Fasting or Eat?

fasting
(John Dawes) #1

Hi All, So as i am entering my 3rd week of Keto, i am noticing i am not as hungry… I have been following a meal plan that provides me with a menu for 3 meals and 2 snacks throughout the day. After an earlier post on here, i have cut the snacking out and i am eating just 3 meals now (usually i combine the snack with a meal).

But to fully understand my situation, i work nights. So, i usually get home around 5 - 6am and go right to bed and wake up about Noon. The last few days i have been introduced to Keto Coffee, so i have been making one of them when i wake up. I usually then eat around 1-2pm, then 6-7pm then around Midnight. Which means i am fasting for around 12 hours from the night before until the keto coffee and still getting in the days menu. So here is my question,

When waking up around Noon, have the Keto Coffee… Like today its 3pm and i have no urge to eat, so i was thinking of eating around 5pm then figuring to eat again around 10 or 11pm since i have work. Now in doing that, obviously the plan i am following is factoring in me eating the correct ratio of Macro, if i start skipping meals, will that throw all that off? Should I consolidate and eat the days portions, but just in 2 meals (obviously, assuming i can finish the meals. The meals aren’t big, but i’m content, so it works.) Also, i am assuming since i am in Ketosis, that i do not have to worry that fasting will actually have a reverse effect on burning vs storing fat?

Thank you in advance for your advice and input, it is truly appreciated.

John

(Greg) #2

John,

In my opinion your body is going to be much better at determining what macros you need and how many calories you need daily over an app or a pre-created diet plan. If you are not hungry then there really isn’t a need to eat. In fact, cutting the snacks may help keep your insulin levels lower and expedite fat loss. I have played around with this quite a bit on my own. I have basically eliminated almost all snacking and typically eat two meals most days and one meal on others. Everyone is different. If you feel like your not hungry, you are probably doing something right.

(John Dawes) #3

Thanks for the info. I suspect the body will tell me when to eat. I guess it so weird to think not to eat when i used to snack and eat 6 or 7 times a day.

Thanks again…

(Kathy Timmons) #4

Welcome John,
Isn’t it great to not feel hungry all the time???
I was a night shift RN for 37 years. I retired in 2012 and have let my body tell me when to sleep and eat (now that I am on Keto) I feel my best when I sleep during the day-usually from 8am til 2 pm. I just adjust my times to eat to my sleep schedule. I have been on keto for 1 1/2 years and am down 75 lbs. I think doing shift work has made us more damaged but it is still possible to heal.
As a shift worker everyone was snacking all of the time…it is just another habit to break, but with Keto it becomes easy because we are not hungry.
I think I waited until I was on Keto for 2 months or so before I started fasting. It takes a little while for your body to start feeling better and loving feeding off ketones.
Good luck and keep us posted!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

It’s a good question. The most important macro is keeping carbohydrate under 20 g/day. Your protein and fat you can eat till your hunger is satisfied. If you can go several hours without hunger after a meal, then you are probably getting enough to eat. If you find yourself needing snacks, then increase the food at your meals.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #6

Hey John. As @PaulL says don’t worry about macros right now. Just stay sub-20 grams of carbs. Eat enough fat and protein so you don’t feel hungry between meals. I know you’re on a 30-day plan but don’t be reluctant to modify as needed. You’ve already combined the snacks with meals successfully. Further, if you eat equal gram amounts of fat and protein you will be eating to a macro ratio of 2.25 fat:protein calories. That works quite well initially and can be modified easily later if need be. As Paul says, the important thing is to be sufficiently ‘full’ at meals not to want to snack an hour or two later.

(John Dawes) #7

Thanks for your input. And yes your right, the body tells you when you need rest and when you need food (although, i’m just learning about the food part). Snacking throughout the night became so normal, its like part of your job at night to be snacking. :slight_smile: Now, in these last 3 weeks, things are really going in a different direction.

Glad to hear your enjoying being retired, one day! Again, thank you and enjoy your day!

(John Dawes) #8

Michael and Paul,

As always your input is so spot on and much appreciated. Pretty much these last few days i’ve been following what you both are advising. Eat when hungry and when i do, reduce the carb intake and stick to the fats and proteins. As you said Michael, although on the 30 plan, i have been making adjustments to that. Since i am only eating 2x times per day these past few days, both are bigger meals than what the plan would call for, but both more than satisfying to get me through the day. Seems to be working fine. Trying to add in some exercise as well. So we will see what adjustments need to be made once i get into a good routine.

Again, Thanks a lot… Really, this forum is so informative, thanks to people like yourselves!

John

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #9

@giovanni3122 When you want to reply to multiple others you can use the ‘@’ symbol to get their attention thus:

01%20PM
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Just hit the ‘@’ symbol on your keyboard to display a list of previous commenters. You can only select one at a time, but you can hit ‘@’ as many times as you like. You can also hit ‘@’ plus a letter or two if the commenter you want does not display in the list.