My 16/8 Diet Plan | Munazza Bangash

Weight loss is something I’ve always struggled with. Since I was a kid, I remember being a bit more curvy than I’d like (I’ve never really been too overweight). I wouldn’t say that I tried a million different methods to lose weight, because that would be a lie. However, I did try quite a few, and only one or two methods showed results. For me, crash diets never worked, and neither did intensive exercises, as I was never able to continue with them.

Belonging to a desi household never helps, either. There’s always something going on with us desi people. Some event, going out, weddings, gatherings, guests, you name it. And then the preparations, especially in regards to food, just makes it downright impossible to continue a restricting diet. Also, how long can you ignore biryani, kheer, and oh god, I feel hungry now!

In short, I wanted something that I could work with on a long term as a lifestyle, without having to make drastic changes to my routine, or without restricting myself so much that I stop working towards my goal altogether. A month ago, I came across an article that stated the benefits of intermittent dieting. It seemed impossible to do, especially for a desi girl like me. But there was a way of intermittent dieting that was not too restrictive nor too unrealistic. It was the 16/8 diet plan. Once I read about it, I knew instantly that wasn’t too hard to do, and I had a feeling that it will yield me the desired results.

I started it in collaboration with Umaima Mehtab (Dudettes Talk), and we embarked on the journey together. We would send each other our meals in the day, and often, with a good laugh, tell each other why exactly we weren’t able to lose weight before as we finally realized when we sent the pictures of our meals to each other, that they indeed were fattening, and we used to refuse to realize it.

In the 16/8 diet routine, we would fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. However, we would keep the meals we had in the 8 hours timeframe, relatively healthier than before. We would start eating at 12 PM onwards with big breakfast or lunch. I’d definitely have my tea with milk and sugar without feeling guilty, and then throughout the day, I’d have some fruits, maybe a cup of tea again, some dry fruits. Sometimes, I’d eat some chips but would try my best to control the portion when I did have the fattening foods.

We would stop eating at 8 and sometimes 9 (as it is said that females benefit more with a 9 hour time frame for eating, which we are not complaining about). We would send each other our dinner meal pictures and call it a day.

When we were fasting, which was after 8 PM till 12 PM the next day, we could have black coffee, red tea (without sugar), and maybe cucumbers. Basically, we couldn’t have anything that has calories in it. Honestly, it wasn’t too hard because most of the time, we’d be sleeping. And having dinner early meant we would sleep on well digested food in our stomach, which is perfect for you if you want to lose weight fast, and is good for overall health. If we had guests, we would just keep the 8 hours timeframe in mind, and adjust it accordingly so that the dinner didn’t exceed our time limit.

It showed results within a week. If not on the scale, I definitely felt lighter overall. It was wonderful, and it didn’t really feel like a lot of work either.

To boost the process, however, I’m starting to incorporate a 30 minutes workout. For me, it’s going to be jumping the rope, then a set of exercise, then jumping rope, and repeat. It’ll be my HIIT and that has always worked for me. Also, you can always switch junk food with low calorie alternatives, as that helps too. This routine is more than just weightless for me, it’s a healthy lifestyle that I’m sure I can continue with.

And that’s it. If you’re struggling with weight, try this easy method. It works for me, and I’m sure it’s gonna yield positive results for you too if you stay consistent.

Hope this post helped. If it did, please give it a like and leave a comment.

Till next time,
stay blessed. ❤