I usually take a 24 hour fast once a week but am wondering should I eat the calories that I essentially missed from that 24 hour fast onto the next day/over the week? I eat 1200-1300 calories daily and know you shouldn’t eat below 1200 calories to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients. What about fasts that go over 24 hours?
I’ve been intermittent fasting for over a year now and feel I finally am in tune with my food wants vs needs. I do OMAD or 20/4 depending on how I feel for the day.
I’m curious about this too. I downloaded the Simple app, and they ask me to track what my meals are composed of, but I don’t track calories. The insights from the app say you don’t need to. It seems a lot of people on here fast and count calories, which I think makes this confusing. The app explains when you fast, it better allows you to have control over yourself, so when you DO eat, you pay attention to feeling full rather than eating past the point of comfort to hit a caloric goal. That has become one of my favorite things about IF, I feel like it’s much easier to tell when I’m satisfied. But I’m only down 50lbs from my highest and there are others with a lot more experience on here than me.
What is your goal?
Are you fasting due to continuous exercise? This is me; it’s nearly impossible for me to eat on a 50km hike or 200km cycle and feel comfortable trying to digest it. I tend to calorie load the day before.
Are you fasting to lose weight? If so, the calorie deficit is what drives the weight loss.
Are you fasting for health improvement (Heart, cholesterol, blood sugar stability, etc.)? Then you probably want to add a bit to every day so your weekly total is balanced, rather than having a feast after the famine. That said, this seems like a good question for a Dietitian.