Can you pick a block of any hours with intermittent fasting?
August 3, 2020 10:12 PM Subscribe
IF, if I choose to eat in five hours of the day, can I just pick any five? Like today was my first day trying. I did 5-10pm,give hours, workout at seven so I see I should have maybe had a Larabar or any granola bar but it was good for today and I don’t want to ruin my big meal. So then can I consider that 5:19? I’m confused how people are so specific with timing certain foods and shuffling hours ( mostly coffee). Isn’t it easier to keep the pattern?
My understanding of this (from having done it, and from having done a bit of research into it) is that you can pick any block of hours for fasting and eating on any given day, and no, it doesn't need to be the same every day. The key thing is to have 13+ hour blocks of time during which you're not eating, to promote autophagy etc. I'd just make sure to space your eating windows at least 13 hours apart and not worry if the exact timing varies day to day. It is possible that there are better hours to eat and fast in terms of one's circadian rhythms (I think I actually read that ideally it would be better to have your eating window during a late breakfast/lunch window, but very few people do this).
I don't 100% understand what you're asking in terms of the granola bar, but it sounds like you had a morning workout at 7am and then you thought it would be beneficial to have a granola bar? Or you worked out at 7pm and wanted to have a granola bar? Actually, there is some research suggesting that working out in a fasted state is beneficial for fat loss and general body health, so I don't think you need to worry about making sure you eat right before or after. Just make sure you get enough protein on the days you work out. I've read that in terms of muscle-building, there may be some benefit to eating protein within half an hour of the time that you're working out, but I wouldn't stress about that. Intermittent fasting can be a bit tough to get as many calories/nutrients as you need in during a short eating window (your idea of "ruining your meal" has to go, since you need to eat multiple times during that feeding window). A five-hour feeding window seems a bit short to me, especially to start with. Might be an idea to start with an eight-hour feeding window, and then cut that down once you get comfortable with it and with eating all of your day's food in that window. I usually do an eight-hour feeding window, and try to time my gym-going for just before that, or in the middle of it. So, I usually eat from noon to 8pm. I might have lunch, and then go to the gym in the mid-afternoon and make sure to have a protein bar or shake right before or right after, and then eat dinner at 7.30pm or something. Or I might go to the gym at 11am, have a protein-filled lunch at noon or one, and then some protein-filled snacks in the mid-afternoon (nuts, cheese), and then dinner at 7.30pm.
With regard to your question about coffee, my understanding is that there's debate about whether coffee counts as "food" when you're not in your feeding window. Personally, I have coffee with heavy cream (no sugar) in my fasting window, and have found that it doesn't make much difference for me, but I'm also following a ketogenic diet, so that might change things.
posted by ClaireBear at 11:26 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
I don't 100% understand what you're asking in terms of the granola bar, but it sounds like you had a morning workout at 7am and then you thought it would be beneficial to have a granola bar? Or you worked out at 7pm and wanted to have a granola bar? Actually, there is some research suggesting that working out in a fasted state is beneficial for fat loss and general body health, so I don't think you need to worry about making sure you eat right before or after. Just make sure you get enough protein on the days you work out. I've read that in terms of muscle-building, there may be some benefit to eating protein within half an hour of the time that you're working out, but I wouldn't stress about that. Intermittent fasting can be a bit tough to get as many calories/nutrients as you need in during a short eating window (your idea of "ruining your meal" has to go, since you need to eat multiple times during that feeding window). A five-hour feeding window seems a bit short to me, especially to start with. Might be an idea to start with an eight-hour feeding window, and then cut that down once you get comfortable with it and with eating all of your day's food in that window. I usually do an eight-hour feeding window, and try to time my gym-going for just before that, or in the middle of it. So, I usually eat from noon to 8pm. I might have lunch, and then go to the gym in the mid-afternoon and make sure to have a protein bar or shake right before or right after, and then eat dinner at 7.30pm or something. Or I might go to the gym at 11am, have a protein-filled lunch at noon or one, and then some protein-filled snacks in the mid-afternoon (nuts, cheese), and then dinner at 7.30pm.
With regard to your question about coffee, my understanding is that there's debate about whether coffee counts as "food" when you're not in your feeding window. Personally, I have coffee with heavy cream (no sugar) in my fasting window, and have found that it doesn't make much difference for me, but I'm also following a ketogenic diet, so that might change things.
posted by ClaireBear at 11:26 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
i've always been a no breakfast person, so i just found it easier to fast overnight, and then my widow to break the fast is generally around 12noon - i just chose the path of least resistance, honestly.
posted by megan_magnolia at 9:39 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by megan_magnolia at 9:39 AM on August 4, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yes, you can pick any. Most people do it overnight because you are already probably fasting about 12 hours (say, 7:30pm dinner to 7:30am breakfast), so it's pretty easy to adjust that a big to get to 14 or 16 or 18 hours fasting. Like, eat dinner by 6:30, then skip breakfast and eat an early lunch at 11:00am - that is 16.5 hours fasting.
posted by amaire at 11:19 AM on August 4, 2020
posted by amaire at 11:19 AM on August 4, 2020
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posted by freethefeet at 10:38 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]