Here’s Why Intermittent Fasting 16/8 is a No-Brainer on Keto!
You may be surprised at how easily intermittent fasting 16/8 can fit into your keto lifestyle.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a highly effective way to improve your health, support optimal brain function, and keep you on track towards meeting your weight loss and fitness goals.
When your body isn’t burdened with the task of digestion, it’s able to clear out the damaged cells and create new ones. This detox process is called autophagy, and it reduces inflammation, prevents neurodegenerative diseases, and even increases longevity.
Hip tip: New to IF? Our registered dietician answers your most-asked questions!
Intermittent fasting goes hand in hand with eating keto, and many keto peeps incorporate this research-supported method of eating into their fat-fueled lifestyle.
If you’re thinking about giving intermittent fasting a try, you might start by researching the different IF plans and choose the one that best suits your lifestyle. OR… if you’ve been eating keto for a while, you might take a look at your eating schedule and realize that you’ve already started on the path toward IF without even knowing it!
One of the most popular approaches to intermittent fasting is the 16/8 method.
This schedule involves restricting your eating to an 8-hour window of time and then fasting for the rest of the day. If you’re currently eating keto and thinking about trying IF, the 16/8 schedule could be a very easy transition for you!
Once you’ve become keto-adapted, your appetite decreases naturally and you may find that you need to remind yourself to eat throughout the day. It’s not uncommon to go for longer stretches of time between meals without noticing. You may even realize that you’ve missed an entire meal or two!
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting 16/8?
There are so many reasons that people do intermittent fasting and lots of different ways to do it. The benefits of IF can vary from person to person based on their individual goals and the guidelines they establish for themselves. Here are just some of the health benefits you may see as a result of IF:
- weight loss
- lower inflammation
- improved cognitive function
- lower blood pressure
- blood sugar control
- better metabolic health
- faster entry into ketosis
How do I get started with intermittent fasting 16/8?
The easiest way to start this method of IF is to skip breakfast and have your first meal later in the day. This would still allow you to eat your lunch and dinner on a normal schedule and keep all of your eating between the hours of 12 PM and 8 PM, or whatever 8-hour time frame works best for you.
A day of intermittent fasting on the 16/8 plan might look something like this:
- Skip breakfast, but be sure to stay hydrated with lots of water. Prevailing wisdom says that coffee is OK too! More on that later…
- Break your fast by having your first meal of the day around noon.
- Enjoy healthy, keto-friendly snacks as needed throughout your feeding window.
- Eat dinner and even a keto-friendly dessert if that sounds good to you! Just be sure to finish eating by 8 PM.
- Repeat this schedule the following day.
It’s such a simple plan, and a very easy schedule to follow! It doesn’t hurt that you’ll be sleeping for a big chunk of your fasting window too, so a significant portion of your fast will just fly by.
One of the countless benefits of eating keto is that it makes transitioning to intermittent fasting so easy. If you’re already fueling your body with fat-centric, satisfying meals that are part of a healthy ketogenic diet, fasting will feel much more comfortable during your waking hours too. You’ll reap all the benefits of IF without suffering from hunger.
It’s easy to see how IF fits naturally into a keto eating plan, and why so many keto peeps embrace this way of eating!
Hip tip: Try these tricks for staying on track during a keto fast.
Can I drink coffee during my fast?
One of the first questions usually asked about skipping breakfast is, “But, what about my morning coffee?” For the folks who would rather miss a meal than their morning cuppa joe, we feel ya! There’s some good news, though: The short answer is yes, you can drink coffee without breaking your fast!
If you’re fasting for the purpose of weight loss, metabolic health, longevity, or disease prevention, studies have shown that you can drink coffee without reducing the benefits of your fast. Coffee is not recommended for anyone who is fasting specifically for the benefit of gut rest though, because drinking coffee does trigger some digestive functions.
Will intermittent fasting 16/8 work for me?
For many keto peeps, the 16/8 approach to intermittent fasting is the easiest, most sustainable method of IF to integrate into their lifestyle. Unlike extreme calorie restriction, this form of moderate calorie restriction paired with healthy keto eating is a practice that’s actually good for your metabolism!
Hip tip: If you find that 16/8 IF doesn’t work for you, check out these other popular IF plans!
As always, it’s best to check with your doctor before changing your approach to health and wellness. It’s really important to make sure that you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs during your feeding windows. If you find that you’re struggling with this, you can always alternate IF days with days of unrestricted eating, or build in one or two days a week where you take a break from IF.
Overall, intermittent fasting 16/8 is widely accepted as being a safe, effective, and powerful tool for improving your health. Fasting doesn’t need to be intimidating, and many people find this to be a completely painless approach. In fact, if you take a look at your existing eating patterns, you may realize that you’re already well on your way to IF!
Want to give it a try? Take our fasting challenge. You got this! 💪
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