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Am I doing it right?

Hi Guys, M36 started IF 2 days back after watching YouTube videos of Dr. Pradip Jamnadas. I’ve been doing a 18/6 regime. I have my meals between 12 noon and 6 pm. Needed advice from some of the experienced folks here: 1) is it ok to have instant coffee (black and sugar free) during the non fasting hours? 2) I find several people here are on OMAD. Is this something you plan to do forever or just until you reach your target weight? After how many days do you generally rep the benefits? 3) which is better - 1 week of IF every 6 months or 3 days of IF every week or just permanent IF? 4) I do consume bread and butter (among other foods) during my 6 hour window. Is it ok or should I be cutting out fats and carbs? Thanks in advance and wishing everyone good health.

Answer

  1. Instant coffee with water and no sugar. Yes, it’s fine to drink black coffee during your fast without breaking it.

  2. I started with 16:8 and unconsciously went to OMAD. I do not know how long I will do it. That being said, for the short amount I’ve been doing OMAD (1 month), it’s been good to me. So ideally, I continue this habit till I reach my goal. I do plan on putting on muscle after reaching my goal, so I might go back to 16:8 to give me more time to eat more food.

  3. Permanent > x3 days per week > x1 week per month

  4. Don’t worry. Eat your bread and butter without guilt. If your goal is to lose weight, the main (like 95%) of thing that dictates your fat loss is calories. Eat your bread and butter as much as you want as long as you are consuming less calories than your maintenance (literally even a insignificant 200 calories less daily will help your body lose weight)

Answer

  1. Coffee and tea is complicated and has conflicting data. So I’ll just say that if you’re implementing circadian biology, just go with water.If this is just purely time restriction, then black coffee is fine

2-4) fasting is fasting. Doesn’t really matter the duration or type. I can go from 16-8 to omad to full 72 hours all within a week or two depending on how I feel and what’s within my boundaries. Then take a random break because of a social event or whatnot. I work with what I can control and try to work around and make the best with what I can’t control.

Your progress will not be linear. If it goes well, it will look more like an ascending zigzag. The gains will rise, then take a small dip, then ride higher again and dip again. But it will still be so much further than from where you originally started. If you can see this, then it will be easier to be patient.

  1. ideally, you’d want to eat cleanly. Fat vs carbs is a different category. Then there’s the types of fats to worry about. Pufa oxidation vs cholesterol content of animal fats. Bioavailability of vitamins and proteins. Processed and refined carbs and all that…

It’s a big rabbit hole to fall into. So as of now, just worry about getting enough calories and nutrients. Supplement if you have to. And gradually work towards a cleaner diet