Hi Clare! I have mixed feelings about IF. It's good for some but not for all. It's also been shown that women shouldn't have a fasting of more than 10 hours, so you should have a 14 hour eating window, whatever that looks like for you. In regards to a regular eating schedule, that's going to depend on your lifestyle and what you're eating. I find that when getting started, setting an alarm to remind me when it's time to eat can be helpful until it becomes a habit.

Hi Jessica,
I am so encouraged by your article and ready to try what you are doing!!
I eat a paleo diet but have used intermittent fasting also and I think it has made me gain weight. But I am so used to it I am not even sure how to go about eating every 2-3 hrs. How many calories, etc. what does your every three hours look like and when do you stop and start eating?

HI Jyssica! Macros can be really helpful to get a handle on what a healthy plate looks like. Combining paleo and macros is one of the most powerful combos I've found! If you have additional questions, please feel free to shoot me an email and I am happy to help answer any questions you have.

I loved this post and your openness!!! Just exactly what I was looking for!!!

Hi Vanessa,

Thanks for your message! When you plateau, the answer is usually macros. I don't love counting macros, but it does help propel you forward and give you that boost you need to get over the hump. If you send me an email at jessica@paleoscaleo.com I would be happy to chat more about macro specifics and where I recommend you look!

Hi Sarah!

This is such a great question. Honestly, it's a difficult one to answer, because the answer is a little bit of both.

We've adopted mostly W30/paleo as our way of eating in our house. We don't own refined sugar, regular flour, etc. Our pantry is stocked with paleo ingredients, and when I want to bake cookies or brownies, I find or make a paleo recipe in order to do it. Most meals are proteins and veggies, which is more second nature by now than anything else.

From counting macros, I learned what portion sizes look like. I can now eyeball 4oz of chicken breast and 2 cups of spaghetti squash pretty closely without actually weighing and measuring, and I know when I go take a giant spoonful of almond butter out to dip my apple that it's way more than a serving of fat.

When I feel myself starting to get lazy, or fall off things, I spend a couple of weeks dialing it back in. Sometimes that's W30 style, sometimes its macros, sometimes its just strict paleo.

So, it comes and it goes. I'm pretty good about eating really really clean most of the time, and when I'm not, I forgive myself, because I put in way more deposits of healthy stuff than unhealthy stuff.