I think I'm one of the few who operates with a eating window on a regular basis in this group atm. I find it convenient and natural. As many of you know, my weight loss is the very stubborn kind and I must use any available method to sweet talk my body into release fat. So if you're someone who can lose weight easily, np, but if you're someone who struggles to lose fat using only one protocol, stacking protocols might help.

I do calorie cycling (my version of 5:2), eating window (skip a meal) and LCHF. I generally start to eat somewhere between 12-8. But very often the window starts at 2-5 pm. I don't follow a strict structure, so no stressing if the window is bigger/smaller

We did discuss the topic of eating windows in this thread before xmas:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10030223/mice-and-16-hour-fasts/p1

Interestingly enough there's a "lifter's edition" on T-Nation based on the same study.
TL;DR With high training regimen having an eating window from 9-12 hours combined with protein pulses containing BCAA, specifically leucine, can help achieve the holy grail of maintaining/gaining muscle while keeping fat gain at bay. FYI: They're selling their own protein shake, I'm not sure that's necessary.

It's interesting to see how preoccupied the author of the article is about insulin sensitivity.

Here's his older take on the 5:2 lifter's edition:

What I take home from this is that any dieting program can be tailored to your specific goals. You'll have to do the homework of experimenting what works for you, though

To understand more about why and how to do eating windows:
leangains.com

There's also Brad Pilon's book: "Eat, Stop, Eat", which made me realize how important it is to let the body's digestive system rest for longer periods of time on occasion in order to repair metabolic function.

I can't do 16:8 after my fast day. I'm just too hungry. I might be able to do it on days before my fast day, but not the day after because by morning, I've already been fasting for 36 hours. I don't want to add 4 more hours on it to wait until noon to eat!

@JAT7 Keep us posted! Good luck!

@Foamroller can you explain more about your plan? i have been doing 5:2 and think it is great, but would like to add something to make the lose a little quicker.
Do you do 16:8 everyday? but 2 of those days you eat 500 calories? do you do a 24 hour fast? what is calorie cycling?

Hi, just been reading your posts...how's it all going on the weight loss? Our TDEE numbers are very similar and the same thing happened to me when I hardly lost anything for 3 weeks basically staying the same weight and then in my weigh-in yesterday all of a sudden a 2.4lb loss shows up on the scales and I nearly fell off them in shock!

I was getting frustrated with not losing and I did an experiment and weighed every day last week and recorded the results. I've only ever been a once a week weigher and don't believe in daily weighs, but it was a very beneficial eye opener as I saw the numbers go up by 4lbs during the week and gradually down again. I also started drinking more water and I this really helped too.

Anyway, just wanted to stay stick with what you're doing, weigh after your 2nd fast of the week and you WILL see the difference!

ugg - I just posted a reply and accidentally deleted it.
I apologize if it shows up twice
@foamroller I am actually doing ok with weight loss. My tdee is 1600 according to orlcam's calculator. I eat at TDEE 5 days a week and 2 days at 500 and am losing .5 pounds per week which makes sense.(2200 calorie deficit per week)
I am 50 years old, 5'0" and sedentary so that accounts for the low TDEE.

I was hoping to increase my loss by using 16:8 on non-fast days. I would love to know more details of what you did. Curious how the stacking works.

thanks

Angela

@JAT74. Please, please read up on lowcarb before you dive into it. 100g NET starch/day is low enough to make you feel awful having Atkins flu, but too high to get into ketosis/fat burning metabolism, unless you're like a pro athlete who can eat anything... You absolutely DON'T want to be in limbo, it's a recipe for feeling terrible.

For YOU, I suggest going to 50g/day 3 weeks, then assess. You have to eat more salt, potassium and magnesium citrate or you feel terrible. This is the #1 mistake most people do on lowcarb. Depending on your macros and exercise activity it can take from 3 weeks - 2 months getting into Fat Adaptation (FA).
Headaches, dizziness, feeling cold = take more salt.
Cramps = more magnesium.
Potassium to balance out salt.

To balance out the electric charge in cells, proper ratio of salt/potassium is needed. Our bodies consist of cells that change status according to electric charge. Without that balance, they don't function properly. A high carb diet is water retaining, hence the "carb bloat". Going lowcarb flushes out more of the electrolytes. FYI, this balance of electrolytes ALSO APPLIES to 5:2'ers on fasting days when cutting out starch for better satiety !

At the start performance in the gym will suffer, but when your mitochondria have reprogrammed to burn fats for energy, athletic performance, IME, are even better. I can train harder and longer than ever before. I don't run out of "energy" anymore. The only things holding me back when exercising are muscle fatigue, neuromuscular recruitment and CNS. All of which are trainable.

Here's some useful info:

Keto calculator
Keto FAQ
Ketogains for people who exercise a lot on lowcarb

FYI, when I adapted I was training hard and got into FA in roughly a month. Losing sense of hunger is a common symptom. I don't quite remember, but I think my carb levels at the time were somewhere between 50-70g/day, spiking up even further on very hard exercise days. IME, there's a high correlation between exercise intensity and amount of starch I can eat,while keeping ketosis as much as possible. 1 hour of dogwalking pace is not enough for ME to eat as much as I want of starch. But we're all different, so the numbers are probably different for YOU. I've upped my carbs to roughly +/- 100g/day and even though I go in and out of ketosis, the FA remains as long as I don't go on a carb-fest for days in a row. Intermittent Fasting also helps in the process of both getting into FA and remaining there, since we all go into ketosis overnight, even on a "normal" macro diet.

Read the keto FAQ, then you'll have a better basis of understanding what you're getting into if you choose to try lowcarb.