Intermittent fasting is often touted as the magic bullet fix for all sorts of things. Want to lose weight? Try intermittent fasting. Worried about pre-diabetes? Try intermittent fasting.

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.

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.