There are many ways to implement an intermittent fasting schedule. And to be completely honest, I don’t believe sticking to one schedule is necessary for most people. I for one love changing my schedule and switching it up regularly.
However, I know as someone approaches intermittent fasting for the first time having guidance and structure will help lay a good foundation. 16:8 is a great entry into the world of intermittent fasting!
How to Actually Implement
So, it’s a good place to start, but what does it mean? It’s very simple, you fast for 16 hours in a day and then you have an eating window for the other 8!
Of course this doesn’t mean you eat the entire 8 hours. I don’t know about you, but personally, I can fit a lot in my mouth within 8 hours! Don’t challenge me to prove that, please!! The eating window isn’t meant to be a mandate of how long to eat, more of a window you allow yourself to eat within.
16:8 can be implemented many ways, really decide what fits your life and when it’s important for you to eat. Here are some example schedules:
- Fast 12AM-8AM, Eat 8AM-4PM, Fast 4PM-12AM (which continues into the next day’s fast)
- Fast 12AM-4PM, Eat 4PM-12AM (repeat daily)
- Fast 12AM-12PM, Eat 12PM-8PM, Fast 8PM-12AM (which continues into the next day’s fast)
Will I Lose Weight?
Of course me behind my screen doesn’t really know the answer to this for you as an individual. I do know that many people (based on 18 months of being in online fasting communities) find 16:8 isn’t the best way to lose weight, or at least not quickly.
A lot of the success you find with 16:8 will be based on your prior diet huistory. Did you previously eat 12 hours a day? If so, cutting out 4 hours will still be helpful. Conversely, if you previously skipped breakfast already and your eating window generally was about 12PM-10PM (10 hours), cutting out 2 hours of eating may not have much of a weight loss effect.
Additionally, even if going to a 16 hour eating window is a drastic change, remember 8 hours is still a long time to eat! As I mentioned earlier, I can eat a lot in 8 hours. With an 8 hour eating window, you’ll need to be mindful that the same could happen to you. If you’re regularly over eating within an 8 hour period, weight loss is unlikely.
Reminder: Weight isn’t the only sign of wellness and success!
What Benefit if Not Weight Loss?
First of all, weight loss may not be off the table. But even if it is, fasting has so many benefits. Autophagy cleans up the dead cells in our bodies and helps clean up our body’s waste. Autophagy occurs the further you get into a fast. Autophagy best rids our bodies and cells of toxins and waste. It also recycles what’s good.
According to the health line article I linked above, Dr. Luize Petre states autophagy “is recycling and cleaning at the same time, just like hitting a reset button to your body. Plus, it promotes survival and adaptation as a response to various stressors and toxins accumulated in our cells.” She goes on to state that “fasting is the most effective way to trigger autophagy”.
Even if you don’t see the scale moving, 16:8 can give your body the ability to clean up toxins! Now you can’t tell me that wouldn’t be an amazing benefit! Personally, it’s one of the main reasons I plan to forever fast!
16:8 Stepping Stone
Additionally, if you’re new to fasting 16 hours is a great way to learn to fast. I believe intermittent fasting is a muscle we can build. As you master a 16 hour fast, you’ll be well poised to change your schedule. Going from 16 hour daily fasts to 18 or 20 isn’t as hard as simply trying to start with a 20 hour fast immediately.
16:8 is a great way to lay ground work for an intermittent fasting lifestyle. Whether you increase your fasting window or not, it is a wonderful structure. Learn how it works for your body and make adjustments if necessary! You may not find a need for longer fasting windows like me.
Flexibility = Freedom
The beautiful thing to remember is that when you start, you don’t have to have the same window everyday. Just because you have a normal eating window, doesn’t mean you can’t change or extend if for certain occasions.
For example, you set your 16:8 to have dinner and snacks every single day (such as your 8 hour eating window is 4PM to 12AM daily). But you have a friend that wants to meet you for lunch. Are you stuck skipping lunch? NO (unless you really want an excuse out LOL)
You can finish your dinner and snacks by 8PM (instead of the usual 12AM) the day before you want to meet your friend for lunch. Then you fast for 16 hours from that point. 16 hours later you’re at noon and free to eat then. Your new eating window is Noon-8PM for that special occasion. Then you fast and return to your normal schedule the following day.
It’s a bit of a math game, but once you learn to flex your eating window, you realize how free you can feel while being an intermittent faster.
Alternate Way to Implement
Another way to implement 16:8 is to not really focus on the 8 hour eating window. What I personally do is focus on my fast. I constantly change when I eat (to reflect my constantly changing busy mom life schedule). What doesn’t change is that I always make sure I get my fast in. For me, that’s a minimum 18 hours. For 16:8, this would be a minimum 16 hour fast in between eating windows.
I track my fasts on the free version of the Zero App. It’s simple, alerts me on progress and keeps me accountable. Once I ensure I get my fasting hours, then I am free to open the eating window as it fits my day!
After I close my eating window, whether it was open for 45 minutes or 8 hours, I restart my fasting window.
Give Yourself Time!
16:8 may be easy for you to hop into. It could also be extremely difficult. Either way, give yourself grace and time to adjust! Make the commitment and even if the first few days are tough, hang in there! Soon you’ll be explaining to others what 16:8 is and how really it isn’t that difficult. I swear, life on the other side of adjustment is fun!
It’s One of Many
16:8 is just one method of Intermittent Fasting. Others include 20:4, 19:5, 18:6 or even 23:1! Some of these may seem daunting (or even ridiculous!). But as you’ll learn as you implement Intermittent Fasting, it’s all about adjusting, getting used to what you establish!
So let’s fast on together. Thank you for reading!
