Fasting or starting metabolism early??

pysickleah

Hi All,

I'm sure this topic has been tackled often but I'm having trouble finding a thread about it. My fitness coach friend recommended that I begin my day with a substantial source of protein as early as I can in the morning to kickstart the metabolism. But, I've also heard many success stories on intermittent fasting. (However, I do feel as though I was doing this unintentionally before beginning a healthier life style.)

What has worked better for you? Open to your advice!

Here's my stats:
Female, 230, 5'5"
25lbs down since January.

Thanks!

cmriverside

Metabolism is always "working" so I'm not sure the point your friend is making. (?)

As far as weight loss, it doesn't matter one bit when you eat, or if it's a lot of protein.

I like to spread my protein, fats and carbs out over the course of the day. When I was trying to actively lose weight I found that two largish meals (one a few hours after waking, the other in the early evening) and a smaller snack in between worked well to keep me happy on lower calories. Protein is important and I try to spread it out.


So, find a way that works for you personally and allows you to maintain a reasonable deficit every day.

wunderkindking

metabolism is going all the time.

Me, personally, I IF - but only because it works for me. I'm not hungry early in the day very often. I always want to eat something after dinner. So not eating early - when not particularly hungry - and eating the bulk of my calories later in the day - when I am hungry - works just fine.

I'm not trying to manipulate my metabolism - doesn't work that way - just not wasting calories on food I won't enjoy and don't want.

steveko89

Your friend is partially correct. There's research and common advice to suggest that protein intake spread throughout one's day is beneficial to ensuring a continuous supply of amino acids to support muscle growth and recovery (source below). However, eating throughout the day yields no benefit to energy expenditure beyond the small thermogenic effect you get from eating food (which is very minimal compared to overall calorie demand).

For the vast majority of what matter for fat loss, Intermittent Fasting vs. eating throughout the waking period really comes down to individual preference and what supports adherence to a caloric deficit consistently. For some, eating frequently allows them to not really ever be that hungry between meals but requires meals be smaller. Those smaller meals can leave some people feeling dissatisfied if their conditioned to feeling very full when they've eaten and also likely required a certain level of portion control, calorie management and planning to stay within a certain calorie range. For others, the structure of intermittent fasting promotes deficit adherence by restricting the time eating and likely the number of meals throughout the day. However, this may conflict with lifestyle preferences or performance goals/aspirations depending on one's schedule surrounding the eating and fasting windows.

Ultimately, I suggest evaluating based on those trade-offs and perhaps even trying a few weeks of either style to decide for yourself; what works for some may not necessarily works for others. We often fall into the trap of seeking what's optimal in literature rather than discovering what's best for the individual through trial and error.

Personally, I've tried both 16:8 IF and eating numerous meals/protein doses throughout the day. As a person at a healthy weight but managing body composition with an eye for strength and muscle gain, IF wasn't a good fit for me. Based on my schedule, lifting needs to occur first thing in the morning and not eating around training felt as though I was leaving something on the table. Lifestyle-wise it was also something difficult to maintain on weekends as social breakfast and brunch outings were commonplace pre-COVID. My current way of eating involves 5-6 protein doses spread throughout my entire waking period, which equates to ~16 hours most days (basically this is the opposite of IF) and I've observed no difference in calorie demands and have had no issue maintaining gym performance or body composition.

referenced source regarding protein dosing: https://renaissanceperiodization.com/expert-advice/protein-dosing-and-digestion-speed

AnnPT77

I haven't seen any research (that I consider well-designed) that suggests anything more than a tiny, tiny effect from strategies like those . . . maybe no effect at all. What looms overwhelming larger, for sure, when it comes to weight management success, is *compliance*: Sticking with a sensible calorie goal.

Calories determine weight loss, directly. Eat fewer calories than you spend, lose weight. When you eat them, what foods they're in, what nutrients those foods contain: Doesn't matter, *directly*, for weight loss.

*However*, food choices or timing can affect weight management *indirectly*. Poor nutrition may cause cravings, making it hard (maybe impossible) to stick with lowered calories. Timing of eating may improve satiation, or make a person constantly hungry, once again making it hard to stick with a calorie goal. Undernutrition/timing can affect energy level, so cause a person to rest more/do less (maybe even via subtle things like fidgeting, hair growth rates, etc.) so burn fewer calories than expected, so lose more slowly than expected on a given calorie level.

Thing is, finding the best strategies for satiation is very individual. In the early stages of weight loss, it can be good to experiment, and find out what makes it easiest for *you* to stick with a reasonable calorie goal, while feeling, full, strong, energetic and generally happy.

What did I do? I started from how I was eating naturally, worked on my calorie goal & satiation early on, and gradually and incrementally remodeled my eating to find a good balance of tastiness, nutrition, satiation, practicality, and more, at sensible calorie levels. I don't fast, or do anything special with protein (other than try to get enough in total, and time it in ways that are sating for me). I'm now in year 5+ of maintaining a healthy weight (125ish pounds right now, at 5'5"), after multiple previous decades of obesity . . . so I guess that approach worked OK for me. This is a little bit more specific description of the thought process:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

. . . but there are lots of plans and approaches in the world, nothing magic about any of them, including that one. Experiment, find what makes the process sustainable for you, and you'll do great.

Best wishes!

Luke_rabbit

You already got great advice above.

Just wanted to say congrats on your weight loss so far!