Doc, I want to try Intermittent Fasting. How do I start?

There are several fasting regimens that people subscribe to but when you first start out, keep it simple and start slowly.

Don’t be scared to skip a meal. In fact, relish the idea! No need to cook. You have extra time to do something else. You might even save a few cents by eating less!

Try simply skipping a single meal. The easiest for most people is breakfast. Ideally, you should fast for 12-16 hours at a stretch to trigger fat-burning benefits of fasting, and the easiest way to achieve that is to miss your morning meal.

But you can happily skip any other meal of the day and see how you feel.

Remember, you must drink plenty of fluids when fasting. Coffee and tea are fine as long as you enjoy them without any milk, sweetener or sugar. Water is, of course, imperative: You must drink at least 6 glasses per day. And you can add slices of lemon or herbs for a little interest. Sparkling water is fine as long as it’s not sweetened at all (no natural or artificial sweeteners added). Bone or vegetable broth is great. You can sip on this throughout the day. And it contains mineral salts that keep your body cells nourished and in balance.

Each person is different so there is no single regimen or routine that suits or benefits everyone. If you start slowly and build up to longer periods of fasting you will not only achieve the benefits like weight loss, increased energy, anti-cancer and anti-ageing… but you will also experience fewer side-effects because your body is acclimatizing and getting used to not having meals as frequently.

I recommend building up to a full 24-hour fast over a period of 6-8 weeks.  Start with 14-16 hours, then stretch your fasting window to 18-20 hours, and then increase to 20-24 hours.  Once you’re comfortable fasting for 24 hours, you can ramp up your fasting more rapidly because your metabolism will have adjusted to using fat for energy more efficiently.

Fasting regimens:

16-hour fast (16:8)

Fast for 16 hours and eat during the remaining 8 hours of your day. If you include the time you sleep during your 16-hour fast, you essentially just need to miss breakfast and eat at lunch and dinner to follow this regimen. There really is no limit to how often you fast according to this strategy… some people live on 2 meals a day everyday.

24-hour fast

Fast for a full 24 hours. You have dinner, sleep, miss breakfast and lunch but eat dinner the following day. Essentially you skip 2 meals in a row. You can do this safely up to 3 times a week but you have to ensure that the meals you eat are wholesome, nutritious, full of fresh produce, healthy fats and protein so that you are getting all your essential nutrients. And do take a multivitamin/mineral supplement if you regularly fast like this.

36-hour fast

This is hardcore stuff: You have dinner, go to sleep, eat nothing the following day, sleep and break your fast at breakfast. You have missed 3 meals (or a complete day of eating). Do not do this more than twice a week, otherwise you will risk developing side-effects of fasting due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions.