1. Shake It Up
A change in methods every now and then is a great way to stay motivated and challenged. And it also helps you to stylishly skirt around what’s known as homeostasis. That is: your body’s ability to adapt to almost anything. Just like your eyes adapt in a dark room, and your ears adapt in a noisy office, your body adapts to the same old routine. Many of our Master Fasters find that changing up their intermittent fasting methods helps to keep them fresh, motivated and on-track to their weight loss and health goals.
Challenge: If you’re a dedicated part-day follower, throw in a 500-calorie day, or vice versa. Been doing 24 hour fasts lately? Kick it old school with a week of 5:2 or 4:3.
2. Fade to Black
It’s amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it. Many of our Master Fasters are coffee fiends – and a lot of them felt they could never drink black tea or coffee. The great news is: you don’t have to. But you might find it’s not as bad as you think. Naturally, a clean fast will kick you into ketosis a lot quicker, and once you realise that black coffee and tea actually palatable, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make the switch on some days. Bonus? When you go back to drinking it with milk, it tastes ten times better. Start out slow by gradually reducing the amount of milk and/or sugar you put in, and it won’t be so bad when you go sans sweetener and skim for the first time.
Challenge: Try black tea or black coffee this week. You’ll still get the caffeine kick you need, but you’ll be consuming far fewer calories.
3. Master Macros
There’s an easy way to master your macros, and it isn’t complicated at all. The best place to start, especially if you’ve never counted macros before, is to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of desired body weight per day, 1 gram of carbs per pound of desired body weight per day and 0.5 grams of fat per pound of desired body weight per day. Alternatively, another quick way to calculate (and a good place to start), is to dedicate 40% of your calories to protein, 40% to carbs and 20% to fat. From there, you can tweak it depending on how you feel and what works for you.
Challenge: Check your macros based on your desired body weight and have a play with your intake to see if it changes how you feel.
4. Fasted Exercise #FTW
Sure, we’ve been told that exercise on an empty stomach is a challenge. And it can be, especially if you’re into high intensity exercise, but if we’re talking about walking or cardio, it can also be really good for you. Fasted exercise is best for short (up to 50 minutes), steady cardio sessions. And can be especially good if you’re trying to shed some extra dress sizes. Fasted exercise helps to burn off any glycogen remaining in your liver and kick you into fat-burning mode. It also can increase the production of ketones, and improve your overall resilience and performance gradually by training your body not to rely on glycogen as fuel. Fasted training can be especially effective for controlling body weight, improving insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism if you’re not restricting calories. Because of the boost to ketone production, a lot of our Master Fasters even find fasted exercise easier. However, if you are trying to gain muscle, avoid weight training in a fasted state.
Challenge: Try a low-intensity fasted walk for 30 minutes once a week!
5. Easy Peasy Eats
One of the biggest hacks for making intermittent fasting work for you is finding foods that are quick and easy to prepare, as well as low calorie. Some of our brand-new loves are:
– Beef jerky (around 80 calories per serve and packed with protein)
– FroPro High Protein Ice Cream (sugar-free and only 86 calories per serve)
– Flavoured Roasted Broad Beans – hello red pepper & chilli! (110 calories per 25g serve)
– Seaweed snacks (26 calories per pack and perfect for that salty craving)
– Bone broth (depending on how it’s made, from 10-50 calories) but full of goodness
– Roasted pumpkin seeds are full of vitamins (126 calories per 30 grams)
– Dill pickles (11 calories per pickle and full of flavour)
Some other quick tips:
– Add turmeric to your soups for an immunity boost and reduced inflammation
– Add basil or coriander to plain tuna for added zing (and zero extra calories)
– Almonds or cashews sprinkled with tamari sauce and chucked in the oven are delicious
– Air-popped popcorn sprinkled with paprika and Himalayan salt is extra tasty
– Cheese and apple is super-yum with the addition of nutmeg or cinnamon
– Roasted veggies sprinkled with sesame seeds are extra crunchy and delish
– Sliced mango, banana or grapes frozen in Tupperware is a fresh, low-cal summer treat
Challenge: Switch up your go-to fast day foods. Because a change is as good as a holiday!
6. Buffer Your Calories
If you’re having trouble dropping the last few kilos, it could be that your math is letting you down. For the best Master Faster weight loss results, add in a calorie buffer of around 80-100 calories each day. Some days you’ll use it by under-estimating or eating a little more, and others you won’t. But having it means your calculations will be closer to the actual amount you’re eating each week, meaning you’re more likely to be in deficit. Basically? A calorie buffer is your way of kicking the last few kilos.
Challenge: If you’re struggling to lock those last few belt notches, add a calorie buffer of between 50-100 calories per day to account for any miscalculations, missteps or extra treats!
7. Train Your Brain
Your mind is the most powerful tool you have. If you focus on your ultimate goal – be it health related, weight loss related or life related, it will keep you motivated long-term. Emotions, hormones, desires, lack of sleep, other people, the environment and a plethora of other things can all affect your mood, what seems important and the way you approach things. But ultimately, you’re the one who decides how you respond and what you do day-in day-out. If you can manage to keep your goal front and centre, and remind yourself constantly that that big goal is more important than having an extra piece of chocolate, skipping a workout, being tired or dealing with a bad day, it’ll help you to power through, no matter what. Just remember, you need to be kind to yourself as well as being able to push yourself. Become your own best friend, cheerleader and coach and you’ll always have someone amazing to rely on.
Challenge: Redefine your big goal, focus on it, write it somewhere you’ll see it regularly and break it down into small, achievable daily steps. Remember, your mind is the most powerful tool you have, so use it!
These hacks are just a few of the things that the Master Faster crew wish they could tell their past selves. What’s one of your favourite hacks for making intermittent fasting as easy and effective as possible? Share it by jumping into the members’ only Facebook group or leaving a comment below. We love a good hack!