IF question: is 18:6 Ok to do daily?

(Laura) #1

I’m Laura … Restarting, this WOE. I’m on my third week LCHF and it really works for me. I’ve lost 10 lbs. so far :blush:. I really like IF too. It works great for me to have an eating window of 11a-6p Not even 8 hrs. I keeping shrinking my eating window and extending my fasting. 2 days ago I didn’t even start eating until 2pm. 16:4??
My question is… Can 18:6 be done daily without decreasing metabolism or should this be done 3 days a week? My goal is weight loss. I have 100 pounds to lose. Do I need to be adding full 3 meal eating days between my 18:6 days ???
Until I know I’m fat adapted, I don’t want to move into 24 hour fasts ,because last time I tried I got migraines… ( don’t think I was quite ready :blush:)
Thanks for your help :heart:

(Susan) #2

Welcome back to the forum, Laura =) and back to Keto!

I have Lunch at 1pm and Supper at 4:30 so I don’t eat daily from 5pm-1pm (an IF from 20:4 daily) so for sure your wanting to do 18:6 is perfectly fine =).

I still over 100 pounds to lose too, so I will be following your threads and wishing you the best =).

(Laura) #3

Ok cool​:wink: thanks :+1:t2:

(KCKO, KCFO) #4

If you can do them daily it is fine. A six hr. eating window should give you plenty of time to eat great meals. Remember, you want your body to provide some of the calories used up everyday.

I have done IFing for weeks on end over the last four years. I do think it is good to mix it up, so I also have done plenty of 36-48 hrs.

You might want to look at Richard’s calculator to see how much grams of fat you need daily.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #5

Yes it seems to be okay. Just make sure to eat a good portion for your two meals.

#6

I eat once a day. It’s recent, I did it earlier for some weeks a time, never long term. But I do IF since several years, my eating window diminished, I surely did 19:5 for several months (perfect for 2 meals for me), maybe not every day but almost. My metabolism never got slower because of this (or any other reason except losing weight) as far as I can tell. No wonder, I could eat properly in my eating window.

Lots of people do 23:1 for years… I plan to do it for life unless I feel the need to include a second meal sometimes, I fall back to 19:5 then. And I surely won’t be perfect all my life, unusual days happen but very rarely.

I’ve read various things about small eating windows and women but even if it’s true it’s bad for many, not for every one. And I need this now.

#7

Interesting article, I had problems with it as my own experiences were different but I started to read the comments. Yep, it’s not that easy, someone like the friend might easily do multiple days fast, it’s way easier for some despite the numbers. Individual factors, those are everywhere… But it’s a useful thing to know vaguely how much energy I can expect to get from my fat reserves, thanks for the link!

(Jennibc) #8

I have been doing 16:8 daily for a year and a half and have had no problems. If you can manage 18:6 without hunger, why not? I haven’t had three meals a day since I started this in June of 2018. I am not hungry in the morning. What’s the point in eating if we aren’t hungry. I do have heavy cream in my coffee every morning though.

(back and doublin' down) #9

ditto to all of this! same for me since April 2018. Even when not losing weight, I have been losing inches and body composition changing in major ways!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #10

I’ve been doing 19/5 for quite a while, I’m very comfortable and find many benefits with it. I eat breakfast between 9-10am and supper at 2-3pm. It’s usually a 5 hour window. I sleep much better on empty. It’s the best for keeping insulin as low as possible (compared to a later window) and I feel like I get my fuel at the times it’s most beneficial (higher activity levels). I realize this won’t work for a lot of people but it’s the best for me. IF becomes most effective when you have nothing but black coffee, plain teas or water during the fasting period. I started out still using HWC about 3 hours before my breakfast but gave HWC up to keep my window clean. Above an 18 hour fasting period you get some small autophagy benefits daily. This is also the best way to combat diabetes which I will always have to be vigilant about because of steroids. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Laura) #11

Thanks.:+1:t2:That’s really helpful​:blush:

#12

Public service announcement: the studies on which the calculator is based were done on a long-term high-carb low-calorie diet, so not applicable to most keto folks.

#13

There are individual factors anyway, it’s just some gross estimation. One can’t calculate caloric need based on mere stats, no matter the diet. If someone go with the average (US females 1410 kcal is stated, a single number!), they can be VERY off even without exercise. I am very off using my stats too but it doesn’t matter if I am in ketosis or not (but I still do low-carb when I’m out). Our energy need, even BMR is individual and subject to change when our diet, sleep, stress level and lots of other things change. Many people can’t seem to believe that.

It’s not realiable for the individuals but if we have some idea about our actual TDEE (and suspect it stays around it in the near future), it can help somewhat. I believe my fat reserves aren’t enough for a totally safe long fast, that calculation seems to be much more reliable than the rest.

#14

Yes, definitely!

Well, maybe… the availability of our fat stores is dramatically increased when we’re in a state of low insulin compared to a state of high insulin. It’s just a completely different metabolic context.

There’s no doubt that folks with more body fat can fast for longer but I wouldn’t trust a sugar-burner calculator to guide me on the availability of my own fat stores, and in fact the calculator has been completely wrong for me personally (which is why I looked into it more closely).

#15

You might be right. I am not knowledgeable enough but we do function differently in ketosis and who knows what it does with that calculation… Okay, then the really fat people can see they probably have enough fat for fast and I can’t have an idea with my smaller reserves. So the calculated energy from fat reserves is maximum only in “normal” cases and it might be much more in ketosis… But it’s originally a maximum so people on a high-carb diet still can’t know surely if it works for them. But I can’t imagine a body just refuses to use its reserves even moderately well so the very fat people must be moderately sure they have enough as the calculation shows they have way more than enough.

Maybe more studies are needed, it’s too vague…I fall back to the usual, listening to my body then, it’s still nice to know about this limit even if it’s not reliable in many cases.

The difference (if it’s due to high/low insulin) is only for the beginning though. The friend in the article had problems with 24 hours but longer term fasters all are in ketosis, no matter their usual diet. I don’t know if fat adaptation matters…

(Randy) #16

I started keto in March 2017. I’ve been pretty much 2MAD that whole time. My eating window has been pretty much 12PM-8PM that whole time. I might do OMAD or have breakfast twice a month or so. On work days, my first meal isn’t until after 2PM. Often 3PM. I’ve lost a total of 170LB (from 440 to 270). Unfortunately I started having hip pain right around New Years 2019, and am scheduled for a hip replacement in Feb 2020. I’ve plateaued since April or so. But unlike EVERY OTHER TIME I’VE EVER LOST WEIGHT, I haven’t started to gain back. Other than the hip, I still feel great, and have no plans to change this WOE any time soon.

(Susan) #17

This is so fabulous, Randy. You are an inspiration to us all.

I hope that your hip surgery goes well, take care.

(Randy) #18

Thank you Susan. :heart: This year has been a challenge. Nothing hurts more than pain. :grimacing:

(Bob M) #19

I eat a lot of two meals a day, though my window tends to be from about 10-11am to a bit after 8pm. The earlier start time is due to when I get hungry (often because I work out about 6-7am), and the later time is when I get my kids home from one of their many weekly events. I’d love to move that later time earlier, but then I wouldn’t we able to eat with my kids. Tonight, for instance, I go pick one up at 7pm, the other at 7:15pm, and then we go home to eat.

170 pounds is amazing! Good luck with the hip replacement, too.

(Laura) #20

your weight loss is amazing!! Sorry about your hip :confused: I bet you’ll be feeling great afterward!! Great to hear your story … thank you :blush: