11 At-Home Workouts That Seriously Torch Calories

1) 10-Minute Cardio Jump Workout By Class FitSugar (Calories Burned: 140)

Everyone can find 10 minutes to fit in a workout! This heart-pumping plyometric jump workout will help you burn up to 140 calories (not bad for only 10 minutes)! Although all exercises require jumping, this workout video does include helpful modifications.

2) 10-Minute Low Impact Cardio Burn By EmBODYment 360 (Calories Burned: ???)

This low impact cardio burn workout was designed to raise your heart rate and burn major calories without putting a lot of stress on your joints. While I have no idea how many calories are burned during this 10-min workout, it is definitely effective, so give it a try!

3) 15-Minute Total Body Fat-Burning Workout By Joanna Soh (Calories Burned: 300)

Burn 300 calories in just 15 minutes with this total body workout! These exercises are low impact so they are easy on the joints. The workout video includes beginner and advanced versions of the exercises.

4) 40-Minute Bodyweight Cardio Workout By PopSugar Fitness (Calories Burned: 400)

This effective 40-minute cardio workout includes a variety of exercises to tone your entire body. This moderate intensity workout keeps you moving the entire time, but includes helpful modifications along the way.

5) 30-Minute Fat-Burning Workout By Lumowell (Calories Burned: 500)

Burn 500 calories with this 30-minute at-home workout. The workout follows traditional Tabata HIIT (high-intensity interval training) protocol of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds rest (Click here for more info on how HIIT seriously boosts your metabolism). The workout video includes both higher-intensity and low impact versions of all exercises.

6) 45-Minute Cardio Workout By Celebrity Trainer Jeanette Jenkins (Calories Burned: 500)

This 45-minute cardio workout from celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins (she trains Pink and Alicia Keys) will help you burn up to 500 calories! This workout keeps you moving the whole time, and includes modifications for all exercises.

7) 45-Minute Boxing Workout By Christa DiPaolo (Calories Burned: 500)

This workout includes a mix of boxing, kickboxing, and bodyweight strength-training moves to torch 500 calories! There are modifications for almost every move, and the option to use light weights (if you have them) for some of the exercises.

8) 50-Minute At-Home Plyo Workout By Sydney Cummings (Calories Burned: 700)

Burn up to 700 calories with this advanced at-home workout with plyometric exercises! Note that all exercises in this workout require jumping.

9) 60-Minute Total Body Workout By Fitness Blender (Calories Burned: 1,000)

Seriously torch away fat with this 1,000 calorie total body workout! This challenging workouts combines HIIT, kickboxing, core & cardio strengthening, and more! Make sure you do the full 5-minute warm up and cool down!

10) 60-Minute Tabata HIIT And Core Workout (Calories Burned: 1,000)

This 1,000-calorie bodyweight workout includes both Tabata HIIT and abs burnout (12-minute extreme abs) to maximally melt away fat! This workout is definitely intense, so make sure you conquer shorter, beginner workouts before attempting this one!

11) BONUS: 10,000 Calories In 30 Days At-Home Workout Challenge

The aim of this 10,000 calorie challenge is to burn an average of 340 calories each day for 30 days (exercising 5 days per week and resting 2 days per week). The high-intensity total body workout in the video is designed to burn roughly 340 calories in less than 30 minutes! Perform this workout 4 times per week and that will get you halfway there!

For the 5th exercise day, try a longer 1,000 calorie workout to really move the needle! Just be sure to have at least one day of your self-care or active rest days (like stretching, yoga and/or meditation, a low-intensity ab workout) immediately following this intense workout. And don’t forget to fit in second active rest or self-care day somewhere else in the week!

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Step 2: Eat a high-protein diet

The weight loss benefits of a high-protein diet

Pretty much all foods are comprised of the three macronutrients: protein, carbs, and fat. However, the quanitities of each macronutrient will be drastically different depending on the food type.

Eating a high-protein diet means that roughly 30% of the total calories in your daily diet (i.e. all foods you eat in a day) should be from protein. For instance, if we take the “standard” 2000-calorie diet, 30% of the total calories would be 600 calories. And since there are 4 calories in every 1 gram of protein, 600 daily calories from protein translates into roughly 150 grams of protein per day.

Eating a high protein diet during the 8-hour feeding intervals of your intermittent fasting schedule can help you rapidly lose weight by both boosting your metabolism and helping control appetite.

When we eat food, our bodies burn calories to digest, absorb, and process the nutrients in our food. This requirement for energy is known as the thermic effect of food. Of the three macronutrients, protein produces the greatest thermic effect, boosting your metabolism by 15–30%. This is considerably higher than the thermic effect of carbs (5–10%) and fat (0–3%).

As a bonus, eating protein also aids in appetite control by making you feel fuller for longer. One study found that when 30% of one’s diet is from protein, people ate roughly 450 fewer calories per day. And when it comes to intermittent fasting, filling up on protein can be particularly helpful during your last meal before your fast as this will help sustain you for longer.

Step 3: Eat no refined sugar and limit natural sugar

The role of sugar and weight gain

To successfully lose weight fast, refined sugar needs to be completely eliminated from your diet. Sugar contributes to weight gain in a variety of ways:

1. Refined sugars increase your daily calories but provide little-to-no nutritional value (so-called “empty calories”).
2. Because your body digests refined sugars quickly, you are at risk of overeating because you don’t feel full after eating them. This is true even regardless of calorie content.
3. Sugar not used immediately to fuel bodily functions gets stored in muscles and the liver in the form of glycogen. Because of the way glycogen binds to water, stored glycogen carries with it roughly three times its weight in water! In other words, glycogen stores are a source of water weight.
4. Once glycogen stores are filled up, your body converts excess glucose to fat. This fat is stored in your adipose tissue (fat cells) and also adds to your weight in the form of body fat.

Avoiding refined sugar can help you quickly lose weight by decreasing your total daily calories, reducing water weight, and eliminating the storage of excess sugar as body fat. In addition, when you eat less sugar, insulin levels are lower, increasing your body’s ability to burn stored fat for fuel.

To maximize your weight loss, limit sugar from fruit (naturally-occurring sugar) to no more than one serving per day. However, completely avoid any and all processed versions of fruit, including juices, jams, jellies, preserves, and sauces. Processed fruit often has added sugars, which is a no-no during this lose weight fast plan.

Step 4: Do HIIT three times per week

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are one of the best ways to boost fat-burning for weight loss.

The magic of HIIT lies in a phenomenon known as the “afterburn effect”. After a HIIT workout, your body consumes excess oxygen (which burns more calories) for hours after your workout in order to return to its pre-exercise state. In actuality, HIIT may burn fewer calories during the actual workout compared to traditional cardio, but it can result in more overall calories burned and fat loss post-workout.

HIIT workouts incorporate intervals that vary between quick bursts of intense exercises (all-out effort) and short periods of active rest. While the length of time for the exercise (on) and rest (off) intervals varies, my preference is 20 seconds on/10 seconds off. Because of the intensity, you should have at least 24 hours in between sessions to ensure your body has time to recover. Check out this post for full details on an effective, 8-minute, at-home HIIT workout.

Keep in mind that this 4-step approach to lose weight fast is not designed for the long term. In addition, be mindful that frequent crash dieting can slow your metabolism over time. So after you drop the weight for your special occasion, make sure you have a plan in place for achieving long-term weight management.

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Keto Diet vs Intermittent Fasting: How do they work?

Keto Diet

The main objective of the keto (short for “ketogenic”) diet is to shift your body to burning fat, in the form of ketones, as the primary energy source.

In a normal state, carbs provide the primary source of energy that fuels muscle contraction and other bodily functions. After we eat them, our bodies break carbs down into smaller sugars (glucose) that our cells use for energy. Glucose in excess of our immediate energy requirements is stored in the form of glycogen. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t have an unlimited capacity for storing glycogen. Once glycogen stores fill up, our bodies convert extra glucose to fat that is stored in adipose tissue (fat cells). Over time, this can lead to weight gain.

Ketones are an alternative fuel that our bodies produce and use when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply. The liver produces ketones from fat (yes, fat!) when our diets are very low in carbs. When our bodies produce ketones, we are considered to be in a state of “ketosis”. When in ketosis, our bodies shift from using carbs (glucose) as the primary fuel source to using fat (ketones). This transition makes it easier for our bodies to access fat stores and burn them off, resulting in weight loss.

Another benefit of eating low-carb is a reduction in circulating levels of insulin, a fat storage hormone. Eating carbs causes insulin levels to rise because the presence of insulin allows glucose to enter cells to be used as energy.

However, insulin also serves as a signal to your body to retain stored fat. This essentially helps your body prioritize which fuel source to use (the carbs you just ate vs the body fat you have stored). Simply put, this means that when insulin is present, your body will burn available glucose first and will not burn stored body fat. This reduces your ability to burn fat and lose weight.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that boosts your metabolism by incorporating periods of fasting (not eating) into your eating schedule. During the feeding periods of intermittent fasting, you can eat what you want and in the quantities that you want. However, food must be eaten during scheduled periods of time each day (generally during a 6- to 12-hour period).

By eating within a narrow period of time, intermittent fasting can lead to a natural reduction in daily calorie consumption. This can obviously reduce weight.

However, experts believe that the main reason that intermittent fasting results in weight loss is twofold:

1. It reduces insulin levels. And since emerging evidence suggests that elevated insulin levels are a driver of weight gain, reduced insulin is a good thing!
2. It increases fat-burning hormones, including norepinephrine. This particular hormone not only aids in the mobilization of stored body fat (lipolysis), but also boosts fat-burning (fat oxidation) to fuel bodily and physical activities. As a bonus, norepinephrine also helps reduce belly fat.

One of the not-so-obvious benefits of intermittent fasting is that the fasting periods shift our bodies to using stored energy (glycogen and fat), leading to ketosis. Our bodies actually go into “mild” ketosis during the natural fast that we all experience while sleeping overnight. The additional hours spent in fasting mode during intermittent fasting yield even greater ketone production (i.e. more fat-burning power). Check out this post on intermittent fasting and other effective ways of getting into ketosis.

Keto Diet vs Intermittent Fasting: What dietary changes are required?

Keto Diet

The keto diet is essentially an extremely low-carb eating plan. The missing calories are replaced by high amounts of fat and moderate amounts of protein.

In a “standard” 2000-calorie diet, the recommended daily allowance of carbs is 45 to 65% of total daily calories. So, between 900 and 1,300 calories will be from carbs, which translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day.

On the keto diet, only a small fraction of the typical carb amount is allowable – 20 grams of carbs. Although variations of the keto diet allow higher daily carb amounts (40-50 grams), studies suggest that staying under 20 grams offers the best results.

The amount of food in 20 grams of carbs varies depending on whether we’re talking good carbs or bad. This could be anything from a half a bagel or a few bites of cake to full plates of high-fiber, low-carb vegetables like spinach, avocado, and asparagus.

Intermittent Fasting

There are many ways to structure the fasting and feeding intervals of an intermittent fasting program. Some methods consist of fasting for a portion of each day (also called time-restricted eating). Others include fasting a full 24 hours one or more days per week.

16/8 Method (Leangains protocol by Martin Berkhan)

The 16/8 Method consists of daily cycles of 16-hour fasting and 8-hour feeding intervals.

Across a week it looks like this:

Although there is flexibility in the timing of the 8-hour feeding interval, a common feeding schedule is 12:00 PM through 8:00 PM. During the fasting interval, water, unsweetened coffee or tea, and other beverages with no calories are permitted.

24-Hour Method (Eat-Stop-Eat protocol by Brad Pilon)

The 24-Hour Method consists of one or two 24-hour fasting intervals per week, which could look like this:

A common schedule for the 24-hour fasting interval is 5:00 PM one evening through 5:00 PM the next evening. However, just as with 16/8, the timing of the 24-hr fasting interval is flexible, and non-calorie beverages are permitted while fasting. Within a given week, a second day of fasting is permitted, but not on back-to-back days.

Learn more about a novel intermittent fasting weight loss program that will help you CRUSH your weight loss goals!

Keto Diet vs Intermittent Fasting: Which approach is the best for you?

Well, that depends, as there are pros and cons to both approaches. But if you’re looking for long-lasting weight loss, the best option is the one you can adopt as a lifestyle change vs a short-term solution.

Click here to take the Keto Diet vs Intermittent Fasting Quiz to find out which is better to help you lose weight!

Both the keto diet and intermittent fasting can be very effective weight loss tools depending on your own personal needs and habits. I personally am a fan of the flexibility and sustainability offered by intermittent fasting, and so I have written various posts to help you learn how to lose weight with intermittent fasting, including:

• 8 No Brainer Reasons To Try Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
• The Best Intermittent Fasting Schedules For Weight Loss
• Beginner’s Guide To Intermittent Fasting
• What To Eat When Intermittent Fasting

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to consult your physician before implementing changes in your eating patterns (like the ones discussed in this post).

Author’s Note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Here’s how it’s done:

1) Sit on floor with knees bent

With feet flat on floor, place your hands behind your back with your elbows pointing directly behind. It’s important that your elbows point straight behind you, and not out to the side, during the entire exercise.

2) Squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your chest tall

Your chest should be proud and elbows should still be pointing straight behind you. Gaze directly in front of you to ensure your neck stays in an upright position throughout the exercise.

3) Straighten your arms to lift butt off the ground

Keeping your chest proud and neck tall, straighten your arms and shift shoulders slightly back to lift your butt off the ground. Don’t try to lift  your butt too high though as that is not necessary to target the triceps. Notice that my butt is only a few inches off of the ground.

4) Bend arms and lower butt to just above the floor

Imagine that you are tracing an oval with your torso during this motion. When you bend your elbows, allow your body weight to shift backwards at the start of the motion. Just make sure you keep your elbows pointed straight back and do NOT let your butt touch the ground.

5) Keeping arms bent, hover and glide your butt forward

This portion of the motion is more of a glide than anything else. Keeping elbows bent and your torso at the same height, shift your body weight so that your body slowly glides forward.

6) Straighten arms to complete the motion

Straighten your arms to complete one repetition of the motion. Notice that my shoulders are positioned slightly ahead of my hands when I initially straighten my arms. This is because my body weight is still shifted forward. However, as I move to continue to do additional repetitions, my shoulders (and body weight) will shift backwards again.

You’ll notice that the further you shift your weight in front of and behind your hands during the exercise, the more challenging it is. So in the beginning, start by making small ovals with your torso. As you start to master the exercise, push yourself by making the oval motion even longer.

So exactly how many times should you complete this exercise to get rid of arm fat? Aim for 30 total repetitions 2-3 times per day. You can take as many breaks as you need, but try your best to complete at least 5 repetitions in a row (and build from there).

BONUS!!!!

Just when you think you’ve got nothing left and you’re ready to stop, perform the move in the opposite direction for 5 repetitions (or until you’re completely tuckered out)! Even when you reverse the motion, you’re still targeting your triceps, albeit at slightly different angles.

Consistently perform this exercise daily for 1-2 weeks and you’ll be amazed out how quickly you can tone your triceps. However, keep in mind that you cannot “spot treat” fat stores in the body.  The best way to get rid of arm fat is to also include strategies that help boost your metabolism to more effectively burn fat stores throughout your body, like this at home HIIT workout .

Lastly, it’s important to keep in mind the role of eating healthy in maximizing results. Check out this post on the best weight loss foods if you’re in need of some guidance.

Want to get fit but having a hard time staying motivated to exercise?

Take the “My Fitness Personality” quiz to help you find a workout routine that sticks! Click here!

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Additional tips to be successful

• Exercise should be fun and exciting, so have fun with the Challenge!
• Join my private and FREE fitness accountability group to check-in daily with post-workout selfies! In addition to support from a welcoming community, you’ll receive fitness tips and updates on future Challenges!
• Don’t forget to take a side photo of yourself in a mirror to show your abs and glutes starting point
• Be patient and kind to yourself! Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will a small waist or rounded glutes
• These exercises complement your current workout routine, not replace it. So keep up your current activities!
• It will definitely take more than 30 days to build a round bubble butt. So continue with the glute isolation exercises (with weights if you have them) after this Challenge is complete

Additional tips to tighten your tummy

Abs are made in the kitchen and muscles grow from consuming food, so be mindful of the foods that you are eating during the Challenge. It’s definitely best to avoid eating foods that will promote fat gain in your midsection and increase overall body fat. Read this post for more information on the best weight loss foods.

Also, try some of these additional helpful tips:

• Drink at least 64 oz (8 glasses) of water daily
• Reduce your daily consumption of refined sugar to no more than 20 grams a day (natural sugar like fruit is ok!)
• Eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight a day (if you weight 100 lbs, that’s 100 grams of protein)
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night

Are you ready to get started?  GREAT,  let’s do this!

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1. Flat Belly Workout

The first part of the Challenge is a Flat Belly Workout designed to tone and tighten your abdominal muscles. These belly-flattening exercises include simple movements that emphasize control instead of speed or difficulty. The key to getting great results with these more controlled exercises is the right sequence.

I’ve taken all of the guess work out and provided the perfect sequence of exercises in the 12 Days of Fitness Flat Belly Workout. During the 12-day Challenge, this workout should be performed 10 out of the 12 days. Thus, take a break from the exercises on the 4th and 8th days of the Challenge. Make sure you grab your printable Challenge Worksheet by signing up above so that you can keep track of all 12 days. 

To ensure you perform the exercises properly, be sure to watch the below exercise demonstrations and read the descriptions carefully.

EXERCISE SEQUENCE: 1) Tummy Tuck x 25   ⇒   2) Seated Twist x 30 each side   ⇒   3) Controlled Kick x 15 each leg   ⇒   4) Double Leg Press x 15   ⇒   5) Around The World x 10 each direction   

1. Tummy Tuck

Starting position: While sitting on the floor, lean back onto your elbows and place forearms flat on the ground so that your hands rest close to your waist. Bend your knees to about 90 degrees and position knees hip-distance apart. Raise up on your toes until the tips are lightly touching the floor. Your heels should be raised off the ground.

Motion: Starting from your belly button, pull in your abdomen to slowly rotate your hips upwards in a “tucking” motion. When your hips can’t move anymore, squeeze and hold for 1 second before gently releasing back to the starting position.

Repeat 25 times.

IMPORTANT: Although the “tummy tuck” seems quite simple, this position will be the key to ensuring both your superficial and deep abdominal muscles stay engaged throughout the workout. So take your time to perfect it before moving on. 

2. Seated Twist

Starting position: Sitting on the ground with knees bent about 90 degrees, place hands on top of knees. Raise up on your toes until the tips are lightly touching the floor. Your heels should be raised off the ground. Perform the “tummy tuck” motion to suck your belly button in. Then, slowly lower your torso back until you feel your abs engage. Hands should still be resting lightly on top of your knees but you should not be holding your knees.

Motion: Maintaining the “tummy tuck” position, slowly twist your torso while reaching your arm to the side. Your arm should follow a diagonal path until fingers are hovering just above the ground. Continue to hold the “tummy tuck” position as you return your arm back to starting position.

Perform 30 repetitions on one side. Then switch to the other side and perform 30 repetitions, for a total of 60.

IMPORTANT: hold the “tummy tuck” position throughout the entire arm motion.

3. Controlled Kick

Starting position: Perform a “tummy tuck” and slowly raise bent knees until your shins are parallel with the ceiling.

Motion: Repeat the “tummy tuck” and slowly extend one leg straight as you lower it until your foot is about 6 inches above the ground.  Hold the “tummy tuck” position as you slowly return your leg back to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg.

Perform a total of 30 repetitions (15 on each leg).

IMPORTANT: repeat the “tummy tuck” immediately before each repetition and hold it throughout the entire leg motion.

4. Double Leg Press

Starting position: Perform a “tummy tuck” and slowly raise bent knees until your shins are parallel with the ceiling.

Motion: Repeat the “tummy tuck” and slowly extend both legs straight while keeping your feet at approximately eye-level.  Hold the “tummy tuck” position as you slowly return your legs back to the starting position.

Repeat 15 times.

IMPORTANT: repeat the “tummy tuck” immediately before each repetition and hold it throughout the entire leg motion.

5. Around The World

Starting position: While sitting on the floor, lean back onto your elbows and place forearms flat on the ground so that your hands rest close to your waist. Keeping your knees together, bend them to about 90 degrees. Perform a “tummy tuck” and slowly raise bent knees until your shins are parallel with the ceiling. Spread knees just wider than shoulder width, but keep toes together.

Motion: Squeezing your abs to hold the “tummy tuck” position, and keeping the angle at your knees the same, slowly draw a circle with your toes.

Perform 10 circles in one direction followed by 10 circles the other direction, for a total of 20. 

IMPORTANT: keep your abs engaged by maintaining the “tummy tuck” position throughout the entire circular motion. Also, make sure your thighs do not come too close to your chest while performing the exercise. Look very closely at the angle between my torso and thighs to get an idea of what it should look like.

2. Stop eating by 8:00 PM

During the Lose Belly Fat Challenge you should stop eating by 8:00 PM.

This is to cut out late-night snacking and save night time for sleep! As your body prepares for rest and repair, your metabolism slows and food is processed differently. Because of this, calories eaten late in the evening and overnight are more likely to be stored as fat.

Thus, it’s best to end eating for the day with a well-balanced dinner at a reasonable time.

If you’re having a hard time managing your appetite, check out this post full of great tips on how to calm hunger.

3. Drink eight 8-ounce (1 cup) glasses of water

Every day during the Challenge you should drink eight cups of water. Water has many health benefits! But when it comes to getting a flat belly, drinking plenty of water is key to getting rid of belly bloat!

When you’re not getting enough water, your body actually retains water to prevent dehydration. So drinking more water can help reduce water retention. In addition, drinking water helps prevent constipation, another cause of belly bloat.

Lastly, drinking water before meals has an added bonus of helping with appetite control. Drinking 16 oz (2 cups) of water 30 minutes before meals can help you feel fuller faster, which results in fewer calories eaten per meal.

Be sure to keep a water bottle at arms reach throughout the day to more seamlessly integrate drinking water into your routine. Just make sure you don’t overdo it with the pre-meal water, for consuming too much too close to meal time can interfere with digestion.

4. Avoid refined sugar

You should eat no refined sugar during the entire duration of the 12-day Challenge.

Refined sugar is a no-no during the Challenge for two main reasons:

1. Refined or processed sugars add calories but provide little-to-no nutritional value to your diet (so-called “empty calories”).
2. Because your body breaks down refined sugars so rapidly, you are at risk of overeating because you don’t feel full after eating them (regardless of the calorie content).

In addition, the impact of sugar on insulin levels can have negative implications on weight management. Read this post to learn more about how sugar may be derailing your weight loss goals.

Refined sugar to look out for includes:

• Sugary drinks, like soda, energy drinks, sweetened fruit juice, and sweetened coffee
• Candy
• Baked goods, with added sugar
• Low-fat foods with added sugar, like low-fat, sweetened yogurt and low-fat, flavored coffee drinks

But there’s a bit of a silver lining. Sugar from fruit is ok! In fact, there are many fruits that actually help aid in weight management. Read about these fruits (and more) in this post of the best weight loss foods.

I hope you enjoy this 12 Days Of Fitness Challenge. If you’re ready to lose belly fat for a slimmer, trimmer waistline, get started today! You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve in only 12 days. Don’t forget to leave a comment if you give it a try!

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10. Drink water 30 minutes before meals

Drinking 16 oz (2 cups) of water 30 minutes before each meal can help you feel fuller faster, which results in fewer calories eaten per meal. This can reduce weight over time.

Keeping a water bottle at arms reach throughout the day makes integrating this change into your routine more seamless. Just make sure you don’t overdo it with the pre-meal water, for consuming too much too close to meal time can interfere with digestion.

11. Fill up on protein

Similar to consuming high-fiber foods, eating protein-rich foods is an effective way of managing hunger and reducing cravings by making you feel fuller for longer. In fact, one study found that women ate nearly 450 fewer calories per day when 30% of their diet was comprised of protein. These women also lost an average of 11 pounds in 12 weeks, all by simply eating more high-protein foods.

Hunger can be tricky to tame, but with the right strategies, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Commit to trying just a few of the helpful tips in this post for several days (to start), and you’ll be surprised out how quickly your body can overcome bad habits!

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24-Hour Intermittent Fasting Schedules

5:2 Diet

One of the most popular 24-hour intermittent fasting schedules is the 5:2 Diet, which is also know as the Fast Diet. This eating pattern calls for a 24-hour fasting interval two days per week. This particular method, however, allows for consumption of a low-calorie diet (roughly 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men) when fasting. There are no restrictions on the types of foods that you can eat to make up the 500-600 calories.

On the other 5 days of the week, you eat normally (no limitations or restrictions). Note that that there should be at least one non-fasting day in between the fasting days.

Across a week, the 5:2 Diet could look like this:

Eat-Stop-Eat

Another popular approach to 24-hour intermittent fasting is the Eat-Stop-Eat protocol. Also known as the 24-Hour Method, this schedule consists of one or two 24-hour fasting intervals per week. If you choose to fast a second day, the fasting days should be separated by at least one non-fasting day.

One of the biggest differences between Eat-Stop-Eat and the 5:2 Diet is that, during the Eat-Stop-Eat fasting interval, no food is allowed. Only water (plain or sparkling), unsweetened coffee or tea, and other non-calorie beverages are permitted. This approach to the fasting intervals is most commonly known as a “water fast” or “wet fast”.

Although there is flexibility in the timing of the 24-hour fasting interval, a common schedule is 5:00 PM one evening through 5:00 PM the next evening.

Across a week, Eat-Stop-Eat could look like this:

Is fasting longer than 24 hours better?

One may logically come to the conclusion that the less time you spend eating (i.e. the longer the fasting interval), the greater potential for weight loss.

To address this question, let’s review the results of several classic fasting studies in Figure 1 below.

These studies evaluated the impact of prolonged fasting on basal metabolic rate. The metabolic rate after a 12-hour overnight fast was used as the baseline. This is marked as “100%” on the graph in Figure 1. An increase above 100 reflects an increase in basal metabolic rate above baseline. And a decrease below 100 reflects a decrease below baseline basal metabolic rate.

For the first 36 hours of fasting (12 hour overnight fast followed by 24 hour fast), basal metabolic rate increased. However, in all but one study, basal metabolic rate started to return back to baseline after this time point. Thus, it appears that the benefit of intermittent fasting on basal metabolic rate starts to diminish after 36 hours.

Figure 1. Changes in resting energy expenditure during early starvation expressed as a percentage of overnight fasted value (indicated as 100% at 12 hours)

Time-Restricted Feeding

Time-restricted feeding includes all intermittent fasting schedules that limit the hours you eat each day. Thus, the fasting intervals are less than 24 hours in length, and generally tend to range anywhere from 12 to 20 hours.

16/8 Method

One of the most popular time-restricted schedules is the 16/8 Method (Leangains protocol). 16/8 consists of daily cycles of 16-hour fasting and 8-hour feeding intervals. This basically means you eat all of your meals and snacks during an 8-hour period. You may have also heard this eating pattern referred to as the “8-hour diet”.

During the 8-hour feeding intervals you are free to eat what you want and in the quantities that you want. But for optimal weight management, the best intermittent fasting foods are well-balanced meals that provide good nutrition and help control hunger during fasting periods. This is especially important for the last meal before your fast, as it will help sustain you until you break your fast. For more information, check out this post on what to eat when intermittent fasting.

During the fasting interval, only water (plain or sparkling), unsweetened coffee or tea, and other beverages with no calories are permitted.

Across a week, 16/8 looks like this:

Although there is flexibility in the timing of the 8-hour feeding interval, a common eating schedule is 12:00 PM through 8:00 PM.

Fasting during the earlier part of the day instead of later in the day is generally recommended. Most people find it easier to fast upon waking up in the morning and prefer to go to bed feeling somewhat full. Also, lunch and dinner offer opportunities for social interactions. Thus, fasting later in the day could have negative social implications.

However, you also don’t want to eat too late in the day.  Due to circadian rhythm (or sleep/wake cycle), our bodies process food less efficiently overnight. Calories consumed later in the evening (generally after 8:00 PM) are more likely to be stored as fat. Thus, eating too late in the evening could undermine the metabolism-boosting benefits of intermittent fasting.

For more information on getting started with 16/8 intermittent fasting, check out this beginner’s guide to intermittent fasting post.

The Warrior Diet

The Warrior Diet follows the same format as 16/8. But where these two intermittent fasting schedules differ in two important ways: 1) the length of the fasting and feeding intervals and 2) what can be consumed during the fasting intervals.

With the Warrior Diet, you fast for 20 hours per day and consume as much food as you’d like during a 4-hour feeding interval in the evenings. This is eating pattern is followed on a daily basis. However, the 20-hour fasting period is not a true “fast” in the sense that you are allowed (encouraged) to consume small amounts of dairy products, hard-boiled eggs, and raw fruits and vegetables. You should also stay hydrated with plenty of non-calorie liquids (water, black coffee, etc).

Flexible Time-Restricted Eating Schedule

Most Americans eat 15+ hours a day. This only gives your body a 9-hour break from processing food, and this largely occurs during sleep. Thus, there is a lot of room for improvement!

It may come as a relief that you don’t have to fast 16-20 hours per day to lose weight with intermittent fasting.

In fact, studies have shown that you can achieve positive weight loss benefits from as little as 12 hours of fasting per day. In other words, you can still eat for up to 12 hours per day and still reap the benefits of intermittent fasting. Even more, you don’t even have to be perfect. Fasting for 12 hours per day 5 out of 7 days a week may be enough to help you lose weight!

Learn more about a novel intermittent fasting weight loss program that will help you CRUSH your weight loss goals!

Intermittent fasting can be a very powerful weight loss tool! The key is to finding the schedule that fits best with your preferences and lifestyle. So carefully weigh (pun intended) the pros and cons of the various intermittent fasting schedules to pick a method that you can stick with.

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