The Easier Way to Do Intermittent Fasting
Expert advice for making it to your next meal
As I write this, I’ve been fasting for the past 15.5 hours. And — a statement that would have shocked me just a month ago — I’m not really that hungry.
For the past three weeks, I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting, a style of eating that divides each day into two simple windows: one where you may be eating and one where you don’t. One of the latest trendy diets of the past few years, intermittent fasting may be better described as time-restricted eating rather than a diet. Some studies have found it to be no more effective than outright calorie cutting, but others have touted intermittent fasting for its effectiveness as a weight-loss strategy, its potential to reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases, and its ability to lower blood pressure and improve insulin sensitivity.
Generally speaking, there are a couple ways to go about intermittent fasting. One method, dubbed 16/8, involves a 16-hour fasting window, during which you can drink as much water, tea, and black coffee as you want, and an eight-hour period where you should consume all your calories for the day. Another popular eating schedule, called 5:2, recommends eating normally for five days and limiting caloric intake to about 500 calories for two nonconsecutive fasting days…
