How Do I Start Fasting? Intermittent Fasting

While most diet plans focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting focuses on when you eat. A few prevalent approaches to intermittent fasting include the following:

• 16/8 method: This is the most common method of intermittent fasting, which involves eating within an 8-hour window and fasting for 16 hours every day.
• 5/2 method: This involves eating normally for 5 days and fasting for 2 days of the week.
• Alternate day fasting: This involves alternating days of eating normally with days of fasting or just eating a small meal that is less than 500 calories.

Fasting for at least 12 hours can change the way your food is converted into energy. Normally, your body gets most of its energy from glucose (sugar).

When you fast for 12 hours or more, your glucose stores deplete, and your body starts using fat stores for energy by breaking them into ketones. This switching from glucose to ketones as a primary energy source is called a metabolic switch.

Some studies report that intermittent fasting is more beneficial than other diets or eating plans to reduce inflammation. The health benefits of intermittent fasting include:

• Helps with weight loss
• Reduces bad cholesterol and blood pressure
• Lowers the risk of obesity-related issues and chronic diseases, such as:
  • Type II diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • Age-related neurodegenerative disorders
• Reduces inflammation and diseases associated with inflammation, such as:
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Liver disease
  • Heart disease

People often attempt intermittent fasting to lose weight or alleviate symptoms of chronic diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol, or arthritis.

While intermittent fasting has several health benefits, it may not be right for everyone, including people with the following: 

• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Type I diabetes and taking insulin
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Kidney stones
• Children and adolescents younger than 18 years

Intermittent fasting may cause a few unpleasant side effects, which generally go away in about a month. Initial side effects may include:

• Hunger
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Constipation or bloating
• Headache