How many calories should I eat during interval fasting? Can interval fasting cause a calorie deficit?
Intermittent fasting is not a diet. And that’s a good thing because short-term diets are doomed to failure from the start. Because once the diet is over, the discipline usually ends, and the old habits return. Hello, yoyo effect.
And baby stapes, you can start with the 14:8 or the 16:6 form. After that, you can take it to the next level and try more advanced forms like the OMAD diet.
Metabolism And Interval Fasting
Extreme diets like the 24-Hour Diet can cause your metabolism to drop more than you want or cause the opposite result through the Yo-yo effect. The good news is intermittent fasting is not one of these diets.
After losing 15 percent of your body weight on a diet, your metabolic rate will likely drop by more than 15 percent at the same time. Because you metabolize fewer calories, and your body is adapting.
According to studies, if your body weight increases again to the initial level, your metabolism will not fully recover.
In other words, you lose 10 kilos, and sooner or later, you gain 10 kilos again. Your weight didn’t change, but your metabolic rate is lower. So with the same amount of food, you now gain weight instead of maintaining your weight.
That’s why it is essential to eat enough calories to avoid long-term damage to your metabolism.
A radical reduction in calories should never accompany intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting helps you achieve long-term weight loss without the constant ups and downs.
Also, with IF, you don’t have to restrict your food quantity to reach your goal. And you don’t have to count calories!
Intermittent Fasting Create A Natural Feeling Of Hunger
Intermittent fasting helps our body to regain its natural sense of hunger. And learns precisely what it needs, not too much, and not too little.
Unlike drastic and crash diets that plummet the metabolism and change the hormonal balance, IF makes us more aware of the valuable and less valuable foods.
So make sure that you eat enough during your eating phases without indulging in excess, of course.
The Daily Calories Intake During Interval Fasting
Counting calories is not sufficient, and you don’t need to count calories. However, a low intake of food can make it difficult for you to succeed in the long run.
If you tend to eat far too much or far too little food, it can make sense to check your calories as part of an initial control during Intermittent Fasting.
At least until you have learned how much food you can or should eat in your relatively short 8-hour eating phase.
You can calculate your total daily calorie requirement using basal metabolic rate and power metabolic rate. And try to consume at least 80 percent of it.
Of course, it doesn’t matter if you eat only half of your calories one day and maybe even exceed your needs the next. A change in the amount of energy consumed daily is even quite beneficial to keep the metabolism at a high level during short-term fasting.
On a weekly average, however, you should not be below this 80 percent threshold to take advantage of Intermittent Fasting in the long term and to avoid damaging your metabolism.
How to know if you’re eating too much or too little?
Of course, not everyone has to become a calorie counter during intermittent fasting during the first days or weeks. There are other ways to know if the amount of energy you consumed was sufficient or if you should adjust the amount again.
Your body always sends you signals whether the amount of energy is appropriate or not. For example, if you often feel cold during is an indication that you are not consuming enough food.
Also, if you tend to be more irritable than usual, have frequent headaches, or generally feel somewhat tired and lacking in energy at the end of your fasting phase, this is a sign that you are not eating enough.
Another signal is an initial strong weight loss and sudden stagnation. In this case, you should check your calorie intake during interval fasting. At least for a while to avoid putting your metabolism on the wrong track.
On the other hand, if you feel full of power and feel an increased concentration during fasting, your food quantity during interval fasting is correct.
It is normal to feel hungry or a little cold towards the end of a fasting period. As long as you have a lasting feeling of satiety after a balanced meal, everything indicates that you are doing everything right in terms of quantity.
Besides, your weight loss during interval fasting should not make too big jumps and stagnate only rarely.
And if the weight does stagnate – don’t worry, it will usually pass.
Bottom line:
Calories During Intermittent Fasting are unnecessary, but if you have some nutrition problems or tend to eat far too much, you can check your calories as part of an initial control during Intermittent Fasting. And after that, fast on autopilot.
