Hello everyone! I’m new to this subreddit, but have done IF for various lengths of time over the past 3 years.
I’m starting up again today, and am very curious about how snacking between my 3 meals affects weight loss specifically
(I could easily get by between meals without it, but sometimes I like to have a banana/yogurt for a quick energy boost before a workout, for example)
My current fitness goals are to lower body fat % as much as possible, while gaining what muscle I can in the meantime.
So the answer I’m looking for is related more to what the science of weight loss (when related to 3 meals - no snacks, vs 3 meals w/ snacks) truly says. I am not too knowledgeable on this topic.
Should I just have my yogurt/bananas along with my meals, to accelerate weight loss?
I’m curious to hear your answers, thanks in advance!
Edit: If this context helps, I’m currently 5’10”, weigh 140 lbs and mainly do hot yoga and cardio. I have a shoulder/back problem that keeps me from weight lifting, so i’m focused on reducing body fat %.
Intermittent fasting helps a person reduce their overall calories consumed by limiting the amount of time in a day you spend eating.
You could literally eat constantly for the whole 8 hour eating window and the only factor that would impact your weight loss is if you eat as much as or more than your body uses in a day.
You could be on a smoothie drip for that whole 8 hours and if the total number of calories consumed was less than you expend…. you’ll lose weight.
Think of it like restaurant hours. Restaurant opens at noon, closes at 8. Max calories you can eat while that restaurant is open is <insert your personal calories for weight loss here>
It’s not actually more complicated than that.
For me, as long as I consume my allotted calories in the window I set, when I eat doesn’t matter. When I had a 5 hour window I was eating many times during the window. I don’t think you’ll lose more weight by avoiding snacking within your window.