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applefan8254

macrumors 6502a
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can we get native intermittent fasting on apple watch / apple health and native widgets to show fasting status and body status etc? its a relatively simple timer and text, but done right, natively, it can really help to boost motivation and outcomes of a given task, in this case, intermittent fasting. I discovered third party apps that could help with the psychology of intermittent fasting while biking / meditating in 2021/2022. just "getting out there" to get on the bike, and then finding a quiet place to meditate/relax, drink ice water etc, and then clicking on the "start fast" option, and editing the start time back a few hours to before I awoke (I have been a late night food eater), and then seeing not only "blood sugar rises, blood sugar settles, fat burning, ketosis, autophagy, etc, helped to put me in a place of mind where I felt good about just being out and about away from food, but still drinking water, I felt good. mentally and physically. and, then putting the widget on the home screen that showed not just a *timer* but rather, it would say "fat burning" "ketosis", etc, again that helped. and at that time, I always felt apple watch would be *perfect* in this regard, to take the 2x2 widget from the iphone, and basically *put* *that* on the apple watch, to have that boost of motivation right on my wrist. there are third party fasting apps that do the basics, but barely any of them have a simple full screen widget that "shows off" one's fasting status with the text and maybe even a simple illustration etc. it would be nice when living with family or whatever, especially those who might kinda play mental gymnastics with food and such, to be able to press as few buttons as possible to *show off* our fasting status. right on our wrist. so, at this point, 5 years later, after discovering those third party apps, I feel its time apple should embrace the idea and make it a native feature. since no third parties are really doing it right.
 
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I asked ChatGPT to make it easier to read to help out the OP:

Apple should add native intermittent fasting support to Apple Health and Apple Watch, complete with built-in widgets that display fasting progress and metabolic stages.

While third-party apps provide basic fasting timers, what made them motivating wasn't just the countdown—it was seeing meaningful milestones like blood sugar settling, fat burning, ketosis, and autophagy. Those simple status updates helped reinforce healthy habits and made fasting feel purposeful rather than like simply waiting for time to pass.

A native Apple implementation could take this much further. A Home Screen widget and an Apple Watch complication or full-screen view could clearly display the current fasting stage with clean visuals and concise text. Having that information readily available on the wrist would provide constant encouragement, reduce the need to open an app, and make it easier to stay committed throughout the day.

It would also make it easy to quickly show your fasting progress to others without navigating through menus. Sometimes that small bit of accountability or encouragement can make a real difference.

Five years after discovering the value of fasting apps, it feels like the feature belongs in Apple Health. It aligns naturally with Apple's focus on wellness, requires relatively simple functionality—a timer paired with intelligent status updates—and could have a meaningful impact on motivation and long-term health habits.
 
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