Intermittent Fasting – A Typical Protocol (Part 3 of 3)

by Dr. Rob

The table below illustrates what a weekly intermittent fasting schedule could look like. Note that on day 7 in this table, that lunch is skipped. This is optional, but would lead to a 24 hour period of fasting between the meal on Day 6 and the meal on Day 7. This would especially be the case if the bulletproof coffee or tea was also skipped in the morning, or if the coffee was black. But this, as well as other factors, are at your discretion.

For example, you don’t have to do a 24 hour fast at all, though there are extra benefits from the extra time. Or you could do two 24 hour fasts during the 7 days. Or even extend the fast to 36 hours (technically 42 hours) by skipping a whole day and waiting until lunch the next day. Some people will do that and have a great fasting exercise work out in the morning before having a good meal with plenty of protein and fat.

Occasionally, it can be worthwhile to extend the fasting time to 48 or even 72 hours. Especially in these cases, it is important to be approaching it with diligence, and in the context of a healthcare provider. Particularly, it is important to make sure you are getting minerals such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium with your water (see Mineral Drink Recipe Below).

Make sure that you do drink plenty of water during the day as well. In fact, drinking water can often get you through what may seem to be periods of hunger or low blood sugar.

Below the table are some possible suggested recipes, as represented in the table. Having a smoothie for one of the meals can not only simplify your life, but ease the digestive process as well. It still counts as breaking the fast given all the calories, but because it can be so easy on the digestive system, it can help preserve energy levels. I like to do this for my first meal and then have a balanced meal in the evening. If you do a smoothie, reference the recipe below and make sure it has plenty of fats in it. If it is simply a fruit smoothie with lots of fruit sugars, it is not going to work.

Bulletproof Coffee or Tea
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tbsp MCT Oil
1 tbsp ghee or butter (optional)

Water with Sea Salt
Add a few good shakes to 16 oz of water

Mineral Drink (for longer fasts)
*Note this doesn’t taste great but provides minerals for longer fasts!
Per liter (approximately 32 ounces):
1/2 teaspoon Potassium Chloride
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Magnesium Sulphate (Food Grade Epsom Salt)
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

Meals

For meals, I recommend that around 40-60% of calories come from fat, 20-30% come from protein, and no more than 20% come from carbs. For example, a lunch could be a salad with plenty of avocado, a dressing with plenty of olive oil or other oils including MCT oil, garbanzo or other beans (for carbs), and some organic chopped chicken. If chicken breast, try to coat with some ghee or coconut oil for extra fat. If thigh or leg, then you are naturally getting some fats. Another suggestion for lunch could be the leftovers from the night before. For example, a dinner meal could be a piece of wild caught fish (salmon), a grass-fed, grass finished burger without the bun or steak, or chicken, along a salad or veggies (add avocado to salad, or butter or coconut oil to veggies), and some rice or quinoa, or a small amount of sweet potato or butternut squash as a carb.

Smoothie Variations
Recommended Equipment: Vitamix or Nutribullet

Basic Ingredients (Add Variations Below)
Protein (Collagen, Epic, OptiCleanse, SunWarrior, Other)
Ice
Dried Dates, or Frozen or Fresh Berries
Sunfood Organic Cacao Butter Wafers
Coconut Oil and/or MCT Oil and/or Laird’s Coconut Powder
Water
**Optional- Unsweetened Organic Hemp, Soy Milk, or Almond Milk
**Optional- 1-2 tsp non GMO Lecithin, or Sunflower Lecithin

Makes 2-3 Servings – OK to freeze 1-2 portions for later use

Start by adding approximately 1 cup of ice cubes into the Vitamix or Nutribullet. Less ice will make the smoothie more watery, and more ice will make it thicker. Put in 1/2 to 1 serving of protein powder. Add 1-2 dried dates or a handful of berries. Add 4-6 Sunfood Cacao butter wafers. For other brands with chunky cacao- watch your fingers when cutting! Scoop in a minimum of 1-3 heaping teaspoons of coconut oil and/or MCT Oil, or use Laird’s coconut powder. Fill to the top with water or a mix of water and optional milks above to make sure there is enough liquid to blend easily. Blend and serve. This will make a creamy smoothie full of good fats that can keep you satisfied all day!

NOTE: If you prefer a warm drink over a cold smoothie, forget the ice. After your smoothie is fully blended, heat up gently to the desired temperature. The blending is necessary in order to maintain the creaminess of the drink and not allow all the good oils to separate. Adding lecithin also helps with this. Don’t be afraid to play with the relative amounts of water as well as fats and proteins to personalize your drink! Remember, generally it is the fat, not the protein that helps you feel full, last longer, and replace meals.

Variations to Smoothie:

Energy Smoothie
1/2-1 teaspoon Red Maca
1-2 teaspoons D-Ribose
1-2 teaspoons Taurine

Blood Flow/ Antioxidant Smoothie
Replace dates with berries
1 tsp Beet Powder
1 tsp Acai Powder

Blood Sugar Smoothie
No Dates or Berries
1-2 tsp Coconut Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Stevia (Optional)

Matcha Smoothie
1-2 tsp Matcha
1-2 tsp Coconut Butter

Part 2