Intermittent Fasting: How It Works, Who It Helps, and What You Need to Know

When you hear intermittent fasting, a pattern of eating that cycles between periods of food intake and fasting. Also known as time-restricted eating, it doesn’t tell you what to eat—but when to eat. It’s not about cutting calories. It’s about giving your body a break from digesting nonstop. In India, where meals are often heavy and frequent, this shift can make a real difference in how you feel after lunch, how your stomach behaves at night, or why you’re still tired by 4 p.m.

What makes intermittent fasting, a pattern of eating that cycles between periods of food intake and fasting. Also known as time-restricted eating, it doesn’t tell you what to eat—but when to eat. work isn’t magic. It’s biology. When you stop eating for 12–16 hours, your body switches from burning sugar to burning fat. This shift improves insulin sensitivity, how well your cells respond to insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar. Better insulin sensitivity means less fat storage, fewer cravings, and more stable energy. For many people in India with prediabetes or belly fat, this alone is why doctors are starting to recommend it—not as a cure, but as a tool.

Not all fasting is the same. The 16:8 method—16 hours without food, 8 hours to eat—is the most common and easiest to stick with. Others try 14:10, or even 20:4. Some skip breakfast. Others skip dinner. The key isn’t which window you pick, but whether you can stick to it for weeks. It’s not about starving. It’s about eating when your body is ready to use the fuel. In Indian homes, where dinner is often late and heavy, shifting dinner earlier or skipping snacks after 8 p.m. can be a simple start.

It’s not for everyone. If you’re pregnant, underweight, or have a history of eating disorders, this isn’t the path. But for people tired of counting calories, tired of feeling bloated after roti and rice, or tired of waking up sluggish—intermittent fasting offers a different kind of control. You don’t need to buy special foods. You don’t need a gym membership. You just need to pause.

What you’ll find in the posts below are real stories and practical advice from people who tried it—some lost weight, others found better sleep, a few just stopped feeling hungry all the time. You’ll also see how it connects to Ayurveda’s meal timing rules, how it interacts with diabetes medications like Ozempic, and why some people see results faster than others. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s happening in homes, clinics, and kitchens across India right now.