The question of “what to eat while fasting” is sort of ironic.
Isn’t intermittent fasting supposed to be about what and when you’re not eating?
Well, yes, but in order to do intermittent fasting right, and easily endure without getting hungry (if you are, you’re either just getting adapted or you’re doing it wrong!), you need a good understanding of these three things:
(A) why intermittent fasting is healthy;
(B) when and how much to eat; and
(C) what to eat.
While (C) is the main focus of this article, let’s quickly review (A) and (B) because doing that gives you a deeper understanding of why I’m telling you to eat what I’m telling you to eat!!
Most people don’t realize that the time of day of your meals, and the frequency of meals, both have huge impacts on your metabolism and on the effectiveness of your diet! These factors are almost (I said almost) as important as what you’re actually eating.
Like I have said before, eating 6 small meals a day doesn’t help you burn fat by speeding up your metabolism. Rather, your body gets its energy from those 6 small meals you’re eating every two hours…and while this sounds nice in theory…it means you’re not burning any of your stored fat.
Intermittent fasting helps you burn stored fat because if you’re not eating, your blood sugar stays constant and level (instead of on a constant up-and-down roller coaster ride). This means your fat metabolism gets to stabilize, and gets a chance to reset itself from all the craziness you’ve been putting it through with frequent mealtimes!
You want fewer mealtimes (not less food, just fewer mealtimes) and how this stabilizes blood sugar and metabolic rate!
All this is leading up to answer the question of what to eat while fasting.
If you’re going to be eating ~2,000 calories, in 2 – 3 meals, within an 8-hour timeframe…How are you not going to get too full while eating, or hungry while fasting? (Bonus points if you answered that you won’t get hungry because your body will be slowly using fat for energy, and will also be getting used to eating within a time window.)
That’s why, in choosing what to eat while fasting, you need to go for the healthy-high-fat options! In this article I give you a really good example of what a day in the IF life looks like for me:
Veggie omelette at 11 AM
Meaty salad at 3 PM
Hearty meat and veggie platter at 7 PM
Then, done, and I don’t get hungry at night because I’m fueled with both all my daily macros and all my daily good fats that keep me running on slow-burning fat fuel, instead of fast-depleting carb fuel!
Want more sample meals? Maybe some good 1,000 calorie meals, or meals on the go because just because you’re eating an awesome big meal doesn’t necessarily mean you have time to eat an awesome big meal?
No problem! Here are some more sample meals:
Your typical healthy HFLC meal: the main attraction is chicken, with veggies on the side, and then something like mashed sweet potatoes with walnuts. Very filling. Your traditional three-point meal.
But you can swap any of these three things with so, so many other possibilities! You don’t have to wonder what to eat while fasting, because for your meat you could have ground beef, ground turkey, sausage, ham, bacon…don’t forget about fish…mmm mmm…For the veggies, go for a spinach salad with bell peppers, carrots and sour-cream-covered broccoli with bacon and cheese!
Or, fire up the charcoal grill for some zucchini, onions, asparagus, or even crispy kale! Don’t forget the grilled mushrooms.
Dump almonds or cashews into your stir fry with chicken cubes, brown rice, and snow peas or edamame!
Lentils and quinoa! They aren’t exactly low-carb, but quinoa can be a great rice substitute or soup ingredient, and lentils have been proven to help control blood sugar. Legumes like lentils (and chickpeas, and nuts) are just great to throw into your meal to meet that calorie count if you’re just not sure what to eat while fasting.
How does pizza sound? This low-carb pizza recipe is something you can chop on while on the go. Same goes for wraps and mini-pies/-quiches, and sausage-and-egg breakfast rolls!
So, not only has IF been proven to help repair cells and remove toxic compounds from them, because fasting and carb restriction both kick cell regeneration processes into gear…But it’s easy, too!
With so many filling, satisfying meal options (don’t tell me you’re not excited about those recipes), there are no excuses left.
Don’t procrastinate…start dipping your toes in by making yourself an 8 – 10 hour eating window, and decrease from there!