When I have a new client who wants to lose weight through Intermittent Fasting, I suggest first starting with a 12:12 approach (12-hour fast). This could mean you would have your last bite of food at 8pm and not eat again until the following day at 8am. You could choose whatever 12 hour period works best for you.
I also suggest downloading the app Zero or Window to track your fast or eating window. These apps can help hold you accountable by keeping track of how long you fasted that day or for how many hours you kept your eating window open.
As you advance past the 12-hour window, you can graduate to a 13-hour fasting window also know as 13:11. You will see as the weeks go by, your hunger decreases, and your fasting window increases as does the weight loss.
The most popular approach these days is the 16:8 approach. I find this approach is manageable and a great place to start. For example, you could skip breakfast and fast until noon, and then finish dinner by 8pm. Many of my clients see great initial results with this method but fall into a plateau shortly after.
I recently had a client who had hit a plateau in her weight loss journey. We looked closely at her eating window and decided to shorten it to four hours (20:4). She still ate the same amount of food that she was eating in a 6-hour window (18:6), but was able to lose another 14lbs with the shorter eating window.
For women interested in doing Intermittent Fasting, I suggest working with a dietitian. Oftentimes, extended fasts can impact your hormones, and therefore it's better to work with a trained professional who can tailor the program to you.
If you would like to learn more about how to get started on your intermittent fasting journey with Bianca, sign up here for a free discovery call.
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