Sample Menu for Intermittent Fasting

I've had a few people ask me what exactly I eat while intermittent fasting. (For the basics on fasting, read this post: Intermittent Fasting.)

First of all, I usually do a 23/1 or 22/2 schedule fast (that is, I fast for 23 hours and eat for 1, or fast for 22 hours and eat for two). That means I need to get my calories in during an hour or two, and in order to do this I up the fat content of my meals. If you have a longer eating window - say three to six hours - you can have a couple of snacks or a protein shake and then a less caloric meal.

I checked over some of my food logs to find some sample days:

Day 1
Drinks: Coffee (black), black tea, green tea, peppermint tea, Diet Coke, water
Meal: Pork souvlaki skewers (6) with tzatziki dip
Dessert: Peanut Butter Batter (1/2 egg, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp erythritol, 6 drops Sweetzfree, 1/2 cup unsweetened smooth peanut butter - can also be baked into crumbly cookies)
Numbers: 1900 calories, 123g fat, 19g net carbs, 189g protein

Day 2
Drinks: Coffee (black), black tea, green tea, peppermint tea, Diet Coke, water
Meal: Chicken strips sauteed with jalapeno peppers, dipped in mayo
Dessert: Atkins Bake Mix pancakes with Walden Farms pancake syrup
Numbers: 1451 calories, 97g fat, 5g net carbs, 130g protein

Day 3
Drinks: Coffee (black), black tea, green tea, peppermint tea, Diet Coke, water
Meal: Ground pork and veggie burger with mayo and Walden Farms barbecue sauce; 1 1/2 grilled chicken breasts with mayo. Just The Cheese Crunchy Baked Snack (jalapeno flavour).
Dessert: Heilmann's 85% dark chocolate (40g)
Numbers: 1644 calories, 117g fat, 13g net carbs, 135g protein

Day 4
Drinks: Coffee (black), black tea, green tea, peppermint tea, Diet Coke, water
Meal: Rib steak with melted butter, Tofu Shirataki angel hair with cheese
Dessert: Sugarless Chocolate Frosting (2 tbsp melted butter, 2 tbsp good quality unsweetened cocoa, 2 tbsp erythritol, 4 drops Sweetzfree, 2 tbsp heavy cream)
Numbers: 1584 calories, 131g fat, 12g net carbs, 88g protein

As you can see, for these days I didn't have much in the way of vegetables, since I was doing a rough Meat&Egg approach also. I really don't think this is necessary if you're doing intermittent fasting, so feel free to add in low-carb friendly veggies and salads. I've also noticed that keeping protein around 100g is the magic number for me so I don't get hungry between meals.

You'll have to play around with your own numbers and find out what works for you in terms of food variety and satiation. You might also notice I have some sort of dessert every day, which gives me a lot of psychological satisfaction from a meal. I also never feel deprived doing low carb this way, but you may not need or want dessert items.

Good luck, and enjoy watching the pounds fall off!

Comments

[jen boda]

Thanks for the info. I have been doing something similar, though with some veggies added in. Definitely works. Love your blog!

jen
http://www.bodaweightloss.com/blog

[Anthony]

You drink dite soda so you should check this video about aspartame which almost ruines my life as it has ruined so many:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7757697555859118501&ei=qzwkSoLBOZzQ2wKgg9CGAg&q=sweet+misery

Cheers.