The Fasting Fix: Simple Tricks to Keep Your Routine on Track

Intermittent fasting has become a popular way for people to improve their health, lose weight, and simplify their eating routines. The basic idea is to cycle between periods of fasting and eating - most commonly fasting for 16-20 hours per day and restricting eating to a 4-8 hour window.

Research shows intermittent fasting offers numerous benefits, including better blood sugar regulation, reduced inflammation, improved cardiovascular health markers, and enhanced cognitive function. It may also boost fat burning and weight loss.

However, intermittent fasting takes some adjustment, especially when you start. Finding the right fasting routine that fits your lifestyle and feels sustainable long-term can take time. The tips below will help you maintain a successful fasting practice once you've found a good framework:

Start Slowly

When you first begin fasting, it's important not to jump in too quickly with overly ambitious fasting windows. Instead, take it slow and start with more manageable fasts. Begin with 12-14 hour fasting periods and work your way up to longer fasts of 16-18 hours.

Allow your body time to adjust to this new eating schedule before extending your fasting times. Don't immediately start with a 20-hour fast if your body isn't accustomed to going more than 12 hours without food. Listen to your hunger cues and how you feel when fasting. If you start to feel ill, fatigued, or unable to focus, your body may be signaling that you need to pull back on the length of your fasts.

The key is gradually easing into longer periods of fasting over days or weeks. Be patient with yourself and don't try to rush the process. Pushing yourself too hard too soon can be counterproductive and set you up for failure later on. Build up your fasting stamina slowly and you'll be able to stick to it as a lifestyle habit.

Find Your Fasting Window

When starting intermittent fasting, one of the most important things is finding the fasting routine and schedule that works best for your lifestyle. There are several different fasting window options to choose from, so take some time to experiment and see what feels sustainable.

Some of the most common fasting window options include:

• 16:8 Method - This involves fasting for 16 hours per day, and eating within an 8-hour window. For example, skipping breakfast and eating between 12 pm-8 pm.
• 18:6 Method - Fasting for 18 hours, eating within a 6-hour window. For example, skipping breakfast and lunch and eating between 2 pm-8 pm.
• 20:4 Method - Fasting for 20 hours, with a 4-hour eating window. This may involve skipping breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack.
• OMAD - Eating one meal a day within a 1-hour window, fasting for 23 hours. The one meal is typically dinner.

When deciding on your fasting routine, consider your daily schedule and lifestyle factors. If you have an active job or morning workout routine, a longer fasting window that skips breakfast or lunch may work better. If you have kids or family obligations in the evenings, an earlier eating window that finishes dinner by 6 or 7 pm may be preferable.

Pay attention to when you feel hungriest and have the most energy for eating larger meals. Tailor your eating window around those times for an easier adaptation. Experiment with different windows and find what feels sustainable long-term. The best fasting routine is the one you can stick to consistently.

Schedule Your Fast

When starting a new fasting routine, it's important to pick 1-3 days per week to fast consistently. This allows your body to adapt and makes it easier to stick to the schedule. It's best to start slowly with 1-2 fasts per week.

Consider choosing less busy or active days for your fasting days. For example, fast on a weekend day or your least hectic workday. Avoid scheduling important meetings, workouts, or events on your fasting days, especially when first starting.

Also, avoid prolonged fasts on back-to-back days at first. Doing 24+ hour fasts two days in a row can be challenging for beginners. Allow your body time to recover and replenish between fasts when you're new to fasting. After a few weeks, you may be able to handle fasting on consecutive days if you wish. But starting, choose your fasting days wisely and space them apart.

This thoughtful scheduling sets you up for fasting success by making your chosen routine sustainable. With consistency over time, intermittent fasting can become an easy habit.

Plan Your Meals

When you are fasting, it's important to focus your non-fasting meals on getting adequate nutrition. Here are some tips for planning nutritious meals during your eating window:

• Focus meals on protein, healthy fats, and veggies: Try to include lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, or plant-based proteins in each meal. Healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and nut butter will help you feel satisfied. Round out meals with non-starchy vegetables for fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
• Hydrate well and supplement electrolytes: Drink plenty of water and add a pinch of sea salt or take an electrolyte supplement to replenish sodium, potassium, and magnesium levels. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances can cause low energy, headaches and other issues while fasting.
• Make sure to get nutrients in the non-fasting window: Be intentional about including a variety of vitamins, minerals and nutrients during your eating window. For example, have eggs for breakfast, a salad with salmon for lunch, and chicken with roasted vegetables for dinner. Taking a multivitamin can also help fill any nutritional gaps.

Planning nutrient-dense meals will help you get the most out of your fast while supporting energy, health and well-being. Focus on whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible for optimal nutrition.

Prepare for Challenges

When fasting, it's normal to experience hunger, cravings, and low energy at times. Being prepared and having plans to counter challenges will help you stay on track.

• Expect hunger, cravings, and low energy at times

Your body is adjusting to not eating for an extended time, so feelings of hunger and weakness are to be expected. Be prepared with healthy snacks like nuts, seeds or cut-up veggies to help curb cravings. Stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. The intensity of hunger pangs and low energy will decrease as your body adapts.

• Identify triggers and have plans to counter them

Note when cravings and hunger are strongest for you. Common times are late mornings, evenings or when tired. Have backup plans like drinking tea, going for a walk or calling a friend. Avoid tempting foods. Stay busy to keep your mind occupied.

• Allow yourself an occasional flexibility day

Don't be too hard on yourself. If you're struggling, take a day off from fasting. Get back on track the next day. Beating yourself up over slip-ups will only make sticking to your routine harder. The flexibility will help fasting feel sustainable.

Stay Active

Exercise and activity help manage hunger and cravings during fasting periods. Time your workouts for when you're in a fed state or toward the end of your fast. Going for walks, doing some light stretching, or simple bodyweight exercises can be great ways to stay active even during a fast.

The benefits of staying active while fasting include:

- Burning additional calories and boosting metabolism
- Releasing endorphins that improve mood
- Providing distraction from hunger and cravings
- Maintaining muscle mass while fasting

Aim to keep your normal exercise routine as much as possible. Adjust the timing of more intense workouts to when you have eaten recently. Lighter activities like walking, yoga, or even just standing up more are perfect for fasted states.

Listen to your body and don't overexert yourself while fasting. Staying moderately active though can make the fasting period go by quicker and prevent strong hunger. Simply going for a short walk around the block can curb cravings during a fast.

Get Support

Getting support from others can be key to maintaining your fasting routine long-term. Telling friends and family that you've started intermittent fasting is a great way to hold yourself accountable. They can check in on your progress and encourage you when you're struggling.

Joining online fasting groups, forums, or communities is another way to get support. These provide a space to ask questions, share tips, and connect with others following a similar routine. Popular forums like r/intermittentfasting on Reddit have over 2 million members. Seeing others succeed with fasting can inspire you to keep going.

Fasting apps like Zero and Life also include social components. You can follow friends, join groups, and share your fasting activity. Tracking your fasts publicly through an app adds accountability.

Having a form of support during your fasting journey makes it much more sustainable. Whether it's through friends and family, online groups, or fasting apps, find a community that will motivate you to maintain your new fasting lifestyle. Knowing others are fasting with you and cheering you on makes the routine far easier to uphold.

Be Consistent

Sticking to your fasting plan consistently is key to making it a long-term lifestyle change. It's easy to be motivated and fast and diligent when you first start, but maintaining consistency over weeks and months takes commitment. Here are some tips:

• Stick to your planned fasting days every week. Don't skip or move your fasting days around unless necessary. Make them set days that you commit to fasting, just like you would any other important appointment. Avoid thinking "I'll just fast tomorrow instead."
• Persist through challenges and plateaus. When you hit a plateau or have a difficult fasting day, it can be tempting to give up. But push through the hard times rather than quitting completely. Persistence and patience are necessary on this journey.
• Focus on lifestyle change, not just short-term diet. Look at intermittent fasting as a lifelong approach to healthier eating, not just a quick-fix diet. Making fasting fit sustainably into your lifestyle is more important than seeing rapid short-term results. Then you can reap the long-term benefits.

Maintaining consistency with intermittent fasting is challenging but worthwhile. By sticking to your plan week after week, you'll adapt fasting to your lifestyle and experience the full benefits for your health.

Fasting can be a powerful tool to improve your health, but it takes commitment and perseverance to make it a sustainable habit. The keys to fasting success are taking it slowly, finding a schedule that works for your lifestyle, planning nutritious meals, preparing for challenges, staying active, getting support, and being consistent.

Don't get discouraged if fasting feels difficult at first. It takes time for your body to adapt metabolically and physiologically to going extended periods without food. The more you practice intermittent fasting, the easier it will become. Eventually, you'll find a routine that fits seamlessly into your life.

The most important thing is to be compassionate with yourself throughout the process. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a fasting day - just get back on track with your next scheduled fasting period. Pay attention to how fasting makes you feel physically and emotionally, and make adjustments as needed. With commitment and patience, you can make fasting a lifestyle that benefits your health and well-being long-term.