot. The majority of people will eat a large meal once and then snack the remaining time. In this method, you will fast for twenty hours and take your first meal at approximately four o'clock in the evening, right before you get off work, and finish by eight.  

OMAD 

One Meal A Day, or OMAD, refers to the IF practice of eating one large meal each day that provides all of your daily calories and nutrients. You will have to carefully arrange what you eat because you should fit every nutrient you require into a single, huge meal. When following this fasting method, your body will shut down after you finish eating, and you will feel sleepy. The best part is that you’ll feel fresh the next morning.  

5:2 ADF 

The benefits of alternate-day fasting on your metabolism are immense. In this method, you won't adhere to a fasting or eating regimen for five days a week. You will eat dinner at night after your customary breakfast in the morning. However, to follow ADF, you must choose two days in a row where you consume a very small amount of calories—less than 500. 

This intermittent fasting method allows you to live a normal life for five days a week but require you to do an extreme two day fast.  

Final thoughts 

If you’re considering intermittent fasting, talk to your doctor to make sure you won’t be negatively affected by it. Also, ensure that your health issues won’t be worsened by intermittent fasting.