Summary
Dr. Berg offers a quick digestion tip for people following the keto diet combined with intermittent fasting. He suggests separating protein and fat from vegetables across different meals or meal windows to reduce digestive strain. This simple meal-timing adjustment may help those experiencing digestive discomfort on keto.
Key Takeaways
- Separate macronutrient types across meals to ease digestion — protein and fat in one meal, vegetables in another
- Combining all food types together in one sitting can be harder on the digestive system for some people
- This strategy is specifically recommended for people already experiencing digestive problems on keto
- Works for both two-meals-a-day and one-meal-a-day (OMAD) eating schedules
- For OMAD practitioners, wait approximately one hour between eating protein and eating your salad or vegetables
- This is presented as something to “try and see” — results vary by individual
Details
For Two Meals a Day
Using a sample eating window of 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM, Dr. Berg’s recommended approach is:
- Meal 1 (e.g., 12:00 PM): Eat only protein and fat
- Meal 2 (e.g., 4:00 PM): Eat your vegetables or salad
The reasoning is that combining proteins, fats, and high-fiber vegetables all at once can overwhelm the digestive system for some individuals. Keeping these food types separate gives the body a chance to process each more efficiently.
For One Meal a Day (OMAD)
Since there is only one eating window, Dr. Berg suggests a staggered approach within that single meal:
- Eat your protein first
- Wait approximately one hour
- Then eat your salad or vegetables
This mimics the separation strategy used in two-meal schedules, but compressed into a single eating window.
Who This Is For
This tip is aimed at people who:
- Are following a keto diet and experiencing digestive discomfort
- Practice intermittent fasting with either two meals or one meal per day
- Have noticed that large, combined keto meals seem difficult to digest
Dr. Berg emphasizes this is not a strict rule, but rather an experiment worth trying to see if it personally helps.