LAST YEAR, BROOKE MENDENHALL, 36, started counting calories in an effort to lose weight. “I was always hungry,” she recalls, “I would go to bed with my stomach growling from hunger.”
She lost 15 pounds, but then abandoned the plan. Recently, looking ahead to her upcoming 20th high school reunion, Mendenhall decided to try intermittent fasting to reach her goal weight. Within a week, she was fasting 20 hours a day, just eating one large meal in the morning to sustain her. “It has definitely been the easiest weight-loss journey I have experienced,” she says. “I eat until I’m full, and I am almost never hungry.”
Mendenhall’s transition into IF is enviably smooth, but her experience is not universal. Shifting into an IF plan can feel daunting, especially if your…
