Intermittent fasting on plant based diets - doesn't the sheer volume of your meals bother you?

leosmith66
leosmith66 Posts: 69 Member
in Food and Nutrition
(Note - I'm talking about eating within a 6-10 hour window every day when I say "intermittent fasting", NOT fasting 1 or 2 days every week. For reference, my diet is lots of vegetables/fruit/beans/nuts, moderate amounts of grains/tubers/animal products. No added oil/sugar/salt/junk. I eat within an 8 hr window every day.)

My diet isn't 100% plant based, but it's close and I need to eat a large volume to get enough calories. I exercise daily and don't want to lose/gain weight. I found that I was packing my gut every morning, which lead to discomfort, so I got better at distributing food volume equally over my 3 meals and things improved. But that got me thinking - how do plant based eaters do it? I assume they need very high volume; maybe they just eat a lot more grain than I do.


Replies

  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
    Peanut butter, nuts and seeds are exceedingly calorie dense. That would do the job easy.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I'm on a pescatarian diet which is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy.

    I have no issues meeting my calories. Then again, I'm 61 and on 1310 calories.

    Good luck with your journey!
  • Butt_Snorkeler
    Butt_Snorkeler Posts: 167 Member
    edited August 2019
    Not sure why you say large volume. I make 1000 calorie vegan smoothies contriving most of its numbers simply from dates and banana.
  • leosmith66
    leosmith66 Posts: 69 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Peanut butter, nuts and seeds are exceedingly calorie dense. That would do the job easy.
    Good point. I always assume plant based eaters try to eat mostly vegetables and not a lot of calorie dense stuff, but that's probably a bad assumption.

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Why would a person IF if the meal volume became unpleasant to them?

    Yes, this. I personally find it easier to get in the amount of protein and veg I like on 3 meals, usually, although I've been experimenting more with doing it in 3 since I haven't been hungry for breakfast lately.

    That said, OP, if you want to eat in a window and not have giant meals, there's no reason you can't eat 3 or even 4 meals in that window.

    Also, when I've done plant-based from time to time, I absolutely do include sources of healthy fats like nuts and seeds and avocados and so on, as well as starches like potatoes and grains and corn, etc., which are all somewhat higher in cals (and same with some fruit). You shouldn't think if it as mostly just non starchy veg, as that's not going to be calorie appropriate or nutritionally complete.

    My difficulty with WFPB plus only 2 meals would be getting in protein would be impossible for me. For example, one of the best plant-based sources of protein are beans and lentils and I find those extremely filling so couldn't just eat significantly larger servings.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Are there a lot of plant based eaters also doing IF long term? Here on MFP, while there are a number of posters doing IF, I'm not aware that any of them are also plant-based. I see people on social media posting about starting something, but they often fail to post when they've stopped it.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    I've wondered about this before. I find my plant based meals very filling, if I had to eat them all in a smaller eating window I wouldn't be able to get enough calories or nutrients probably. So yeah I won't be using IF anytime soon.
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Are there a lot of plant based eaters also doing IF long term? Here on MFP, while there are a number of posters doing IF, I'm not aware that any of them are also plant-based. I see people on social media posting about starting something, but they often fail to post when they've stopped it.

    I naturally fall into 16:8 IF and am 100% plant based (vegan). I tend to eat a small meal at breakfast, a lot for lunch (very large salads!) and a medium size meal at dinner time. I don't find it hard but I also am not a snacker.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited August 2019
    16:8 isn't really about snacking, but about how close your dinner and breakfast are too each other, isn't it?

    I don't snack, but if I eat before I leave for work I'd have to be finished by 7 am, and 8 hours from that is 3 pm -- not a time that would work for me for dinner. (I'm never home before 7 pm, and often later.)

    If OP wants to snack, it's consistent with 16:8 so long as the snacks are within the window. The question is just whether he/she could get everything needed nutrition and calories wise within that window. I'm sure some can, some can't, as with other ways of eating and IF.

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