How to get enough protein when intermittent fasting

(Jamie Hayes) #1

I’m writing on behalf of a female friend. Her ideal weight (BMI 25) is 70kg. She weighs 80 kg now.

She wants to IF daily by bringing her eating window from 12 noon to 6 pm. (18:6)

Let’s say she’s aiming to consume just enough protein to maintain adequate protein status. That’s anywhere 70 gm (1 gm per kg ideal body weight) and 105 gm (1.5 gm per kg ideal body weight)

She’ll probably be having 2 meals and no snacks, but could add a snack.

Won’t it be difficult for her to consume adequate protein? Have I got something wrong? Is there an IF protein-sparing effect that actually decreases the amount she requires to consume?

#2

Nope, it’s easy to do. A 250g (8oz) Scotch Fillet steak, for example, has 72g of protein in it. One meal and she’s covered. :blush:

(Jamie Hayes) #3

Maybe half each meal.

#4

Whatever takes her fancy. As long as your macros are met for the day, it doesn’t really matter how you get them. Some prefer to split it up over several meals, others prefer one meal a day. I’m sure your friend will work out her own N=1 over time.

(Karen Fricke) #5

Protein is 1-1.5 grams for each kg of lean body mass, so your numbers are high. If she’s 20% fat then at 80 kg that’s 60 kg lean body mass. That’s just an estimate for the example, Google to get a calculator that takes age and height into account. I average 50 grams and get it easily in 2 meals. 50 is plenty for an average female.

(mwall) #6

I do average for the week with extended fasts.

(Dave Brooks) #7

This is a very interesting topic that I’d like to explore a bit more. What I’m getting from the answers here is that during IF, one should try for the recommended amount of protein. I think that makes sense when following a daily restricted feeding schedule. But, what about the 24 hour fast which really means 1 meal a day or the 36 hour alternating fast which boils down to not eating anything at all some days. I know we can make this easy or complicated as our imagination likes and I’d like to hear how others handle this situation.