Intermittent Fasting Issue & Discussion

[EyeBRollin]

OMAD is doable if you eat calorically dense foods like ground beef, butter, cheese, etc.

Not worth it for health reasons. Don’t go blasting those foods in one big binge. You’re better off just eating three balanced healthy meals.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

I don't do OMAD myself but it's a good way to get into a routine of regular fasting. And if you're trying to actually lose weight it's great for that when you eat healthy instead.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

my dude, the time of day at which you eat has very little to do with how many calories are burned. VERY little.

If memory serves, it could burn maybe 100calories extra by eating in the morning. Do this for 35 days and you may have lost 1lb.

You continue to think the body exists in a vacuum but it does not.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I don't do OMAD myself but it's a good way to get into a routine of regular fasting. And if you're trying to actually lose weight it's great for that when you eat healthy instead.

Losing weight is a psychological battle. Calories in vs. calories out is the formula. However makes the math work out will work.

I am of the opinion that deprivation is counterproductive psychologically and fasting would fall under deprivation for the majority of people. Find a way to cut the calories without depriving a person of what they want to eat.

 

[Money & Muscle]

You continue to think the body exists in a vacuum but it does not.

This is meaningless. You continue to criticize my advice but won't post a physique pic when called on it.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Is there anything I can eat during the fasting window (around noon) to tide me over until until my eating window at 4pm?

I find that honey in black coffee, sometimes over ice, has a hunger satiating effect, which is counter intuitive since it's a sugar. You can probably find real honey at a farmers market. Everything at the store is fake, even the Amish/Mennonite stuff.

 

[Hamurabimbi]

IF worked for me. I’m basically a OMD now.

 

[Kotaix]

I've been doing IF for about 3 months now and have dropped from 155-ish down to 146 and it has gotten rid of the stubborn belly fat that I couldn't lose even when I was exercising my ass off.

I do 11am to 7pm as an interval and snacks during the day don't really seem to have any effect on making me increase weight. I do snack if I get really famished and it's usually nuts, coconut slivers or pork rinds. Coconut in particular has a ton of energy when it comes to energy available per quantity consumed.

IF really is amazing beyond weight loss and fat burning. I haven't felt this healthy in a long time.

 

[Money & Muscle]

I do snack if I get really famished and it's usually nuts, coconut slivers or pork rinds. Coconut in particular has a ton of energy when it comes to energy available per quantity consumed.

I'm confused, you're eating calorie dense foods when following a diet plan which works specifically because it limits the amount of food you can eat in a duration of time..? These two methods are opposite.

You want low calorie foods. You could choose to not eat for 48 hours, then backfill 8000 calories in your eating window and still get fat. Time spend not eating has nothing to do with weight loss if you are still in a surplus.

 

[Kotaix]

I'm confused, you're eating calorie dense foods when following a diet plan which works specifically because it limits the amount of food you can eat in a duration of time..? These two methods are opposite.

You want low calorie foods. You could choose to not eat for 48 hours, then backfill 8000 calories in your eating window and still get fat. Time spend not eating has nothing to do with weight loss if you are still in a surplus.

If you need a small bit of energy to get you over the hump as OP described, a small handful of high energy snack does the job. Especially when that snack has little to no sugar to trigger an insulin reaction.

 

[Money & Muscle]

If you need a small bit of energy to get you over the hump as OP described, a small handful of high energy snack does the job. Especially when that snack has little to no sugar to trigger an insulin reaction.

You'd be better off using caffeine to get over that hump, but I understand.

 

[Obee1]

I have never been a huge breakfast or lunch person. For many years I skipped both meals most days. Then at dinner I ate healthy foods like meat and veggies, very few carbs, and I stayed the same weight for 8 x years. I wasn't loosing because at dinner I was eating TOO MUCH. When I realized that I was almost doing everything correctly for 18:6 intermittent fasting, other than the portion sizes. So a year ago I started decreasing my portions, while still eating the same healthy foods, and I started to loose weight. I am down 60 lbs since the start of 2022. It's been great.

Today, I am still loosing ~1 lb per week and keeping it off. My 6 x hour eating window is 4pm to 10pm, but many days I stop by 7 or 8pm. I have found lately that around 12pm I start to get really weak feeling tired. When I was working from home during the week, I could slip in a nap. Working in an office now, no so easy to do.. I have been pushing through it and not eating until 4pm. But it's getting harder.

My question to you guys is this: Is there anything I can eat during the fasting window (around noon) to tide me over until until my eating window at 4pm? I was thinking maybe I could eat a couple boiled eggs or some nuts at noon to get me by? I haven't done this yet but I have a feeling I am going to have to soon..

Any other suggestions?

Thanks fellas.

LL

Edit: Moving to Health and Fitness from Anything Else (done by accident).

It sounds like your reason for fasting is for weight loss primarily. From your described eating schedule you have likely not entered ketosis nor have you moved into cell autophagy. Fasting can be great for both of those but can also help you eat at a calorie deficit from your maintenance caloric requirement. For this reason I say eat those eggs and nuts at noon but by definition you are no longer fasting. But that's ok as long as by the end of the day/ week, you're at a calorie deficit. Just like lifting weights, your body has adapted to your diet and progress has slowed. Your body is talking to you now and trying to tell you something.

Be very careful to not be more than 500-750 calories in deficit as you'll lose muscle mass. Muscle is important for many reasons but for your purposes loss of mass means slower metabolism and less glucose stores. When glucose has no place to go it's store in the form of fat. Hopefully you're not lifting and exercising intensely. If I were you I would find what my maintenance calorie requirement is and do a food log for a week or two. From my food log I would make sure I'm getting adequate protein. Someone on a low carb diet needs slightly more protein than someone whose not. Where low carb people get into trouble in my experience is by consuming too much fat which quickly takes them into a calorie surplus. Remember, 1 gram of fat is 9 calories versus 1 gram of protein and carb is 4 calories.

I would also consider lifting weights and walking while eating 3-4 times a day to increase muscle mass and reduce fasting to once or twice a week. When it comes to diet and fat loss, there are only a few principles you must adhere to generally speaking, but the methods are many. Most all diets work because they follow those principles. Just pick one that appeals to you and will be sustainable for the rest of your life while letting you enjoy the good times. Why be 8% BF if you're miserable.

 

[Murk]

There's nothing you can eat to help with your fast, because anything with calories is breaking your fast. Black coffee is all I have in the morning.

I suggest shifting your eating window earlier to 12pm-4/6pm. You can eat lunch with your colleagues like a real human, you will still be fasting the same amount of time but get some food/energy earlier for work and fast more while you sleep. Plus eating at 10pm and going to bed isn't good for fat loss. You want to be asleep while deeper into a fast.

I don't recommend MCT oil unless you're on keto as it's very calorically dense and should only be used to extend a fast or provide quick energy for a workout. If you're not using ketones/on prolonged fast it's just calories. MCT C8 is the best oil I used to take 2 tablespoon before a fasted workout really good stuff.

 

[Money & Muscle]

For everyone here that thinks 'extending a fast by eating calories', I'd like to ask you - why do you think the fast is more important than the overall caloric intake?

 

[EyeBRollin]

For everyone here that thinks 'extending a fast by eating calories', I'd like to ask you - why do you think the fast is more important than the overall caloric intake?

Because it is trendy.

 

[Money & Muscle]

Because it is trendy.

Agree, but also because they fundamentally do not understand why they are doing what they are doing. Likely following diet advice they heard off Instagram, TikTok, or some other 'influencer' trying to sell them a product.

The #1 most important aspect of fat loss dieting is that your caloric intake must be below your caloric expenditure. IDK why people think that some magical eating windows can subvert the first law of thermodynamics.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

For everyone here that thinks 'extending a fast by eating calories', I'd like to ask you - why do you think the fast is more important than the overall caloric intake?

Fasting has proven health benefits, one of the biggest being autophagy.

 

[Money & Muscle]

Fasting has proven health benefits, one of the biggest being autophagy.

Is that why you do it, or are you doing it to lose weight?

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

Agree, but also because they fundamentally do not understand why they are doing what they are doing. Likely following diet advice they heard off Instagram, TikTok, or some other 'influencer' trying to sell them a product.

The #1 most important aspect of fat loss dieting is that your caloric intake must be below your caloric expenditure. IDK why people think that some magical eating windows can subvert the first law of thermodynamics.

Because the CICO model is highly reductionistic. It's akin to saying all drug addictions can be solved by "just not using drugs".

For example, CICO doesn't account for how meals and meal timings influence hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin, your GI/gut health (which impacts hunger as well), your bodies ability to utilize glucose in liver stores, and worst of all it seems to imply that the foods you eat don't matter, only the calories. Oh and another thing, food labels are often extremely inaccurate so trying to count calories is kind of pointless unless you're eating the same foods in exact portions every day.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

Is that why you do it, or are you doing it to lose weight?

I don't do it to lose weight. The main benefits of fasting and exercise are mostly about longevity and overall health. It's been proven in many rat studies that fasting slows all markers of aging.

When I want to lose weight I simply focus on quality of foods and discipline on how much I eat, over anything else. But, fasting can be a good way to kickstart yourself into good habits imo since you can no longer "snack" or "graze" all day, which I think is the biggest reason most people are overweight.