Dear Kayla,
I’m curious what you feel breaks a fast? I hear some people say anything that’s not zero calories. And then I’ve also heard some people say if it’s around 200-300 calories, it doesn’t really do anything. For example, if your eating window is from 3 pm – 5 pm, and then at 10 pm you ate 2 slices of cheese, would you consider your fast broken or ruined?
Sincerely,
Amanda
Dear Amanda,
I’m a big proponent of the idea that a person should practice intermittent fasting in the way that works for them. To that end, I’m not concerned with what technically breaks a fast. What I am concerned with is whether the plan a person has chosen is giving a person results. Intermittent fasting, for me, is a useful tool that helps you put boundaries around food, so that you eat the right amount. My motto is: whatever gets you through the fasting window.
Coffee with half and half gets me through the fasting window. I love how I feel and how my days run. Doing this got me to my goal weight, and has kept my weight in the normal BMI range for years now. My coffee consumption is probably around 250-300 calories worth each day. I do not think of myself as ruining my fast by doing it this way. I love it! As I said, to me, intermittent fasting is a tool that helps facilitate eating the right amount.
Let’s take your example of someone who has an eating window between 3 pm – 5 pm. They like that, but they want to have a 10 pm snack. They want 2 pieces of cheese. Can they lose weight on such a plan? Absolutely.
Let’s say that person burns 1800 calories a day. Let’s assume that during their eating window they ate 1400 calories. Lets further assume those 2 pieces of cheese at 10 pm total to about 100 calories. That means their total intake for the day was 1500 calories. They would be in a 300 calorie deficit. If they did this consistently, day in and day out, they’d be down 31 pounds in a year’s time.
Their results would be no different if they moved the cheese to their eating window and consumed all 1500 calories between 3 pm – 5 pm. The deficit, and therefore the weight loss, would be the same.
On the other hand, that 100 calorie snack could cause weight gain. Let’s take that same person. And instead of eating 1400 calories from 3 pm – 5 pm, they consume 1800 calories. Then they add in the cheese snack at night. They’ve consumed 1900 calories and are in a 100 calorie surplus. If they keep up that pattern, day in, day out, they’ll gain 10 pounds in year’s time.
What it really comes down to is the individual. The name of the game of weight loss is to find that plan that you enjoy and that works for you. It might be one big meal plus a midnight snack, it might be a 2 hour window, it might be an 8-hour eating window. The possibilities are endless. I encourage you to right down a simple plan on a post-it note and stick to it. Track your results. Make tweaks as needed. Do not worry about what other people say the rules are. You make the rules.
And remember: there is no intermittent fasting police. 😉
Sincerely,
Kayla