number of meals during the feeding window

[Kevin Perry]

Im curious as to the number of meals most of you eat during your feeding windows and if you eat till your full or if you try to get in as much as possible? Also, if you only eat till your full and listen to your body mostly how much has your weight changed even if your caloric intake was not perfect but protein intake, fat intake, and nutrient intake from veggies and fruits were good.

Theoretically, shouldn't a person on IF be able to maintain with fewer calories than normal if protein, fat, and nutrients, etc., are excellent?

And when you did go onto IF, how much initial weight did you drop till you fell within a regular weight you performed at or for those of you who needed to maintain a specific weight, how well has IF helped you maintain that weight with a reduced feeding window?

[Greg Battaglia]

I used to force in the calories as I felt that I needed huge amounts of food to sustain my energy output. In reality, you need much less food than you probably think. I simply listen to my body and eat until satisfied, and NEVER eat until I'm stuffed. It's always important to listen to your body. When I started IF I gained weight slightly, but it was all muscle weight, and I actually lost some body fat as well which was a major plus. If you feel like you simply can't get enough during your feeding window (assuming you're not in the initial adaptation phase, which will tend to cause temporary fatigue) you might want to consider increasing the time in the feeding window to allow for more calories. Hope this helps.

[Allen Yeh]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Perry

Im curious as to the number of meals most of you eat during your feeding windows and if you eat till your full or if you try to get in as much as possible? Also, if you only eat till your full and listen to your body mostly how much has your weight changed even if your caloric intake was not perfect but protein intake, fat intake, and nutrient intake from veggies and fruits were good.

It depends on my feeding window, usually I just kept eating until I hit my protien amount for the day and made sure I was eating either veggies/fruits or fats with it to get adequate calories. But I'm not in your situation of trying to gain more weight. I've always kept a higher bodyfat and have to really dial things in to get leaner.

Theoretically, shouldn't a person on IF be able to maintain with fewer calories than normal if protein, fat, and nutrients, etc., are excellent?

That is what I found later on, I'm guessing partially due to the fact that you aren't using your digestive system as much as you used to. For example I used to do the whole 5-7 meals per day so that was eating every 2-3 hours all day long.

And when you did go onto IF, how much initial weight did you drop till you fell within a regular weight you performed at or for those of you who needed to maintain a specific weight, how well has IF helped you maintain that weight with a reduced feeding window?

I first started IF last January and up until June prior to my wife's surgery stuff...I had gotten from 195 to ~183 and was at 10% bodyfat without actually trying super hard to lean down. I did find that I needed less food for maintenance calories that I thought I needed previously.

[Garrett Smith]

A typical weekday has me eating two meals, more food at dinner then at lunch, eating approximately the same amounts each of those days. I'm starting 24-hour fasts at least 1 day/week now (sometimes 2), and I eat as much as I want (in sometimes up to three meals in a day) on the weekends.

[Mike ODonnell]

2-3 meals....varies on size/portions depending on my day....but that keeps everything variable anyways...as I hate routine.

[Robb Wolf]

3-4 meals. I like all the responses, particularly Greg's.

[Scott Kustes]

2-3 meals/snacks. Usually eat until just full, rarely until stuffed...depends on if the food I'm eating is just too good to stop. Sticking to clean foods keeps my weight about right...180-185, but leaner than when not IFing.

[Kevin Perry]

I appreciate the responses, gives me an excellent idea of where to work from.

[Stuart Mather]

I've always been a really slow eater, so I just have a bite now and then during my entire eating window, which at the moment alternates between four and five hours, seven days/wk, while I'm busy doing whatever else I'm doing. Chewing thoughtfully on a mouthful of food (rather than trying to gulp it down in a shorter 'meal' while you are trying to have a conversation), has always seemed a more natural way to eat to me. During that eating window, I'll sit down to eat the conventional evening 'meal' with my wife who eats much faster than I do. But the actual amount of food I eat during that time is very small. So I suppose that makes me a grazer, but only during my eating window. I find that four hours is plenty to graze enough high quality paleo/low carb food to completely satisfy me.

I do eat far less in total than when I was just low carb/paleoing, but I've gained muscle/ lost bodyfat too. I think it's the clean burn/efficient use of available calories aspect of IF that impresses me most.

Stuart

[Steve Liberati]

varies from 0-4.