5 Intermittent Fasting Tips That Make Eat Stop Eat Fasts Easier & More Effective
It’s been a while since I first started implementing Eat Stop Eat style fasting into my weekly routine. I can still remember my first impressions of fasting to lose weight and how I thought that this was a crazy diet concept. Since then, I’ve found a few fasting tips to make this diet my lifestyle and an easy way to lose weight.
I really believe that it is best devote a block of time to workout consistently and to eat right in order to get into great shape. Once you do this then you can set your life on cruise control and stay in great shape for the rest of your life. Although this is how I live my life, that doesn’t mean that every now and then it’s time to turn it up and catch back up to where I was a month or two or three ago.
Getting in shape, losing weight and/or building muscle is not supposed to be an all-or-nothing approach. If you’ve ever tried this then you’ll agree that eventually things come up and you fall off course.
I have found that intermittent fasting is a great way to get ultra-lean or to simply maintain your weight while still enjoying the foods you love. I have also found that there are some fasting tips that make Eat Stop Eat more enjoyable, easier to follow and even more effective.
5 Fasting Tips That Will Help
One quick clarification: The type of fasting tips that I’m talking about here are for intermittent fasting.
These tips are not meant for long periods of fasting (more than 24 hours) and if you’ve read Eat Stop Eat you’ll know that when it comes to weight loss, the positive effects of fasting decrease considerably after the first 24 hours.
Tip #1 – Don’t dismiss fasting too soon.
This is possibly one of the most important fasting tips. It is suggested that you give intermittent fasting at least 2-3 weeks before you decide it’s not for you. For me personally, it didn’t even take that long before it was easy.
Tip #2 – Work your way up
Like most things in life it can be challenging to jump into something. Just like quitting cold-turkey is hard for some, jumping into a 24 hour fast can be hard.
Try your first fast by simply delaying breakfast for an hour or two and go from there. If you are one who skips breakfast on occasion, try delaying your lunch by an hour or two.
Tip #3 – Drink plenty of fluids
I’ve seen a lot of questions on whether or not you should drink coffee or tea during your fasting period. My answer: absolutely. I usually start my fast day out with a cup of black coffee. By mid afternoon I’ve downed a few cups of Good Earth’s Super Green Tea — my favorite — and a lot of water.
One important thing to remember — or shall I say, an important fasting tip — is to not use cream or sugar or honey. The key to make the fast do what it’s supposed to do is to not ingest any calories.
Tip #4 – Keep busy
One of the things that helps me the most is to stay busy. What is one of the most common things for us to do when we’re sitting down in front of the TV? It’s eating, right. Keep active, get stuff done, don’t think that you need to take it easy because you’re fasting.
Tip #5 – Find a time that works for you
Another one of the important fasting tips is to figure out what works for you. I like to make my last meal before the fast at 6pm so that I can sleep and work through basically the entire fasting period.
The author of Eat Stop Eat likes to fast from 2pm – 2pm — whatever works for you is what you’ll be able to stick to.
Bonus Fasting Tips To Lose More Weight
Bonus Fasting Tip – Don’t waste all your effort
It can be easy to feel like you should “reward” yourself after fasting all day. Yes, you should reward yourself by not eating too much and by eating good food.
The whole idea behind Eat Stop Eat fasting is to create a massive calorie deficit throughout the week. If you stuff your face with an entire day’s worth of calories than you just wasted your previous 24 hours of fasting.
If you can eat healthy during the fed state then you will see much greater results from this diet. Whether or not you follow any of the previous fasting tips or not, you should definitely listen to this one.
No diet is magic. If you eat too much food or eat too much bad food then even fasting won’t make you lose weight. If you can eat the right amounts of food — even some less than ideal foods — you can make intermittent fasting work for you.
For more information about this type of intermittent fasting, checkout the Eat Stop Eat diet.
Do you have some other fasting tips that you’ve found to be beneficial? Why not share them in the comment section below.
Tim
October 12, 2011 @ 12:27 pm
One of my biggest challenges with Eat Stop Eat was not eating a huge meal coming off a fast. I just wanted to eat anything I could get my hands on after a 24 hour fast. You need to find a way to avoid this, as this will prolong your weight loss. Another tip is to start by doing an 18 hour fast and then every week up it 1 hour until you get to 24 hours. Once you hit 24 hours then add in a 2nd day in the week and start at 18 hours working the 2nd day up to 24 hours.
Kevin
October 12, 2011 @ 12:45 pm
Definitely some good tips, thanks Tim!
Dave - Not Your Average Fitness Tips
October 16, 2011 @ 11:45 am
Nice tips on implementing Eat Stop Eat. It took me 4-5 times to get used to intermittent fasting, but since then it’s been a breeze. I think the key is keeping busy and not surrounding yourself with temptations. For me, it’s easiest to skip breakfast and lunch at work 1-2 days per week. I’d have trouble doing that at home I think.
matthew topheles
April 28, 2013 @ 11:59 pm
Hi, I don’t really diet or work out or even count calories and I have jumped straight into the Eat Stop Eat diet. I’m doing 24 hours every other day (I know its only supposed to be 1-2 a week but dam it I demand results, is that bad?) and its easy so far however, although I don’t over eat any more than I did before my diet, I’m still eating cheeseburgers and a slices of cake on my feeding day, will I see results at all if i continue to fast?