Why not eating enough calories when you are trying to get into 6th Gear IF/Keto can hose your results.
Because if you are doing IF/Keto your body is saying OK, we are going to get fed eventually and get all of the food we need, I will take this time while I am not constantly digesting food, let’s go clean up all of the broken bits, and scrub some of old cells and maybe even some of the pre-cancerous ones and while we are at it, burn up some of this fat we have.
Things are good, we don’t need to hang on to it. I can also lay off the sugar spikes because we do not need to store every calorie we get because I know I am going to have enough to do everything, Yahoo!
Finally the Old Brain gets it! It is running on high test now and the cobwebs are getting clear. It is finally getting into 6th Gear with me and those endorphins are kicking in and the synapses are firing like they should have been all along. Let’s rebuild these bones and connective tissues, and maybe build out some muscle too while we are at it. Feeling GREAT.
As long as you get enough calories in your eating window (hopefully lots of fats) your bod is cool with this.
However, the minute it does not get enough calories, it says whoa…. Dang, there might not be enough food out there so we have to go into survival mode. We are going to slow down our metabolism and instead of rebuilding and repairing, we need to turn every calorie we get in and turn it into fat because this could get way worse. And we were doing so good. Sure hope this does not last long…
That is why the whole calories in, and calories out is messed up and never gives long-term results. Now this is a very simplified version, but that is basically what happens. Hope this makes sense.
I watch my Macros and try and keep them around 75 to 80% Fat, 10-15% good protein, and 10 to 15% net good carbs. That is about it in a nut shell. I normally do 18 hour fasts with a 6 hour eating window or 18/6. This is pretty much every day with a little variance depending on schedules. I also do 24 and 48 hour water or water and coffee fasts to help clean up the pipes once or twice a month. Ladies seem to do better with 16/8 cycles. Your hormones and the way you handle fats it different.
One more thing, I have a cheat day about once a month where I pretty much eat anything I want if I am having a craving for it. Then I get back on the wagon. This keep your body guessing. Although as you go along, you may not binge out like the first couple of times because most people feel like crap afterwards. There is also a whole school of thought on cycling in and out of fasting and keto, which is another long post.
And…. in all of the input I have gotten and with my own observations and the studies out there (even if you have to really dig for them) they back this up. It is better to over do it with calories than to under do it. Just listen to your body and when you are full, stop eating. Do not worry about the calories, your body will take care of it.
Anyway that is my 3 cents once again on this. 
Something to think about too. Everyone needs different amount of calories. Like a lot less or more. I have seen this vary by 50% for same sex, height, age. etc. You know people that can eat pretty much anything they want and don’t add an ounce right? Guess what? Figure out what works for you. I would not use the standardized charts. You are freaking unique. There is no one else quite like you. Which is awesome.
I regularly eat over 3,000 a day. Big whoop, they are the right kind and I am getting leaner and growing muscle, not getting fatter like the calories in calories out theory would have you believe. Right at 198, 6′ 2″ish . I should be getting as fat as a cow and yet…. I am not because the theory is BS and was disproven way back in the 1920s and many times since. Just one of those myths that keeps making the rounds.
Ladies and gents, you could lose inches and weight. You might feel like you are in 6th Gear and have more clarity of thought, and be in a better mood, and have a much better sex drive. Enjoy and would love to hear your experiences below
