We’ve all heard about the major benefits of intermittent fasting, weight loss, improved digestion, increased mental clarity, and better sleep. I experienced these fantastic benefits during my 60 Day Intermittent Fasting experience.
After feeling that good, I was hooked!
The benefits are great; the rules seem to be straightforward, what could go wrong? I will share 6 of the most common mistakes made during intermittent fasting, so you can accelerate your results and stay on track!
6 Common Intermittent Fasting Mistakes
1) Doing Too Much Too Soon
If you eat every 2 – 3 hours and wake up hungry for breakfast, your body will need time to adapt to fasting. Start small with an overnight fast with your last meal – dinner at 7 pm and breakfast at 8 am. That’s already a 13-hour window where you are not eating, and your body is burning calories. Gradually increase your fasting time by cutting out snacks in the afternoon, which creates an additional fasting window. Have lunch at 1 pm, and then dinner again at 7 pm. Experiment with what works for your lifestyle, and know that it takes time to embrace a new habit.
2) Picking The Wrong Plan
Many Intermittent Fasting programs are available, but you have to choose the right one for your body and lifestyle. Listen to my podcast #38: The Beginner’s Guide To Intermittent Fasting In Midlife, for a full list of Intermittent Fasting plans. For a newbie, faster, the wrong plan can be hugely challenging and even unhealthy. You want to pick a plan that starts with baby steps of smaller windows that adapt to you. Check out the Pursue Your Spark Blueprint with Intermittent Fasting that includes easy-to-follow action steps where we take all the guesswork out for you!
3) Giving Up Too Soon
Intermittent Fasting is a lifestyle change, and the initial symptoms of headaches, hunger, and loss of energy are only temporary. After about a week or two, you will start to feel the benefits of Intermittent Fasting, such as clarity, less focus on food, and a ton more energy. So pick smaller fasting windows and stick with them for at least a month to experience the benefits before widening your time frames.
4) Not Hydrating Enough
Drinking water, herbal teas, and broths will help with the initial hunger pangs. You will feel full much faster, plus, including soup or slightly salted water (I use Himalayan salt) will increase and replenish electrolytes that you naturally lose during fasting. Drinking a large amount of liquid comes naturally to me, as I need to keep hydrated during my training. Encourage your fluid intake by keeping a fun and cute water bottle on your desk and marking it down each time you finish a full bottle.
5) Not Eating Enough
As we get used to the process of fasting, we may not feel hungry during meal times and might even under-eat. Remember to eat balanced meals during your feeding time and eat until you are 80% full. You need to intake enough calories and nutrients so that you can function at work and in life!
6) Using Fasting to Indulge
Intermittent Fasting is not intended so that you can gorge yourself with unhealthy foods later. It’s about creating a healthy relationship with food and emotional food triggers. Rewarding yourself with a hot fudge sundae or several glasses of wine because you fasted so well is NOT the intention here. This is not to say that you can’t have a treat every now and again, but eating lots of lean protein, healthy fats, vegetables, some fruit, and whole grains, will give your body the energy it needs to perform and function at its peak.
Avoiding these 6 common intermittent fasting mistakes will have you well on your way to a healthy and balanced approach to Intermittent Fasting and to gain all of the proven benefits.
