Our Top Ten Tips for a Successful Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle.

In case you are not familiar, intermittent fasting is an eating plan that incorporates at least 12 hours of fasting each day.

Intermittent fasting can be a very healthy and convenient way to eat

There are many health benefits to be gained from intermittent fasting, including weight loss, lowering of blood pressure, lowering of cholesterol, improvement of blood sugar control, reduction of inflammation, and the list goes on.

It turns out that adults don’t need to eat three meals every day in order to be healthy!

If you want to give it a try, consider these tips:

1. Begin by eliminating all food intake after dinner. An easy way to wade into the intermittent fasting waters is to call it quits after eating dinner. Assuming you eat dinner at 6:00, it’s only a few hours until bedtime. If you wake up at 6:00 in the morning, you’ve already fasted for 11-12 hours.

2. Experiment with different eating/fasting schedules. Play with various schedules - 12/12, 14/10 or 16/08, eating during the week and fasting on the weekends, fasting every second day, eating one meal per day, the list goes on. There are plenty of options as you will see. Start with whatever appeals to you and experiment.

3. An eating window that is too short could make it challenging to consume enough food. Eating one meal a day is a viable option for many people, but it can be difficult to ingest all the calories and nutrients needed to be healthy and maintain your body weight in one meal. Consider giving yourself at least a few hours to eat each day.

4. Stay busy. If you reduce the number of meals you eat each day, you’ll be surprised by the extra time you have available to you. You might also find that eating is psychologically soothing for you. One of the best ways to handle both issues is to stay busy. Use the extra time wisely! 5. Drink plenty of water. Just because you’re not eating as frequently doesn’t mean you can’t drink water to your heart’s content. Water is the best beverage to consume on an intermittent fast and it will help keep hunger at bay.

6. Quality still matters. You might be cutting down on your meal frequency and the number of calories you consume each day, but that doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you like. The quality of the food you put into your body still matters. In fact, it could matter even more now in order to get your necessary nutrition.

7. View the fasting period as a rest for your mind and body. Fasting is more challenging if you view it as a sacrifice. You’re actually doing something wonderful for your mind and body. It’s restful, rejuvenating, and healthy.

8. Exercise. You can still exercise, and you should. Your body requires exercise to stay strong, fit, and healthy but practice a moderately strenuous one when fasting such as a brisk walk, a cycle or a swim.

9. Plan out your meals. One of the best tips for staying on track is planning out what you’re going to eat and when. Make plans for tomorrow right after you’ve had dinner tonight. You’ll be full and satisfied and more likely to make smart decisions.

10. Expect some challenges. Have you ever noticed how the family dog knows when it’s dinner time? His body tells him that it’s time to eat. Your body does the same thing. It is used to eating at a certain time, but if not hungry, why not wait another hour or two.. It will take some time for your body to get the message. Just keep trying.

Whatever you do, remember not to break your night fast with carbohydrates. Breakfast is just that, breaking the fast (usually the night fast). Don't go for the toast and jam, cereal bowl and orange juice, but instead have fibre, good fats and proteins such as scrambled eggs and spinach, a grain-free muesli or poached eggs and 1/2 an avocado.

This will keep you fuller longer and won't raise your blood sugar avoiding you going on the blood sugar roller coaster for the rest of the day. Intermittent fasting is turning out to be an incredibly healthy way to eat. There are a variety of eating plans, but don’t let that intimidate you. Ideally, the wait time between meals should be between three and five hours, because it is the average time it takes for the stomach's contents to be emptied into the small intestine after a standard meal. Waiting this long will also ensure that a true appetite has returned to sustain the body instead of just eating out of habit or as an emotional response.

Provided you’re going at least 12 hours without food each day, you’re getting a lot of benefits.

But don’t just take my word for it, do a little more research or sign up for our 6-week Intermittent Fasting program and learn all there is to know about IF.