What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is a powerful dietary approach that has gained immense popularity recently for its potential health benefits and weight management effects. Rather than focusing on what you eat, intermittent fasting centres on when you eat, cycling between eating and fasting. This comprehensive guide will delve into intermittent fasting, explore various fasting methods, and provide practical tips for starting.
Intermittent fasting is not a diet; rather, it is a pattern of eating. It involves alternating periods of eating and fasting to extend the body's natural fasting period, known as the fasting window. This approach allows the body to access stored fat for energy, leading to potential weight loss, improved metabolic health, and other health benefits.
You're probably already doing it — sleeping is a form of fasting, and is even how "breakfast" earned its name (break-fast).
Is Intermittent Fasting Natural and Safe?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and voluntary fasting on a regular schedule. It makes sense when you consider how our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived. They often went for extended periods without food, so our bodies evolved to survive long stretches between meals. Today, food is everywhere, and modern eating habits aren't in sync with that evolution. By fasting intermittently, we tap into benefits for health, disease protection, and weight management.
Why Intermittent Fasting?
Several studies confirm that intermittent fasting can support weight management and promote a healthy body.
Weight Loss Benefits
- One of the most efficient ways to lose weight — without extreme diets or cutting out entire food groups.
- You typically keep the same weekly calories; only the timing changes, so no intimidating diet overhaul.
- It's simple and generally easier to stick with than conventional dieting.
Healthy Living Benefits
- Lowers blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease.1
- Improves (lowers) insulin resistance, which helps prevent type 2 diabetes and improves brain health.2,3
- Increases autophagy, your body's natural recycling system for damaged or old cells to rebuild new ones.4
- Is typically associated with better nutrition and reduced energy intake (even without intentional calorie restriction), and thus improved metabolic health.5,6
Fed vs. Fasting State
In the fed state (or "absorptive state"), after a meal, most tissues store ingested glucose. Skeletal muscle relies on insulin for this process, which rises in response to the increased glucose. Other tissues (the liver, brain, and red blood cells) store insulin independently of insulin levels. The incoming glucose is used for energy and to store extra fuel for later as glycogen (mostly in skeletal muscle and the liver). When the glycogen stores are full, the excess glucose is converted to free fatty acids and stored as fat. It's an "anabolic state", in simple terms, the "storage and synthesis" mode, and fat burning is reduced while nutrients are being absorbed. At this time, proteins are also synthesized from amino acids in eaten protein.7
There is also a transition period after eating, before full fasting begins, when the body is still working through recently absorbed nutrients. During this window, insulin is gradually falling as glucose levels fall and the body shifts away from immediate storage toward using stored energy.8
In the fasting state (or "post-absorptive state"), glucose drops and the body increasingly draws on stored fuel, including stored glycogen and fat, for energy and to maintain blood glucose levels.9 This is a "catabolic state", when the body is in breakdown (of glycogen and fat) and release mode. That switch toward fat use is one reason intermittent fasting can help with weight management: it creates regular periods when the body has lower insulin and greater access to stored energy.
The Popular Intermittent Fasting Methods
There are several popular methods of intermittent fasting:
- 16/8 method: Also known as the Leangains protocol, this involves fasting for 16 hours each day and consuming all daily calories within an 8-hour eating window.
- 8-6 plan: Eat only between 8 am and 6 pm. You still enjoy three meals, and you fast 14 hours overnight — perfect for first-time fasters.
- 5:2 diet: This approach involves eating regularly five days a week and significantly reducing calorie intake (around 500-600 calories) on two fasting days, which can be non-consecutive or successive.
- Eat-Stop-Eat: In this method, you fast for 24 hours once or twice a week.
- Alternate-day fasting: This approach involves alternating between regular eating and fasting days, where you consume very few calories or none.
- The Warrior Diet: This method involves a 20-hour fasting window followed by a 4-hour eating window daily.
How to Intermittent Fast: Getting Started
Getting started with intermittent fasting can be both exciting and challenging. Follow these steps to ease into the fasting routine:
- Start with the 16/8 method: This method is the most straightforward and is generally well-tolerated by most individuals.
- Avoid overeating during eating windows: Intermittent fasting is not an excuse to consume unhealthy or excessive amounts of food during your eating periods.
- Prioritize nutrient-rich foods: Opt for whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, and abundant fruits and vegetables to fuel your body correctly.
- Be patient: It may take a few weeks for your body to adapt to intermittent fasting fully, so be patient and allow time for adjustment.
Handling Hunger & Staying on Track
Going 12+ hours without eating can feel daunting. Here are tips to overcome hunger and maintain your energy:
A Balanced, Quality Diet
Stick to whole foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs. Avoid refined carbs (white bread, pizza dough, pasta) that burn quickly and leave you hungry sooner.
Naturally Control Appetite
Natural supplements like Calocurb® — a 100% plant-based hops extract — can help manage hunger, curb cravings, and maintain focus during fasting.
Stay Active & Hydrated
Light exercise can distract from hunger and speed up fat burning. Drink plenty of water — hunger pangs are often dehydration in disguise.
Hunger Comes in Waves
Hunger isn't continuous — it will come in waves, peaking at times and then reducing. At those times when it peaks, it is helpful to have a drink of water or a cup of coffee to help you power through. Taking Calocurb an hour before your hunger typically peaks will help you quell it.
Keep Your Fast Under Wraps
Not everyone will understand fasting and what you can get out of it. Sometimes people will be quite discouraging. Having support during a fast is important.
Fit Fasting Into Your Lifestyle
Fasting is easy to adjust to fit into your lifestyle. Arrange your fast to fit into your social, work, or exercise schedule — adjust it to fit into your life, not the other way around.
7-Day 16:8 Intermittent Fasting Meal Plan
"It's not our fault we are overweight. Society has evolved, yet the primal brain tells us to find food and to eat it because we were developed for famine. The thought that people lack willpower and can't do it when it's actually part of evolution."
Sarah Kennedy, Founder and CEO, Calocurb (The Business Desk)
We've put together a 7-day intermittent fasting meal plan to help take that stress off you. These meals and snacks are easy to throw together, so don't worry about following any recipes; you can whip up most of them in under 30 minutes.
| Day | 12 PM | 3 PM | 6 PM |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | Chicken and vegetable stir-fry with brown rice | Greek yogurt with berries and nuts | Grilled salmon with roasted sweet potato and broccoli |
| Two | Avocado toast with poached eggs and a side salad | Apple slices with almond butter | Chicken mince chili with mixed veggies |
| Three | Tuna salad with mixed greens and whole-grain crackers | Carrots and hummus | Baked chicken with quinoa and roasted asparagus |
| Four | Omelette with spinach, mushrooms, and feta cheese | Pear slices with string cheese | Grilled flank steak with roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts |
| Five | Quinoa salad with roasted vegetables and grilled chicken | Cottage cheese with sliced peaches and walnuts | Grilled shrimp with quinoa and mixed veggies |
| Six | Grilled chicken wrap with avocado and mixed greens | Hard-boiled egg with celery sticks | Roasted pork loin with roasted sweet potato and green beans |
| Seven | Black bean and vegetable soup with whole-grain bread | Banana with almond butter | Baked salmon with quinoa and roasted asparagus |
This meal plan is for a 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule, which means fasting for 16 hours a day (i.e., 8 pm – 12 pm) and eating during an 8-hour window (12 pm – 8 pm). It is just a general guide. Remember to limit sugary and alcoholic drinks, as they can add unnecessary calories and disrupt your fasting schedule. Stick to water, herbal tea, and low-calorie drinks like sparkling water and kombucha for optimal hydration and health benefits.
How Calocurb Can Help During Intermittent Fasting
Calocurb contains Amarasate®, a bitter extract derived from hop flowers that causes bitter taste receptors on the cells lining your gut to release three powerful "stop eating" hormones: glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1, yes, that GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), and peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY). Years of clinical research and multiple human studies published in medical journals have demonstrated that Amarasate raises these three hormones sufficiently to reduce calorie intake.10,11,12 Two of those studies were in people undergoing 24-hour water fasts; in men, Amarasate reduced overall hunger by 20%, and in women, overall hunger and cravings were reduced by even more: 30% and 40%, respectively.13,14
Calocurb is taken an hour before a meal that you want to eat less at, OR an hour before hunger occurs at a time where you're trying to avoid eating at all. That means you can use it with different types of intermittent fasting.
- 16/8: If you find it hard to fast until the start of your eating period, take Calocurb as soon as you awake to reduce your hunger and food noise for a few hours.
- 8-6: If you're getting late-night hunger pangs, take Calocurb an hour before they typically occur.
- 5:2: On the days that you're eating a very low-calorie diet, take Calocurb an hour before your peak hunger times (e.g., to avoid overeating at your evening meal).
- Eat Stop Eat: Take a dose of Calocurb around 12 pm and then another around 6 pm to help control hunger.
Always take Calocurb with a full glass of water, on an empty stomach. It's fine to have it after a drink of tea or coffee, though.
Natural fasting support
Make your fasting window easier with Calocurb
Calocurb's plant-based Amarasate® activates your body's "stop eating" hormones — GLP-1, CCK, and PYY — to reduce hunger and cravings so you can stay in your fasting window without the struggle.
Beginner's Intermittent Fasting Checklist
- Consult your doctor. Fasting isn't for everyone (underweight individuals, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and those on certain medications should seek guidance).
- Prepare for hunger. Plan whole-food meals, schedule activities to stay busy, and consider a natural supplement like Calocurb to help manage cravings.
- Find support. Join fasting communities or explore fasting resources for inspiration.
- Maintain healthy habits. Continue exercising, stay hydrated with water, tea, or coffee, and prioritize quality sleep.
The Future of Your Health Starts with Intermittent Fasting
By responsibly incorporating intermittent fasting into your lifestyle — and supporting it with the right tools — you can unlock the potential for a healthier, more energetic you. Sustainable changes and patience are key to long-term success on your intermittent fasting journey.
