Intermittent fasting involves several options regarding your eating and fasting window. These are cited as ‘protocols.’ Though there are a number of different protocols, we are going to delve into the three most popular ones.
The 16/8 method
The 16/8 method is considered one of the most popular fasting routines. This fasting protocol provides you with the largest eating window and that’s why people feel comfortable starting with it. You can decide later whether or not you want to fast beyond 16 hours. However, 8 hours is really a satisfactory eating window that permits you to consume multiple nutritious meals.
Typically, you can fast for 16 hours a day and maintain a routine that lets you eat during the 8-hour eating window. However, the only concern here is that the studies have found that women might start to lose some strength to perform tasks after 14 hours and show some evident effects during their fasting hours.
The partial reason why it is easier for some people is that they usually modify their schedule by skipping breakfast and restraining themselves from having late-night snacks before bed. Many people prefer having beverages such as black coffee and tea while following this protocol. Also, you can go for the alternative way, where you can eat breakfast and lunch while skipping dinner.
The 20:4 AKA The Warrior Diet
You may witness that after maintaining the 16-hour fasting window for some time, you begin to get used to it. You will also be able to push the fasting time more and more. Gradually, you can find yourself accomplishing an 18 or 19-hour fasting window with ease. This happens mainly when people consider following The Warrior Diet which is also known as the 20:4 method.
In this method, you need to follow a fasting window of 20 hours and an eating window of 4 hours. This protocol lets you eat two meals or one big meal in a gap of a couple of hours along with an optional snack to consume more energy and nutrients.
The OMAD Diet
OMAD is an acronym that refers to the “One Meal a Day” method. In this method, you can eat only one meal a day, and you also need to finish the course within around an hour in order to fast for 23 hours a day. This is an excellent way for people who look to burn as much fat as possible by expanding the duration of fasting. Also, if you want to avoid worrying about your meals all throughout the day and prefer to eat just one large meal a day, this method can be useful to you.
However, The OMAD Diet can be an excessively lengthy fasting window for women, so it is better to consult your doctor before considering it.
