If you want to lose weight, make better food choices, and feel empowered in the bargain, why not give 12-hour intermittent fasting a shot?! Don't worry — this is no fad diet. It's actually pretty simple and straightforward: Each day, you eat over a 12-hour period and fast for the remaining 12. If you're thinking, But won't I be super hungry if I don't eat for 12 hours??? no worries.

Science tells us that intermittent fasting can help us shed pounds and improve our health in the process. But let's be real. To unlock the full benefits, we need more than just fasting. We need guidance on what to eat and the ability to hit those high-quality food choices more often than not. With that in mind, let's talk about how to kick butt at 16:8 intermittent fasting with a well-constructed, goal-aligned, health-promoting, 7-day meal plan.

If you've considered improving your eating habits, you've likely wondered about intermittent fasting. It's a method that captures our attention because it's so simple: Some of the time, you eat. Some of the time, you fast (i.e., don't consume calorie-containing foods or drinks). There are different ways this can shake out on a day-to-day basis. Today, we'll walk you through intermittent fasting 16:8 — one of the most uncomplicated intermittent fasting methods.

Intermittent fasting regularly shows up as many health-seekers' go-to eating plan, and for good reason.

When we're trying to lose weight, we usually think about what we can and can't eat. Bye-bye beer and burgers. Helloooo carrots and kale! But with intermittent fasting, the focus is on when you can and can't eat. 20:4 intermittent fasting comes in hot with a 20-hour — yes, a 20-HOUR — fast and a 4-hour eating window. It sounds a little extreme, huh? So … does it work? Is it necessary to fast that long in order to lose weight or improve your health? Is it even healthy to go 20 hours a day without eating? Let's get some answers.

Eat 500 calories two days; eat normally the rest of the week. You've heard this before. One of your friends tried it once. You saw some fitness influencers talking about it. But you're not entirely sure how it works or if it'd suit you or your goals. No worries. You're in the right place.

Alternate-day fasting works exactly as it sounds. Eat one day. Fast during the next one. Alternate throughout the week. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) is also known as the 4:3 diet because it goes on a 4:3 fast / eat rhythm week by week, like this: Just like other intermittent fasting methods, you can tailor ADF fasting to suit your needs — there's no universal how to do alternate-day fasting playbook.

You made it through your fasting window — congratulations! Whether time flew or you had to grit your teeth through a few hunger pains, you crossed the finish line. … Now what? Is any food fair game, or do you need to ease your body back into eating?

All over the world, if there's anything we all have in common, it's that we eat. Through breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, food connects us, fuels us, and comforts us. What we eat, however, is as diverse as we are. Depending on where we're from, we'll have certain foods that are staples in our diets or certain ways that we prepare those foods.

For the seventh year in a row, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the Mediterranean diet as the most health-promoting eating routine in the world. As nice as the Mediterranean Sea is, it's not just something in the water: there's a ton of research that reflects just why this eating routine — really more of a lifestyle than a diet — is so beneficial.