Intermittent fasting · The Dr. Ludidi Method

Everyone starts with the window.
That is the last step, not the first.

Learn to eat well before you start playing with leaving meals out. That is the foundation of the method, and it is the opposite of almost everything written about intermittent fasting. Here is what fasting actually does in your body, in what order to build it, and which protocol fits you.

Find your protocol

Read the method first

BESTSELLING BOOK · 14-QUESTION PROTOCOL TEST · ONLINE PROGRAMME

What usually happens

"Intermittent fasting doesn't work?"

Or it works for six weeks, and then the weight stops moving. You feel faint, flat, drained. And the conclusion is always the same.

"Intermittent fasting doesn't work."

"Intermittent fasting is unhealthy."

"Intermittent fasting isn't for women."

None of that is true. What failed was not the method.
It was the order.

Fasting is not a trick. It rests on bio-evolutionary mechanisms: the body learned to survive long stretches without food, and every one of us still carries the genetic code for it. That code does not switch on because you skipped breakfast. It switches on when the foundation underneath it is in place.

The capacity to fast is not a talent. It is standard equipment, in every one of us, young and old. Whether you should use it right now is a different question, and one worth answering honestly.

Get the order right, and fasting stops being something you endure. It becomes a way to handle a western lifestyle, and to take back control of your health.

Why listen to this

Dr. Ludidi Vastenmethode | Intermittent Fasting

Dr. Samefko Ludidi

PHD IN GASTROENTEROLOGY, MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY · MSC NUTRITION SCIENTIST · BSC HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENTIST

Fifteen published papers on gut health, intestinal permeability, inflammation and metabolic health. His doctoral research at Maastricht University was on irritable bowel syndrome, visceral hypersensitivity and the intestinal barrier.

Bestselling author: De Dr. Ludidi Vastenmethode was the first scientifically grounded Dutch book on intermittent fasting. Working one to one since 2010, from everyday people to WorldTour cyclists and UFC athletes. Chief Science Officer at The Longevity Store, and part of the TIGER study with Amsterdam UMC.

Publications and background →

FEATURED ON

On television · Dokters van Morgen, AVROTROS (2019)

In conversation with Antoinette Hertsenberg.

On fasting: what it does in the body, who it suits, and which protocol to choose.

The method

Four steps.
The fasting window is the fourth.

This is the order from the book, and it is the order the body needs. Skip a step and the one after it does not hold.

Step 01

Learn to eat

Not a diet, not counting. Knowing what food actually does: nutrients, what fills you up and what does not, and the human side of eating that no macro calculator captures. Everything after this rests on it.

Step 02

Understand your metabolism

How your body switches between burning sugar and burning fat, why that switch takes time, and what hunger and fullness are actually telling you. Once you see this, the rules stop being rules.

Step 03

The fasting trial

A controlled trial run before you commit. You find out how your body responds, where it protests, and what your real starting point is. This is the step almost everyone skips, and the reason almost everyone quits in week six.

Step 04

Your own window

Only now does the protocol come in, and only then does the question of which one make sense. One size fits none: your rhythm, your sex, your life stage and your schedule decide it. That is what the test below is for.

The test

So where do you actually stand?

Fourteen questions, five minutes. At the end you get the protocol that fits your body, your rhythm and your life stage, with the reasoning behind it and the one thing to watch out for.

01 / Intermittent fasting protocolDr. Ludidi Method

Which fasting protocol
is right for you?

Answer fourteen questions and find out which intermittent fasting approach matches your body, your schedule and your goals — based on the Dr. Ludidi IF framework from the bestselling book and programme.

14 questions · 5 min · Rhythm — Food — Movement — Rest

Two ways in

Learn it yourself, or be guided through it.

The programme

Online, in the app

The full method, in order, in your pocket. Video lessons, assignments, your own protocol and the structure to keep it going when life gets busy. Lifetime access.

Enter the programme →

The e-book

The Dr. Ludidi Method of Intermittent Fasting

The whole method in writing, in English: the evolution of eating, nutrients and metabolism, the fasting trial, the protocols, facts and fables, and recipes. For anyone who would rather read it and work it out alone.

Get the e-book →

WOMEN: THERE IS A SIX-WEEK PROGRAMME BUILT AROUND THE FEMALE CYCLE, STRESS LOAD AND LIFE STAGE. SEE FASTING FOR WOMEN.

From people who did it

What changes when the order is right.

★★★★★

Nearly 40 years of struggling, finally something that works

I struggled with diets and cravings for almost 40 years. Thanks to Dr. Ludidi’s fasting method, my sugar cravings disappeared and my gut finally calmed down. The guidance was fantastic, science-based and easy to follow.

Annemieke van de Geijn

Google review

★★★★★

It didn’t feel like a diet, and that’s why it worked

I’ve tried many diets in the past and this is the first time it didn’t feel like one. I didn’t have to stick with anything extreme. I lost weight and gained so much more: energy, clarity, confidence.

Iibosman

Google review

★★★★★

Long-lasting results, not another quick fix

A well-researched method that shows long-lasting results. I’ve experienced it as a real lifestyle change, not a temporary diet. The shift in how I think about food has been the biggest win.

Lizzy Vuurman

Google review

Facts and fables