Kickstart your fat loss with this 3 Week Intermittent Fasting Plan to Jumpstart Your Weight Loss—a simple, step-by-step guide for beginners and busy people.
Intermittent Fasting Plan
In this blog post, you’ll be given weekly tasks, learn how to structure your fasting and eating windows, choose high-protein, low-carb meals, and avoid common mistakes that slow results.
Use this easy intermittent fasting plan to boost metabolism, shrink cravings, and finally see the scale move in the right direction.
Hi there, it’s so great to meet you. I’m Jen (So What IF? with Jen) – a 50 Year Old Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) and K-12 PE teacher who discovered intermittent fasting in 2021, lost 46 pounds in 4 months, and became an “IF” lover for life.
WEEK 1 TASKS
The four tasks for week one include:
- Download an Intermittent Fasting Tracker App
- Take Before and After Pictures and Body Measurements
- Skip One Meal a Day and “Clean” Fast for 16 Hours
- Avoid All Alcohol and Sugar
Task 1: Download a Fasting App
I’d like you to start by getting some sort of INTERMITTENT FASTING TRACKING APP. It will keep you accountable and keep track of your fasting hours, water intake, etc.
There are a TON of apps our there. I have tried out several over the last five years of fasting.
I think it’s important to find one that you like. If FREE is your thing there are apps like ZERO and FASTIC that are great. My personal favorite FREE app is currently EASY FAST.
There’s also an AI-Powered Fasting app that I have tried and really like called LITELY but I keep going back to EASY FAST and that’s been working great for me.
Just pick one that you like that works for you and begin using it every day without fail.
Task 2: Take Before/After Pics & Measurements
As uncomfortable as it may be, I’m going to need you to TAKE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES AND BODY MEASUREMENTS.
Then, record those numbers and measurements in a notebook or spreadsheet of some kind.
Please, please don’t skip this step – it really is that important. Taking your photos in a bathing suit or a workout outfit works great. Be sure to take front, back, and side photos.
When taking your body measurements, I recommend measuring:
- WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE – Taken at the narrowest part of your torso or around the belly button; strongly linked to visceral fat and health risk.
- HIPS – Measured around the widest part of the hips/glutes
- CHEST/BUST – Around the fullest part of the chest
- THIGH – Around the widest part of one thigh
- UPPER ARM – Around the biggest part of the bicep
Task 3: Skip One Meal a Day
Start skipping just One Meal a Day and “CLEAN FASTING” for 16 hours each day.
This means that All your food should be consumed within an 8 hour period.
Here are a few tips to help you with this task.
TIP 1: If you absolutely can’t handle starting with a 16 hour daily fast, start where you feel comfortable and gradually bump up your fasting time 30 minutes every two-three days until you get to 16 hours.
TIP 2: “CLEAN” means eating ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD and drinking only BLACK COFFEE, WATER, PLAIN UNFLAVORED SPARKLING MINERAL WATER and unflavored herbal GREEN TEA/BLACK TEA during your 16 hours of fasting each day.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you don’t add anything with flavor to those drinks (we don’t want an insulin spike) – no lemon in water, cream in coffee, etc.
TIP 3: If you are struggling to drink your coffee black, you can try the ALTON BROWN TRICK and add a sprinkle of sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt to it – it works awesome and will cut the bitter taste right out!
Task 4: Cut Out All Sugar and Alcohol
And Finally your 4th and final task for this week is one that you may not too much.
Please cut out all ALCOHOL and SUGAR – it will absolutely slow down your progress for sure.
BUT, don’t worry because I will be giving you a recipe to cure your sweet tooth in week three of this jumpstart plan.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Now, if by some chance you get going into the plan and are feeling like total dog crap – headaches, feeling weak, tired and/or light-headed – first know that it is completely normal, it sucks BUT it’s temporary and really shouldn’t last for too much longer.
However, if you are really struggling, I highly suggest taking a raw unflavored electrolyte supplement.
LMNT is my absolute favorite. I use the unflavored kind because it is the only one that WON’T BREAK YOUR FAST and you can easily add it into regular or sparkling mineral water.
This stuff helped me out a ton when I first started along my fasting journey.
You can get all of the WEEK 1 – PART 1 DETAILS of this plan in my YOUTUBE Video RIGHT HERE.
Week 1 “IF” JUMPSTART PLAN
WEEK 2 TASKS
The four tasks for week two include:
- Bump up your Fast to 18-20 Hours Each Day
- Keep Net Carbs at 30 grams or Less Daily
- Start Breaking Your Fast with ACV
- Add a Little Exercise to Your Day
Task 1: Bump Fast to 18-20 Hours
The first task for this week – is to BUMP YOUR FAST UP TO 18-20 HOURS each day. Studies have shown that the REAL FAT BURNING begins at about 18 hours.
Now, this is where a raw electrolyte supplement like LMNT can really come in handy.
If you are struggling with fatigue, headaches and hunger, as you try to push your fast to that 18-20 hour mark, first try and drink some plain sparkling mineral water.
That almost always helps curb my hunger and helps me push through.
If that doesn’t work, you can try mixing an LMNT electrolyte supplement into plain water or sparkling mineral water.
I would suggest taking the electrolyte supplement around the 15-16 hour mark. That should help you push through to hour 18.
Task 2: Keep Carb Intake to 30g Net Carbs
Try to keep your daily net carbs under 30 grams daily. Keeping my net carbs under 30 each day was definitely one of my weight loss secret weapons.
I don’t know if it will work wonders for you like it did for me but why not give it a try.
How to Easily Calculate Net Carbs
To easily calculate net carbs, just take the total carbs on the label and subtract the grams of fiber and sugar alcohols:
And For many whole foods without sugar alcohols, you usually just subtract the fiber from the total carbs to get your net carbs.
Task 3: Break Your Fast With ACV
Start breaking your fast EVERY DAY with my 7 ingredient ACV APPLE CIDER VINEGAR weight loss DRINK.
It contains apple cider vinegar, organic lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper and citrus flavored sparkling water.
You should drink this once a day, 20-30 minutes before you take your very first bite of food for the day.
WHY? Because IT TOTALLY WORKS!
It incorporates the 4 best weight loss spices and it’s going to help with metabolism, digestion and quite possibly accelerate your weight loss.
You can get the FULL ACV RECIPE Right Here!
If you absolutely HATE the ACV drink you can do a few different things.
FIRST, make sure that you are mixing the ACV, spices and lemon juice with sparkling mineral water. I’m not a fan of mixing the drink with plain water – honestly I kinda hate it. I LOVE it when it is mixed with carbonated mineral water.
I also believe that the flavor of mineral water makes a difference too.
I definitely recommend using citrus flavors like lemon, lime, or orange and staying away from fruity flavors.
It’s an acquired taste but it totally gets better. And when you start losing some serious weight, for some reason, it magically starts to taste so much better – LOL.
ACV Weight Loss Cubes
Task 4: Exercise
I’d like you to Try to get some sort of WORKOUT in most days of the week – 5 to 6 days is ideal.
It doesn’t have to be anything too crazy. And its EVEN BETTER if you can workout in the fasted state.
You will absolutely lose more weight if you are able to do thisl The further into your fast – the better.
This is another secret trick that really worked well for me.
Here is an awesome 30 minute walk/jog treadmill workout that I love to do a few times a week.
30 Minute Treadmill Workout
You can get all of the WEEK 2 – PART 2 DETAILS of this plan in my YOUTUBE Video RIGHT HERE.
WEEK 3 TASKS
The five final tasks for week three include:
- OMAD (a few per week)
- End Eating Window with a Healthy Fat Food
- Strength Training
- Complete an Extended Fast
- CELEBRATE
*REMINDER: This is an add-on plan, so i definitely want you to keep doing what you’ve been doing.
We’re just leveling up a bit and making a few tweaks to the last two week’s tasks.
Task 1: OMAD
Let’s talk OMAD or One Meal a Day. If 18-20 hours has been pretty easy peasy for you – a bump up to 22 hours or so shouldn’t be too bad.
However, if 18-20 hour fasts have been difficult for you, your body is still probably adjusting to this fasting thing.
It’s possible that you may need to build up your fasting muscle a little more. If that’s the case, you can just stick to 18-20 hours of fasting for a while longer until you’re comfortable with pushing it to 22.
But if you are feeling good, you are probably starting to get into that fat adapted mode. Try to do an OMAD a few times in the next week or so. I think you’ll be very pleased with your results.
OMAD is my jam and although it says you’re eating just ONE MEAL A DAY I actually do it a little different.
Why I Love OMAD!
After drinking my ACV drink, I generally start with a small snack while I’m preparing dinner.
Then, I enjoy a nice sized dinner, never counting calories, just eating as much as I want until i feel satisfied.
And finally, finishing a little while later with a healthy dessert.
Task 3: End Eating Window with a Healthy Fat
I’d like you to be intentional about ending your eating window with a healthy fat food, like full fat greek yogurt or 1-2 of my awesome Keto coconut oil fat bombs.
Some of the best healthy fat foods to end your eating window with include: Avocados, coconut oil, walnuts, salmon, macadamia nuts, eggs, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, almonds and full fat greek yogurt.
Healthy fat foods are an excellent way to end your eating window for the day before entering into your next fasting period.
The reason for this is that these foods are going to help you to feel fuller for longer and allow you to comfortably fast easier and longer into your fast the next day.
I personally like to end my eating window with something sweet which is why my go to’s are most often:
- Greek Yogurt topped with some berries
- 1-2 of my keto coconut fat bombs – they are delicious, low carb, low sugar and made with coconut oil and protein powder so you even get some protein in them.
You can snag the KETO Fat Bomb Recipe RIGHT HERE.
Task 3: Strength Training
It’s important to start adding a little strength training to your routine – aiming for 2-3 days a week.
Again, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy or anything too time consuming.
There are all sorts of awesome free strength training workouts on Youtube.
I personally have found that kettlebells are a VERY EFFECTIVE and fun strength training tool.
My two favorite Youtube kettlebell workout channels are : CAROLINE GIRVAN who has a 15 minute and a 30 minute full body kettlebell workout that is amazing. I also really like JUICE & TOYA.
They are both great and I bet you will love them as much as I do.
Task 4: Complete an Extended Fast
If you are feeling good, now is a great time to try completing your first 36 hour EXTENDED FAST.
If you are feeling good, try completing your extended fast at the end of week three.
However, if you’re still struggling – no problem. Just stick with your 18-20 hour fasts for a bit longer until you feel like you’re ready to give it a try. You can totally do it.
CLICK HERE to discover 11 tips to help you to complete an extended fast.
OH MY GOODNESS – We have made it to the 5th and FINAL TASK of the plan and that is to… CELEBRATE!
Task 5: CELEBRATE
It’s now time to CELEBRATE all that you have accomplished over the last three weeks. I am so darn proud of you!
However, after you take a moment to celebrate, it is equally as important to make sure that you DON’T STOP what you have been doing because you now have an AWESOME jumpstart on a brand new incredible fasting journey.
Intermittent fasting is your new lifestyle now and you are going to totally ROCK IT.
You can snag the complete PDF of this 3 Week Intermittent Fasting JUMPSTART Plan + Bonus Items for just $9 RIGHT HERE!
HAPPY FASTING!
Hey – if you want more information on intermittent fasting, I’d love to connect with you.
Here are all of the places you’ll find me blabbing about intermittent fasting success tips, tricks, weight loss recipes and more:
- WEBSITE/BLOG: So What IF? with Jen
- PODCAST: Intermittent Fasting Gems with Jen
- FREE FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP: So What IF? with Jen
- INTERMITTENT FASTING & WEIGHT LOSS MASTERCLASS: Use Code: gems10 to save $10
- TIKTOK
- YOUTUBE
Thanks for stopping by today!
I hope you have a truly BLESSED and BEAUTIFUL day!
JEN
