I have been doing 16:8 fasts on and off for about 6 months but I tend to feel ravenous and binge during my eating window. I have read that shorter fasts aren’t as effective for weight loss and health benefits so do I go with shorter fasts or just give up on the fasting thing?
1st of probably several tips, fasting is a skill. People don’t start out running 10k or marathons. They start walking some and running some, and then running more, working up to a 5k and then beyond. If you’re used to eating all hours of the day your body needs some time to get used to it. The more often and longer you do it the easier it gets, and the faster your body is able to switch over to getting energy from fat stores.
Higher carbs tend to make me hungrier during my fasts, I’m not eating like keto low levels (although I used to and probably should again because I felt a lot better to then). But just avoiding surgery stuff and things with super high carbs, I’m still eating sandwiches and stuff and fasting feels much easier
Also drinking lots of water, black coffee, and zero calorie electrolyte mix throughout the day help you not feel as hungry.
And one last note, a lot of the time we feel hungry is actually us just feeling like it’s time to eat. So for example if I try and work through lunch I get really hungry, but if a take a lunch break, go to the gas station and get a Coke Zero or something, and drink it in my truck and watch YouTube/Reddit, afterwords it’s like mentally I had my “lunch break” and I’m not hungry afterwards.
Anyway those are some tricks that work for me, try them out, or don’t. But good lunch on your journey!
You go longer my friend.
Start out pushing it into skipping a full day. I find i have a much easier time in losing weight with 24-36 hour fast.
Anything less than that and I tend to eat the same amount of calories as without the fasting.
Maybe IF is not for you. I think it’s important to make a good go of it and to practice it properly, but it is not meant for everyone. I view IF as a tool because I think only a small percentage of the population can really stick with IF as a lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
I think the benefits of practicing IF is learning self-awareness, discipline, and control. Apart from that, it is just a tool really, not the only way to lose weight. If you feel that you’ve really tried your best and put in an honest effort into this, don’t feel bad about moving away from it.
With that being said, IF is a commitment and will work better if you practice it daily.