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Benefits of earlier eating window vs later

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if you all could share your thoughts on your eating windows. Usually I eat from 10AM-6PM but I’m not sure how well this is working out for me. I still feel pretty tired and sluggish. I am eating in a calorie deficit and waiting for that mental clarity to hit me- also not eating any grains or gluten. I exercise pretty consistently and take vitamins and all that; basically I’m pretty healthy otherwise. I really want to do IF for focus and concentration.

I would go to skipping dinner and having my window at 8-3, but I have family dinners that I cannot miss most of the time.

So I was wondering- what is the benefit of skipping breakfast vs skipping dinner? Any advice?

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Answer

My eating window is 10-6 because I have 2 young kids and we eat dinner together at 5.30. I think the best eating window is one you can maintain, it’s trial and error. I didn’t want to miss family dinner and need the energy in the day to run around after a toddler.

It sounds like you feel sluggish because you eat at a calorie deficit and exercise as well.

Answer

my eating window is from 6pm-10pm (or 7 to 11). I just prefer eating at night because i have a very little appetite in the morning and for some reason when i eat in the mornings i tend to feel hungry all day. My hunger cues usually hit at night so it works best for me. Plus, this way i don’t go to sleep feeling hungry which is the worst.

Answer

My window is usually 3:30pm to 7:30 pm or 4pm to 8pm when I’m doing 20:4 because I get out of work at 3:30pm.

This allows me to have a banana or some nuts as a snack on the way out of work, get home, and make a healthy dinner. If my window is earlier while I’m at work I tend to end up eating pretty unhealthily and sometimes getting fast food which I’d like to avoid.

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If I’m doing OMAD then I just dont worry about it and eat dinner when I feel like it

Answer

Because of my work schedule my window is 8am to 3pm. If it was any later I would not be eating until right before I went to bed which makes me not sleep. Since I get up around 5am, that 3 hours I’m actually active before I break my fast: I consume a ton of water, do morning stretching and get ready for my day. By the time I get to my coffee, I’m just enjoying it. 2pm is my regularly scheduled lunch. Sometimes I don’t get it until later because clients run-over or schedule conflicts, so being insanely strict isn’t so crucial having a plan does help though.

Weekends I try for OMAD

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Categories: eating window working out sluggish deficit vitamin dinner energy morning sleep snack omad coffee lunch