Over the years, fasting has become the foundation of my approach to getting lean.
It’s allowed me to eat bigger, more satisfying meals.
Spend Less time thinking about food.
Stay in a calorie deficit without feeling like I’m constantly dieting.
If you’ve struggled with intermittent fasting in the past it’s most likely that nobody showed you how to make it sustainable.
In this article, I’ll show you how to do intermittent fasting properly and the eight strategies that have made fasting effortless for me and hundreds of clients I’ve coached.
1. Forget about the eating window
Focus on delaying your first meal until 4–6 hours after waking.
You don’t need to eat on the exact same schedule every day. Consistently delaying your first meal is what matters.
2. Don’t think about fasting
Get into your day. Work, train, run errands, or focus on whatever is in front of you.
The more attention you give your fast, the harder it feels.
More often than not, you’ll look at the time and realize it’s already time for your first meal.
3. Drink black coffee during fast
Black coffee suppresses appetite, increases alertness and makes fasting much easier.
Only drink it during your fast. Drinking coffee after you have already eaten reduces your sensitivity to caffeine and weakens the effect it has when you are fasting.
I recommend waiting one to two hours after waking, once your cortisol levels have started to come down, before having your first cup. This helps prevent caffeine from further increasing cortisol while it’s already naturally elevated.
Waiting one to two hours also allows you to use caffeine when hunger starts to build instead of wasting it first thing in the morning.
If you are trying to fast without black coffee, you are making the process much harder than it needs to be.
4. Drink sparkling water during your fast
The carbonation helps increase fullness and reduce hunger, making it easier to push your first meal back.
If you’re wondering whether plain sparkling water breaks your fast, for the purpose of fat loss, the answer is no.
5. Use fruit strategically.
After fasting for several hours, your liver glycogen gradually becomes depleted.
When that happens, hunger starts to kick in.
A piece of fruit can help take the edge off.
The fructose in fruit helps replenish liver glycogen, which is often enough to keep you going another hour or two before your next meal.
I recommend Honeycrisp Apples to break your fast with. Their combination of water, soluble fiber, and texture makes them one of the most satiating fruits you can eat, helping take the edge of hunger and extending your fast another hour or two.
6. Don’t make fasting harder than it needs to be.
During a fat-loss phase, avoid high-intensity cardio and long-distance running.
High-intensity cardio and long-distance running can leave you ravenous, making it much harder to comfortably push your first meal back and stay in a caloric deficit.
Instead prioritize walking and progressive strength training. You’ll still burn calories, preserve muscle and make delaying your first meal second nature.
7. Expect an adaptation period.
Like any new habit, intermittent fasting takes time to adjust to.
For most people, it takes about two weeks for hunger levels and appetite to adapt.
If 4–6 hours feels too difficult at first, start shorter and gradually extend your fast.
Once your body adapts, delaying your first meal becomes second nature.
8. Build meals to support your fast
The way you eat after breaking your fast influences how hungry you’ll be during your next fast.
I recommend eating two meals at consistent times each day while staying within your calorie target. Build those meals around lean proteins, filling carbohydrates.
Filling meals help control hunger, making it easier to comfortably delay your first meal the next day.
Final Comments
Intermittent fasting has been one of the most effective tools in my approach to fat loss.
If you’ve struggled to stay consistent with fasting in the past, start applying these eight strategies and give your body time to adapt.
Within in a couple of weeks, you’ll likely find that delaying your first meal feels far more natural than when you started.