Now that we’ve had some time to read up on the claims and promised results, it’s time to take The Complete Guide to Intermittent Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting for a spin!

So, not gonna lie here, I am just a bit nervous going into this. I must confess that I love to eat and am not particularly inclined to miss meals. Aside from an epic stomach flu or routine lab tests, I’ve never really fasted before and am not sure how this is going to go.

Despite this, however, I really am interested to see how Fung’s claims will hold up when taken for a test drive. Since it’s not realistic to think there could be any measurable health changes in just seven days, I’m mostly interested to see how intermittent fasting (IMF) will impact my appetite, workouts, and weight.

This week, I’ll be testing out one of the gentler IMF schedules. You’ll see that on most days, I’ll be following a 6:18 schedule in which there is a 6-hour window for eating followed by a 18-hour fasting period. In practical terms, this means that most days I will skip breakfast, have lunch and dinner as usual, and no snacking after dinner.

I also plan to follow Fung’s general dietary recommendations to make the most of this week-long experiment. He suggests a diet that is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrate.

In particular, he encourages a very limited intake of refined grains with an emphasis on natural fats as well as other whole and unprocessed foods. He includes a number of recipes and I’ll be sure to try a few out over the course of the week. As I will be starting into this on a Wednesday, here is how my week will look:

• Wednesday: Skip breakfast. Lunch and dinner at typical times. (For us, that’s lunch around 11:30 and dinner at 5:00.)
• Thursday: Skip breakfast. Lunch and dinner at typical times.
• Friday: 24-hour fast day! Skip breakfast AND lunch. Dinner at its usual time.
• Saturday: Skip breakfast. Lunch and dinner at typical times.
• Sunday: No skipped meals. It’s Sunday!
• Monday: 24-hour fast day! Skip breakfast AND lunch. Dinner at its usual time.
• Tuesday: Skip breakfast. Lunch and dinner at typical times.
• Wednesday: 24-hour fast day! Skip breakfast AND lunch. Dinner at its usual time.

Notice that Friday, Monday, and Wednesday are all 24-hour fast days. On these days, I will essentially be fasting from dinner one day to dinner the next. So even though it is a 24-hour fast, I do eat on these days. And yes, I do see that I’ve actually included EIGHT days on this IMF plan. Truth be told, I saw Friday’s 24-hour fast coming up fast (pardon the pun) and decided I’d better have an extra day of the 6:18 routine under my belt before attempting a whole 24 hours!

Though there are many different types of fasts, I will be employing a liquid fast during my fasting periods. Non-caloric beverages like water, coffee, tea, and the like are encouraged. A small amount of higher fat add-ins, such as cream, coconut oil, butter, half and half, and whole milk may be used, but sweeteners may not. Homemade bone broth is also strongly encouraged on fasting days, both for its nutritional as well as satiating qualities.

Each day, I will be sure to tell you not only what I’ve eaten and when, but perhaps more importantly, how I’ve felt and how hard or easy it’s been to follow an IMF regimen. Dr. Fung has made an awful lot of claims and it will be interesting to see how they will hold up in the real world…or at least my real world. So stay tuned for seven days of intermittent fasting at The Diet Oracle!