Intermittent fasting involves a repeated cycle of eating windows (where you consume the calories and nutrients you need for the day) and fasting windows (where you take a break from consuming calories). There are many different ways to fast — from time-restricted approaches like intermittent fasting 16:8 to off / on approaches like the 5:2 diet, alternate day fasting, and eat stop eat — but how does an intermittent fasting timeline actually play out in your body?

You're tired of diets. You're done with calorie trackers ruling your life. But you still want to do something to lose weight and/or make your body feel and function better. Intermittent fasting has some attractive benefits in just those areas.

Intermittent fasting gets a lot of credit for being a great tool for weight loss and unlocking health-promoting benefits like reduced inflammation, lower systolic blood pressure, and reduced body fat. But when it comes to shredding and bulking, does it stack up to better gains, or could it stop your deadlift goal in its tracks?

Intermittent fasting is an approach to eating that involves daily or weekly fasts (periods of time when you don't eat) and has been linked to benefits like weight loss, supporting our immune function, reducing inflammation, and even supporting gut health. You may have heard that you can determine your best intermittent fasting schedule by using your age.

Look around, and you'll notice immediately that people are different. Humans vary widely in their shapes and sizes, from the barely-five-foot-tall populations in Indonesia and Bolivia to the easily-six-foot-tall folks of places like the Netherlands and Montenegro. Watch the Olympics, and you'll see diverse body types excelling at different sports: tiny bodies flying through the air in gymnastics, long bodies slicing through the water in swimming, and thick bodies hurling heavy objects through the air.

Maybe you've found your one true pairing in intermittent fasting 16:8 and are ready to tie the knot. Maybe you're still window-shopping fasting schedules for one that fits your style. Or maybe you overheard someone talking about an eating routine that supposedly can support weight loss, reduce the risk of heart disease, and promote better blood sugar control, and your internet stalking of Does intermittent fasting work? dropped you here.

One of the biggest selling points of intermittent fasting is that it's all about when you eat rather than what you eat. And it's totally flexible and customizable to your body, goals, and preferences. That's right: if you're a cake lover, rejoice.

Want better focus? Healthy cognition as you age? Or maybe just a better chess game? Then brain health is probably on your agenda. Aside from cool sci-fi scenarios with a magic pill or technological plug-in that makes you a genius, how else can you improve and/or preserve your brain health?

If you're someone living with diabetes, chances are you've experienced fasting ahead of a blood test. But not all fasting is created equal. Intermittent fasting involves a regular routine of timed eating windows and eating breaks. While the specifics and timing of this routine can vary, all intermittent fasting schedules focus on when you eat rather than what you eat.

If you're a guy who's having a rough time losing body fat, you're not alone. Whether it's a packed schedule, work, family, travel, getting older, or any number of other life demands, finding time for healthy habits can be hard. Plus, food tastes good.