Marsha Stevenson 
Planning to kickstart this year with a more healthy, lighter you? Well then, we wish you good luck!
If losing weight was on your new year’s resolution list, then finding the right ways to achieve your goals must be the most of your concern. And therefore, we bring what you need today, i.e., a simple guide on how to start intermittent fasting. But first, let’s learn what’s intermittent fasting. Shall we?
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting (IF) is simply an eating pattern in which people limit their hours of food consumption up to certain hours in a day.
The most exciting feature of IF is that it doesn’t focus on what and which food you should eat. Instead, it specifies when to eat whichever food you like — however, in your limited consumption hours. Therefore, it’s not referred to as a “diet” but rather an eating pattern.
Many studies have proven this “limited-hours-for-eating” practice to be one of the most healthy ways to lose excess weight and improve brain and heart health.
To achieve your health goals, you can always select the best IF method to start your healthful journey. Common IF methods include;
- 12-hour fasting
- 14-hour fasting
- 16-hour fasting
- 24-hour intermittent fasting twice a week.
However, as a beginner, a 12-hour fasting method must be the first baby step to getting used to the IF eating pattern.
What Is 12-Hour Intermittent Fasting?
Twelve-hour fasting or 12:12 fast is one of the IF methods which requires you to eat half a day, for twelve hours and fast for the remaining half of your day.
The twelve-to-twelve-hour ratio between your eating window and fasting hours isn’t only feasible for a beginner. However, it has proven to be one of the best ways to lose body fat, improve physical and mental health, and boost your confidence.
During a 12-hour fast, your body goes through a “metabolic switch” due to the decreased and timed caloric intake. This pushes the body to burn the stubborn adipose cells at a higher rate — “Ketosis.”
Hence, the increased ketosis rate during a 10-12 hour fast helps you lose weight and improve your overall health.
6 Health Benefits of 12-Hour Fasting
The IF eating practice became a trend when people came to know about its many health benefits, such as; improved hormone levels, reduced risk of CVDs and inflammation, and decreased visceral mass and bloating.
Many studies on 12-hour fast have concluded powerful health benefits, including; weight control and increased life expectancy. Some of the few health benefits include;
1. Reduced Risk of Type II Diabetes
A 12:12 hour eating and fasting pattern can help reduce insulin resistance by lowering the blood glucose levels to 3-6% and fasting levels by 20-31%.
Thus, reducing the overall risk of having type 2 diabetes in later adulthood.
2. Improved Brain Health
According to a study conducted in 2019, fasting up to a few hours a day improves the physical activity of the brain and hence, lowers the risk of cognitive decline and even reduces the risk of brain damage after experiencing a stroke.
Moreover, IF also increases brain hormone (BDNF) production, aids nerve cell growth, and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Increased Life Expectancy
Extended lifespan has to be one of the greatest advantages of intermittent fasting.
However, you may ask, does a 12-hour fast also have the same effect? To answer your question, yes! A recent study on Circadian Autophagy suggests that time-restricted feeding serves as an anti-aging practice to increase the human lifespan and delay the natural aging process.
4. Reduced Inflammation
Doctors, surgeons, biologists, and many researchers have claimed inflammation as a key driver for many cardiovascular diseases, even type 2 diabetes mellitus, and many forms of cancer.
Many studies suggested that time-restricted feeding improves immunity and prevents inflammation that may lead to certain illnesses in the body.
5. Improved Heart Health
Improving heart health is one of the most important concerns with improving food consumption habits and physical activity to prevent many cardiovascular diseases.
Intermittent fasting not only improves blood glucose levels but also reduces LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels and improves HDL levels in the bloodstream. This results in improved cardiac activity and seemingly healthy blood flow in the arteries.
6. Reduced Visceral Fat
Having a hanging belly or increased waist circumference ultimately puts you at a high risk of developing several cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in the future.
Therefore, to avoid the potential health decline, it is always better to work on it sooner.
According to a study, fasting for up to a few hours reduces the visceral fat mass around the belly to a greater extent. Hence, promoting weight loss and improved metabolism.
How to Start Your 12-Hour Fast?
To start your 12-hour intermittent fasting right away, we have gathered the best practices to help you ease your journey as a beginner.
First things first, schedule your fasting days per week before you start fasting. This will help you to have an organized fasting schedule and have everything prepared that you might need, such as food ingredients, drinks, energy powders, and vitamins. Secondly, distribute your twelve eating hours in a way that is most convenient and flexible for you.
For example, if you are a working individual, an eating window from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM would be the most convenient for you.
The third most important step on how to begin your 12-hour fasting journey includes planning your meals in advance. This practice may help you decrease the burden of deciding which meal to prepare mid-fasting and all the crises that an unprepared meal brings.
A fasting tracker app like DoFasting could provide an easily accessible option for getting the guidance needed to begin a fasting journey. It offers a variety of eating schedules to select from, tailored to your preferences, along with all the necessary information and assistance in one place.
A Guide on How to Break Your 12-Hour Fast
A 12-hour fast, for a beginner, might be hard at first. And hence, the temptation to break the fast with all your favorite caloric-dense foods rather than nutrient-dense seems understandable.
However, avoiding these energy-dense and sugar-filled foods might be only the way to complete your IF journey the right way.
Hence, we have shortlisted some of the best, light, and empty-stomach-friendly foods to break your fast with, such as;
- Salads; vegetable, fruit, chicken, or fish
- Soups; light, thin chicken or vegetable soup
- Whole-grain toast with butter or peanut butter
- Toast with boiled, lightly seasoned tuna, salmon, or chicken
- Nuts, dry fruits
Bottom Line
Intermittent fasting is synonymous with several health benefits and lengthening of life. And among many IF methods, 12-hour fasting has to be the easiest and most effective way to lose extra body weight and gain many health benefits, as proved by the studies.
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