I’ve been doing 16/8 for almost a week, but wanting to do 18/6. The thing is, is that I get REALLY hungry at the 16 hour mark and end up eating. I DO clean fast, only water and black coffee. Just curious if with practice, it got easier for anyone to bump it up to the next level?
You have a lot of hormones, specifically hunger ones, that need time to subside. A lot of people notice a big decline in cravings and the hunger you’re describing if they can make it about a month.
If 16/8 is too tough one day, do 14/10 and don’t beat yourself up about it. Remember, this is a long game and 1 day won’t matter much as long as you’re generally staying on track.
Yes, it gets easier. I pretty much do a minimum of 18-20 hours of fasting per day without a second thought. But, the time it takes to transition to longer fasting periods is going to be different for each person.
Push past it. And try not to fixate on eating. It will get significantly easier over time.
I draw an analogy to weight lifting. For me, someone who has done a lot of weightlifting at points in my life (mid 30’s now, lifted starting from age 14) the first two weeks are always killer. I mean my legs get so sore and so tight I look like I’m crippled hobbling around, and that’s with some fairly basic and not overly heavy lifting routines. But it’s like one day a switch just flips and the soreness just goes away. I rarely ever get sore after that, unless I really push myself very hard.
Fasting is like that for me. When I start fasting again, the first two weeks can be pretty hard. Or three. But after that, I have days where I realize I’m halfway through my eating window and haven’t eaten anything yet.
That said, if you can’t get beyond the mental aspect of it and hunger just remains to be a thing… going for extended fasts can end up being worse overall for you if it causes you to binge / overeat.