Top 4 Tips to Make Intermittent Fasting Easier

Intermittent fasting is the newest diet plan right now. As what the name implies, it is a type of diet where you fast for a certain set of time, typically between 16 to 20 consecutive hours; and you eat during the other four to eight hours of your day. The exact time you start and end your fasting is up to you. But the most common for 16-hour fasting is the 8pm to 12nn of the next day. You can only start eating again in the next eight hours after 12nn, but you can have coffee, tea or water during your fasting hours.

It may sound a lot to stop yourself from craving anything solid for 16 hours, but really it is just a matter of mind setting. To further help you shave off those extra pounds, here are some tips to make intermittent fasting a lot more bearable.

  1. Start fasting after dinner

Have your dinner around seven in the evening. If you wake up at seven in the morning, you are already in your 11th hour of fasting and just five hours away from your first meal. Scheduling your fast at bedtime makes it easier for you to curb your cravings since you’re asleep most of the hours.

  • Squeeze some lemon into your water

During those fasting hours when you’re awake, drinking water with lime or lemon can also help control your sweet cravings. You may also have a cup of tea or coffee. After a few weeks, your system will get used to these, reducing frequency of craving for anything sugary.

  • Eat more protein during meal times

Once your fasting ends, do not binge eat. Still, prioritize healthy eating to maximize the results. Minimize intake of foods made with processed sugars and carbohydrate. Instead, focus on consuming more protein from pork and beef as this helps you stay full for longer hours. Get a dose of your healthy fats from fish almonds and avocadoes’ and healthy carbs from fruits and veggies.

  • Schedule your fast only twice a week

Fasting for 16 hours twice a week already cuts your calorie intake by 30 percent. Fasting more than that would reduce your calorie intake even more, causing lack of energy and strength and making you prone to over eating.

Intermittent fasting does not have to feel like torture. These tips are just some of the many different ways to make this diet plan manageable and more effective. Feel free to play around and incorporate just one or two of these tips into your diet. If you find these tips making intermittent fasting more convenient, then you would enjoy the diet plan in a way you would want to continue doing it.

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