My initial experiences with intermittent fasting were tough because I did not have much knowledge.
Most intermittent fasting tips online are from individuals who provide advice that are not practical and sustainable. This is why people either give up fasting or say: “Fasting does not work for me”.
Having practiced intermittent fasting since 2019, I know it works when done correctly.
Once intermittent fasting becomes a daily habit, it is easier to continue without thinking about it.
One of the key ways of sustaining a habit is to experience small wins consistently.
In this article, you will learn how to succeed with intermittent fasting.
These are tips I wish someone had told me when I got started.
Read on to learn more.
7 Intermittent Fasting Tips for Beginners
1. Fast with your goal in mind
No intermittent fasting tips can help you if you don’t have a specific goal for fasting.
Generally, people fast for various reasons. I started fasting to burn my belly fat. During the process, I discovered it had a therapeutic effect of reducing my blood pressure.
This is not a guarantee that fasting will reduce your blood pressure. I am only sharing my experience to show you what is possible.
If you are fasting for weight loss, I will not recommend you eat processed foods during your eating window.
Unlike someone else who is only fasting to be healthy, you can eat anything you want during your eating window.
2. Overcome the obstacles
When you start fasting, you will experience side effects such as fatigue, hunger cravings, headaches and more. You may feel terrible and want to QUIT. Please don’t. These barriers are only there for a few days. They are only barriers and not a stop sign.
You need to push through them and there are strategies to help you overcome them.
3. Be flexible with Fasting
Fasting does not mean you will starve or stop eating your favorite snacks. With fasting, you create a body rhythm that helps you to reduce the harmful effect of junk foods. Hence, with fasting, you can eat for pleasure and still remain healthy. Fasting is fun if you make it flexible and don’t beat yourself up on the days you can not fast.
4. Adapt it to your lifestyle
Adapting fasting to your lifestyle is critical. Most of my friends who are aware of fasting health benefits, still don’t fast because of failure to adapt it to their lifestyle. The easiest way to adapt it to your lifestyle is to stick to a fasting regimen and allocate the fasting and eating windows properly on a daily basis.
5. Consistency brings result
The results of intermittent fasting is not instant. Don’t start fasting for just one week and conclude that it doesn’t work. You need to be consistent and remain patient. There are numerous research evidences of its benefits and I have experienced some of them myself. Hence, fasting will work if you work IT.
6. Don’t feast
This is one of my biggest mistakes when I began my fasting in 2019. I love food and eating biscuits and muffins sometimes.
I had developed a habit of eating these junk foods almost every day. So, when began fasting, I would increase my food portions during my eating window to compensate for my fasting. Also, I will add these snacks as a desert.
PLEASE, DON’T FEAST AND EAT PROCESSED FOODS DAILY.
After months of fasting, I realized that my belly fat still remained. I almost gave up but the research I conducted. Eating processed foods daily will mess up your metabolism and spike insulin levels which will eliminate the health benefits of fasting.
You can simply set aside a cheat day. That is what I do. I still eat my biscuits and muffins on my cheat day. So you can still eat you cake and have it…
7. Coaching for accountability
Time is the most precious resource. You can regain all other resources but time. Also, you can’t save time and money. You have to use either one to make progress. So, you can either spend time to figure out how to fast or spend money to get a fasting coach to help you out.
Who is an ideal coach?
A coach is someone who can guide on the on your way towards achieving your goal. Most times, the best coaches are those with experience in what you want to achieve.
Which of these tips do you resonate with?
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