Hi all, I’m on my 2nd day of IF. I stop eating by 6/7p and have nothing but water and black coffee in the morning and break my fast the following day at 12p. I eat between 12-6/7p and repeat. I had a few questions:
How often do you all IF? And for how long? 2-3 days in a row? Twice a month?
Also, what about chewing sugar free gum?
I do IFing 4-5 days a week. I also add in an extended fast a couple of times a month now that I am maintaining, not losing now.
Your timing sounds fine. It is ok to put a small amount of heavy whipping cream or melted coconut oil, if that will help you extend your IF times. Some do excellent on 20:4 timing. I found 18:6 was optimal for me. YMMV.
Depending on the artificial sweetener and how you personally react to it, it can be good or bad. I had gotten into the habit of using it while doing long walks so I didn’t have to take more water with me. I had a stall while doing that, so for me, I can’t use it for weight loss. Now that I am in maintaining, I can use it on the longer walks again.
Hey Judy,
Good luck on IF. The wonderful thing about it is flexibility. If I ever need to break a fast, that option is always there. But I maintain my IF schedule close to 100% of the time. I only eat one meal a day and love the way that has liberated my schedule.
Different people react differently to sugar-free products, so the gum is a call you’ll have to make on how you react to it. My take on sweet stuff that keeps my mouth busy is that it reminds me of a whole style of eating (sugar-burning) that is no longer available to me–so it has no appeal to me.
Likely fine. I chew more than I ever have. Sugar free. Count it as one carb. Carb reduction is the important factor, not sugar free gum reduction.
Same here. I’ve been doing IF for almost two years now, some variation of one meal a day or a 4/5 hour eating window.
OP, I’d suggest you stay away from anything other than water or black coffee until your eating window. The longer you go with few/no calories, the more improved your changes in insulin response will be.
Eating keto helps stay IF, I’ll have a large meal with lots of fats and I just don’t want to eat again for some time, maybe a few days.
IMHO gum is a crutch, it’s replacing that “gotta have something sweet” after each meal. I used to chew it like a fiend. My first 5 day fast cured that. Since it was a “nothing but coffee/water/vitamins” fast, I had to quit gum. After that fast, I never wanted another piece and have not had a single piece in over a year. I’m not saying it’s bad for ya etc., just that I I’d recommend getting away from it when you can. It’s a helpful pallet cleanser after a meal but, once again, one that I think folks are using to continue their desire for dessert after each meal, like cowboy said, it’s a remnant of an old way of eating.
Good luck on your IF journey, like other things, it gets easier, I promise!
I agree that when you get over the gum there will be other benefits like having your mind right off eating. Yes, that will happen.
I do 20:4 most weekdays. It means not having to worry about taking lunch, maybe a coffee at breakfast fast time. I used seasalt straight to get over hunger around lunchtime and water as needed - I don’t use the salt so much now. Then dinner around 6pm and maybe some nuts or cheese later … or not. So some days are 23:1. On the weekends I have a decent breakfast of omelet with sausage, maybe lunch if I want to, and dinner. It’s true that your body adapts and it’s no big deal.
Same here. 23:1 or 22:2 most days (since I find it hard to get decent calories in just one meal - I get way too full before I hit 700-800 calories, generally). That’s M-F and then on weekends, depending on what I have planned, I might eat a breakfast or lunch. Tremendous flexibility. I’ll also throw in an EF here and there and go 2 to 5 days. You know - just for fun.
Thanks guys! Appreciate the input! So, now this brings up another question of getting enough protein daily. I have read that it won’t hurt if you don’t hit your protein macros daily but may be troublesome in the long run. Always get conflicting info, “don’t eat too much protein”, “eat enough protein”, “it’s ok to not hit protein goals”… your experience?
My thoughts are you have to be very, very low on protein for an extended period of time to experience a loss in lean mass. Maybe that number varies depending on activity levels - probably only slightly across the spectrum of activity (sedentary versus active or spending 4 hours in a gym heavy lifting every day). I do not have a DXA around me to get an accurate body composition but using an impedance scale before I started keto and then during and after a loss of 55lbs, it showed a loss of 2lbs of lean mass. But what’s the accuracy of that device? I have no idea. I’ve since added back 5lbs of that mass just doing some heavy lifting and increasing protein a little - obviously measuring with that same scale and I can lift more and I can see the muscle development, so I generally think it’s somewhat accurate.
Here’s a good article summarizing advice across the “keto” spectrum of advice for protein: http://www.ketoisland.com/blog/is-protein-in-keto-important/
A word of advice - when you hear recommendations, note if they are referencing the # of gms of protein per lb or kg of lean body mass or total body weight. I see it referenced both ways and it can get confusing.
RxMan hit the nail on the head, it’s not that big of a deal unless you go LONG periods with low/too little protein.
The “oh my god you GOT’S to hit your protein levels” is from the fitness community and, I suspect, pushed the hardest by those who sell… protein supplements!
I know, I know, I know, a food/supplement/company seeking to gain financially by pushing something, and promoting overuse even… crazy right? Several big names in the keto community have done “low protein diets” (using protein daily but well below the “correct calculated levels”) and have done just fine, one of them is a natural body builder at the pro level, eating “well below” what they “should” be eating when it comes to protein macros. So, that’s a long way of saying, it’s marketing that wants you to worry so much about this. Eat a good keto diet and you’ll most likely be fine.
I"m new to IF and studying every thread on here to figure it out - you mention vitamins - is there a specific kind of vitamins we should be taking - or just multivitamins in general - sorry for such a simple question but this is all new and it’s hard to figure it all out with just reading a lot of threads (I am starting to piece it together based on things that are repeated in each thread but just barely)
Sorry for the delay flowerfarmer (working a kitchen overhaul is taking up 98% of my life right now).
I’d say to start with fish oil and a mag supplement since lots of folks have issues with cramps etc on this WOE.
Now, mag is a rabbit hole in and of itself, what kind/how much/when… you’ll have to test and adjust. I found that “lots of mag” right before bed causes me to sleep all night but wake up groggy, so now I take it first thing in the day. Too little mag/long term fasting/low calories and I’m right back into cramp-ville.
I’ve added and removed other vitamins based on how I’m feeling, things like vitamin D, selenium etc. It really is an individual thing that requires trial and error. Lately I’ve been cycling some of the vitamins, only taking them every other day or, when I run out of one, taking a few weeks off from it, to give the body a chance to adjust and maybe start making more (when it can, like vitamin D).
Sorry that’s not that helpful, as with many variables in this WOE, you just got to dig in, give something a try, evaluate results, and adjust.
Best of luck to you!
Tim