Intermittent fasting (IF) is a meal timing schedule in which a person only eats for certain hours of the day. There are several different types and levels of IF; I have been doing the 16:8 version. I currently eat from noon to 8pm and fast the other 16 hours. I am not here to convince you to try it, but rather to simply share my experience along with some pros and cons.
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist and my opinions and tips are based solely on my personal experience. Please recognize that every single body is different and will respond uniquely to IF.
My first experience trying IF was around January 2019 – right after I fell victim to the Freshman 15. I started easily by doing a 12:12 fast; my main goal was to cut out late night snacking (the main reason I had gained so much weight). I have always been a very active person, so much of my success with this fast was due to my regular exercise schedule and slightly increased cardio. However, I almost immediately began to feel better about what I was eating and how I felt in my jeans. I can’t remember exactly how long I had kept up with this fast – around a month and a half – however I know I saw and felt results and started to feel like myself again. This fast was particularly easy for me because I ate from 8am-8pm and rarely woke up that early anyways (again, my goal was to stop bingeing at night). I recommend starting with a large window like this just to ease into the new lifestyle.
Fast (haha) forward to December 2019, I was ready to start fasting again. This time not to lose weight but to simply feel healthier and get toned. I was originally going to stick with the 12:12 schedule and just combat late night snacks, but my boyfriend was starting the 16:8 fast and I naturally started to do it with him because we were together so often. Once I went home for break, I realized I was sticking with the fast and feeling much better. I had always been the type of person who needed to eat breakfast as soon as I woke up or else I would feel sick, but after just a few days I had stopped needing breakfast. This was really helpful for me because I often overslept and didn’t have time for breakfast which left me feeling awful and inattentive in class. Also, I sometimes eat sugary breakfasts just to get something in my stomach, which is terrible anyways.
As I’m writing this, I am about 7 weeks into this fast and I feel, and look, the best I have in over a year. But, I am starting to cut back on the fast. Being back at school, I have completely flipped my sleeping schedule and I regularly wake up at 7 or 8 now and get right into grinding – rather than waking up at 10 or 11 and starting nice and slow. I have started to feel nauseous in the mornings again as if I will die if I don’t get some food in me. And my number one rule is to listen to your body, so, I have decided to still attempt to fast, but to allow myself food when my body needs it, regardless of my fast.
This decision has been difficult because I have been feeling results in so many ways. It’s “working” but it is just not as realistic at school where I can only get food at certain times anyways. My schedule combined with that of the dining hall just makes it really difficult to maintain this lifestyle in a way that is healthy and safe.
But, IF has many benefits and if I was still home I would probably still be doing it. So, here are my favorite parts of IF:
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You can really eat anything you want, which is great for someone like me who has a huge sweet tooth. I love food and there are just certain greasy foods or huge desserts I will never deny myself. So fasting is really simple and requires the least amount of thinking possible. You can eat anything you want as long as you are consistent with your fasting schedule.
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Fasting is really useful when learning how to get useful macros into your body. If you are eating less often, you have to make sure every meal is worthwhile. I now make an effort to get the most out of all of my meals and I focus on getting in a lot of protein (because I workout almost every day), rather than eating whatever I can find. It helps me make healthier, more beneficial decisions.
And now for the cons:
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It can be really difficult to fast on weekends when you’re hanging out late at night or going to the bar. Technically, past 8pm you’re not supposed to eat OR DRINK anything but water.
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The progress AND good feelings come in waves. It might be easy and then suddenly wicked difficult a few weeks later. You really have to push yourself at times. It will be uncomfortable on random days, but that’s when it matters most. If you start to feel awful several days at a time, you may need to stop altogether or make some serious changes in what you include in each meal/snack.
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Similarly, you have to be so consistent to see results since you aren’t necessarily changing what you eat. All you’re changing is WHEN you eat, so you have to really change that in order to feel a difference. It just isn’t an every other day type of thing. You have to be disciplined and determined to keep your schedule in check for it to work at all. Progress may come really slowly so be patient.
All in all, IF is not for everyone and the most important thing is to always do what feels right. I am not fasting to change how I look but rather to change how I feel and just to see where it takes me. I am a lot more conscious about the value of the things I put in my mouth. I “cheat” when I want to go out and drink or when I simply feel like I didn’t eat enough that day. I eat when I’m hungry, not just bored. Overall, this was a huge learning experience for me and I’m not gonna beat myself up for having to stop for awhile while I get used to my new schedule and figure out if it is even possible for me to continue in a safe way. I am not sure if this is going to be a lifestyle I keep forever and that’s okay. Maybe it’s something you can maintain for a really long time and that’s okay too. Be careful and trust your body to tell you what’s right.