2 meals a day fatigue page

[huntingBears]

I find that getting enough calories into a meal to make it possible to only eat 2 a day makes me feel tired, headachy and bloated, and im not really surprised after a 1400+ calory meal or whatever it is
I just ate 450 grams of ground beef with two cups of sprouts with a little butter and pink salt and half a cup of blueberries for desert and now i feel terrible, headache, stomach ache, fatigue, stressed

People who eat only two meals a day how is your body coping with the onslaught of calories in one sitting? is it something you get used to? is my body just not used to it yet? cheers

[VTmeetsMontréal]

I am glad you asked this question because I had the same problem. I have recently been trying to do just two meals a day and I felt sick for both days. I had a feeling like acid reflux and it was actually painful to eat that much protein in one sitting. What makes me confused is a lot of people say to make sure you're getting enough calories during the two meals, or else you're just cutting calories. But I feel like that's kind of the point of doing IF, is to train your body to get used to not being constantly fed, and running on less.

So I guess to elaborate on this question: which is it? Do we want the same amount of calories just packed into two meals? Or do we simply eat two satisfying meals and not necessarily eat as many calories in a day?

[SixteenDollars]

I regularily do two meals per day, sometimes only one. What I've found is that I'm only taking in around 1200 calories per day and not feeling hungry enough to consume any more calories. Maybe try lower your caloric intake. How active are you on a daily basis?

[sbhikes]

It doesn't have to feel like an onslaught. If it does, maybe don't eat so much in one sitting. Stop counting calories and you won't have a mental model to make you feel you have to eat more than you are able to, or make you feel you were deprived if you don't eat X number of calories in a day. Seriously, eat to satisfaction. Period. If you get hungry between your two meals, then eat a third meal or a small meal (aka a snack). Just don't graze all day on snacks.

[denasqu]

Seriously, eat to satisfaction. Period. If you get hungry between your two meals, then eat a third meal or a small meal (aka a snack). Just don't graze all day on snacks.

+1

I couldn't agree more. Snacking is the devil!! And a regimented eating schedule is his helper!

I think it's best to keep the body confused and mix it up. If I have a big breakfast and a slow day I might skip lunch once in a while or if I had a big breakfast and a big lunch I might skip dinner. But I think it would suck to pre-plan two meals per day regardless of what was going on in my life and I think my body would probably rebel against me. Isn't the idea to build resilience so that we have steady energy levels... always... and use body fat for our primary source of fuel?

[evertastica]

I feel best when I eat only 2 times per day. I think everyone is different but it's important to mix it up occasionally.

Typically, I'll eat around 1030am and then again around 730pm. Ideally a 8 hour window, but that fluctuates. I do not snack at all and this helps because the min I start eating I won't want to stop. I workout between these meals usually about 430pm.

Depending on the activities for the day I might fast until the afternoon and have a big meal around 2-3pm and then a smaller meal around 8pm.

Try eating slower and experiment with timing. If it doesn't work for you, it just doesn't work. I wouldn't suggest you do the 5-6 meals per day thing that CW suggests but maybe your body/lifestyle needs food in a different way/time.

As someone already said, I wouldn't count calories unless you think you're overeating. If you feel like that after a healthy meal you may have consumed too much at once or at the wrong time of day for your body.
Good luck!

[huntingBears]

But you can't live off your body fat forever surely?
I did fast the other day and I felt pretty amazing until I ate about 6 in the evening and then felt terrible, so I know that the whole feeling great thing is possible, im just trying to tweak it so i can have this 'boundless energy' that half of people talk about and the other half say doesn't exist

[Uncephalized]

But you can't live off your body fat forever surely?

Of course not. But if your fat reserves get low, your appetite will increase and you won't feel bloated and crappy after a large meal. Are you trying to lean out, or are you at a good body fat percentage already? If you're not where you want to be, why would you worry about eating below maintenance?

And are you exercising hard? If you're not, you probably don't need to eat 1400 calories per meal anyway. If you're eating to the point of feeling sick, then you're probably eating too much food. Don't worry about what the numbers say and just eat what you feel you need. Worry more about the quality of what you're putting in your mouth and less about the quantity and you'll feel better mentally and physically.

[denasqu]

But you can't live off your body fat forever surely?

I guess that would depend on the body. I think I've probably got enough body fat to last me a decade or two.

But seriously, that's a good question. My guess is that the answer is "yes". But I'm anxious to hear what the big-brains have to say. My thought is that the body fat is always going to be replenished so it's always going to be available for fuel. As far as I know, nobody ever achieve 0% body fat!

[huntingBears]

I'm not exercising particularly hard as of yet, I'm waiting for the extra energy to kick in, I do a lot of fast paced walking during the day and today i went for a few sprints, probably about 4 mins of sprinting all together
I want to start lifting weights 3 times a week like i used to but im just so tired all the time, body still adapting i hope
I'm definitely not overweight but i am pretty skinny fat so im basically trying to gain muscle and lose some fat
i guess i just cant get the CW out of my head saying i need 2600 calories a day, more if exercising!