When did you start?


(George) #21

Tomorrow marks the beginning of month 5 of keto. I started 16/8 (eating about 3 times within that window) about a month in, and continued that for a few weeks. Then, moved to eating 2 times within that same window between month 2 and 3. By the end of month 2, I switched to OMAD or 23/1, and have been doing that ever since. On occasion, I’ll have 2 meals within an 8 hour window on weekends, but it’s rare.


#22

I started TRE (16:8) about a month in. I always felt like I was making a big deal about eating breakfast, because I was supposed to and then I’d forget and feel bad about. Then, like @Alecmcq, I read it might be better for me to skip it after all!

A few weeks after that I added a couple of OMAD days and one full-day (42-hour) fast. I’ve been gradually increasing that and playing around with what works for me. Right now, about 4 months since re-focusing on low carb at the beginning of January, I’m alternating 16:8 for two days and then fasting for two days.

I’ve chosen to fast, because I’m hoping for enough autophagy to get rid of loose skin (I’m trying to lose about 90 lbs. altogether) and to keep my rate of weight loss up to 1–2 lbs./week without wrecking my metabolism through calorie restriction. Understanding what your goals are with fasting may also help you decided whether TRE or IF is the right thing for you, and, if so, when to start.


#23

:arrow_up::arrow_up: If you wake up and you aren’t hungry, lunchtime rolls around and you haven’t been obsessing over what to eat… then would probably be a good time to consider it.


(Brenna) #24

Ok. I must tone it back then. its so not natural for me right now.


(mole person) #25

@Littlerose84 How long have you been strict net 20 gram keto?


(Brenna) #26

I’ve been attempting to do under 20 grams of net carbs. it took me months just to get past not eating potatoes lol.

right now I’m on an egg fast and I’m not sure that I was ever in ketosis until now. first day - i felt like crap. and now I feel a huge surge of energy but I don’t want to overdo it today.


(traci simpson) #27

I think I started “skipping breakfast” after 6 weeks. I was an avid breakfast eater for my entire life but now I can go with just coffee until lunchtime. Trouble is I’m spending a fortune on coffee.


#28

I started fasting about 11 months into keto.


(mole person) #29

Unless you’re really itching to IF, there really is no point yet. Get into ketosis and stay there for six weeks until you’re fat adapted. After that, you should find it much easier if you still want to try IF. But you may also find that you lose weight easily for many months on basic keto, and in that time, your hunger will likely drop off all on it’s own and you’ll find yourself skipping meals without a thought.


(Jane- Old Inky Crone) #30

Question: I hear everyone talking about skipping meals and doing IF, but I also hear that you shouldn’t restrict calories. I’ve been doing IF most of the time for a couple of years. When I eat OMAD, which is my standard habit, I have a hard time even eating 1000 calories. So, which is correct, don’t restrict calories, or do IF?


#31

Both :rofl: IF and TRE seem like they might be just like calorie restriction, but it turns out they’re not.

Hypothetically, if someone needs, say, 2000 calories to maintain weight and they want to lose weight on a calorie-restricted diet, they might eat 1500 calories every day (a total of 10,500 in a week). Over time, their metabolism will begin to adjust to this 1500 as the new normal (aside from the RMR drop associated with just being smaller). So they need to drop calories even lower to keep losing weight. It’s a bad cycle. People refer to it as the Biggest Loser effect sometimes because of a study done on Biggest Loser contestants.

Same person who maintains at 2000 calories does IF. Let’s say they fast 3 days a week, and eat a lot on the other four, taking in 2600 calories/day. At 10,400 calories they are eating just about the same number of calories every week as they would on calorie restriction. However, they have three whole days where they’re not eating, so they drop their insulin response to essentially zero. This is a totally different hormonal mechanism that straight calorie restriction. Studies have shown that fasting like this will not result in the same type of RMR drop over several months of dieting that happens with plain calorie restriction.

In a daily TRE version of this, there’s a big difference between 16:8 (skipping breakfast) and the calorie-restricted version of skipping lunch. 16:8 gives your body 16 hours without an insulin release, whereas with skipping lunch you get it at dinner, then go maybe 10 hours, then at breakfast, then go maybe 10 or 11 hours.


(Jane- Old Inky Crone) #32

@ZuleikaD Thanks for your response. I have a really hard time eating that much. I just are my meal for today and stopped when I was full. I’ve had a total of 1300 calories today, and that was a lot for me. I don’t know how I can add any more, I hate feeling stuffed and miserable. I’m not trying to restrict calories at all.


#33

You could try starting your meal with some calorie dense foods like coconut oil or butter or adding those to your meal.


#34

@JaneyMae I don’t necessarily think you need to eat more. If what you’re doing is working for you, I don’t see a need to change it. But I get what you’re saying about not being able to eat a ton on OMAD. This is how it becomes a naturally calorie restricting plan without the drawbacks of traditional calorie restriction. I tried it a few times, and it turned out not to be a good fit for me. When I did, I ate about the same amount as you. I can eat twice a day and easily eat close to 2500 calories (or more). But once a day, is really only half that.


(Jane- Old Inky Crone) #35

My food today consisted of 3 T Cacao butter, 4 t MCT oil, 3 slices of thick sliced uncured bacon, 1 hamburger (1/3 lb 89% lean), 20 g sharp cheddar, 1 T mayo, 16 g raw cashews, 1/4 cup sauerkraut, 2 Claussen dill pickle spears, and 8 oz of Califia dairy free unflavored & unsweetened probiotic yogurt drink. And a whole lot of water. Oh, and Coffee (the elixir of life!).


#36

That sounds like a good spread. Some people switch to TMAD if they have trouble eating enough in one meal. When I regularly fast I occasionally have that problem on feasting days and will eat 2 meals. I also like to switch it up (from OMAD to TMAD) just to keep my body guessing (I think this is great for metabolism) sometimes.


(Jane- Old Inky Crone) #37

Yes, after reading these boards for a few weeks I now try to just follow what my body wants. Some days I eat more meals, I just eat when I get hungry and stop when I’m full. I was just concerned about not eating enough calories, a few years back I lost 60 pounds by doing extreme calorie restriction (CRON), but discovered I couldn’t lose any weight if I ate more than 700 calories a day. I really trashed my metabolism, and now I’m just trying to find out what will repair it. I fear not eating enough to do that now.


#38

I think you have a good strategy. Listening to your body is ideal. As long as you’re not forcing yourself to undereat, like calorie restricted diets do, I have a feeling your metabolism will improve over time.


(Troy) #39

Started when I just was not hungry for breakfast any more. Then soon after, I was no longer snacking late at night
In addition, I had no idea there was a term for what I called “skipping breakfast and not eating late” until I joined this forum
Hello IF😄
Today, just OMAD…scrambled up some hot dogs and eggs. Cooked in butter, topped in butter


#40

I was IF even before keto, I never ate breakfast so it felt easy. I continued with IF and naturally moved on to OMAD. I just can’t be bothered to eat and/or worry about food during the day and I enjoy my home-cooked dinner with my husband. It’s much easier on keto, because you don’t have those hunger crashes like before.