What is the ideal intermediate fasting time?

What is the ideal intermediate fasting time to burn maximum fat

Answers

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    IF is just a meal timing thing. It doesn't default to burning fat and losing weight. You can lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight doing IF depending on your over all calories coming in vs your calorie needs.

    It can be a very helpful tool for some to help create that calorie deficit. I've used it primarily in maintenance during certain times of the year when I know I'll be being more indulgent with the meals I am eating. I've had a hard time with it where losing weight is concerned because I tend to get overly hungry and then eat more than I normally would with three meals per day.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,160 Member
    The only way intermittent fasting leads to weight loss is if it helps a particular person stay reasonably happy while eating sufficiently fewer calories. It helps some people, doesn't help others.

    There are other purported health benefits to IF (or time restricted eating, TRE), but that's still somewhat controversial.

    For weight loss, it's the calorie intake that directly determines results. Some tactics (like IF/TRE for some people) can make eating fewer calories easier for some, but it's the calories that determine weight loss.

    Some other things can have an indirect effect. For example, eating too few calories (or getting sub-par nutrition) can lower energy level so result in dragging through the day, thus burning fewer calories than expected.

    Also, finding one's personal formula to stay reasonably full can have an indirect effect: Appetite and cravings can make it too difficult to eat sufficiently fewer calories.

    The direct mechanism is still the calorie reduction.

    Me, I lost 50-some pounds eating from shortly after I got up in the morning, to last thing before pre-bed tooth-brushing at night, pretty much every single day. For me, that worked fine.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,837 Member
    edited December 2023
    Anything from 1 hour to 23 hours would work the same. Pick whatever suits you best.