Intermittent Fasting

I’m debating doing a full huel diet with intermittent fasting included. How would one go about that? I’ve seen different things through my research so if anyone that has done it could help guide me on the way to trying it, I would very much appreciate it. :slight_smile:

I drink Huel RTD M-F, replacing two of my meals and do 16/8 fasting. Given my schedule, my feeding window is from 12PM-8PM everyday. Note that on the weekends I’m not as regimented with this routine, but I pretty much stick to it on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the past few months (since Memorial Day of last year), I’ve dropped about 63lbs.

IF, Huel, a plant based diet and light exercise/step counting have done wonders for me!

The easiest way is to pick an 8 hour window for feeding that is most convenient for you. Then the remaining 16 hours would involve no caloric food or drink. Plain tea, plain coffee, water, water with lemon juice, etc can be consumed any time.

For me, the window is finish dinner by 1800 or 1830. Then I do not eat again until 1000 or 1100 the next day. I sleep in the middle of my 16 hour fast, making it easier.

During the feeding window, eat whatever you feel is necessary. Don’t bother measuring your Huel or counting calories or macros. Not necessary. Make it simple.

If you want to exercise, which is always a good idea regardless if you want to lose weight or not, I recommend suspending the exercise program for a few weeks until your brain adjusts to IF. Exercise stimulates appetite and I found it was better to stop exercising for 2 weeks while learning to do IF. Also, I started by doing a 12 hour fasting window for 2 days. Then 13 hours for 2 days. And so on, until I worked my way to 16 hours.

Learning to drink black coffee while fasted helps a lot of people. I do decaf mostly since I am sensitive. But I noticed that drinking a plain hot coffee or Dandy Blend is real helpful to curb thoughts of food during the fasting window. It allows you to put something in the stomach without invoking an insulin response. Also, brushing the teeth with a heavy mint flavored toothpaste during the fasting window can help stop mental hunger cravings. People naturally don’t want food immediately after brushing the teeth. Think brushing your teeth and then drinking some orange juice… Yuck. I wonder if mint gum can do the same thing. It refocuses the brain temporarily to not want food. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Then you find something else to do to distract yourself. After you get used to IF you will not crave food during the fasting window.

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Thanks both of y’all! Do you think if I just chugged a days worth of huel in the first few hours then fasted for the rest of the day it would be fine? Since I work a lot it would be easier for me and I can just drink tea and water to fill up later

Although that is certainly possible and the body is equipped to handle that, the real limiting factor is the mind. Can your brain go that long without food and not bother you? See, intermittent fasting is really about mental training at first. First train your brain to become used to going longer periods without eating, then the physical benefits will naturally follow.

Technically, if you were locked into a room with only water and a bathroom, you’d be able to survive for days on end, the length depending on how much fat you’ve gotten stored. So the body can do multi day water only fasts, if forced to. And this plan you have, the OMAD (one meal a day), is certainly possible. But is it the right way to go right out of the gate? Can you abruptly adjust from what you are doing right now?

Also, have you ever tried Huel yet? Your plan would seem to involve consuming a large amount of Huel all in a small time frame. Huel is quite filling, especially when you get into the 600 calories and above dose range. And are you used to a plant-based diet with more fiber than the typical American Diet? If the average omnivore were to chug a thousand or 1500 calories worth of Huel for his first time and then go to work… Well, it’s like the ski instructor on South Park says, “You’re gonna have a bad time!”

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I actually used to only eat one meal a day due to my schedule but I didnt exercise and it wasnt healthy food. I’m not sure how it would feel differently compared with that. I have been using huel for about two weeks now 2-3 meals a day. I really like it and it agrees with me pretty well save for a stomach bug I got a few days ago that I’m just getting over(whole family was sick so I know it wasnt the Huel). I get what you mean about it being filling though, that makes sense. Maybe I could try doing 4 scoops for breakfast and then 2 for lunch then fast the rest of the day? That might be a better test I’d assume right?

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Agreed. I don’t know your size or energy needs, but I imagine you’re gonna want at least 1400+ calories per day (give or take). I don’t think I could actually down that much Huel in one sitting. So breaking it up into two servings is a much better idea, IMO.

We have a guide here to help you Devon: https://huel.com/pages/intermittent-fasting-and-huel

Thank you both. I’m 5’7 220 lbs currently if that helps. I’ve been trying to do 1400 calories a day to lose weight but if I do IF it seems I might need to eat a little more as to not feel hungry for the 8 hours duration. I’ll see what works as I go. :slight_smile: