Fasting Mistakes

6 Common Fasting Mistakes

Here are some of the common fasting mistakes I hear when people have told me “I’ve fasted before, and it didn’t work for me”

Mistake: Inconsistency

One of the most common fasting mistakes is inconsistency. You don’t have to stick to a strict 18:6 eating window and the same meal times every day. That is the highly popularized way of intermittent fasting found on the internet. To be consistent, you need to allow yourself space to be flexible because life never goes as we planned, therefore, we need a method that will allow for last-minute changes while still guaranteeing results. So, “how should I be doing this?”, you might ask.

First off, you need to get into the mindset that fasting is a lifestyle and that begins with building the habit. The easiest way to build a habit is to make it fit seamlessly into our lives because then it becomes part of our “autopilot” regimen. Much like we don’t think about the route we take to work, where we eat our lunch, the bills we need to pay, your fasting schedule should also be something you don’t have to think about. Plan out your weekly schedule. We know there are some days that are busier than other, some days you have regular social events, and some days that are meant for rest. Once you figure out your non-food-related schedule, then add in your mealtimes to fit around it! This doesn’t have to follow an eating window. It can be anytime, and you can choose to eat between 0-3 meals per day depending on your goals. For example, every Monday is my busiest work day so I find it super helpful to be able to fast all day, leave work at 4pm and eat one massive meal at 5pm. I also know that 3 times a week I do yoga so I will want to eat twice on those days, and on Saturday I have lunch with my family which means I will eat a minimum of one meal for sure. So, decide the schedule that fits your lifestyle, and then make it a habit. Sure, it may feel awkward for the first few weeks, but they it will just become another part of your autopilot routine!

Once you’ve got into the habit of implementing fasting into your day-to-day life, it becomes a lot easier to navigate those days when you have to switch you schedule around because you had a last-minute lunch meeting, or you forgot you lunch at home. Similarly, if you want to make sure you maintain your weight during a vacation or if you want to look extra good for an upcoming wedding, you simply need to tweak your original schedule, rather than come up with something brand new.

Mistake: Not Fasting Enough

I’ve heard people say, “I’ve fasted 16 hour for 4 days, and I’m still nowhere near my goal weight” or “fasting doesn’t work for me.” Well, think of it in terms of fitness, if you went to the gym four times over an entire year would you expect to see a change? Probably not. The same goes for fasting. Body fat is a very efficient store of calories therefore, you need plenty of time to burn it off. If your goal is weight loss, the general rule is that it takes 1 day of fasting to burn half a pound of fat. A 20-pound weight loss would need somewhere around 40 days of fasting. If you don’t intend on changing your diet you should strive to follow a minimum of the 24-hour protocol three times a week.

Please note the more intense your fasting is doesn’t mean you will get better results. It’s possible to fast too much and get mentally fatigued from the process. Think of it as a marathon, and not a sprint. I would suggest pacing yourself and allowing a combination of different intensity fasts and what is realistic for you. When people fast too much, they often limit themselves socially. We want you to be living a balanced life therefore, the best way is to work it into the other parts of your life.

Mistake: Combining Fasting with Calorie Restriction

Some people think that they can double their results from fasting by also incorporating calorie restriction into the mix. When they break their fast, instead of listening to their body and eating until they feel full, they deliberately try to eat less. This makes fasting much more challenging and can make the process really mentally unhealthy. When you fast, your body fuels itself on body fat. When you eat, your body uses the energy in your food. When you eat, the body naturally produces satiety signals (the feeling of being full) to tell you when to stop eating. If you deliberately stop yourself from eating before you are full, your body may slow its metabolism to cope with the reduced energy availability. This means that you will get less benefits from your fasting efforts. Fasting is quite a simple equation: when you are eating, eat until you are full. When you are not eating. don’t eat.

Mistake: Too Much Consistency

Sounds confusing, right? First we said be consistent and now we’re saying too much consistency is not ideal? You need consistency in the beginning, but when you do the same thing over and over again, your body will adapt. The same thing is seen in exercise! If you do the same fast all the time, your body will eventually reach a steady state because it knows what to expect.

There are lots of ways to mix things up. One simple way of mixing things up is to use a longer fasting period once in a while.

If you have been doing a 16 or 18 hour fast daily, try extending a few to 24 hours a few times a week
If you have been doing 24 hours fasting, then try extending a few to 36 or 42 hour fasts
This also means if you’ve been doing 24 hour fasting consistently, then change it back to a 16 or 18 hour fast!

Mistake: Sweeteners

Avoid sweeteners – This includes stevia and sugar alcohols. The sweetness will stimulate appetite and make fasting much more challenging than it needs to be. Sweeteners, even the zero-calorie ones such as stevia, signals the body to store fat.

Mistake: Snacking

We’re so use to snacking throughout the day because we’ve been told eating small amount of food with low calories is healthy. However, ‘Grazing’ like this throughout the day is only normal if you are a cow. The humans does not work that way. Our bodies are built around cycles and the one about fat storing is regulated by feeding and fasting. Think back to the age old advice of eating 3 full meals a day and no snacks; it was the common practice and no one struggled!