New to IF and have some questions.

I'm sure this won't be my only set of questions, but here we go. I am going with the 16:8 IF protocol. My feeding window being from noon to 8pm. Since I am not eating breakfast, and only having lunch and dinner, does that mean I should shoot for a proportionate reduction in my calories? Or what calories I normally intake from breakfast gets allocated to lunch or dinner? IE: If I normally eat 3000 calories per day (round numbers) - 1000 from breakfast, 1000 from lunch and 1000 from dinner. Does that mean lunch and dinner should now become 1500 each? Or should both stay as 1000, thus reducing my calories to 2000? Or even some in between? I am starting intermittent fasting for weight loss reasons with the intention to try an occasional autophagy fast in the distant future. Second: What is the best way to break the fast? Something protein heavy or carb heavy?

Answer

There are different schools of thought wrt energy intake. There are the traditional CICO folks who will restrict their intake going by the old “cut 3,500 kcal to lose a pound of body fat” practical wisdom. There are the proponents of hormonal obesity theory a.k.a. the carbohydrate-insulin model, who will restrict carbs to the greatest extent possible, aiming to lower baseline serum insulin and improve insulin sensitivity, as per the practical wisdom that “no insulin equals no anabolism”. There are others yet who will limit their intake indirectly, cutting out the ultra-palatable, ultra-processed and ultra-calorie-dense, instead relying solely on whole foods or more generally whatever they find to best boost their satiety and effectively keep overconsumption potential at bay. And others focusing on protein, plant-based, the behavioral / emotional side of eating, or anything and everything under the sun really. Seach and play around, mix and match, until you’ve settled on whichever path appeals most to you and feels sustainable. The answer to your second question will vary accordingly.

Personally:

I don’t formally calorie-count but do focus on things that I can’t overeat. I try not to go overboard when it comes to “bad” carbs (primarily simple sugars, grains, starches) but don’t exactly restrict them either (I e.g. eat plenty of fruits daily and starchy veggies, rice and pasta 2-3x weekly). By my simplistic estimations I maintained an indirect average deficit of ~500 kcal/day over my 10-12-month period of active weight loss.
My fast-breaker of choice tends to be something fiber- or protein-heavy so as to slow down digestion. Once in a blue moon I’ll nonetheless break my fast with a glass of scotch, just because (avoid unless feeling adventurous!). :)

Answer

I just eat whatever I plan for lunch, tea, and dinner and don’t worry about calories. I try to have a keto dinner because then I don’t have any craving for food before noon. I also 16/8. I started simply, just figuring out what foods make it harder to fast the next day and how late in the afternoon I can have carbs without making the next morning hard. Discovered I don’t need to track calories, so I don’t. Keep it as simple as possible.