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Summary
On episode 260 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan tackles a question he gets constantly: when should you actually be eating? Rather than pick a side in the debate between multiple small meals, three square meals, and intermittent or extended fasting, he lays out eating windows as a continuum and explains why one end of it works for some people and fails completely for others.
He breaks down each approach, small frequent meals, meals timed around workouts, strict three-meals-a-day, 16:8 intermittent fasting, the 5:2 approach, and extended multi-day fasts, and ties the right choice back to whether you're a sugar burner or a fat burner, and what you're actually trying to accomplish.
Allan also shares his own approach, running low-carb and mostly in ketosis, which is why skipping breakfast costs him nothing, and makes the case that your eating program isn't a permanent identity, it's a tool you adjust as your goals and metabolism change.
Links
- https://ketofest.com
Key Takeaways
- Eating windows exist on a continuum, and there's no single right answer for everyone. Allan lays out six approaches, from six small meals a day to extended multi-day fasting, and says most people default to one end or the other rather than picking pieces that fit their own life.
- Multiple small meals a day work by preventing blood sugar spikes and the insulin surge that follows. Keeping each meal small enough to carry you to the next one avoids the hunger and storage response a bigger meal triggers, though critics point out it never lets the digestive tract rest.
- Timing carbs and protein around a workout mostly matters for elite athletes chasing marginal gains. Allan says the 1 to 2 percent difference that strict post-workout timing might buy you is meaningful if you're trying to add 30 pounds of muscle, but barely noticeable for a more modest goal.
- A strict three-meals-a-day, no-snacking approach suits people who do best with firm rules. It removes decision fatigue for people who know that any wiggle room turns into a habit of snacking they don't want.
- 16:8 intermittent fasting works best once you're fat-adapted. Allan skips breakfast most mornings because his body is used to drawing on stored fat for fuel in ketosis, so his blood sugar and metabolism don't crash the way a sugar burner's would.
- Sugar burners tend to do worse with fasting and better with frequent smaller meals. Without fat adaptation, skipping meals just triggers sugar cravings, since glucose is still the body's primary fuel source in that state.
- Extended fasting works better once you're already fat-adapted, and the first two or three days are the hardest. Allan points to Dr. Jason Fung's view that short fasts under three days mostly offer an apoptosis, or cellular cleanup, benefit rather than deep insulin resistance repair, which is why some people push past day three intentionally.
- Weight loss ultimately comes down to managing insulin and hormones, not just calories. Allan says most people have developed some level of insulin resistance from processed and sugary foods, and every eating pattern on the continuum is really just a different strategy for managing that insulin response.
- Your eating program should change as your goals, activity level, and metabolic state change. Allan points to Jimmy Moore as an example, someone who moved from intermittent fasting into extended fasting later on to break through a weight plateau, and says self-awareness matters more than sticking to one label.
“I'm on the food diet. I eat good quality food. I eat more fat than carbs, and as a result, my body has adapted to use fat as a fuel source.”
Coach Allan Misner
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 334 – Intermittent fasting made simple with Brian Gryn