| | Water Fasting

Want to start

Hello all im interested in starting to fast but I don't know where to begin if anyone has any great tips please let me know

Answer

I would read through a lot of the previous posts in this subreddit to get some great ideas! I would also listen to the podcast called The Fasting Method.

As far as how to begin your fasting journey, it largely depends on your reasons for fasting and your starting point: your current body mass, current eating habits, etc. Without knowing those things, my first recommendation would be to start making small changes: if you usually eat 3 meals and multiple snacks throughout each day, start by skipping one meal and cut back on snacking. When you do break your fast (let’s say you skip breakfast and break your fast at lunch), break it with something nutritious- nothing processed.

If you drink your coffee or tea with milk, sugar, or syrup- work on getting used to black coffee and plain tea only. If you drink soda, even diet soda, cut back a little more each day.

I’d say your first goal would be to get yourself to a 16:8 fasting protocol. That means fasting for 16 hours, eating in an 8 hour window. For a lot of people that means skipping breakfast, eating lunch at noon, dinner is finished by 8 PM. Then you only consume water, black coffee, or plain tea from 8 PM til moon the following day.

This is how I started out and in now consistently doing OMAD, one meal a day where I only eat dinner. If you have more specific questions as you get started, I’m happy ti share more of what I’ve learned!

Answer

I really like the Fasting Method podcast and recommend starting with episode 52 on time-restricted eating. That’s the foundation of fasting, and will set you up for success if you want to try longer fasts.