There are many fasting strategies one could try. These include intermittent fasting, where you go anywhere from 12-36 hours without food. This is something you can apply every day, or periodically throughout the week.

With fasting we have what we call our feeding and fasting periods. Some other terms that are used for this are “building window” and our “cleansing window” to help understand what the body is doing during these times.

These terms are defined as follows:

Feeding or Building Window: The time between our first meal and our last meal. When we take in nutrients, we stimulate building mechanisms in the body that are led by the hormone insulin. 

Cleansing Window: The time between our last meal of the day and the first meal the next day. When we are going without food, we have a post-absorptive period of 3-5 hours and then our insulin levels go down and our HGH levels go up, which begins to stimulate the process of cellular cleansing and repair.

12pm – 8pm eat UNTIL 12pm THE NEXT DAY FAST 8 HR 16 HR BUILDING/FEEDING WINDOW FASTING/CLEANSING WINDOW = Example: If you ate between 12pm and 8pm and then fast until 12pm the next day, then you would have an 8-hour building/feeding window and a 16-hour fasting/cleansing window.

During your building window, be sure to eat until you are fully satiated. Don’t try to under eat. The goal is to eat well when you eat, most likely you will consume larger meals than if you were to eat 3-5 meals per day and this is expected.

To help people begin to implement intermittent fasting in a non-intimidating way, there are fasting strategies in 6 different forms. You can pick one that you feel good with and stick with it, or you can try to change it up and challenge yourself with a deeper fast from time to time. Having some sort of a consistent pattern with intermittent fasting is the best way to develop the metabolic flexibility and energy efficiency that strengthen our bodies internal resistance. If you have never done an intermittent fast before, begin with the simple fast and stick with it for a while until you feel that it is simple. Be sure to drink 8-16oz of water (as a minimum) when you first wake up to help reduce morning hunger, prolong the fast and improve the cleansing process.

Simple Fast: Basic fast with water only for 12 hours between dinner and breakfast which gives the liver a chance to complete its cycle. Additionally, I recommend only eating 3 meals and not snacking on the simple fast lifestyle. Example: Finish dinner at 7pm and don’t eat again until 7am This is really the best way to start. Everyone (other than pregnant women and infants) should be able to do a simple fast. This is the first goal to get into a regular pattern of simple fasting.

Brunch Fast: This is where you do a 14 hour fast between dinner and breakfast. It is called the brunch fast because you are going to eat your breakfast a bit later than most. Example: Finish dinner at 7pm and don’t eat again until 9am.

Cycle Fast: Three times each week you fast for 14-16 hours by skipping either breakfast or dinner. Example: Finish dinner at 7pm and eat again around 9am-12pm at lunch the next day. Do this on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

Strong Fast: Consume all food in a 6-8 hour eating window each day. You would eat 2 meals per day and fast through either breakfast or dinner. Example: This would mean fasting in the morning and eating between 12-7pm each day or 8am-3pm each day or whatever 6-8-hour period you like best.

Warrior Fast: Ancient warriors would often march all day and would feast at night. Consume all food in a 3-4 hour eating window each day. Example: Consume 2 meals in a 3-4 hour eating window such as 2-6pm or 3-7pm, etc.

1 Day Food Fast: 24 hours each week with only consuming water, black coffee or herbal tea. Many people will do this each week from dinner to dinner or lunch to lunch as an example.

36 Hour Fast: If you are trying to lose a lot of weight or overcome a chronic health condition, you may also try a one-day 36 or 42 hour fast each week. Example: Finish dinner on Saturday night at 7pm and don’t eat again until Monday morning or mid-day when you decide to break the fast

One Meal a Day Fast Lunch OR Dinner 24 hr One Meal a Day Fasting (OMAD): Another great intermittent fasting strategy is one meal a day or OMAD for short. There are many people who are practicing OMAD with great success. This is a very helpful lifestyle strategy for those with chronic inflammation and those looking to lose a lot of weight. I recommend doing your best to consume your one meal around the same time each day as you will have an easier time complying with the plan. Example: Only consume lunch or dinner each day.

Alternate Day Fasting: Alternate day fasting is a popular intermittent fasting strategy that Dr Jason Fung has championed in some of his books including “The Obesity Code.” It seems daunting but it is a fairly easy strategy once you have built up your fasting muscle. You simply do a 24 hour fast every other day. Example: The most common approach is to only eat dinner on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then eat normally on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Another approach with this, for those who are more dedicated is to not consume any meals at all on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and only eat on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Another modification of this is a 4:3

4:3 Fasting: where you fast 3 days out of the week and eat normally or practice an intermittent fasting strategy such as the strong fast on the other 4 days of the week.

5:2 Fasting: This strategy was originally popularized by British journalist Michael Mosely and it includes doing 5 days of normal eating with 2 non-consecutive days where you only consume 500 -600 calories or less. There are many popular books out there using this approach. Example: Have your low-calorie or full fasting days on Sunday and Wednesday each week and either practice an intermittent fasting strategy such as a strong fast or eat normally on the other 5 days of the week.

Extended Water Fasting: Extended water fasting beyond 2 days is an extremely powerful way to maximize ketone production, HGH, Autophagy and the stimulation of stem cells. For most people, at 4-5 days you get the maximal rise of these benefits. Continuing the fast after this period can keep these benefits and may be beneficial for some people with chronic disease. Additionally, for those who are overweight, it can be good to continue the fast to lose more body fat. At day 4, most people realize that their hunger and cravings are significantly reduced. Many say they no longer experience hunger, only an emotional desire to eat. This makes it so much easier to continue the fast.

For the average individual looking to optimize their biology and improve their self-healing, doing 1 longer fast every 6-12 months and applying a good intermittent fasting strategy on a daily/weekly basis is a great approach.

If you are dealing with a chronic inflammatory condition it is a great idea to do a 5-7-day water fast every quarter to regenerate the immune system. Within a year, your immune system can be entirely reset.

For those with severe inflammatory conditions and terminal diagnosis, many practitioners will use a 5-7+ day water fast every 4-6 weeks to help the body destroy the abnormal cells, stimulate stem cells and reset the entire immune system.