When you think about skipping or missing a meal, going twenty-four hours without food, or actually allowing yourself to feel hungry, what goes through your head?

• Does it feel like you’d be starving yourself or depriving yourself of food?
• “No way could I do that. I’d die!”
• “But aren’t we suppose to eat five to six smaller meals throughout the day?”

As kids, we’re trained to eat at every mealtime and to clean our plates. We learn as youngsters that skipping meals is never a good idea, and that we should really be eating several small meals throughout the day to keep our metabolism revved up, and to avoid putting our bodies into starvation mode.

As described in The Ultimate Paleo Guide To Intermittent Fasting, humans have been intermittent fasting since the time we roamed the earth with sick beards and wooden clubs. Food was once scarce and hard to come by. We often did not know when, what, or how we would get our next meal. Not eating for twelve, sixteen, twenty-four hours, or even longer was normal. 

Today food is so easily accessible for most of us that the idea of not eating for an extended period of time isn’t popular. Most of us have the ability to walk around the corner or to drive down the street and spend a couple of bucks on something quick and convenient to satisfy any hunger pangs.

I’ve already talked about what intermittent fasting is, the pros and cons of intermittent fasting, how to do it, how to exercise while fasting, and how to handle hunger while fasting, in The Ultimate Paleo Guide To Intermittent Fasting. But today I’d like to outline a couple of the more popular intermittent fasting protocols out there – the one I personally use daily and the ones I have had great success with. I’d also like to help you choose which protocol might be best for you.

Before We Jump In

It is my personal opinion that anyone looking to try intermittent fasting should already have a good set of healthy eating habits that they practice on a consistent basis. 

• Most of the beverages you consume daily should contain zero calories (water, unsweetened tea, and black coffee)
• The majority of your meals should include a source of protein
• The majority of your meals should include veggies
• The majority of your meals should include a healthy fat
• You have a handle on your sleep schedule and consistently get seven to nine hours a night

If you’re not positive that you already have good nutritional habits, there’s a good chance you don’t. That said, you can spend a week logging your food intake to get a good idea. Eat naturally throughout the week and, after five to seven days, review your log to see if most of your meals contain protein, veggies, and a healthy source of fat.

Also, those of you that have any medical issues such as diabetes, bouts of hypoglycemia, and blood sugar regulation issues, or who are pregnant, should consult with a physician before participating in any intermittment fasting practices.

Lastly, intermittent fasting is a great way to learn about yourself, hunger, and satiety. By practicing intermittent fasting, you can teach yourself:

• The difference between psychological and physical hunger
• That occasionally skipping a meal is not going to kill you
• Your own personal hunger cues and optimal times for eating

On the other hand, if you are looking at intermittent fasting as a way to make up for consistently poor food choices or binge eating, you currently have an eating disorders, or you’ve been overexercising, under-eating, and sleeping for extended periods of time, this might not be the right approach for you.

If you’d like to revisit some of the pros and cons of intermittent fasting, go back and read this article. Aside from that, let’s dive into some of these intermittent fasting protocols.

Intermittent Fasting Protocol #1: The Trial

Who It’s For

If you’re never really heard of intermittent fasting before, have only recently developed healthy eating habits, or you’re just a bit skittish about skipping a meal or not eating for a few hours, this might be the best approach for you.

During a trial period of intermittent fasting, you simply choose to wait twenty-four hours until your next meal. Always keep in mind that you have a choice about whether or not to eat.

How To do It

You can technically start your twenty-four hour fast at any time. If you decide to start your fast after an 8am breakfast, you would wait until 8am the next day until you consume your next meal. I’ve found it much easier to start any fasting after dinner and to include my time sleeping as part of the fasting period.

If you’re interested in giving fasting a shot for a trial period, here’s a schedule you can follow:

Monday:

Eat breakfast, lunch, and any snacks as you normally would throughout the day. Eat dinner at 6pm (or at whatever time is convenient for you).

Start your fast from 6pm and continue until you hit the hay that evening.

Your fast will continue naturally through the night as you sleep.

Tuesday:

Upon waking, drink two cups of cold water. Feel free to drink black coffee or unsweetened tea as well. You can also include five to ten grams of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). This will help to fight any hunger, preserve lean muscle, and add nutrients without breaking your fast.

Continue fasting and consuming zero calorie beverages (but avoid diet sodas) throughout the day. Have some BCAAs every few hours if you feel the need.

At 6pm eat your first meal. Aim for a serving of protein, veggies, and healthy fat. I like to break my fasts with soup or bone broths. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly so you don’t disturb your digestive system.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Twenty-four hours with no food? No chance!”

I know it sounds a little scary and intimidating, but that is exactly why you’ll be doing this trial period. If twenty-four hours feels like too long, try just choosing not to eat breakfast one morning and waiting until lunch to have your first meal. This is a trial period – a chance for you to get to understand your body and its hunger cues, and to experiment a little bit. No pressure!

A Few Things To Keep In Mind

Think about journaling and taking notes during this time. Write down things like times of the day when you feel hungry or you think about food, as well as your feelings and energy levels. This is also a great chance for you to develop coping strategies. Get up and take a walk, stretch, or go outside and breathe a bit.

• Use water and unsweetened green tea to help suppress any feelings of hunger. BCAAs are also great for this.
• Make sure to have you first meal post-fast ready to go. You don’t want to catch yourself in a vulnerable and very hungry state and break the fast with a bunch of processed foods.
• Don’t freak out. At no point during this twenty-four hours will you die because you are not eating.

Intermittent Fasting Protocol #2: Periodic Fasting

Periodic fasting can be done while you’re traveling, when you’re in unfamiliar situations, or when you feel overwhelmed with too much to do.

I currently live in California but I grew up in Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. The flight back home is takes about four to five hours but, with the three hour time difference, an 8am Long Beach flight means I get into Virginia at around three or four in the afternoon.

Instead of trying to find healthy options at the airport or asking the flight attendants if they have any raw almonds or if I could get a meal that wasn’t prepared using industrial seed oils, I like to eat dinner like normal the night before I leave, around 7pm, skip breakfast on the day of the flight, and instead grab a cup of coffee and a water, and wait until dinner with the family.

This is a great strategy to use for longer flights as well. Traveling can get a bit stressful sometimes and worrying about one less thing can help to ease a bit of that stress. 

Maybe, you’re at a party or some social gathering and you were thinking about staying on your paleo game with a NorCal Margarita and some paleo-friendly snacks. You get there and find absolutely nothing paleo-friendly. You can use this as an opportunity to still be social but to practice intermittent fasting.

Periodic fasting isn’t something that you’ll be doing regularly. It’s a strategy that many use in situations like those described aboe.

Intermittent Fasting Protocol #3: Daily 16 Hour Fast / 8 Hour Eating Window

Daily intermittent fasting is something that Martin Berkham over at Lean Gains writes about a lot. To practice intermittent fasting on a daily basis, you are essentially choosing to fast for a part of your day and then to eat during a specific eating window.

Most people choose a sixteen hour fasting and eight hour eating window approach. Ori Hofmekler of the Warrior Diet chooses a twenty hour fast with a four hour eating window at the end of the day to allow him to eat one large meal. He advises such a fasting and feeding schedule, so that you can take in nutrients that compliment your circadian rhythms and sleep schedule, and maximize the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (recovery, calm, relax, digestion).

Who It’s For

This approach is suited to someone that has already experienced a trial fast and who is familiar with hunger cues and how their body responds to extended periods of time without food, and who is already familiar with some of the pros and cons of intermittent fasting. It’s also good for people who already understand and practice healthy eating habits, and who know the difference between protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

This is a great strategy for those that are already fairly lean (<15% body fat for men and <22% for women) and want to lean out further.

This is not the best approach for pregnant women.

How To Do It

The example below outlines a daily sixteen hour fast with an eight hour eating window.

Monday:

• 8pm: Dinner and final meal of the evening
• 8pm-10pm: Fast (water and BCAAs are ok)
• 10pm – 7am: Sleep and fast

Tuesday:

• 7am: Two cups of cold water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee (you can also include five to ten grams of BCAAs at this point as well)
• 7am-12pm: Continue fasting but feel free to consume water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, or BCAAs during this time)
• 12pm: Break your fast with your first meal
• 12pm-8pm: This is your eight hour eating window. Every three to four hours after you break your fast you will want to consume a meal. Your first meal (at 12pm) will be your largest, and each meal after that will be progressively smaller.
• 8pm: Dinner and final meal of the evening
• 8pm-10pm: Fast (water and BCAAs are ok)
• 10pm – 7am: Sleep and fast

You’ll simply continue this fasting and eating cycle each day.

A Few Things To Keep In Mind

Although the fasting period is sixteen hours long and the eating window is eight hours long, feel free to play around with the numbers, using your lifestyle as a guide. Women may want to shorten the fasting period to fourteen hours and increase the eating window to ten hours. There is a great write-up over on at Paleo for Women that explains why intermittent fasting is different for women. 

For my schedule, consuming my last meal at 8pm and fasting until 2pm the next day with a six hour eating window is what works best for me. Feel free to experiment according to your lifestyle needs.

If possible, try and train before right before breaking your fast. Training while fasting is entirely healthy. Focus on compound movements that’ll give you the most bang for your buck like squats, presses, and pull-ups. Including five to ten grams of BCAAs during your workout will help to spare some lean muscle and provide you with a little energy.

On training days, it’s a good idea to include a good source of paleo carbohydrates in your first meal post-workout. This will help to replenish some glycogen stores and supply you with some energy. Focus on protein, veggies, and healthy fats on days that you do not train.

Intermittent Fasting Protocol #4: 1-2 Weekly 24 Hour Fasts

The once to twice weekly twenty-four hour fasts approach is very flexible. You can essentially choose any twenty four hour period once or twice a week to fast in. I’ve found that it’s best to plan ahead and to decide which days you’ll be fasting on to take some of the guesswork out of it.

A Sample Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday:

• Eat normally 

Wednesday evening:

• 8pm: Eat dinner or last meal and begin twenty-four hour fast
• 8pm-10pm: Continue fasting (water, unsweetened tea, and BCAAss are ok)
• 10pm-7am: Sleep and continue fasting

Thursday:

• 7am: Two cups of cold water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee (you can also include five to ten grams of BCAAs at this point as well)
• 7am-8pm: Continue fasting and feel free to consume water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, and BCAAs during this time
• 8pm: Eat your first meal in twenty-four hours and break the fast.

A Few Things To Keep In Mind

Training during your twenty-four hour fasting period is totally acceptable. Just as with the 16/8 fasting example above, focus on the big compound movements that’ll give you the most bang for your buck. You can also include short bouts of interval training or HIIT training. Five to ten grams of BCAAs before and during training are highly recommended.

Final Thoughts

1. Food type and quality matter much more than meal frequency when it comes to nutrition, your health, fat loss, and muscle building. 

2. We are all unique. Intermittent fasting may work for some and not so much for others. Google will give you all sorts of reasons why you should or shouldn’t try fasting. In my humble opinion, if you’re a healthy individual who has good blood test results and no serious medical issues (and you’re not pregnant), the best way to find out whether or not fasting is for you is through self experimentation, tracking your results, and then honestly assessing whether it is for you or not.

3. Intermittent fasting radically simplifies your day. Not having to think about, prepare, pack, and eat food all day is great!

4. Intermittent fasting saves you time and money. When you’re fasting, you need less time to prepare and eat your food, as well as less money to spend on groceries.

5. Have your post-fast meals prepared and ready for when you break your fast. This way you won’t be left trying to decide what to eat and you’ll be more likely to eat something nutritious.

6. If you’re used to eating five to six meals per day or every couple of hours, you’ve conditioned your body to get used to this feeding schedule. Jumping into an intermittent fasting schedule might be a little bit of a difficult transition. Feel free to play around with fasting and feeding windows until you are used to it. For example, instead of the sixteen hours fast followed by an eight hour feeding window, you could opt for twelve hours and twelve hours.

7. Before starting any sort of fasting, develop healthy eating habits. If donuts for breakfast and pizza for lunch are normal for you, put any fasting practices on hold for a bit. Before you start, you should be consistently including protein, veggies, and a healthy source of fat in the majority of your meals.

8. Intermittent fasting is easier then “dieting.” Dieting, in general, is more of a behavior change problem then anything else.

Diets are easy in the contemplation, difficult in execution. Intermittent fasting is difficult in contemplation but easy in execution. -Dr. Michael Eades

Diets usually involve following a ton of rules and complicated calculations, and they’re generally very restrictive. Intermittent fasting uses just one main principle – the fasting and eating window.

9. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by all of the intermittent fasting info that’s out there. Generally, all the information available can be summed up as follows:

• Use specific fasting and feeding windows.
• Emphasize quality of calories over quantity and frequency.
• Start small and, if it’s still too tough, start smaller.

10. Fasting begins when you complete your last meal. This questions comes up a lot and I just wanted to clear it up. You begin your fast once you finish your last meal.

There are so many different eating concepts out there, as well as so much back and forth about what is best and what is not. The best approach to your health is to use a nutrition strategy that works for you and your lifestyle. The best way to find out which strategy works for you is by trying new things and tracking your results. Assessing is always better than guessing.

Have you tried intermittent fasting before? If so, which protocol did you use? What were your experiences with it?

Photo credit: williamskitchenbath, Daniel Carlbom, Marilyn Roxie, photosteve101, and chichacha