debrafrederick's Journal, 27 June 2023

There's so much contradictory advice out there in IF timing. Some say skip breakfast, some say eat early and skip dinner. I've been experimenting. What seems to be working for me is 2 fatty coffees in the AM followed by a main meal mid afternoon, then a snack by 6. 

I hope the knee brace helps! 💜  

I may have to try the fatty coffees again Erika, because while the food tastes great, I really really HATE cooking breakfast, getting my kitchen messy and eating at a time that I have NO interest in food. I hope it does too Zen, since my little stumble yesterday my knee has been popping backwards when I do heel to toe, it is quite painful! 

I'm considering adding back BPC to my diet as well. I've read that the coconut oil is good for inflammation (along with numerous other benefits) & the grass-fed butter is a good source for Omega 3 (and vitamin K). I really wish I could afford grass-fed beef, but at least I can afford grass-fed butter...lol...so I'm thankful!  

Sorry you hurt your knee! Ugh. Glad you ordered a knee brace. If you hate cooking and eating breakfast and you don’t feel hungry, maybe fast until lunch. My eating window is from 7 am to 7 pm. I usually do 4 meals a day and on my best days NO SNACKING. I do plan my meals and focus on protein and healthy fats. I do low carb. I have a sweet tooth so I make my own desserts. Lots of ideas on YouTube and Instagram for healthier desserts. Love that! I also track my calories but after 1 year and 7 months of that, I’m considering stopping. Just do the plate thing. 1/2 plate veggies 1/4 protein, 1/4 starches. But, tracking my calories HAS helped me to lose 50 pounds, reverse type 2, and has taught me A LOT about portion control and how many calories are in food!! I get hungriest at night but to curb that, I up my protein and fat for my 3rd meal (late afternoon). I’ve also noticed that if I have a higher calorie 1st meal I’m not as hungry throughout most of the day. But, everyone is different and I think you have to experiment and see what fits you. My calorie range is 1800 - 2200 because I’m in maintenance but lately I’ve been recovering from a bad virus 🦠 plus, a wisdom tooth extraction and the steroids had me eating like a crazy person possessed by gluttony! Lol So, I may pop down a few hundred calories in a deficit for a bit.  

StormsGirl, I already fast from 7 PM to 7AM every day, and I eat my dinner on Wednesday nights and begin a fast that does not end till Sunday morning at 7 am. I did OMAD for 6 years and I was eating less than 1,000 calories per day and I have damaged my metabolism so, I have bumped up my RDI to 2200 calories, taken my carbs up to 15% from 5% and I am making myself eat to my RDI while staying inside my macros. So eating in the 2200 range for 4 days, clean fasts for what amounts to 84 hours each week to see if I can reboot myself out of starvation mode. 2200 calories is a LOT of food to me and trying to squeeze it all into 3 meals is hard for me to do. I have never really been a snacker, when I eat I eat, when I don't have a meal in front of me....I don't think about food, well or pictures of food...since I have been back here some of these photos have made me drool and think of eating. Thanks for the tips! I have to stay away from sugar, artificial sweeteners, bread, pasta and milk. All of those things are binge triggers for me. It's easier to avoid them than to attempt portion control there 😊