So, I tried intermittent fasting (IF). I’d been hearing about it a lot for a while now and decided it was time to see for myself if IF really offers all the benefits it’s supposed to. After all, if this is another tool for people to get healthier, feel better, and live their best lives, I wanted to know about it.
You may be wondering what intermittent fasting even is. It's scheduling your calorie consumption so that you're only eating during a few hours of the day. There are lots of different schedule options, so I'd recommend you read this article about fasting if you’re interested.
One of the best things about intermittent fasting is that it’s about when you eat, not what you eat. So, if you’re already following a specific diet you can maintain that diet and use intermittent fasting as well. Better yet, if you’re diet is aimed at living a healthier better life, intermittent fasting can boost your results.
If you’re vegan, like me, you can also use intermittent fasting. You can use IF with keto, with vegetarianism, with any diet plan that’s still nutritionally complete.
I decided to go with a 16:8 schedule. That means that for 16 hours a day, including the 8 hours I was asleep, I didn't eat. Then, during the other 8 hours, I ate whatever I wanted. It worked well for me to have two full meals, with some snacks in between.
It’s really important to remember that ‘eating’ includes any caloric intake under intermittent fasting. So, beverages with calories are out. But, non-caloric beverages like water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea are still options.
I’ve got to be honest. This seemed like a big transition to make without some guidance, even after all my experience changing my diet for a healthier lifestyle. I could have gone with an easier schedule, 12:12 is thought to be a good starting point for beginners.
But 16:8 is one of the most popular versions of this plan, and I wanted to make sure I could experience what intermittent fasting is all about.
I decided I wanted some kind of coach and support system to help me stick to this new diet plan. I'm so glad I did because I really loved the benefits of intermittent fasting.
What support did I use? I got an app, DoFasting, that’s designed to help you stick to your intermittent fasting plan. It helps you track fasting periods and eating periods. I also appreciated that DoFasting had a lot of educational content for learning about intermittent fasting and healthy eating in general.
If you’re looking to lose weight, DoFasting also includes a progress tracker. Getting to see a visual representation of your progress is so helpful. Celebrating when your numbers are moving in the right direction it’s so easy to stay motivated.
Plus, as a health tool, DoFasting also includes easy daily exercise. They only take a few minutes and come in a range of difficulty and skill levels.
That’s way more than I was expecting from an IF app but helped me make the most of my day. When I was checking on my schedule, or reading more about intermittent fasting, it was simple to pull up a quick exercise.
I said earlier that I enjoyed intermittent fasting, but I wanted to explore why a little more. Intermittent fasting came pretty naturally to me, which I wasn't expecting. It was a little weird the first couple of days, but I think the mild hunger and cravings I was getting were more psychosomatic than my body needing food.
After that first few days, it felt normal to use intermittent fasting. I noticed that almost as soon as the random cravings went away, my energy levels jumped. I just felt really good, with no particular reason why.
My normal diet already gives me a lot of the benefits you also get with intermittent fasting, so I didn’t notice huge changes in my appearance or a sudden decrease in inflammation. But the fact that I was feeling better than normal, above and beyond my normal diet, was huge.
It really convinced me that intermittent fasting is the real thing.
So, if you’re curious and want to give IF a try, all I can say is go for it! I also recommend DoFasting as a solid support and educational tool.
Written by: Valdemaras Drozd
