Intermittent Fasting question...

flippy1234

Hi, My daughter is a health nut. She is trying intermittent fasting. All day while at school she does not eat. Then when she gets home, all she does is eat. All good food, she is vegan, but she just eats and eats. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

cmriverside

Lots of people eat that way.

Defeat what "purpose"?

andreaen

How old is your daughter? I'ts not defeating the purpose of the fast, but I am scared she is doing it for the wrong reasons and mught be heading towards an eating disorder. Having had severe anorexia in my teens that midset was part of how I started. I don't mean to scare you, but just be careful.

janejellyroll

The purpose of intermittent fasting is to eat all the food you need in a limited window of the day. It sounds like that is exactly what she is doing, so I don't think the purpose is being defeated.

Do you mean she is consuming more calories than she otherwise would or more calories than she needs?

Some vegans find themselves eating a higher *volume* of food just because they've eliminated some of the more calorie-dense options from their diet. It isn't universal (I mean we still have things like nuts/seeds, avocado, coconut, etc), but sometimes it will look like we're just eating a ton of food even though the calories aren't that high. Sometimes I'll eat dinner out of a mixing bowl, but it's still the right amount of calories for me.

flippy1234

janejellyroll wrote: »

The purpose of intermittent fasting is to eat all the food you need in a limited window of the day. It sounds like that is exactly what she is doing, so I don't think the purpose is being defeated.

Do you mean she is consuming more calories than she otherwise would or more calories than she needs?

Some vegans find themselves eating a higher *volume* of food just because they've eliminated some of the more calorie-dense options from their diet. It isn't universal (I mean we still have things like nuts/seeds, avocado, coconut, etc), but sometimes it will look like we're just eating a ton of food even though the calories aren't that high. Sometimes I'll eat dinner out of a mixing bowl, but it's still the right amount of calories for me.

Yes, I mean consuming more calories...but I think you are right in the density of the food. What she eats is mostly fruits, veggies and grains so I guess it would make sense that she eats more.

janejellyroll

flippy1234 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

The purpose of intermittent fasting is to eat all the food you need in a limited window of the day. It sounds like that is exactly what she is doing, so I don't think the purpose is being defeated.

Do you mean she is consuming more calories than she otherwise would or more calories than she needs?

Some vegans find themselves eating a higher *volume* of food just because they've eliminated some of the more calorie-dense options from their diet. It isn't universal (I mean we still have things like nuts/seeds, avocado, coconut, etc), but sometimes it will look like we're just eating a ton of food even though the calories aren't that high. Sometimes I'll eat dinner out of a mixing bowl, but it's still the right amount of calories for me.

Yes, I mean consuming more calories...but I think you are right in the density of the food. What she eats is mostly fruits, veggies and grains so I guess it would make sense that she eats more.

Obviously I don't know your daughter or her calorie needs, but what I would expect to see from a vegan eating mostly fruit, vegetables, and grains and doing IF is that they would be eating what *looks* like a lot of food during their eating window, especially if they are also a growing teenager (not sure if that is the case).

toxikon

OMAD (one-meal-a-day) is a viable way of eating. But obviously you need to fit all your calories into one meal - I don't know what your daughter's TDEE is - it could be anywhere from 1800 - 2500 depending on her activity level. So yes, she'll need to consume a lot of calories during that one meal.

CaffeinatedConfectionist

What she is doing is fine. It sounds like a lifestyle that works for her. Is she gaining weight, and that is why you ask, or do you ask because you're concerned because she doesn't eat breakfast and lunch?

I eat like your daughter (except that I'm far from vegan) - I start eating at about 4pm and I eat until I go to bed at like 11. I meet but do not exceed my daily caloric requirements, and I meet my nutritional needs. I'm simply not hungry earlier in the day, and eating breakfast causes me to be ravenous and to overeat by a ridiculous amount.

There are no reasons to get hung up on meal timing - breakfast doesn't jump start your metabolism, eating small meals every 3 or 4 hours is unnecessary except if it's your personal preference, fasting won't send your body into starvation mood.

There's a lot of misinformation out there about meal timing and breakfast in particular; I blame Big Cereal - they're almost as bad as Big Pharma

ETA: I think it's just a mom thing to worry about your kids. My mom worries about how I eat and is convinced that I'm deluded or self-destructive. But she also was born in the 50s and understanding of nutrition has changed in many ways since what she was taught as a child and young adult. But because it's not something she is interested in, she hasn't followed these changes. She is trying to do her best for me because she loves me and worries about me, but I wish I could convince her that her concern is unfounded.

cwolfman13

flippy1234 wrote: »

Hi, My daughter is a health nut. She is trying intermittent fasting. All day while at school she does not eat. Then when she gets home, all she does is eat. All good food, she is vegan, but she just eats and eats. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Defeat what purpose?

You still need to get your calories in...if one is doing IF, they are eating in a smaller eating window and thus the volume of food consumed in that window would be more than if it were spread out over the day.

IF is a timing thing, not necessarily a weight loss/calorie restriction thing.