Please explain this to an abolsute novice

[antisupermum]

I have been intrigued to read of intermittent fasting as a successful dieting format. However, I am confused by the 5:2, 16:8 etc. Is this days/hours/fraction of a day?

If someone would be willing to explain the dynamics to me in an "Idiots Guide" type way, it would be most appreciated.

Me too

5:2 is you eat normally on 5 days and limited calorie consumption on 2 days

16:8 refers to hours. So you fast for 16 hours and just eat during the 8 hour window

That’s my limited understanding anyway

This is correct. You can in theory do both - 5:2 (eg have 2 days where you fast at 800 calories, and 5 days where you eat more) and 16:8 (so every 24 hour period you have a full 16 hours without eating)
In real terms, 16:8 means eat at 10am, 2pm, 6pm , or at 12.00 and 8pm etc and nothing in between. It gets very easy quite quickly, I very rarely eat breakfast now.

Studies have shown that even with no other dietary or exercise changes, simply eating in a 16:8 style resulted in weight loss (and other benefits if fasting)