Time restricted eating
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NikiWallace64
Posts: 12 Member
I am thinking about starting time restricted eating but I’m having a hard time figuring out how best to do it. I get up at 4:30am & go to bed at 8:30. I work from 5:30 am to as late as 3pm. My husband gets home from work at around 6:30 pm and I would like to be able to enjoy dinner with him. Any suggestions on an eating window would be helpful.
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Replies
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Our schedules are similar so I haven't figured out a way to make it work for me. Maybe someone will have some suggestions.1
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Time restricted eating (a way better name for it that intermittent fasting!) can be really useful if you have trouble sticking to your calorie allowance eating across a wider timeframe, but outside of that has no weight loss benefits.
If you think it would help you, build around wanting to have dinner with your husband, and have that as the last thing you eat for the day (I imagine it is anyway, if you go to bed at 8.30). Then just delay what time you have breakfast the next day. The length of that delay should be based on what works best for you.9 -
I kinda do TRE/IF in that I tend only really eat in the afternoon/night. I don't do "real" TRE/IF eating because I have no trouble or issue eating outside of that window if I feel like it and I'll usually have a coffee in the morning when I get to work.
So on a typical day I'll have a coffee in the morning then nothing until dinner at night, unless I feel a little peckish in the afternoon, then I'll shift a few hundred calories out of my dinner and grab a afternoon snack. I'll also shift calories out of my dinner and eat them earlier if a situation calls for it (going out to lunch for example). But usually it's Coffee, occasional snack and practically all my calories consumed at about 7-8pm and afterwards.
In my experience and from talking to others who eat in some kind of time restricted way successfully it's less about deciding to restrict when we eat and more recognising that we had a natural tendency to get hungry at times that make TRE suitable.
So for me, I'm pretty much never hungry during the day, but I'm always hungry at night no matter how much I've eaten that day. So it made sense for me to not eat lunch (since I'm not hungry anyway) and make those calories available at night when I was naturally hungry.4 -
Thanks for the advice. I really don’t have trouble staying within my calories as long as I use this app. In fact sometimes I’m scrambling around trying to find something else to eat that is healthy & will get me up to the goal as a lot of days I’m way under what I should have.0
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NikiWallace64 wrote: »Thanks for the advice. I really don’t have trouble staying within my calories as long as I use this app. In fact sometimes I’m scrambling around trying to find something else to eat that is healthy & will get me up to the goal as a lot of days I’m way under what I should have.
Sounds to me like there's really no need for you to eat within a restricted timeframe then, and that it could actually be counterproductive if you're already struggling to reach your calorie allotment some days
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If you're meeting your deficit goal calories and are not trying to create the opportunity for larger meals, i.e. in my opinion the two major benefits of time restricted eating for most people... then it sounds as if you're adding a life complication for questionable benefit.
I would, for example, counter with making sure you eat 8-10 servings of vegetables and fruits as opposed to the minimum of 5, getting all your fiber, ensuring you eat good quality and sufficient fats, getting all your vitamins and micronutrients and meeting all other such nutritional goals if you're eager to put in the effort to practise eating optimization beyond controlling calories.
Not to exclude the mention, of course, of meeting and exceeding minimum cardio and strength training goals!!!6 -
If you are struggling to figure out how to make it work it is not simple or easy. Simple and easy is better.6
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You might find one meal a day a lot easier. I eat all my calories in one meal. It frees me up from the stress. I'm not forced to be confined to eating foods I hate. I can eat stuff that tastes good and packs more calories that I wouldn't be able to fit into 3 meals. I eat once; I log once. It's easier to adjust to than you think.2
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I don’t think one meal a day would work as I don’t have a sedintary job and can get dizzy and light headed if I miss a meal.1
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IF is probably one of the least complicated ways of eating around. Only people writing books and seeking YouTube and Instagram money & fame have complicated it. The basics: you don’t have to go low carb. You don’t have to drink buttered coffee . Lol. What a sin to ruin a good cup of coffee. You don’t have to ingest Himalayan salts or MCI? Oils or any such nonsense. You just decide what hours of the day work best to eat for YOU. When are you naturally hungry and naturally not hungry?
For me, I work to midnight most nights, and sleep from about 1:00 am to 8 am. I’m not hungry for breakfast or lunch. I drink coffee when I first wake up with cream & stevia and drink water until my first meal, which is 5pm. My last snack is at 11 pm.
I feel no hunger until about 3pm. But hunger is a good thing. Delaying feeding hunger is a great thing.
There are no “rules” of fasting. Except what make you feel physically and mentally strong.
People will tell you it serves no benefit except to help you succeed in getting a deficit.
Not true. It helps digestive issues for many. It gives many insane energy while fasting. It is good for your skin for many. If your one of those people that gets super tired after eating like I do (not necessarily high carb meals) it is great in preventing that energy dip during times you can’t afford those.
There are longevity studies done on fasting for many years. They are becoming increasingly more prevalent.
If you feel it can be of benefit to you, dip your toe it slowly, starting with a 12 hour fast and increasing the fasting window a little bit every week until you find your sweet spot.
Good luck with this. It’s not for everyone, but feels completely natural to me for the 40 years I’ve practiced it.5 -
You might find one meal a day a lot easier. I eat all my calories in one meal. It frees me up from the stress. I'm not forced to be confined to eating foods I hate. I can eat stuff that tastes good and packs more calories that I wouldn't be able to fit into 3 meals. I eat once; I log once. It's easier to adjust to than you think.
OMAD has a pretty high likelihood, IMO, to create extra problems for someone who already sometimes struggles, within an time-unrestricted approach, to eat the appropriate amount for a sensibly moderate (as opposed to riskily fast) weight loss rate . . . as OP reported in one of her follow-up posts she does.
There's nothing wrong with OMAD for people who prefer larger meals, can get in their required nutrition and sensible calories in that one meal, and who don't have negative symptoms from skipping eating (like the dizziness/light-headedness OP mentioned in a post that happened after yours). For other people, OMAD (or other TREs) add complexity, and potentially problems, that are disproportionate to any likely benefits.6 -
I typically do a 10:30-6:30 or 11-7 window and wakeup around the same time. I go to the gym first thing, exercise is an appetite suppressant for me and drink tea in the morning until I break fast. If you want to try daily fasting I would ease into it with a 14-10 or so. When do you normally eat in the morning? Try bumping up the meal an hour or two. See how it goes and work yourself into the 11-7 schedule. I still typically eat three meals in that window FWIW.1
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NikiWallace64 wrote: »Thanks for the advice. I really don’t have trouble staying within my calories as long as I use this app. In fact sometimes I’m scrambling around trying to find something else to eat that is healthy & will get me up to the goal as a lot of days I’m way under what I should have.
In that case, what is the benefit of TRE you expect to receive?5 -
You might find one meal a day a lot easier. I eat all my calories in one meal. It frees me up from the stress. I'm not forced to be confined to eating foods I hate. I can eat stuff that tastes good and packs more calories that I wouldn't be able to fit into 3 meals. I eat once; I log once. It's easier to adjust to than you think.
OMAD has a pretty high likelihood, IMO, to create extra problems for someone who already sometimes struggles, within an time-unrestricted approach, to eat the appropriate amount for a sensibly moderate (as opposed to riskily fast) weight loss rate . . . as OP reported in one of her follow-up posts she does.
There's nothing wrong with OMAD for people who prefer larger meals, can get in their required nutrition and sensible calories in that one meal, and who don't have negative symptoms from skipping eating (like the dizziness/light-headedness OP mentioned in a post that happened after yours). For other people, OMAD (or other TREs) add complexity, and potentially problems, that are disproportionate to any likely benefits.
I received some push back from an RD about protein limits and protein processing. The limit to how much a person can use in a single meal is not something I have researched. The caution on processing is that if I eat all of my "high" protein diet in a short window of time I should drink a lot of fluids.
It came about naturally for me and I am attentive to my nutrition. I do not think it is something that you should try and force upon yourself. Same rule as before... if it makes things easier it is a good idea. If not, do not try to do it just to be "interesting" on the internet.3 -
I received some push back from an RD about protein limits and protein processing. The limit to how much a person can use in a single meal is not something I have researched. The caution on processing is that if I eat all of my "high" protein diet in a short window of time I should drink a lot of fluids.
But how much protein is too much? I've noticed that I typically have around 60 g of protein for each of two meals, totaling around 120 for the day, but sometimes more like 140. I have wondered whether that is higher than it should be, but I love meat and eating it makes it much easier for me to stay on track with the weight loss.1 -
I received some push back from an RD about protein limits and protein processing. The limit to how much a person can use in a single meal is not something I have researched. The caution on processing is that if I eat all of my "high" protein diet in a short window of time I should drink a lot of fluids.
But how much protein is too much? I've noticed that I typically have around 60 g of protein for each of two meals, totaling around 120 for the day, but sometimes more like 140. I have wondered whether that is higher than it should be, but I love meat and eating it makes it much easier for me to stay on track with the weight loss.
Oh no you are fine. I am talking about eating 180ish grams inside of 2 or 3 hours. My first course is always a high protein course because it eliminates the possibility I will have a hypoglycemic reaction. My second course is a vegetable or salad. My third course is my main protein which is usually a combination of fish and a plant protein.
On some days I have a dairy course too.
It is a ridiculously high volume of food. Probably another reason that anyone considering OMAD should hesitate.
I am not even sure there is a problem at all. I am just reporting what the RD said when she reviewed my MFP diary. I have learned that just because an RD says it doesn't make it gospel either.2 -
I received some push back from an RD about protein limits and protein processing. The limit to how much a person can use in a single meal is not something I have researched. The caution on processing is that if I eat all of my "high" protein diet in a short window of time I should drink a lot of fluids.
But how much protein is too much? I've noticed that I typically have around 60 g of protein for each of two meals, totaling around 120 for the day, but sometimes more like 140. I have wondered whether that is higher than it should be, but I love meat and eating it makes it much easier for me to stay on track with the weight loss.
Your meat protein in the context of a large meal that will take several hours to digest and progress through your bowels is not released instantly making it impossible for your body to absorb in the quantity ingested as would be implied with a protein absorption limit.
I think that this is another instance of majoring in the minors unless you are doing strict OMAD with fast absorbing non-buffered by other food protein intake.
Now whether OMAD is the most anabolic unless timed with exercise... again that is an open question for me.
And again it is majoring in the minors. As are most of the way of eating debates when they move to beyond what best allows us as individuals to achieve our caloric and nutritional goals.
Is eating breakfast optimal? A number of human studies point to that. Which probably would not go well with what most people do when it comes to time restricted eating. I mean, yes, some do eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and breakfast like a pauper. They are definitely not me who does the exact opposite, and I've still managed to achieve most of my goals so far which I wasn't doing by having a large breakfast most of the time... so there's that!0
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