Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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So I've been messing around with random intermittent fasting for awhile now (dinner on day one to breakfast on day three). But because it's been so random it hasn't been that effective or quantifiable.

After reading an awesome three part post on MDA (Part One - Part Two - Part Three), I've decided to start a daily 20 hour IF routine, eating only between 6PM - 10PM.

My question is this: How are you supposed to meet your daily calorie (and protein) requirements on that sort of routine? I only want to trim down my body fat percentage, not lose muscle mass. I can't see myself eating 2000 calories and 150-160g protein in four hours!

flag	asked Aug 30 2011 at 2:35 CS 2,654●5●18

Rhubarb · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-30 23:30:16Z UTC

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I only consider that 2 x 1000 calorie meals, you can space apart from by 4 hours. It's not that hard :)

You may want to use the Google machine to dig up 'Performance Menu' articles. Plenty of ideas within those for 1000 calorie meals.

Within a few days you'll be used to the big meals and it won't be an issue.

answered Aug 30 2011 at 23:30

Rhubarb
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Yup totally agree, today was my first day and I went from 12AM - 4PM not eating no problem. Had some Primal Fuel, did my workout and then ate a huge chicken and veggie meal. Ended up taking my dog to the park too! Will eat again here in a bit, worked out great! – CS Aug 31 2011 at 0:14

Dragonfly · Answer 2 · 2011-08-30 09:40:23Z UTC

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If you re-read the posts, pklopp recommends easing into this schedule.

My n=1: I followed his recommendations and gradually extended my daily 16 hour fast to a 20 hour fast over a couple of weeks.

It was no problem at all to eat 1600-1700 calories in that period of time & 100 gm of protein-- I am a small-boned, 125 lb woman. I needed to eat two meals, as opposed to his one, but it worked fine for me.

I've tweaked and (for lifestyle reasons) now eat my 2 meals in 6 hour eating window.

answered Aug 30 2011 at 9:40

Dragonfly
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I've been trying to do the same type of schedule and when I stick to it I feel so much better. How long did it take you to see your body fat % start to decrease? I am also small boned, 114 lb. woman and want to decrease body fat. I am aroun 23% bf now. – Liesl Aug 30 2011 at 11:46

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Liesl~ It took only one week of IF this way, PLUS about 2+ hours of gentle walking a day to see the fat start to drop off quickly. I also need to stay lowish carb (about 50 g/day), or I tend to retain water. I also eat more ruminants than anything else, keep my inflammation waaay down (sufficient Vitamin D & magnesium) and have made other tweaks that work for me, personally. YMMV. – Dragonfly Aug 30 2011 at 15:24

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Thank you Dragonfly! – Liesl Aug 30 2011 at 15:28

The Quilt · Answer 3 · 2011-08-30 03:14:03Z UTC

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all depends upon your AMPK pathways and if you know how to dampen the affect of it on the brain......its theoretically possible with alpha lipoic acid.

This is advanced paleo biochemistry at work. Future blog post for me for sure.

answered Aug 30 2011 at 3:14

The Quilt
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Dude you just blew my mind, let me know when that blog post is up! – CS Aug 31 2011 at 0:15

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This is my favorite kind of clinical research but I rarely blog about this stuff because it is mind bending. People already complain that my stuff is too technical but it has to be If docs are going to change. I had the craziest thing happen yesterday. A primary care doc came to a patients appt with me to learn how I reversed her osteoporosis without a Rx. It was really unusual but the doc is likely going to be sending me boatload more patients now. I spent an hour and fifteen minutes with them both. Patient told the pcp as they left.....you get it now? I laughed all the way out – The Quilt Aug 31 2011 at 19:32

peter · Answer 4 · 2011-08-30 02:53:18Z UTC

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That is a pretty extreme IF, I couldn't go that long and still concentrate at work. I usually do from dinner at night, so 7ish, until 11-12 the next day. Then you can have a big lunch, mid afternoon protein/fat hit and then dinner. I usually have fruit, nuts and coconut cream for desert as well, just to knock up the calories a bit more. You are still getting your daily calories, but still having a 15/16/17 hour fast every day.

Works for me. Look at the lean gains website for more information.

answered Aug 30 2011 at 2:53

peter
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	+1 I thought I remember seeing somewhere that the benefits of IF start to level off after 16 hours, trying to find published research... – Nutritionator Aug 30 2011 at 18:54
	You could well be right. I don't know enough of the science. I find that I can go until 11 without too much stress, and I feel like I am benefiting. I have a couple of lb of stubborn mid-section fat that I am trying to lose. It is coming off slowly and I don't feel like I am losing any muscle. Any later than 11ish and I find hunger stops me from concentrating at work. – peter Aug 30 2011 at 23:09

Ambimorph · Answer 5 · 2011-08-30 17:48:01Z UTC

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If you are trying to lose body fat, then it wouldn't hurt your cause to not get a full day's calorie amount. As long as you are getting enough protein to preserve your lean, it should be fine if you don't eat as much on those days.

answered Aug 30 2011 at 17:48

Ambimorph
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karlub · Answer 6 · 2011-08-30 12:31:24Z UTC

FWIW, when I lost a bunch of weight a couple years ago this is what I did. Not on purpose. It was just a routine into which I fell. It wasn't a total intermittent fast, but I pretty much ate at least 70% of my calories-- and frequently more-- between 7-10pm most days.

If I wasn't hungry, I didn't eat. And as I was paleo(ish) the whole time, and pretty sedentary during the week, I just didn't get hungry all that often.

Alas, my workspace moved from two floors away from the kitchen to 10 feet from the fridge. I have since gained ten pounds ;-)

Walter · Answer 7 · 2013-03-28 15:44:21Z UTC

I've done a lot of reseach and experimentation. I know we are all different and I hope it can add to the conversation.

I an 5'6" and weighed 231 lbs. Long story of how got that heavy and I won't get into it now. I tried and tried to lose weight and I failed and failed. Finally, I tried HCG and it only works if you get it from overseas. It was vERY challenging. I lost 45 lbs. in 40 days with a plan of gaining only 5 lbs back because I'm not going to torture myself by restricting my social life. And I was able to maintain the new weight for a year +. BUT I couldn't lose anymore weight no matter how hard I exercised.

I went as an 85%-90% Paleo. 10-15% of the time I ate reasonably what I wanted. It worked OK but not to the level I wanted to achieve.

I added IF with a 1700 calorie/day diet plus working out. I do it 5 days a week, M-F. I eat my last morsel of food by 8PM and don't eat until 1 PM the next day. It is challenging BUT after 1 month I am at 180 lbs. and counting. Everytime a get a little hunger pang I drin Hot Tea or ice water.

Seeing is believing and it keeps me motivated. My goal is 160 lbs.

Calorie/protein requirements and Intermittent Fasting

7 Answers