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Should you do intermittent fasting on the keto diet ?
Can it help, or hinder your Keto Diet results?
What even is intermittent fasting?!?
I’ve noticed a few people in my Facebook group talking about intermittent fasting and it’s been gaining a lot of popularity lately, so I thought I would give you guys a mini introduction!
So what is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is quite simply choosing to skip certain meals. Some people skip breakfast while other people skip whole days of food (remember the 5:2 diet?)
Ermm why would I want to skip breakfast?
Because it can help you lose weight! You probably guessed that would be the answer, but let me explain…
When you’re eating food, or have eaten recently (like in the past 4 hours) your body is running on the fuel you ingested. So far so good.
But when you haven’t eaten for a while (like 10 hours after a meal) your body starts fasting, as in it starts burning your body fat for fuel. Of course it’s much easier for your body to burn fat at this point because your insulin levels are nice and low.
Now if we think about the keto diet, that’s pretty much the point of it, putting your body into a fasted state so we can become fat burning machines.
Hence why some people love to do keto and intermittent fasting as a combo, it’s like a two pronged attack on your body fat!
Related:
—The Ultimate Keto Diet Beginner’s Guide & Grocery List
—Guide to Fast Food on Keto
Alright I’m interested, what’s the best way to do intermittent fasting?
The best way to do intermittent fasting is the one that you stick to, feel good on and fits into your lifestyle.
One very popular option is the 16:8, fast for 16 hours and eat in the remaining 8 hour window. So you might skip breakfast and not start eating until 1pm, but then you would make sure you didn’t eat anything past 9pm. Or you could have breakfast at 8am but then stop eating at 4pm!
Another option is to skip an entire day’s worth of eating, like the well know 5:2 diet. So maybe you would fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays and eat a normal keto diet the rest of the days of the week.
I’m doing pretty well on the keto diet, do I need to do intermittent fasting?
You really don’t, and if you’re happy with your results and feeling good then I wouldn’t bother trying to change anything at this stage. Just keep it in the back of your mind in case you hit a plateau!
However, if you are want to gaining muscle intermittent fasting could help.
Some people do struggle with gaining muscle on the keto diet, but by adding in intermittent fasting you can improve your body’s insulin sensitivity and hormone production, which in turn helps you gain muscle.
There you are, that’s what intermittent fasting is all about! Not half as complicated as it sounded, right?
So if you want to supercharge your keto results then it might be worth giving it a go but remember it’s much better to lose the weight in a slow and steady fashion, but one that you will actually stick to.
Rather than going all out and then too feeling hungry and stopping your diet, so if you know you like eating and will find fasting super difficult then perhaps just stick to keto as you are!
Ready to Start Keto?
Hey! Thinking about trying the Keto diet? I’d love to help! I’ve lost over 65 pounds doing Keto and have kept it off! Take a look at my Ultimate Keto Diet Beginner’s Guide & Food List, take a spin through my Pinterest page or check out my 28-Day Keto Slimdown! The Keto Slimdown is 28 days of meal plans, recipes, advice, and a private Facebook group!
I have tried it but have not been successful!! I would love to do it.
Let me know how I can help Susana!
Does bulletproof coffee made with mct oil and butter break the fast?
Hi Cud, it does break the fast. Typically you should not invest more than 50 calories during your fast
what can i use my MCT OIL in
Hi Reen, you can use MCT oil in your coffee, in salad dressings, or when baking (do not exceed 350 degrees if you do heat it!)