Intermittent fasting is a form of time-restricted eating. One adheres to a certain number of hours for fasting, where you don’t eat any food, followed by an eating window of the hours left over in the 24-hour cycle.
How it works is by switching over into Ketosis, fat burning for energy, during the time you are fasting, due to a lack of energy food, from the glucose system, where the body gets energy from food ingested at each meal.
To get your body into a fat-burning state and hence result in weight loss, one would need to fast for at least 12-15 hours and manage portions too. This means that you can use the 12:12 14:10 or 16:8 fasting protocols. I’ve seen over time, the 16:8 method is the most efficient place to start for many.
This model means you fast for 16 hours and eat all your meals within 8 hours. Example windows are 8am:4pm 9am:5pm 10am:6pm and my favorite (that I follow myself) 11am:7pm. What this means is that I have my first meal or breakfast at 11 am, lunch at 3 pm and dinner at 7 pm.
Here’s how to do it for weight loss.
- Take black tea, green tea, black coffee or water only, all UNSWEETENED during your fasting window. Don’t add any sugar or honey or lemon or you will break your fast
- Limit or eliminate carbohydrates in your first meal to prevent a spike in blood sugar which could lead to constant hunger and cravings and result in overeating. So have e.g. eggs and a salad, meat and some veggies, beans and kachumbari. Pair this with bone soup or broth for added gut health benefits. You can do without the tea.
- Have a well-balanced and well-portioned meal at your next meal times. Prioritize your protein, whole unrefined carbohydrates and lots of veggies. E.g. (rice, lentils and salad) (arrow roots, beef and spinach) (potatoes, fish and kachumbari)
- Do not snack, unless you’re really hungry. If you must, take one whole fruit or water.
- Eat to your fill, no pressure to finish the plate if you’re stuffed.
- Stick to the hours- fasting hours, eating window and time between meals.
- Do this for 8-12 weeks minimum
