An overview of intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting, also known as alternate-day fasting or intermittent fasting, enables you to lose weight healthily and is therefore significantly different from longer fasting cures or crash diets. In addition, alternating fasting is easy to integrate into your daily routine once you have found the right intermittent fasting method for you. But what is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting involves going without food and calorie-dense drinks for certain periods of time (days or hours). There are different methods of intermittent fasting, where different fasting intervals are followed, such as the 16:8, the 5:2, the alternating fasting and the 2-day diet.
16:8 intermittent fasting
With the 16:8 method, you fast for 16 hours and have 8 hours to eat. You do this by simply skipping one meal, either breakfast or dinner.
With 5:2 fasting, you eat normally for 5 days and fast for 2 non-consecutive days. Alternating fasting describes the alternation of fasting and eating days (e.g. fast on Monday, eat on Tuesday, fast on Wednesday, etc.). The 2-day diet is similar to the 5:2 diet, except that the two fasting days follow each other directly.
If you want to live a healthy life and prevent long-term consequences that often arise from an unhealthy diet, then intermittent fasting may be just the thing for you – plus, you'll lose a few extra pounds.
Intermittent fasting enables long-term and healthy weight loss. It has been proven that something like a recycling program for the cells takes place during fasting. This process is called “autophagy”. Among other things, this process is also extremely beneficial for the intestinal flora. If you have conditions such as low blood pressure, chronic illnesses, high insulin levels or a metabolic disorder such as type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, you should consult your doctor before starting intermittent fasting.
As interval fasting suggests, regular breaks from eating are observed. During these breaks, you should not eat any solid food. There are different methods and times for this.
Interval fasting - Learn more now
Interval fasting – What can I do wrong with intermittent fasting?
Actually, intermittent fasting is simple and is also called therapeutic fasting. You don't have to count your calorie intake. However, there are certain rules that must be followed in order to lose weight. After all, we all want to lose some belly fat. The most common mistakes during the fasting period are:
- Not doing any exercise
- Not eating a healthy diet
- Not drinking enough
- Too much stress
1. impatience when losing weight or setting the bar too high when intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is not a crash diet! It can take up to three weeks before the first visible effects appear. The body needs time to get used to the new diet.
Intermittent fasting is a gentle and healthy way to lose weight.
In contrast to fad diets, which promise rapid weight loss, the weight loss achieved through intermittent fasting is long-lasting.
We often make the mistake of demanding more of our bodies than they can actually provide.
Healthy weight loss without starving – tips and recipes
How long does it take to lose weight with intermittent fasting?
How long it takes for intermittent fasting to lose weight varies from person to person.
The body usually needs two to three weeks to get used to the new diet. Only then will you start to see the first results.
2. Too little exercise or sport
To lose weight successfully, diet is not the only important factor. You should also do two to three 30- to 40-minute exercise sessions per week (Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health – WHO 1). What type of sport you do is less important. The only thing that matters is that you find a sport that you also enjoy.
Effective fat burning starts faster with endurance sports like swimming, jogging or cycling. The muscle mass gained requires more energy and helps you lose weight effectively.
Losing weight – Why am I not losing weight despite intermittent fasting?
There may be several reasons why you are not losing weight despite intermittent fasting.
Unhealthy food, too little exercise and insufficient fluid intake make weight loss more difficult. Equally, a balanced diet should not be forgotten.
Even if you don't eat for 16 hours, you can still gain weight instead of losing weight if you eat the wrong meals.
3. Too few or too many calories during the fasting period
Many people make the mistake of continuing to eat normally during the eating phase without paying attention to what they eat. Fast food or sweets are not a taboo, but if you want to lose weight, they should be rarely consumed.
Therefore, make sure you eat as healthily as possible during intermittent fasting.
In addition to consuming too many calories, not consuming enough calories can also be the reason for a lack of success. Your body then retains fat reserves for protection. Digestion is slowed down by not eating and fat burning is stopped.
The calorie calculator can help you determine your daily calorie requirement to avoid the described mistake when intermittent fasting.
Calorie calculator – calculate your calorie requirement
4. Unhealthy foods and nutrition
Health and nutrition are closely related. To achieve the greatest success with intermittent fasting, it is recommended to avoid unhealthy foods.
Make sure to only integrate the following foods into your diet to a moderate extent:
- white flour products
- meat and sausage products
- sugar
- ready meals
- soft drinks
- sweets and crisps
Instead, you should eat wholegrain products, complex carbohydrates and protein-rich foods. These provide the body with sufficient energy for successful intermittent fasting. Permitted fluids are calorie-free drinks and black coffee.
5. Not enough sleep with intermittent fasting
Getting enough sleep is important for 2 metabolism and promotes the reduction of body fat. While we sleep, the body can go without food for a long time.
This is due to the hormone leptin, which triggers satiety. In contrast, ghrelin 3 causes the feeling of hunger.
If you don't get enough sleep, your body produces less leptin and you may experience ravenous hunger attacks.
This makes you feel hungry even though your body doesn't need any energy at that moment. So make sure you get between six and eight hours of sleep a night.
Read all about intermittent fasting now
6. The wrong fasting method for your lifestyle
Intermittent fasting can be easily integrated into your daily routine, provided it fits your lifestyle. The 16:8 intermittent fasting method consists of 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating.
You can organize the 8 hours in which you are allowed to eat as you like. Depending on what is easier for you, you can either skip breakfast or dinner. For example, some people find it easier to skip dinner and start the next day with a healthy breakfast. But you can also enjoy your first meal at 10 a.m. and your last meal at 6 p.m.
In addition to the 16:8 method, there is also the 5:2 method as another form of intermittent fasting. This involves eating normally for five days and almost completely fasting for two days. Here you can slowly reduce your calorie intake from 1000 calories per day to just 500 calories during the fasting phase. So 5 days of normal eating, 2 days of fasting.
Some people find it easier to skip breakfast instead of dinner. The best results can be achieved by using the method that suits you best.
Dinner-Cancelling - another fasting method
7. Counterproductive stress
Stress causes our body to fall into a kind of state of emergency. In doing so, the body produces large amounts of the stress hormone cortisol.
This hormone causes blood sugar levels to rise, promoting the formation of fat cells on the one hand and the breakdown of muscle on the other. It can also lead to the unwanted yo-yo effect.
Your body needs quickly available energy in stressful situations, which is why it attacks the muscles that are needed to lose weight.
8. Water – lack of fluids as a common mistake when losing weight
As with other fasting methods and diets, drinking plenty is the key to successful weight loss. It's best to drink two to three liters of water or unsweetened tea throughout the day.
Drinking during meal breaks reduces the feeling of hunger and promotes the excretion of toxins.
Your body needs fluids to function optimally. If you find it difficult to keep an eye on the amount of fluids you consume, a so-called fitness tracker can help you.
9. Not being consistent when fasting
Discipline is needed for intermittent fasting. Those who reach for sweets or crisps after a few hours reduce their chances of losing weight with this method of fasting.
Especially at the beginning, when your biorhythm is all over the place and you are racked with hunger in the evening, it can be hard to persevere.
As a rule, the body quickly gets used to the new diet and the hunger pangs subside.
10. Seeing intermittent fasting as a diet
The typical mistake in thinking about intermittent fasting is to see it as a diet and expect immediate results.
Any change in diet requires a certain amount of time to observe the effects of fasting and achieve positive results. It is also important to know how intermittent fasting works.
Intermittent fasting and coffee – what should you watch out for?
Important to know: coffee is allowed during intermittent fasting. Some types of fasting completely avoid all stimulants, including coffee. However, coffee is generally allowed during intermittent fasting because, like tea, it naturally contains no sugar and basically no calories. This means that you can still drink your breakfast coffee as usual during intermittent fasting – but of course without milk and sugar!
Intermittent fasting experiences
Intermittent fasting is a relatively new concept that has the potential to change our relationship with food.
By occasionally taking a break from eating and giving our body a chance to recover, we can increase our energy, promote fat loss and reduce headaches and feelings of deprivation that often occur when we reduce our calorie intake.
“This is an approach that I have incorporated into my life – under the supervision of my doctor – and it has proven effective. Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of eating has allowed me to take stock of what I am really hungry for – both emotionally and physically.”
Another personal experience from someone who has tried intermittent fasting:
“Intermittent fasting has made a huge difference in my life! For years, I doubted my eating habits and struggled with my weight without lasting success. However, since I started intermittent fasting, I feel more energized than ever and have seen fantastic results in my weight loss. I start by dividing my day into an 8-hour eating window and a 16-hour “fasting” window from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day (fasting simply means that I don't eat anything during that time). What has really motivated me is the realization that with this system I find it much easier to maintain nutritious eating habits without feeling restricted or having to go without tasty food. Intermittent fasting has proven to be an easy-to-follow and surprisingly enjoyable way to achieve my goals – it's definitely worth a try!”
Everyday fasting with VERIVAL – how to succeed with intermittent fasting
We at VERIVAL offer you a range of energy-rich options for starting the day with our porridge and muesli. They provide you with important vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
The advantage: porridges are ideal for those fasting as a delicious and quickly prepared lunch. The oat flakes in the porridge are a source of energy and protein that ensure that you stay full longer after your meal and can carry out the interval fasting and the fasting period with more discipline.
There are also detailed studies on the interval fasting methods. The DGE ( German Nutrition Society) even writes about the life-prolonging effects of intermittent fasting.
- 1.Zhao M, Veeranki SP, Li S, Steffen LM, Xi B. Beneficial associations of low and large doses of leisure time physical activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality: a national cohort study of 88,140 US adults. Br J Sports Med . Published online March 19, 2019:1405-1411. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099254
- 2.Cappuccio FP, Taggart FM, Kandala N-B, et al. Meta-Analysis of Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults. Sleep . Published online May 2008:619-626. doi: 10.1093/sleep/31.5.619
- 3. Alvarez-Castro P, Pena L, Cordido F. Ghrelin in Obesity, Physiological and Pharmacological Considerations. MRMC. Published online March 1, 2013:541-552. doi: 10.2174/1389557511313040007
Frequently asked questions
What should you not eat when intermittent fasting?
In principle, you can eat anything during the non-fasting periods when intermittent fasting. Nevertheless, you should make sure you eat a balanced, healthy diet. One of the most common mistakes when intermittent fasting is to eat excessively unhealthy food during the eating periods. You should therefore avoid fast food, sweets, bad carbohydrates or other unhealthy foods and drinks. Of course, it is allowed to have a piece of cake every now and then – but everything in moderation.
What does intermittent fasting not interrupt?
Unsweetened drinks such as tea, water and black coffee without milk do not interrupt intermittent fasting. If you absolutely need something sweet in your tea or coffee, you can theoretically use calorie-free sweeteners such as stevia, erythritol or xylitol. However, this should only be done rarely and can usually be avoided. This way, the body can get used to unsweetened drinks more easily in the long run.
What mistakes can you make with intermittent fasting?
Impatience or setting your sights too high – the first results only become visible after 4 weeks. Not enough exercise – additional exercise is important. Incorrect calorie intake – too many or too few calories will slow down your success. Too many unhealthy foods – you should avoid fast food and sweets. Not enough sleep – a lack of sleep often causes food cravings. Wrong method (16:8 or 5:2) – the fasting method must suit your everyday life. Too much stress – stress increases blood sugar levels and causes fat cells to develop. Lack of fluids – sufficient fluids reduce the feeling of hunger and help the body to eliminate toxins. No consistency – too many exceptions. Viewing intermittent fasting as a pure diet.
Is Coke Zero allowed during intermittent fasting?
Zero drinks and therefore also Zero Coke are not suitable drinks for the fasting phase because they contain aspartame (an intense, low-calorie, artificial sweetener) which affects insulin levels and of course your health. So you should avoid any drinks of this kind during intermittent fasting.
Can you change the times daily when fasting intermittently?
In principle, you should consistently adhere to the eating and fasting windows. However, if there is a special celebration or an appointment that requires a shift of 1-2 hours, an exception is not a problem. It is important that there are not too many such exceptions. The basis should be a stable regularity of your times for food intake. If you are on vacation once a week and would like to avoid time constraints altogether, this is also possible. You can get back into your usual rhythm after your week off. This is not a big deal and may even require a little more consistency at first – but your body will be happy to have some regularity in its life again!
What do doctors say about intermittent fasting?
The possibility of losing weight with intermittent fasting has been scientifically proven – and it also helps to prevent obesity-related illnesses such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Another positive side effect is that your body has less to do with digestion at night, which in turn greatly improves the quality of your sleep. However, doctors also have different opinions on the matter. It is important to discuss it with your doctor when starting intermittent fasting, especially if you have pre-existing conditions. Particularly in the case of cancer, you should clarify whether intermittent fasting is the right form of nutrition for you.
Is it healthy not to eat for 16 hours?
Studies show that fasting days and eating breaks (16 hours) have a positive effect on blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and inflammation levels. Weight loss is also possible as a result. Above all, the aim is to eat consciously. Not to constantly feed the body over almost 24 hours – which is in no way beneficial.
How long does intermittent fasting take to lose 10 kg?
There are testimonials from people who have lost 10 kilograms in three months. It always depends on your starting weight. And there is no generally valid guideline. It is important not to see intermittent fasting as a pure weight loss program. It is a form of nutrition that aims at conscious food intake and whose side effect is the achievement of a healthy normal weight.
Can you really eat anything during intermittent fasting?
If you fast in intervals, you can eat and drink whatever you want and however much you want. It is important to adhere to the fasting intervals – during these periods, you do not eat at all – but drink a lot: BUT only UNSWEETENED drinks such as water, tea, coffee. You should only consume sweets and especially fast food in moderation, even when fasting intermittently!
Why not eat breakfast when fasting?
Depending on the time frame you choose for fasting, it may be that you don't start eating until midday. When choosing the fasting window, pay attention to your daily routine and what is best for you. Intermittent fasting should not be accompanied by constraints. If breakfast is an important meal for you, then start with it and end your eating phase earlier.
Can I eat fruit while intermittent fasting?
Eating lots of fruit and vegetables naturally intensifies the positive effects of intermittent fasting. Eating healthy foods also makes it easier to achieve the desired weight loss. It is important to always have fruit and vegetables on the menu.
Can I break my fast at the weekend?
Of course you can. You can decide how you want to structure your intermittent fasting. One option is, of course, to say that on Saturday and Sunday I will eat without time restrictions and from Monday to Friday I will strictly adhere to 16:8. You will find out for yourself what works best for you.
Is alcohol allowed during intermittent fasting?
A sensible consumption of alcohol in moderation is allowed with intermittent fasting. Extremely sugary liqueurs, mixed drinks with alcohol and very sugary soft drinks should generally be avoided – not only when fasting intermittently. Classics like wine or beer are fine. Enjoy in moderation, of course.
