Are you curious about weight loss fasting and its potential benefits?
In the past few years, fasting went from an old-fashioned practice to a modern approach to health and weight loss.
You’ve probably heard first-hand anecdotes from people who used intermittent fasting to boost their energy levels, shed excess weight, and kickstart their metabolism.
Current research has revealed that these intermittent fasting benefits are based on science. On average, most people lose 7-11 pounds over 10 weeks when practicing intermittent fasting. Animals studies have also shown that intermittent fasting can increase lifespan and improve the body’s response to metabolic stressors.
However, there are pitfalls associated with fasting for weight loss. One of the secrets to avoiding these is to pick the best fasting for weight loss method that suits your body.
Keep reading to learn about 7 different types of weight loss fasting methods.
1. The 6:18 Intermittent Fasting Method
One of the most popular types of intermittent fasting methods is the 6:18 approach. Under this method, you fast for 18 hours and eat for 6 every day.
This might sound extreme, but in practice, it can be achievable for many people. You can choose the timing of your 6-hour eating window, and place it over a period of the day when you are naturally the most hungry.
For instance, if you aren’t a big breakfast eater, and tend to be hungry in the evening, you could opt to break your fast each day at 1 pm and finish your evening meal by 7 pm.
Best for: If you want to enjoy some intermittent fasting benefits, but not push your body too far, the 6:18 approach is a good weight loss fasting method to try. The reduced eating window might help you achieve a calorie deficit, and you might even find that you can achieve better clarity and energy.
2. The 4:20 Intermittent Fasting Method
If you feel like the 6:18 hour fasting to eating window ratio isn’t doing it for you, you can also try out the 4:20 intermittent fasting approach.
The principle is exactly the same as for the 6:18 approach, but instead, your eating window is reduced by two hours. Instead of having 6 hours within which to eat, you have 4.
Best for: This intermittent fasting length can be ideal if you want to lose weight and your body can tolerate longer fasts. Trying to fit all your calories into a 4-hour window can be challenging, which gives you a better chance of entering a calorie deficit.
For some people, longer fasting windows give them more energy and focus. It also gives your body more than enough time in a fasted state to reap the potential benefits of fasting, such as increased longevity and gut health.
Be aware however that long unbroken fasts can affect your hormones. So far it doesn’t seem like this is an issue for most men, but some women can experience hormone disruption from sustained intermittent fasting with very small eating windows. If you feel like intermittent fasting is causing hormone dysregulation, you might want to try lengthening your eating window.
3. The 10:14 Intermittent Fasting Method
If you suffer adverse effects from longer daily fasting periods, such as 18 hours, you can still trigger some of the benefits of fasting by doing a gentle 10:14 fast.
This probably won’t require you to adjust your meals times too much, but it still gives the body just enough time to enter a fasting state. For instance, if you aim to finish dinner by 6:30 pm, you can have breakfast the next day by 8:30 am and still achieve a 14-hour fast.
Best for: Maintaining a fasting period of 14 hours per day can assist your metabolism and activate better cellular repair. However, it might not be highly effective as a weight-loss fasting method.
4. The Fast-Mimicking Diet
Do you like the idea of fasting for weight loss, want to reap some of the health benefits, but just can’t see yourself not eating for such extended periods?
If so, then you might want to look into the fast-mimicking diet.
The fast-mimicking diet essentially tricks your body into thinking that it’s in a fasted state, while still allowing you to intake food.
Pioneered by a cell biologist and biogerontologist, Dr. Valter Longo from the University of Southern California, the fast-mimicking diet is optimized to promote longevity, health, and weight loss. Through Dr. Valter’s research, he discovered that one could “cheat” nature by eating reduced amounts while fasting, without triggering the body’s food sensors.
The secret to tricking one’s body into thinking it’s in a fasted state while still consuming some food is to eat a specific micro and macronutrient breakdown in specific amounts.
During the fast mimicking diet, you fast for 5 days each month. For the rest of the month, you can eat as normal, but it is recommended that you focus on consuming healthy foods.
Diet Breakdown
During the first day of the 5-day fast, you consume 1,100 calories in a specific macronutrient ratio. The ratio is 11% calories from protein, 46% from fat, and 43% from carbohydrates.
For the next 4 days, you reduce calories to 725 calories per day. The macronutrient breakdown also shifts to 9% of calories from protein, 44% from fat, and 47% from carbohydrates.
Although you can opt to “DIY” the fast-mimicking diet, it’s usually more effective and a lot easier to take advantage of the patented ProLon® meal programs. These programs are scientifically formulated and backed by 20 years and $34 million dollars of development and research.
Besides being perfectly formulated to keep your body in a fasted state, while still allowing you to intake calories, the meal program is also:
- Convenient
- Plant-based
- Tasty
- Nutritious
- Rejuvenating
The ProLon® meals come in 5 grab-and-go boxes, (1 for each day) and contain a variety of soups, energy bars, snacks, drinks, and supplements.
The ease and convenience of the ProLon® meal program can reduce the chances of “falling off the bandwagon” because you have everything you need for the 5-day fast ready to go.
To sustain weight loss, it’s recommended that you do the 5-day fast once per month for 3 months.
5. The 5:2 Fasting Diet
The 5:2 weight loss fasting method is similar to the fast mimicking diet in that it slashes your calories to 500-600 during the fasting period.
However, these meals aren’t optimized for keeping your body in a fasting state.
On the 5:2 fasting diet you fast for two days per week and eat normally for the other five. You can choose which days to fast. If you struggle with hunger on the fasting days, it can be a good idea to space them between “eating” days.
6. Eat Stop Eat
The eat “eat stop eat” weight loss fasting method is almost identical to the 5:2 method, where you fast for two days per week (of your choosing) and eat as normal on the other 5.
However, with the “eat stop eat” approach you cut out all food on the fast days and only consume water and non-caloric beverages.
According to the creator of this method, the key to making it work is to behave like you didn’t fast. In other words, if you go all out after your fasts, you could easily eradicate any gains you made.
Just because you fasted for a day, does not mean you should eat a whole pizza in one sitting and wash it down with a large glass of soda. One Domino’s pizza can contain more calories than what the average woman should eat in a day, clocking in at 2,320 calories for a pizza with just pepperoni on it. Add a soda, and you could be pushing over the recommended calorie intake of a man.
7. The Warrior Diet
The warrior diet works on the principle that when humans were hunter-gathers they primarily ate their largest meal in the evening. While they were hunting and gathering, they might have eaten small amounts of foraged foodstuffs, but their main source of calories would have been the evening meal.
To mimic this, the warrior diet advocates that you restrict most of your eating to one meal, usually in the latter part of the day. However, you can eat small servings of fresh vegetables or fruit during your fast.
Another weight loss fasting method that’s similar to this is the OMAD diet, which stands for “One Meal A Day”.
Tips for Finding the Best Fasting for Weight Loss Method
As you can see there’s a variety of weight loss fasting methods to choose from. To find one that works best for your body you can experiment with different fasting periods and see which feels best.
You can also consult with a professional who can provide you with a tailored weight loss treatment program that may include fasting.
Always makes sure to nourish yourself during your eating windows and drink lots of water. The more healthy protein, healthy fats, and whole, fresh, foods you consume, the less likely you will be to crash during fasting periods.
Also, if you have ever struggled with an eating disorder, weight loss fasting is not recommended, as it can trigger cycles of restrictions and binge eating.
Lasting If you are a woman, keep a close eye on what fasting is doing to your hormones, and scale things back if you see any warning signs of hormone disruption.
Get Professional Weight Loss Fasting Guidance and Support
Are you trying to figure out which is the best weight loss fasting method for your body? If so we can help.
Dessert Wellness Center offers complete naturopathic and integrative medical care for a lifetime of wellness.
We are a one-stop shop for all your wellness needs. One of our areas of expertise is weight loss programs. We are current and up-to-date and combine best practices in the treatments we provide.
We also believe in spending as much time as necessary with each patient to truly set results in motion. Patients never feel rushed when they visit the Dessert Wellness Center in Tempe, AZ
Book a free discovery call today to kickstart your own uniquely tailored weight loss program. Throughout the program, we will monitor your metabolic rate to ensure that your metabolism is supported, and eroded.