What is intermittent fasting?

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Intermittent fasting (IF) is simply taking a break from food for at least 12 hours and no more than 36 hours – on one or more days each week. In fact, you’ve been fasting every day of your life but you didn’t realise – as we all fast overnight. Our bodies are well adapted to managing without food, not just during the night but for much longer.

Learn more about the science of what happens to our bodies when we fast

What is the 5:2 diet (also known as The Fast Diet)?

The 5:2 diet is just one pattern of intermittent fasting: you fast for two days each week and eat normally on the other 5 days. Many people who follow 5:2 have been inspired by The Fast Diet, a best-selling (and very good) book by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. But there are many ways of doing intermittent fasting. Some of the most popular include:

  • The 5:2 diet (The Fast Diet, Eat. Stop. Eat. and The Two-Day Diet)

  • Alternate Day Fasting (The Every Other Day Diet)

  • The Eating Window approach (Leangains, 16:8 and the 8 hour diet, Fast-5 and The Warrior Diet)

Learn more about 5:2 and other ways of doing intermittent fasting

What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?

Most people start out with intermittent fasting in order to lose weight, but there are many other benefits. You will reduce your chances of developing many of the diseases associated with modern life, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes; you’ll gain control of your eating habits (such as emotional eating and bingeing), and learn to listen to your body’s food needs. You will no longer be afraid of hunger or be dominated by food. It’s really liberating!

Learn more about the health benefits of fasting

How easy is fasting?

Fasting is surprisingly easy. Hunger pangs come but then they go again. A drink of water, a walk, keeping busy – any or all of these will help you overcome a hunger pang. Fasting does require a little bit of willpower, but if you’ve ever dieted before and had to deny yourself food for days on end, you have definitely got enough will power! With intermittent fasting, your willpower only needs to last for a day at most. Yes, you will feel hungry now and then, but it won’t do you any harm.

Learn more about how to start fasting

Fasting is a Way of Eating for life

Fasting can be used as part of a diet if you are aiming to lose weight. It works.

But the real beauty of intermittent fasting is that it can become a permanent and sustainable part of your life. You can adopt a new and better Way of Eating forever!

Long term intermittent fasters can expect health benefits…but are also free from the yo-yo cycle of dieting, losing weight, then putting it on again.

Fasting gives you a tool that you can use in lots of different ways so that it suits your own lifestyle and circumstances.

Fasting is so easy and so flexible; you will be in control.

The FastDay community now includes thousands of people who have adopted this Way of Eating for life, Come and join us!

Learn more about fasting for weight maintenance

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