Intermittent fasting

SugarAndSugar

Ok so theres lots of debates going on about better fat loss. However, I am unable to decipher which one is more efficient and beneficial overall. Some say eating breakfast boosts metabolism, some say skipping will make your body use fat as the energy. All sound great but which would be best for cutting aka losing body fat?

malibu927

A calorie deficit. Eat breakfast if you want, don't eat it if you don't want to. Nothing boosts your metabolism.

AnvilHead

SugarAndSugar wrote: »

Ok so theres lots of debates going on about better fat loss. However, I am unable to decipher which one is more efficient and beneficial overall. Some say eating breakfast boosts metabolism, some say skipping will make your body use fat as the energy. All sound great but which would be best for cutting aka losing body fat?

Eating less calories than you burn. Period. By whatever means that is accomplished.

SugarAndSugar

And what is a reliable source for how many calories i should eat to burn fat. I see many calculators but they all differ a bit. And is it like 500 calorie deficit of my BMR or daily maintainence calories

AnvilHead

All calculators are estimates. Put your stats into one of them, stick to that calorie goal for 4-6 weeks and see what happens on the scale. If you're not losing weight, you need to decrease your intake (and/or increase your expenditure). If you're losing too fast, you need to bump up your intake.

The caloric deficit is taken from your daily maintenance calories (also known as TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure). BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is what you would burn in a coma, you burn more calories than that in your daily activity.

malibu927

SugarAndSugar wrote: »

And what is a reliable source for how many calories i should eat to burn fat. I see many calculators but they all differ a bit. And is it like 500 calorie deficit of my BMR or daily maintainence calories

500 off maintenance/TDEE. If you set MFP up to lose a pound a week, it automatically subtracts 500 calories from maintenance.

jjpptt2

SugarAndSugar wrote: »

And what is a reliable source for how many calories i should eat to burn fat. I see many calculators but they all differ a bit. And is it like 500 calorie deficit of my BMR or daily maintainence calories

All those sources are just estimates that serve as a starting point. Pick one, go with it for a few weeks and see how things go. If your actual progress doesn't line up with your expected progress, then make a small tweak and repeat the process. If it does, then just keep at it.

MalPal83

Hi! Intermitten fasting is something that I'm beginning to play around with too. I think it's extremely important to understand the goal, which is not necessarily calorie reduction but rather to give your body a break from food and the digestion processes for as long as you can without feeling miserable. The idea is that if you're fueling your body properly in the first place, you should eventually be able to do a 12-16 hour overnight fast and have it feel totally natural. And by "fueling properly" I mean a diet rich in healthy fats and quite low in carbohydrates. The healthy fat is a far superior fuel source for your body than carbs because it burns low and slow, where as carbs are used up very quickly and then you're left looking for your next meal/fix soon after. So again, this isn't about pure calorie reduction but more so about the type of calories that will get you to the point being able to not force yourself to go hungry just for the sake of saying, "I can do intermitten fasting." Ironically, it's a diet high in healthy fats and very low in carbs that will allow your body to burn and shed fat faster and more efficiently. Of course, as you get good at it, you would by default consume fewer calories throughout the day. There will be some experimentation and finding out what just works for you, there's not really a one-size-fits-all here. But that's a good thing, you should be curious to figure this out. I have found it very interesting and I'm starting to really see the benefits.

Now, I absolutely adhere to a calorie limit and macronutrient goals that I track quite religiously so I know that I'm not consuming too many calories, but it's the make-up of those calories that matter. My calorie limit has been 1800 calories for a while because I do some intense exercise (CrossFit) 3-4 times a week and technically, by the numbers I should have been losing weight. But I had stalled and wasn't really feeling any better. I did not reduce my calories, but instead changed my macros to fit the high-fat, super low carb way of eating, also more formally known as the Ketogenic Diet. This would mean that about 70% of calories come from fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbs. This is a huge departure from the Standard American Diet (SAD) that's heavy on carbs and low on fat. But there's a reason why losing weight on a low fat, low calorie diet is so hard, it's just not ideal for most of us and we have to really fight our bodies to lose weight like that. But I've lost 16 pounds in two months and that wasn't really because of intermitten fasting, just more so following a Ketogenic way of eating. I'm hoping intermitten fasting is something that I can use to improve my overall well-being and performance...anyway, if you'd like to chat more, just say so and hope this helps!

AnvilHead

MalPal83 wrote: »

...I think it's extremely important to understand the goal, which is not necessarily calorie reduction but rather to give your body a break from food and the digestion processes for as long as you can without feeling miserable...

This is part of the IF woo that I've never understood how people actually believe it. Digestion processes are a natural part of how our body works and it doesn't need a "break" from it. By that same line of reasoning, wouldn't it make sense to hold our breath for 12-16 hours a day to give our body a break from the respiration process? Yet if somebody suggested that, they would immediately (and rightfully) be recognized as a charlatan.