Keto and intermittent fasting are currently among the most popular eating plans for weight loss and management. Keto meal plans are great for those who find it easy to reduce their carbohydrate intake.
Intermittent fasting suits anyone who prefers to time their food intake without eliminating food groups.
While these meal plans each have advantages and disadvantages, many researchers have found they help with weight loss for some people.
You might have considered combining both diets simultaneously, creating a keto intermittent meal plan. But can such a weight loss diet work?
Read more to learn if and how you can combine intermittent fasting with keto and the pros and cons of such an eating plan.
A keto intermittent fasting meal plan combines the rules of the ketogenic diet with an intermittent fasting schedule.
A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate meal plan that began in the early 1920s to treat epilepsy (1). Although it has existed for a long time, this eating plan only recently gained popularity after many realized its potential weight loss benefits.
The keto eating plan reduces your carbohydrate intake to 20-50 grams daily.
The macro intake for a keto diet is typically:
On the other hand, intermittent fasting is less of a diet and more of an eating pattern that cycles between eating and fasting periods/windows.
This fasting practice does not restrict what foods you eat but reduces calorie intake by limiting the time allotted. Like the ketogenic diet, most people see this eating pattern as a weight loss method and an alternative to the weight loss dietary practice of traditional calorie restriction (2).
A keto and intermittent fasting meal plan integrates the principles of these two eating plans into one hybrid plan.
You can combine intermittent fasting (IF) and keto, which may be especially intriguing if you want to lose weight.
While there isn’t enough research to say that combining these two diets will lead to more weight loss, IF and keto don’t have any directly conflicting rules, so it is possible.
However, limiting what you can eat (keto) and when you can eat (IF) can result in an overly restrictive diet that doesn’t:
With that said, it is best to understand that not everyone should do keto or IF, or worse, think of mixing these two.
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According to research, the ketogenic diet is not the best eating plan for those suffering from illnesses such as:
Experts advise pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as persons with a history of eating disorders, to not do the keto diet (3, 4).
Like the keto diet, IF is safe for many, but not everyone.
According to a study published in late 2023, researchers found that when people with a history of disordered eating combined IF and low-carb diets, it led to a significant increase in disordered eating, especially binge eating (5).
In the same study, researchers also recommended that aside from people with disordered eating, children and teens, the elderly, as well as pregnant and/or lactating women should not participate in intermittent fasting (5).
Additionally, you must take certain medications with food, which is something to consider and discuss with your healthcare provider if you want to try IF.
Overall, people with a history of disordered eating and pregnant/breastfeeding women mentioned in both studies should not try a keto with intermittent fasting meal plan.
The other groups mentioned should also not attempt this eating plan without seeking medical advice.
Read more: Intermittent Fasting Meal Ideas to Make Weeknights Easier
No one has discovered the best intermittent fasting schedule for the keto diet—or any other diet, for that matter.
If you’d like to combine a keto diet plan with intermittent fasting, the best way to find the schedule that works for you is through trial and error or by deciding which best suits your lifestyle and preferences.
By trying the different IF schedules, you can better determine which works and feels best for you.
6 Popular Intermittent Fasting (IF) Schedules Include:
The 16/8 is the most popular eating pattern of all intermittent fasting schedules.
Using the 16/8 method, you fast for 16 hours a day and have an 8-hour eating window during which you consume your daily calorie intake (6).
Most people fast overnight and then choose any 8-hour window during the day that works best for them.
The 12/12 is an easier version of the 16/8, and many beginners use it for intermittent fasting when a 16-hour fast is too long for them. Not only do you fast for a shorter timeframe, but your eating window is also longer.
Also known as the warrior diet, this is an extended version of the 16/8 method.
Individuals fast for 20 hours and have a short 4-hour eating window to consume their daily calorie intake (6). Because of the long fasting window, most diet experts don’t recommend this method for beginners.
If you thought the 20/4 schedule pushed it, then the OMAD is undoubtedly not for you.
The OMAD diet/fasting schedule is the least recommended diet.
Because OMAD requires you to fast for 23 hours in a day and only have a 1-hour eating window, it can lead to extreme hunger, which is not sustainable.
Having just 1 hour a day to consume all your calories may lead to undereating as the time frame is too short to eat well.
Trying to force yourself to eat all your recommended calorie intake in this timeframe could also lead to vomiting.
Unlike the schedules mentioned above, this variation does not include daily fasting and eating windows.
Instead, an alternate-day fast dieter fasts every other day. On fasting days, they consume only 25% of their daily calorie intake, around 500 calories.
On feasting days, however, they are not restricted to any caloric intake (7).
The 5:2 variation does not involve everyday fasting and feeding windows like alternate-day fasting. The 5:2 diet requires participants to eat as usual 5 days a week and fast twice weekly.
On fasting days, women can consume up to 500 calories while men consume up to 600 (8).
Dieticians recommend that you do not do fasting days consecutively.
Instead, it is best to have a day or two between the first fasting day and the next.
The best way to determine which schedule works best for you is to follow a 1 week keto meal plan with your preferred schedule and see how you feel about it.
If the option you chose feels right, go with it. However, if you do not like it, discard it and choose something else. It’s all about personal preference.
Here are two examples of a day of intermittent fasting while on a keto diet.
The meal plan works well with a 16/8 schedule or a similar one (12/12 or 14/10).
However, it could also represent your meal plan for eating days on alternate-day or 5:2 fasting plans.
Total Intake for the Day: Calories: 1798. Fats: 131g. Protein: 122g. Carbs: 45g.
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Total Intake for the Day: Calories: 1496. Fats: 105g. Protein: 92g. Carbs: 42g.
As these two examples show, you can practice intermittent fasting on a keto diet regardless of your calorie intake.
Everyone can expect to lose a unique number of pounds while on the keto intermittent fasting meal plan. Remember that weight loss depends on more than diet (9), so we cannot give you a specific number.
Plus combining these two does not guarantee faster weight loss.
Healthy and sustainable weight loss means losing 1-2 pounds a week (10).
You will eventually reach your weight goal if you stay within these parameters.
Read more: Master the Keto Diet with This Simple 7-Day Lazy Keto Meal Plan
Not losing weight intermittent fasting, and doing keto may be due to several factors, including the following:
Eating too little does not lead to more weight loss. Instead, it may cause the body to hold on to the already-existing stored fat, slowing metabolic rate.
The body can do this if it believes that you are starving, and thus, it increases its efforts to keep you alive.
Eating in a caloric surplus means consuming more food energy than your body burns daily.
Your body stores leftover calories as fat, leading to fat and weight gain over time.
Make sure you are eating at a moderate calorie deficit to prevent this.
Exercise helps your body burn more calories than it regularly burns daily.
Just 30 minutes of exercise five days a week will increase calorie burning, kickstarting the paused weight loss.
Studies have shown that increased stress levels and inadequate sleep can negatively affect eating habits and weight loss efforts. To avoid high-stress levels, find positive ways to destress and try to sleep for 7 to 9 hours a night (11, 12).
There are no established nine rules of ketosis. This diet has one straightforward rule: Your fat intake should be high, and your carb intake should not exceed 50 daily grams. As previously mentioned, your macros should contain 55-60% energy from fat, 30-35% from protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrates (1). Aside from that, stay hydrated, limit ultra-processed foods, consume more whole foods, and track your macros – the same rules with every healthy and sustainable weight loss eating plan. Two weeks is a short timeframe for you to worry about not seeing drastic changes in your weight. However, you should wait at least a month to gauge your progress accurately. The 30-30-30 rule is a social media weight loss trend that encourages you to consume 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up and then doing 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise. While people on social media claim that this practice leads to fat loss and muscle gain, this rule has no explicit scientific backing and should not be relied upon as fact. However, including protein in every meal and engaging in physical activity are healthy goals for most people. Keto flu symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, reduced exercise tolerance, and constipation (1), are a pretty easy way to tell if your body is in ketosis. However, most of these symptoms should improve as your body adjusts. Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 9 rules of keto?
Why am I not losing weight on keto after 2 weeks?
What is the 30-30-30 rule for weight loss?
How do I know I’m in ketosis?
A keto intermittent fasting meal plan incorporates two popular weight loss methods into one. Because keto and IF don’t have conflicting rules, it is possible to do them together, which could lead to weight loss. However, it is essential to note that combining these does not necessarily guarantee faster weight loss results, and neither practice is safe for everyone. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting a new diet or weight loss plan.
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