Fasting...does it matter what meal I skip?

notquittingthistime1984

I am just wondering if anyone here does intermittent fasting?
Does it matter which meal I skip? I know traditionally breakfast is the meal that is skipped, but would it be OK to skip dinner instead? Are there any negatives to doing so?
Thank you for any insight that is offered.

ccrdragon

Doesn't matter which meal you skip - just a matter of personal preference and self control... I skip breakfast because I am rarely hungry in the morning and have a tendency to graze in the evenings. If you don't have a problem like that, then skip the evening meal and eat breakfast/lunch instead.

I also eat the evening meal to avoid 'issues' with the wife (who thinks I'm a little obsessed with my weight as it is)

AlexandraCarlyle

I have a BPC for 'breakfast' then skip lunch. It's easier for me to do that, because lunch periods are governed by work and peoples' different shifts, so we have to coordinate our breaks. So by not eating in the middle of the day, I can, if I want, have a little something during my afternoon break, if I feel hungry, but nevertheless wait until I get home in the evening to have something good, adequate but light.
When I'm home on days off, I'm a bit more flexible, so decide when I eat and when I can go easy. I normally fast for 2 days now....

Violet_Flux

I don't think of it as skipping breakfast (or lunch/dinner) and then eating the other two. I just get the majority of my food in two settings instead of three.

I eat first meal around mid-morning, usually 10am, and then second meal in mid- to late- afternoon, around 3 or 4pm.

RalfLott

notquittingthistime1984 wrote: »

I am just wondering if anyone here does intermittent fasting?
Does it matter which meal I skip? I know traditionally breakfast is the meal that is skipped, but would it be OK to skip dinner instead? Are there any negatives to doing so?
Thank you for any insight that is offered.

Great question. I think different people get varying bangs for the buck, depending on circadian rhythms and metabolic patterns (swings in blood glucose & insulin). All things being equal, you should burn more fat if you fast while your ketone levels are higher (evenings, in my case).

@cstehansen, anything to add?

Dragonwolf

If you just want to have bigger meals, then not really.

If you're looking to get the benefits of extending the fasted time, then you'll have to eat a "lunchtime" meal (because eating a morning and evening meal and skipping lunch doesn't really give you the 12+ hour fast benefits unless your days are really long), but it doesn't really matter whether you eat a morning meal and skip dinner or eat dinner and skip the morning meal. On that front, it's good to just work with your existing tendency.

mmultanen

I IF a couple days a week. I almost always do an 16:8 but occasionally do an 18:4. Usually that means I finish eating for the day around 630pm and I'll consume no calories until the next day at about 11am. I have not experienced any negatives with IF however I've never been particularly successful doing longer forms of fasting though I know there are people in this forum who do. I do find, when I IF, I need to consume salt upon waking but...I've been known to lick it straight out of my hand so that's not an issue for me.

The best recommendation I can give you is that when you finish your fast, eat. Don't have a snack. Eat a couple hundred (or thousand) calories.

cstehansen

RalfLott wrote: »

notquittingthistime1984 wrote: »

I am just wondering if anyone here does intermittent fasting?
Does it matter which meal I skip? I know traditionally breakfast is the meal that is skipped, but would it be OK to skip dinner instead? Are there any negatives to doing so?
Thank you for any insight that is offered.

Great question. I think different people get varying bangs for the buck, depending on circadian rhythms and metabolic patterns (swings in blood glucose & insulin). All things being equal, you should burn more fat if you fast while your ketone levels are higher (evenings, in my case).

@cstehansen, anything to add?

@Sunny_Bunny_ has a cool graphic she has posted a few times showing how the longer the window is of not eating the deeper into ketosis one gets.

I think the most common is a 16:8 fast where people skip breakfast so they are eating only within a window of 8 hours. 18:6 seems to be the second most common with similar set up.

I have tried multiple ways. From a blood sugar control standpoint, I think I had the most success eating breakfast and lunch and skipping dinner - still maintaining about 18:6. Unfortunately, that just isn't practical for me because we are determined to have family dinner at least 6 nights a week. At almost 12 yo, my daughter still opens up to my wife and me. I don't want to do anything to discourage this, and it weirds out my wife and daughter when I sit at the table with them through dinner but don't eat anything.

If there was not social repercussions, I think dinner is the best meal to skip for controlling BG and insulin, and would opt to do that myself.

canadjineh

I like to have my first meal at about 3 pmish (more like a snack), then eat a regular dinner with my husband and usually not snack while at work 9pm to 5am. I get to bed right away when I get home so the easiest part of my fast is while I'm asleep. My husband works days and I work nights so we like our early evenings together as 'normal' as possible.

kirkor

notquittingthistime1984 wrote: »

I am just wondering if anyone here does intermittent fasting?

Check this group here as well: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/discussions/49-intermittent-fasting

notquittingthistime1984

Thanks everyone. Maybe I am a little backwards, but I'm usually hungry in the morning and not at night. I get home from work and get busy with something and I sometimes forget to eat. I didn't know if this was ok or normal but it sounds like it's ok!

Sunny_Bunny_

cstehansen wrote: »

RalfLott wrote: »

notquittingthistime1984 wrote: »

I am just wondering if anyone here does intermittent fasting?
Does it matter which meal I skip? I know traditionally breakfast is the meal that is skipped, but would it be OK to skip dinner instead? Are there any negatives to doing so?
Thank you for any insight that is offered.

Great question. I think different people get varying bangs for the buck, depending on circadian rhythms and metabolic patterns (swings in blood glucose & insulin). All things being equal, you should burn more fat if you fast while your ketone levels are higher (evenings, in my case).

@cstehansen, anything to add?

@Sunny_Bunny_ has a cool graphic she has posted a few times showing how the longer the window is of not eating the deeper into ketosis one gets.

I think the most common is a 16:8 fast where people skip breakfast so they are eating only within a window of 8 hours. 18:6 seems to be the second most common with similar set up.

I have tried multiple ways. From a blood sugar control standpoint, I think I had the most success eating breakfast and lunch and skipping dinner - still maintaining about 18:6. Unfortunately, that just isn't practical for me because we are determined to have family dinner at least 6 nights a week. At almost 12 yo, my daughter still opens up to my wife and me. I don't want to do anything to discourage this, and it weirds out my wife and daughter when I sit at the table with them through dinner but don't eat anything.

If there was not social repercussions, I think dinner is the best meal to skip for controlling BG and insulin, and would opt to do that myself.

This should be the one you're talking about

RalfLott

Very revealing. Thx for reposting.

I've been experimenting with fasting schedules for the last few weeks.

What seems to work best for me (in terms of energy, sleep, and blood ketone & glucose levels) is 18:6 - 20:4, with the window closing mid-late afternoon.

I'm finding it pretty easy not to eat in the evening and to wait until late the next morning to eat again, and it's been great for keeping my morning BG down and ketones up.