Was 16:8 or 20:4 enough for you?

Hi all, lurker/commenter in this sub for a while now. I naturally did OMAD in my earlier 20s and felt great. I've also had long stretches (years) where I did 16:8 and that has been easiest for me overall. The longest I've gone is 40 hours with electrolytes and it wasn't an issue. I'm trying to find the best rolling fast for me to accomplish both fat loss and autophagy/healing. I have some autoimmune issues and joint pain that I would like to resolve without having to take more medications. **My question is, how many of you found that 16:8 or 20:4 was enough for you to have the benefits you wanted?** How many of you, on the other hand, felt that adding in longer fasts (rolling 48s, biweekly 72, etc.) made a huge difference from a 16:8 or 20:4?

Answer

For me I started out with a lot of damage from a lifetime of sugar consumption. I couldn’t even fast 16 hours without getting shaky and sweaty. When I tried to push through the first few times, my family threatened to take me to the hospital because I was so confused and disoriented. I had to work up to 14, 15, 16 hours, etc. I saw maximum benefits in terms of feeling healthy, having good energy, and having no more cravings, after I started pushing my fasts longer so mostly 20:4/21:3 with occasional (as life permitted) 42-72 hour fasts.

In summary, for me it was about consistency that got me healthy and occasionally pushing my body to heal by doing longer fasts. It took many months to get there.

Answer

As I have to fix my insulin resistance on top of losing weight, OMAD or daily eating windows stopped working after a while, even when I was doing keto + IF/OMAD. 3 day fasts seem to be the most effective overall without putting tons of restraint on most people, and it peaks autophagy, but I want to go about 6-9 days to challenge myself.