Intermittent fasting (IF) is more than just skipping meals it’s an eating pattern that alternates between periods of eating and fasting, designed to tap into your body’s natural metabolic processes. One popular method is the 16:8 approach, where you fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8-hour window. Another is 5:2 fasting, where two non-consecutive days of the week you restrict calories while eating normally the rest of the week.