So I’ve been trying 18:6 for a week now, and while the 18 hours are quite manageable, what I find hard is to STOP eating after my first meal of the day. I’ll have a 500cal balanced meal, then I’m overcome with a huge instinct to eat more and more.
It’s at the point where I’m eating more calories than before IF. On my worst day I must have eaten about 1500 calories in an hour.
Is this instinct normal (I think so after a fast?) and more importantly are there any tips to overcome it?
Thank you
I wouldn’t be too concerned in the first week or so. Adjusting to the schedule is the first priority. Eventually, IF should feel like normal eating during the eating window and not daily fast/binge cycles. Stick with the schedule and try to key in on some things that work for you to not continue eating if you aren’t truly hungry. Here are a few thoughts and practices that help me maintain an average calorie deficit while doing 17:7 every day and not counting calories.
-Eating healthy foods is definitely the foundation, and emphasizing protein and fiber rich foods first will help. But, I can assure you that I can eat super-duper healthy and still want to eat more.
- Have a plan for what you are going to eat during the eating hours, and not just for the meal that breaks the fast. If you know what to look forward to, then you have less reason to binge or repeatedly return to the kitchen.
-Don’t think of the eating period as being dedicated to food and eating. It’s just the window where eating should occur. This can be more difficult on non-work days and for those of us who are at home during our eating hours. Plan activities to break up time during your eating hours.
-Remind yourself that you are not eating to prepare for the upcoming fast, and do not need to eat more than you need right then. If you are losing too fast in the long term, or are trending towards an healthy low weight, THEN eat more or reduce your hours spent fasting.
-If you are not counting calories, then there WILL be days you eat beyond your energy requirement, and that’s OK. But, to lose weight, that means there must also be days where you eat below your energy requirements. That should happen as a result of particularly active days or extra exercise and not from severely limiting food beyond your normal IF schedule. For example, I do not intentionally eat more if I’m going on a long hike or am particularly active. Only if I’m truly still hungry after eating what I’d normally eat.
- With all that in mind, my eating hours look like this:
Stop working around 5pm,
“Break-fast” with a protein shake,
Dinner (largest meal) around 6pm,
get busy on some evening activity, or finish up some work for my job
fiber supplement around 8 or 9 followed by a light meal (supper!),
get busy again,
eat a snack at around 11:30pm,
bed.
Yeah I definitely experience this too, and have been doing IF 16:8 for a week now. I’m fine until I eat and then I’m like, oooohh eating window, what else shall we eat, while we still can? How delicious.
I’m drinking so much water, tea and coffee to help. But I think it’s mainly an adjustment period and this feeling will settle within time, as the bee routine becomes normal. There’s always more food tomorrow. It’s not about to run out, just from eating it in a smaller window. Also it’s helping me snack less in the evening and be more mindful about food in general, so I think those are positive things.
I guess recognizing that’s how you’re feeling is the first step to changing it. Good awareness at least!