New to intermittent fasting. Need a little help.

This topic contains 9 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by dorishall 4 years, 5 months ago.

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Chrisgritz

9:25 pm
7 Sep 18
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Hello everyone! Glad to be part of the community. Just a quick question. Does taking a tablespoon of coconut oil in the mornings with fish oil break the fast? My morning routine usually consist of drinking 16oz of water right when I wake up, taking a table spoon of coconut oil and a fish oil pill and some black coffee. Is the coconut oil messing me up? Tablespoon is considered 120 calories but no sugar. Thanks in advance and if I posted on wrong section can mod move it to the right spot please. Thanks.

bigbooty

2:32 pm
8 Sep 18
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Really depends what you are trying to achieve? 5:2 diet as practiced by most on this site allows for about 500 calories on a fast day. So its not really a fast as such. So yeah 120 calories is well under 500 calories so its still a fast day as practice by most. Being oil it will not spike your insulin but 120 calories will keep you going for about 1 1/2 hours, so everything gets pushed back 1 1/2 hours if youre wanting to start endogenous keto. What are you trying to achieve?

Chrisgritz

4:14 pm
8 Sep 18
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ahhh i see. I am just trying to get rid of stubborn fat around my upper body. I exercise as well and move a lot at work. Although to be honest, all this is recent. I just started fasting 3 days ago and buying really healthy stuff, started exercising recently and just got a job today which i move a lot. I am not obese, sitting at around 195 at 5’7 trying to go down to 170-175 with some muscle mass. after coconut oil which is at 6am, i eat around 4pm and that consist of about 800 calories and 70g of protein then again at 8pm which is about 300 calories and 14g of protein. Not sure if i am doing it right.

CalifDreamer

9:57 pm
8 Sep 18
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Hi Chris. Welcome to the 5:2 forums. If I understand you correctly, you’re doing 800 calorie FDs (fast days) twice per week. There is really nothing you can do wrong as long as you count all the calories you’re consuming on those two days. You can eat or drink whatever you like as long as you stay within your calorie allotment.

Choose foods that you enjoy and ones that keep you feeling as full as possible on the 800 calories. I’ve always done the 500 calorie FD from one of MM’s first books. Low calorie soups and protein sources like salmon or baked/broiled chicken are usually on my list. Miso soup is popular on these forums. I keep the sugars low during the day because they seem to make me more hungry, so fruit is always at night. Steamed vegetables are low in calories and filling. Salads are great if you make your own simple dressings. I often use only balsamic vinegar or lemon juice with spices and herbs. 500 calories isn’t much food so I try to get as munch bang for the buck as I can. I’ve been doing 5:2 for about a year and a half, the last 9 months is maintenance since I reached my goal at the end of 2017.

Good luck on your 5:2 journey, Chris. Keep it simple. Not having a bunch of rules to follow is the beauty of it.

bigbooty

10:55 pm
8 Sep 18
Permalink

@chris. When you say you have 800 cal at 4pm and then another 300 cal at 8pm, is that your fast day? If so it is too much, you are well over your 500 cal (or 800 if youre doing the lesser amount). Example: You have your last meal on a Sunday night at 6pm say. Then for all of Monday you can have 500 cal. Then on Tuesday you break your fast and eat normally again. So a fast period is really 36 hours. At 195lb and 5’7″ your BMI is over 30. Can I ask why your eating so much oil and protein? Are you doing hard core resistance training to build muscle bulk? If your primary goal is to lose weight then cut out alcohol (if you drink) and sugary foods (including fruit juice which is pure junk) and focus on veggies, a little fruit, and lots of legumes/beans, with a little bit of meat. Avoid protein shakes and powders, they spike your insulin levels too much, which is not good if your primary goal is weight loss.

Chrisgritz

11:17 pm
8 Sep 18
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Idk, i was just eating a lot of protein so i don’t lose muscle and when i do work out i gain muscle. I was assuming a fast was just not eating for about 16 hours and then u can eat whatever u wanted, so i was eating at 3-4 pm then at 8 pm for more protein and small amount of carbs to energize my muscles. I didn’t know you couldn’t pass 500 calories. I guess i have to do more research behind the science, i thought i knew enough. I was trying to fast everyday to be honest unless that’s not healthy thing to do, i also thought i had to eat at least 1000 calories to be healthy. Last time i dieted and had only about 200-300 calories a day and ran, i lost weight but became skinny fat. I just have a lot of research to do lol, and yea my bmi is def over 30. As far as coconut oil and fish oil, i was told i had high cholesterol and replacing it with healthy fats, oils, and exercise it would be reduced and id be at a healthy level again.

Chrisgritz

11:18 pm
8 Sep 18
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btw thanks to everyone who has replied and has been helping me so far.

bigbooty

1:30 am
9 Sep 18
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Lots of people do time restricted eating windows. But that doesn’t mean you can “go for it” just because you didn’t eat for 16 hours. 5:2 is a form of intermittent fasting. Given restricted eating every day and intermittent fasting where you eat normally for 5 days and restrict for 2 days, go for the 5:2. It will impact your metabolic rate to a far lesser degree.

It would be very unusual to lose mostly lean mass rather than fat when you diet. That makes little sense. Will you lose lean mass as you lose weight? Of course you will, as you become lighter you don’t need as much muscle mass to support your daily activity. The majority of the loss will be from fat though. If its not then evolution has come up with a very poor self preservation strategy.

The vast majority of cholesterol is produced by your liver. Can foods influence this production? Yes. Avoid trans fats (this is put in almost all processed foods as its cheap!!) You want good oils? Eat lots of avocados, nuts like brazil nuts, pecans, almonds, walnuts. Oily fish like salmon, sardines. Eat lots of beans to reduce cholesterol.

Who said your cholesterol was high? Your doctor? Total cholesterol is not the complete story. You want TC/HDL to be as low as possible. That’s probably the best marker. Watch youtube clips by Ken Sikaris (Low carb down under). This guy knows his stuff.

If you just focus on eating real whole foods you really cant go wrong. Lots of veggies (avoid starchy ones like potatoes), a little bit of fruit and go mostly for the berry types fruits. Lots of beans and legumes. Avoid processed cereals like bread, pasta, pizza etc. Pure crap. Eat nuts. Some meats and fish. Eat like your grandparents used to eat is a simple rule to apply.

Good luck with it.

thinatlast

6:04 am
9 Sep 18
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CG, welcome to 5:2. I recommend that you read Dr M.’s Fast Diet book. I believe the latest edition is entitled, ‘The Fast Diet Revised and Updated’. It’ll be the best $12 you’ve ever spent and can be read in a couple of days. With that knowledge, you’ll have the foundation on which you can adapt this way of life to best suit your personal needs and goals. All the best with it.

sewowacav

9:41 pm
11 Sep 19
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dorishall

2:50 pm
25 Nov 19
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Hi! Good luck on your 5:2 journey, Chris. Keep it simple. Not having a bunch of rules to follow is the beauty of it.