How much to eat on IF during eating window

(Connie Hall Roy) #1

I started Keto on 4/1/19 and as of 5/1/19 (1 month), I lost 12 lbs. For the next month I don’t want to get on the scale…maybe will get on on 6/1/19…that will be 2 months on Keto. Today, 5/14/19, I am doing IF. Last night I got home and went straight to my bed and watched TV with a glass of water…wanted to stay away from the kitchen. My IF will be 20/4. My questions are:

  1. How much do I eat on the Keto diet during my 4 hour window?
  2. Do I eat one big meal or mini meals and/or snacks?
  3. Will tea with 2 packs of stevia break my fast if I drink that in the mornings?
  4. Can I drink ACV in the mornings without breaking the fast?
    Thanks in advance for your responses!
(hottie turned hag) #2

The “how much” shall vary greatly from person to person and day to day for the same person so that one is hard to pin down.

In my case, I’ve been eating once/24h (recently went to once/48h) right from the start (Aug 2017) though Fung et al do not recommend this, it worked great for me, Everything is case by case!

I eat one BIG MEAL. Some days this is prob 3000+ cals. Other days far less (estimation; I don’t count cals). Ex: one day I’ll have one fried egg and a tin of sardines. Next time 8oz pepperoni, Italian sausage, salmon salad, bacon, yes all eaten in a 30 min period like a big glutton. SO FUN :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: to do.

I’ve had massive success and find it super easy. However what works for me may not for you; you must experiment round to get to your best method. In my case, I knew eating several times per day, smaller amounts would not be enjoyable; for another, (and this is why Fung doesn’t advise it), eating enough at a sitting is impossible and results in inadvertent cal restriction so for that person this would be contraindicated.

I use no sweeteners so cannot speak to that one.

ACV won’t break the fast.

Key point, try different ways! As long as your food is comprised of “keto” foods the methods are not hard and fast; so many different ways to do it!

(Connie Hall Roy) #3

Thank you @BlueViolet… this was very helpful. Would like to hear what is working for others and what kind of success you’re having?

(MooBoom) #4

Different things will work for different people, it’s best to focus on what works for you (which is a process of discovery via trial and error).

(Connie Hall Roy) #5

OMG…I was counting down the minutes until 12:00 PM…was starving…Fixed myself a small snack (cream cheese, stevia, heavy whipping cream and pecans). Could only eat 3 spoonfuls, what the heck. I was starving before noon, now I’m too full to eat anymore. Is this normal?

(George) #6

Hi there!

  1. Eat until you’re full, which is sometimes easier said than done. I for one have kind of crappy satiety signals, so I put my food on a small plate, eat till it’s gone, wait about 5 minutes, and if I’m still hungry, I’ll go add some more food, about 1/4 of my plate size, but most of the time I’m satisfied with just my 1 plate (i do 1 meal a day)
  2. It’s best not to snack. The frequency of when you’ll eat during that window is totally dependent on your hunger, so again just eat until you’re full.
  3. I stopped using sweetener a few months ago, but I believe the answer is yes, sweetener does break your fast as it spikes insulin levels
  4. Yes, if your stomach can tolerate it.
(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

I can’t recommend this tight of a window for you at this point, one month in because,

And this is why I said what I did. Being hungry for now is going to make your body think there’s a food shortage going on. While you may drop a few pounds at the start with the calorie restriction that’s likely going to take place, you’re metabolism will ramp down to compensate for the shortage.

Right now it’s okay to eat three meals a day and not focus on weight loss for the moment. Try to eat enough that you can easily make it to the next meal without snacks. If you need a snack it’s okay, but eliminating them should be your first goal. You want your body to have plenty of fats to burn and eat enough protein to make you feel satisfied with your meal. Don’t try to add a lot of fat but don’t skimp either. Your body will get adapted to burning fat soon and then you can dial back your fat intake and burn body fat. That’s why I am advising not to be hungry, if you’re hungry eat. Don’t be ruled by a clock window just yet. It should be easy to do fasting, not something that you need to push through till a certain time.

After you’re fat adapted it will be an easy choice and task to have TMAD or OMAD with a 16/8 18/6 or 20/4 or 23/1 schedule if you choose to do it because it’s easy for you since hunger won’t be a big issue. But it should come natural, not forced.

Best wishes for your success Connie. :cowboy_hat_face:

#8

While I do TRE (mostly somewhere around 16:8 to 17:7) on days that I eat, I also do IF three to four days a week. I think the TRE fits with how I want to eat naturally, because I often felt like I was forcing myself to eat breakfast much earlier than I wanted. But not eating until later didn’t make any noticeable difference in my weight loss compared to eating breakfast within an hour or two of waking. And that’s even with doing a little bit of moderate exercise every morning. I’ve experimented with 18:6 and OMAD, but the 16:8 just kind of hit a sweet spot with me and my “eat when hungry” cycles.

As for IF, I worked into this very gradually over about 2 months. Now I mostly try to eat for two days (on TRE schedule), then fast for two days, usually about 64 hours total.

Yes. This.