The 14 Easiest Ways to Stick to Intermittent Fasting
The 14 Easiest Ways to Stick to Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days, with celebs singing its praises—most notably the Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman. The diet, which consists of crushing all your food intake into a mere eight-hour window, is said to have loads of benefits, including better sleep and weight loss. But just because it’s effective doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“We’re not meant to eat around the clock, biologically,” says Lauren Slayton, MS, RD, and founder of NYC-based nutrition practice Foodtrainers. “It’s been proven that in your fasted state, you burn fat instead of calories. Because of factors like longer days and unbalanced nutrition, people often have a difficult time sticking to their fast, but we both know those late-night Oreos aren’t doing your bod any favors.
“If eating at scheduled times during the day is a habit that our body has inherently become used to, it’s going to be hard to remove food during those scheduled times,” explains Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, MS, RD, CLC. “In the midst of the transition of adopting intermittent fasting into your lifestyle, you may experience unpleasant side effects such as fatigue, lightheadedness, and low blood sugar, which makes it especially hard to adhere to—causing people to tap out.”
Don’t worry, though: With a little skillful planning and these nutritionist-approved tips below, you’ll be on your way to Wolverine status in no time.
Start with 12 hours.
“It’s very individual how well you’ll feel if you just jump straight into a 16-hour fast,” says Slayton. Instead, she recommends starting at 12 hours from your first bite to your last—especially if you’re used to eating right before bed. You’ll still be kickstarting results, and can then slowly reduce the hours you’re eating as you get more comfortable with the process.
Eat the way you normally would at first.
“If there are too many changes going on at once, you’re more likely to fail,” says Slayton. “So instead of totally overhauling your diet to eat healthier (more greens, fewer carbs and sugar), start by getting the timing right—and then change your diet.” Going all out might seem the best way to approach it, but because you’ll still be figuring out what timings work best, overhauling your portions and food composition as well will leave you stressed… and higher levels of stress mean more hunger.
Make sure your breakfast is full of protein.
Protein-rich breakfasts have been linked to less hunger throughout the day, as opposed to say, a bagel. “Having more protein at breakfast will help prevent that evening snacky feeling,” says Slayton, which will make it easier to stick to your fast later in the day. It’ll help stabilize your blood sugar—and the more stable your blood sugar levels are, the less hungry you’ll be.
Drink a lot of water the second you wake up.
“Often times, what we think is hunger is actually thirst,” explains Slayton. Because our bodies can’t tell the difference, we often eat when we don’t need to—but since we wake up dehydrated after sleeping, it’s imperative to drink at least 16 ounces of water first thing in the morning. This way, you’ll stop getting those dehydration pangs you think is hunger, when it’s actually not.
Eat higher fat, carb-rich meals at night.
It sounds counterproductive, but if you can’t give up carbs completely, Slayton recommends having them at night, as opposed to earlier. This is for two reasons: Firstly, it’ll increase your blood sugar levels at night, which will take some time to fall provided you’re adding in protein and fat. So, when your blood sugar levels finally fall, you’ll be asleep. Second, having carbs actually increases the production of serotonin (the satisfaction hormone) in your body, so you’ll feel great after your meal, and not want any more food.
Switch up your timings through trial and error.
Say you work a 9-to-6: Then, fasting starting at 6pm won’t work for you because you won’t get home in time to have dinner. “I recommend those clients start the fast at 7pm or 8pm and break it at 11am or 12pm for adequate time to have a balanced and thoughtful dinner,” says Lockwood Beckerman. “You have to be flexible with your allotted hours of fasting in order for intermittent fasting to be a workable dietary approach.” So, if that means pushing your dinner later, know it’s totally okay.
Don’t keep changing your window.
“Once your body has become used to eating at certain times, it’s very hard to change,” explains Slayton—which is why initially beginning intermittent fasting is really hard for a lot of people. So, why keep confusing your body? Instead, give yourself hard and fast times regarding when you’ll start and stop eating every day, no matter what. “You’re basically reprogramming your hunger cues,” says Slayton.
Incorporate a mantra for when times get hard.
“Ultimately, intermittent fasting comes down to willpower,” says Beckerman. “Giving yourself words of encouragement and having a mantra that’s empowering will help you push through those tough fasting periods, either early in the morning or late at night.” (Basically, give yourself a pep talk.)
Make sure your mornings are busy.
“Especially if you’re just starting out and are used to having breakfast right when you wake up, I suggest making sure your mornings are very busy,” says Slayton. By getting out of the house and scheduling meetings when you’d normally be having breakfast, you can distract yourself into pushing your breakfasts later.
Stay off social media right before bed.
If you have friends who love posting their favorite restaurant picks or recipes on Instagram, you’ll know how tempted you get after seeing them. For that reason alone, Amy Stephens, MS, RDN, CDE recommends staying off social media at night. “Even if you weren’t thinking about anything, after seeing a picture of, say, a cupcake, you’re going to want that cupcake.” she says.
Focus on something you enjoy after you eat.
“To get yourself to stop thinking about food, I recommend a good distraction, like a good book, movie, or even cleaning up,” says Dr. Lisa Young, PhD, RDN. She insists that often times at night, it’s more of a comfort thing as opposed to real hunger, so keeping yourself satisfied with non-food related activities can help.
Exercise at night.
“The earlier you wake up, the more hours you’ll be going without food,” says Stephens. So, instead of waking up early to work out, she recommends post-dinner workouts. Working out also temporarily reduces your hunger, due to the fact that it raises levels of peptide YY, a hormone that suppresses appetite. Exercising before bed will leave you satisfied enough (and tired enough!) to head straight to sleep without even thinking about food.
Brush your teeth immediately after dinner.
“By giving yourself those kinds of bedtime cues after you eat, you’re telling your body there’s no more food coming,” explains Slayton. She also recommends you stay as far away from the kitchen as possible, so that you don’t get reminded of food once you’ve named your time to stop eating.
Limit your white carbs.
“White carbs like white rice and bread really raise your blood sugar much faster,” explains Dr. Young. In turn, they’ll dip faster, leaving you hungry and cranky—so don’t take intermittent fasting as an excuse to eat all the cake you want! “I’d balance out the good carbs with protein and fat, so that you don’t get extreme hunger pangs later on,” she recommends.
Why suffer if you don’t have to?