After seeing your doctor and choosing the right plan for you, the very first thing you need to do is identify your "why," or your purpose. Keeping this in mind is what is going to inspire you to stick with intermittent fasting when moments get hard.
Your "why" could be that you want to lose weight so you can enjoy running around with your kids. Or maybe you want to prevent weight-related diseases like type 2 diabetes or heart problems. Or maybe your "why" is to feel more confident in your skin.
Even though you may be doing intermittent fasting for weight loss, your "why" may also be to get control over your food addiction or sugar cravings. Stephanie Ferrari, a registered dietitian with Fresh Communications, said intermittent fasting can help curb sugar cravings if you do it long enough. When you're eating less, you're bound to eat less sugar, and the less sugar you eat, the less you crave it.
Or your reason to do IF may be to cure digestive issues or constant bloating, since I found IF can help with both those issues. Although everyone's body is different, when I took a break from IF, my bloating issues came back.
Write down your purpose in a journal so you can refer back to it when you have thoughts of giving up. Once you know your "why," begin incorporating intermittent fasting slowly. Even if you're a jump-straight-in-the-pool kind of person, it's better to take a one-step-at-a-time approach. If you go from eating three meals and three snacks a day to eating only 500 calories a day (5:2 plan), you're more likely to have terrible side effects, including headaches, dizziness, and even nausea.
There's no rush! Take several weeks to ease into the plan you've chosen. If you're especially hungry on a certain day or not feeling well or expecting your period, listen to your body and eat if you need to.