Fasting..... am I doing it right???

Question

Hi all, I need a bit of guidance from some of you who is more familiar with fasting.

I am a 39year old male who was in the best shape of my life 3 years ago. I slowly fell back into my old habits and the weight has slowly creeped back. I did not completely let myself go as I am constantly putting in some effort to manage my waistline. I very recently started fasting and straight off the bat did a 72hours fast that was not so hard to do if I must be honest. I lost a remarkable 5kilograms.

I would like to continue my fasting journey as the immediate weight loss triggered that old feeling I got when I first decided to get my body back.

But I want to do it right.

After some reading its advised not to do more than one 72hour fast a month and to alternate with fasting dates to prevent your body from getting use to the routine.

I have worked out the following schedule and would like to run it past a couple of you?

MONDAY -12PM LUNCH -6PM DINNER

TUESDAY -12PM FAST -6PM DINNER

WEDNESDAY -12PM LUNCH -6PM DINNER

THURSDAY -12PM LUNCH -6PM FAST

FRIDAY -12PM LUNCH -6PM DINNER

SATURDAY -12PM FAST -6PM DINNER

SUNDAY -12PM LUNCH -6PM FAST

Lietchi · Accepted Answer

Your body doesn't need to be 'confused' to lose weight, it just needs to be in a calorie deficit.

Intermittent fasting (eating every day, but within a certain time-frame) can help to lose weight because it helps some people stay in a calorie deficit.

I would caution against longer fasts, unless you want to sacrifice muscle mass to lose weight (I wouldn't recommend it 😉 )

I would also make sure you are eating an adequate number of calories: not too many (or you won't lose weight) and not too few (or you're going to risk health implications such as muscle loss).

Whatever rhythm of intermittent fasting suits you is fine, the calorie deficit is what matters.