I'm new to IF (only been doing it for about a week, and still trying to learn more about it)...and mostly I've been doing 16/8, but I was wondering what's more important: the number of hours you fast, or the consistency from day to day?
For instance, most nights I aim to start at 8pm..but I've had a couple nights where I didn't start until 9. And then I've had some days where I didn't do exactly 16 hours (like one day I only did 14, and one day I did 18). So I'm wondering, does being inconsistent hurt my progress, even if I'm still basically fasting for the same amount of time? If I have an odd day where maybe I'm not hungry at the end of my fast, is it better to stretch the fast out longer, or just maintain a consistent schedule?
And just to throw on an extra question here, is fasting 8pm-12pm a decent schedule?
Answer
The number of hours is what matters. Adjusting a few hours has no impact on your body’s response to the fast and will not harm your progress as long as you keep the same fasting length.
My recommendation though is to decrease your eating window if you start later. If you do 16:8 one day, then start your fast an hour later than normal, change the next day to 18:6. That way you’re maximizing your fasting time and keeping around the same schedule (that way it’s just easier to remember your starting/end time). And if you’re just not hungry, definitely just keep fasting and decrease your eating window when you are hungry. You’ll get the best results that way.
Good luck friend!