How My Intermittent Fasting Style Has Evolved Over The Years

As I have seen firsthand, not every season in your life is going to call for the same fasting practice. Heck, sometimes your fasting practice will change by the week. This flexible fasting approach is something that I explore in detail in my upcoming book, Intuitive Fasting. Before we dive into my own evolution with fasting, let's take a closer look at some of the most common fasting practices out there.

Eating occurs between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. This plan allows you to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner within normal hours while still getting 14 hours of uninterrupted fasting time in a day.

This plan is exactly the same as the beginner plan but with an added four hours of fasting time. You'll be getting a full 18 hours of fasting and only eat between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., thereby skipping breakfast.

You'll be eating clean (think vegetables, animal protein, and healthy fats) for five days of the week, and on the remaining two days, your calories will be restricted to no more than 700 calories.

Just like the above plan, you will be eating clean for five days of the week. However, the other two days you won't eat anything for 24 hours, and these days must be nonconsecutive. For example, you'll fast completely on Sunday and Wednesday. 

This plan is extremely simple. Alternate between days of eating and not eating.

OMAD stands for "One Meal A Day" and is a 23:1 fasting-to-eating window, which means fasting for 23 hours and eating all your food in just one hour. Normally this involves waiting until dinner to break your fast, but some people prefer to eat breakfast or lunch instead of dinner.

Since I already was eating a clean ketotarian diet at that point, which complements intermittent fasting, it was a lot easier for me to quickly move up to more intensive fasting practices. Over time, I found what worked for me and my specific daily routine. I am a firm believer that there should be a grace and lightness to wellness. Fasting should be guided by intuition, so check in with your body.

Ultimately fasting shouldn't be stressful or miserable. The right way to fast is to do the type of fast that works for you and your body (which may also mean no fasting at all). You shouldn't have to force anything just because it's "supposed" to work. We are all different, and what works for one person doesn't always work for the next.