3 Mistakes Beginners Make With Intermittent Fasting and How To Avoid Them
Intro - What Is Intermittent Fasting?
So most people hear intermittent fasting and they think it is one of those food restricting diets where they have to go to the store read all of the labels or they think they have to starve themselves and I’m here to tell you that is not the case. Intermittent fasting, or IF for short, is an eating pattern where you cycle between being in a fasted state and having an eating window. So in simple terms it is more about WHEN you eat, not necessarily what you eat.
If you’re just getting started, click here for a Free Intermittent Fasting Guide that explains 14 of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Problem 1: You’re Trying To Fit Your Lifestyle Around Your Intermittent Fasting Routine
The first mistake most people make is trying to fit your lifestyle around a routine. This is going to make it more difficult to start. You’re already attempting something new, so don’t change your lifestyle drastically off the bat to start something that you’re not use to doing.
Solution 1: Find The Best Intermittent Fasting Routine For You
There are multiple methods to incorporate intermittent fasting into your life such as the 16:8, 5:2, and OMAD which means One Meal A Day.
I prefer the 16:8 method. This is where you fast for 16 hours of your day and have an 8 hour eating window. I like to start my fast at 10PM and then I will break my fast at 2PM the next day.
If you’re new to this you might be thinking, “Wow, 16 hours without eating?” Well the beauty of this method is that most of the time 8 of those 16 hours of fasting are while you are sleeping.
If you’re still thinking it’s not possible, don’t worry, solution number 2 is going to help you out with that.
Problem #2: You Are Rushing Into Your New Intermittent Fasting Routine
The next mistake people make is after they find the routine that is going to work with their lifestyle, they rush into it.
So I come from a gymnastics background specifically trampolines. Before learning multiple flips and twists, we learned the basics and progressions leading up to the bigger tricks. When you begin with intermittent fasting, you might not want to jump straight into a 16 hour fast as it might shock your system and cause some problems in the beginning and making it harder to stick with it.
Solution #2: Ease Into Your New Intermittent Fasting Routine
What you want to do is ease into whichever routine you choose for yourself. For example, if you’re going to do 16:8 like I do, maybe start with just a 12 hour fast for the first few days and tack on an hour every so often so you can get use to your new routine until you hit your desired fasting length.
Intermittent Fasting will be easier to sustain once you get into the swing of it. Take it slow in the beginning.
Problem #3: Changing Fasting Length/Breaking Consistency
The third mistake people make is breaking consistency and not fasting long enough. So once you get into the swing of things, you might actually find yourself fasting for longer than you normally do. Now this might not seem like a problem, but don’t let it be an excuse to prolong your eating window as well and then in return, shortening your next fast.
Solution #3: Starting Your Fast At The Same Time
Like I said earlier, I normally start my fast at 10PM and break it at 2PM. If I decided to fast for longer one day and say break it at 4PM, I’m still going to close my eating window at 10PM that night. This is the easiest way I’ve found to stay consistent so if you fast for longer one day, that’s not a problem! Just get your meals in and then close your eating window at the time you normally do.
Recap
When you first start your intermittent fasting journey, you want to find the routine that works best for you, ease into that routine, and then make sure you stay consistent!
If you are new to intermittent fasting or want to get started, check out The BeneFitters 30 Day Challenge. We have a community of people that will be there to help guide you along the way during your journey.