The best aspect of IF has the flexibility to alter your fasting times. Some people like regimented times best, whilst others lead a busy lifestyle and want to change according to their plans. Neither is wrong, as long as it works for you, and it’s something you can use as a lifestyle plan in order to maintain those intermittent fasting results.
When doing my research on this, I didn’t even realise that it’s deemed flexible intermittent fasting. The aim is to eat healthy, clean and nutritious food within your eating window, but picking and choosing accordingly. The difference is altering your fasting times every day, however, you wish. Seems like a great plan to me!
I like to stick with the regular fasting times because that fits into my training and work schedule. I still get results and feel great; plus, I know this has become part of my lifestyle, and therefore, it is easy to do. I never feel deprived or lacking in anything. When I was on a calorie-controlled eating plan, I felt the complete opposite! Hands up if you are with me on that one? No wonder we never got results!
Fasting every day isn’t even necessary if it’s not your thing. Some people do prefer to fast for longer stretches, a couple of times a day. Or you can alter fasts to every second day. The choice is yours, and there are so many endless options to choose from! I would recommend trying a few different things before sticking to one.
Everyone responds differently to fasting. I would always try to aim for 20-hour fasts, several times a week. I had to stop this because my stomach couldn’t handle eating that much food in one sitting. I cope better with smaller amounts every few hours until fasting begins. That’s why 18–17 hours work well in my case. I get just enough time to eat little snacks and finish off with a relatively sized meal that satisfies. That’s not to say I don’t get hungry, though. I do like to drink my hydration fluids. That always helps to boost energy levels and also give me a bit of salt. Previous blood work did pick up deficient sodium levels. That’s why it’s essential that people who fast watch their salt levels. Hydration specific drinks with next to no calories do the trick. That’s pretty much my pre-workout regime.
