Starting out IF is not as easy as it sounds…let’s be honest. I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and some days are better than others; so here’s my question:
How do you overcome the cravings? How do you FORCE yourself to NOT eat something outside your eating window….do you give in and just do it and then jump back on the wagon, or do you have to WILL yourself and pray to the food gods to STOP THE MADNESS?
I will admit, I am struggling…….I am going on vacation in May and at night I tell myself “you GOT this, you know you want to look half way decent on vacation, and not look like a damn lard ass, so just SAY NO and only eat during your window, and for God’s sake, DON”T eat what you know you shouldn’t”
Then the fat girl in me says “screw it - just ONE bite”
I am seriously on the struggle bus…..any tips, secrets or anything that’s worked for the rest of you, please lay it on me!
One aspect that gets a bit under discussed is just learning to be alright with being a little hungry. Certainly it’s easier to not be, and there’s lots of tips and tricks out there. And certainly no one should be ignoring hunger cues entirely to the point of starving.
But if you know you’re otherwise eating full nutritious meals, you can work on just not jumping up immediately when hunger comes calling. That’s in part what got a lot of us to where we started and unlearning that helps to create a healthier relationship with food.
There’s also a chicken and egg component to it all. A lot of these craving are learned responses from the body. For example, always having a snack at the same time will equal getting hunger cues then even if the body doesn’t physically need the calories. But the more we break from those, then the less often the body keeps sending the same signals.
I have been doing OMAD for five years. On keto. That seems to be the key for me. I can’t imagine doing OMAD with carbs. I remember back on carbs eating a large bowl of cornflakes and feeling stuffed only to be ravenous only an hour later. Once you get off the sugar insulin roller coaster, satiaty follows. I eat a feast for breakfast, and then I am done. Don’t want anything. Feels like hunger or appetite are not even a thing. No willpower needed.Never counted a calorie.On the rare occasions when cravings hit, often in a social setting, I’ll have some sparkling water or a black coffee. 15 minutes later, all is calm again
Lost 85 lbs in a year and have maintained ideal weight for four.
Keto allows me to do IF just like IF let me lose weight on Keto (Keto alone would not).
Between getting out of the habit of having extra food around, and finding motivation with results, I got past that stage eventually.
And I occasionally find myself back in it, I just recognize that I’m human, it’s an expected weakness, and it’ll pass. I don’t give myself too hard a time, it’s not helpful.
How long are you fasting for and what are you eating in your window? General advice is to start with a shorter fast, don’t just jump in to the long lives. Your body needs to make adjustments before getting to that stage.
Do you consume anything while you’re fasting? I’ve heard people have great success with a “clean fast” which would only be water, sparkling water (unflavored), black coffee or black tea. No flavors, creamers, sweeteners. Any type of flavors may spike your insulin and cause you to get hungry during the fast.
Also recommend the book Fast Feast Repeat by Gin Stephens. She breaks everything down for you in an easy to read way, not too sciencey, but based on scientific research.
Honestly I don’t think I could do it if I wasn’t already doing keto or at least low carb. Keto has allowed me to deal with my emotional eating by reducing my cravings to manageable levels.
I could probably get away with just a low (and no refined) carb diet, it’s the sugar and breads that kill me. When I quit those, easing into keto, I already had significant craving reductions while still allowing myself to eat unrefined starches (legumes and root veggies), fruit, and milk.
I think, for me, it’s about stopping that insulin rollercoaster and also letting my brain heal from the sugar addiction. It gives me space to work on my relationship with food.
In my fasting period i do feel pangs of hunger sometimes . But I think of it this way, I think that the hunger sensation is an indication of fat burning in my body. I visualise my belly fat being burned. And in fact this is how our body actually burns fat. It gets converted into carbon dioxide and water vapour and we just breathe out the fat. So if i eat something the fat burning will stop and i don’t want to stop the fat burning sensation and so i refrain from eating anything in my fasting window. And trust me, give it a month, you won’t feel hungry once you get into the habit of fasting. Good luck
Ok maybe time to adjust your self view? Calling yourself lard ass probably won’t help. Work on loving that fat ass - thanking your body for all of its amazing service to you - and prioritize your health. Also drink water and be ok with feeling hungry.
You’re only two weeks in to a paradigm shift in your mental and physical approach to nutrition…
Your brain and body are just sending signals of expected calories while you are essentially saying no, not yet, and they haven’t gotten the message that life has changed.
There’s a lot of truth in that old saying that the body can go a month without food but only a couple of days without water… staving off the hunger pangs with liquids and electrolyte goes a long way to helping get through the transition period. Just remember that when you do break the fast; break it with GOOD, nutritionally whole and clean calories. Breaking it with junk just erodes that discipline and will make it more difficult to overcome the cravings.
Trust when I say it does get easier, the hunger pangs become less frequent, and you find the mental strength to remind yourself that you can overcome them.
This too shall pass…
When I was getting started, I would start my fast around 8p, force myself to skip breakfast, and then leave my credit and bank cards at home when I left for my 9-hr workday, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to go to my work cafeteria or vending machines. After a couple of weeks my cravings stopped. In fact, frequently, especially after I work out, I don’t even have an appetite for my dinner. I force myself to eat so that I’m not starving in the morning.
Now I’m OMAD and it feels great. Weight loss is slow (20 lbs in the past year) but I have way more energy, I’m physically stronger, and I’m generally happier. Even if I plateau I’m going to stick with it.
Water. I wasn’t a big water drinker before starting IF, but now I drink at least 2 liters a day because any time I feel hungry, I reach for my water. At this point (been doing IF 10 months) I typically get hungry two times in my fasting window, and it passes after 15 minutes. I’ve been doing it so long now that it’s easy to ride it out, because I know from experience that it will pass. A big big thing for me has also been seeing results. Once the weight started coming off, it was easier to reason with myself to make good choices because there was proof that it was worth it.
With all that being said, a big reason IF works is it just simplifies CICO. So if you give in and have a snack, try to keep it small and low cal and then get back to fasting. I personally find self control like that very hard, which is why a strict fast is better for me. But as long as you are still in a calorie deficit for the day, it should not derail your weight loss plan.
Best of luck! You’ve got this!
Just want to show some solidarity! I am on day three and feel like an insane person until noon when I break my fast (16:8). Thank you for asking this question and to all these helpful commenters. I’m rooting for you, OP!
I put post it notes on my cupboard doors as reminders of the goal I’m working towards.
Some days I do fall of the wagon. I try not to get down on myself about it. I realize why I did it and tell myself to try to be better going forward. Ultimately, a backslide occasionally will not derail your progress. Just keep chaining those ‘good’ days together and keep on keeping on.
You got this.
Hunger usually comes in waves so it will pass if you can focus on something else for 20 minutes or so. I struggled a lot with hunger the first 6 weeks or so and I was primarily doing 16:8. At the time I was moving, so I was able to focus on packing or unpacking. I did find after about 6 weeks the hunger hormones adjusted and it got much easier.
Also make sure you are eating really nutrient dense food with a good amount of fiber (lots of fruits and veggies) during your eating window. your eating window.
The best advice I received was about mindset. This is something you can do for yourself without actually doing anything. That’s pretty powerful if you think about it.
What are you eating leading up to your fasts? That really makes a difference for me. I do 18:6 Tues-Sun and fast all day Monday (at times I feel so good I fast 2-3 additional days). I also allow myself to enjoy eating socially on Friday evenings and Saturdays. But Sunday, I’m careful to avoid sugar because if I have it then my body craves it all day Monday. I also make sure I eat plenty protein and healthy fats, and avoid processed carbs. I find this keeps me satiated and lowers my cravings dramatically.
Mindset is everything. You’re not giving anything up. You can just have it a little later.
When I actually feel hungry I try to get out and go for a walk. It removes me from the kitchen and my food, puts me in a different place mentally, and if you’re doing it for weight loss, I find that’s the time that my body torches fat. Win-win-win. I don’t even feel tempted by the restaurants in my neighborhood.
If you fall off the wagon, don’t write the day off, course correct and move on. But also remember…
It seems like what you eat is far less important than when you eat doing IF or fasting in general. Just tell yourself you’ll have it later and busy yourself.
Added: warm tea or even hot water w some salt and pepper can be a game changer. Your body will feel like you’ve eaten.
No t.v, at least shows without commercials helps a lot.
IMO, More importantly get you carb intake down if its high now slowly get down, its much easier for some one to fast that is a fat burner or who switch metabolically back and forth easily and that starts with a low carb type way of eating.
A pure sugar burner or someone who does not burn fat often will struggle mightily at 1st.
get past that point and you will enjoy it.
I don’t think it’s something you can pinpoint. It’s different for everyone. I just simply tell myself no and it’s not worth it and future me will be happy I did it. I think the longer you do it the easier it gets. I know it sounds extremely opposite but I watch food videos OR meal prep for myself or family and making the food seems to satiate my hunger and I don’t have any desire to eat it. I enjoy cooking and I feel no urge to eat it
More intense fasts, more spectacular meals - let the reward commensurate with your effort.
I’m not really IFing regularly now (242 to 170lbs in 7 months) and have been in maintenance for 9 months (currently 165lbs). My lifestyle includes binge drinking and eating 2-3 times a week BUT I make sure to clock at least 30km worth of runs, and some weight training.
What goes in must come out - if you want to eat more try to think of a justification beyond hunger.. “I’ve worked out, I deserve this; I’ve fasted longer than usual and was restrained in my previous meal).
Create those potential wins!
I made a post earlier this month on key takeaways I learned in my first 100 days seen here.
You are not alone who struggle. The key is CONSISTENCY. If you ever fail - the next day just keep going. Never stop.
I’m not sure what protocol you’re using but look at the following:
Good luck to you!
When I’m struggling (now, already struggling 15 hours into a 60 hr fast!), I watch Jason Fungs fasting videos on YouTube and read websites and fasting testimonials - it really helps me focus the mind on the science behind the hormones and why I’m hungry or craving.That allows me to think logically about why one day I can be really focused and find a fast easy, and other days I’m all over the place with it!
Yes! That’s a struggle for me as well. Mindset skills have helped me most with this because I pretty much equated any sensation of hunger as a 5 alarm fire that I immediately needed to stop everything in my life for to handle this “emergency”. I mean, it feels like that sometimes. Now, instead of springing into action toward the peanut butter or whatev, I give myself 7 minutes to see if it changes. Most of the time my hunger is a passing sensation. I never noticed that before on my way to handling it as an emergency. So, often it passes, or I’ll notice that I’m not really hungry but bored or anxious. It’s really liberating to feel like a curious scientist about it vs an EMT. Highly suggest. Really good times. Also, drinking a gallon of water a day has really helped my hunger and getting adequate amounts of protein and fat during my eating window. I started Dec 8’ have been doing 18:6 or 20:4 and have lost about 26 lbs. you can do it! Get your head game straight and once you figure out that part and see the results, you probably won’t look back. Good luck!
The only reason I am able to eat 1 meal a day for 5 days is because of work. I can Not bring food, and I work out on my lunch, before you know it, work time! I have a harder time on the weekends but that’s okay because I just went 5 days of 1 meal a day! So for me, I need to distract myself with urgent work, like yard work or projects, and ignore my stomach.
Jason Fung said something interesting that I sometimes think about. He said that IF is literally not doing something. You’re not eating. But you’re also not shopping, measuring, chopping, cleaning, meal planning, etc like you’d do with a traditional diet plan.
So if you can think of it as not doing something, like a life cheat that’s making things easier, it can be one of the little mental things that help keep you on track. Just something that I found really interesting and didn’t see mentioned here.
When I started, it helped me just to think ‘I can eat that later’, and then sometimes later I didn’t feel like it anymore, but if I did, I ate it. When I started fasting, I didn’t actually change my diet at that point so nothing was off-limits, it was just certain days I didn’t eat, but I could always look forward to eating what I wanted tomorrow. That’s what kept me going at first. Eventually, it became easier and I started to realise that those foods I was craving actually just made me feel bad (physically I mean, not just guilt bad) and they weren’t really worth it to me anymore. Slowly, I started changing how I was eating and I felt better and better but it didn’t happen overnight.
I guess what I’m saying is maybe don’t try to climb the mountain in one giant leap, but instead just take it one step at a time. Sometimes the mental challenge is more difficult than the physical. When you’re in the right frame of mine, you know the hunger will come and go and it’s easy to ride that out. But it’s the mental pull that some of those foods can have a person that is just so hard! Telling yourself you can still eat those foods, just not right this minute, is a lot easier than telling yourself you’re not allowed to eat them ever. It’s like by depriving yourself 100%, it almost makes you want it more. Maybe? You can do it!
I know you have a billion responses but the key IMO is to start slow. Push back your first meal an hour every few days. Eat healthy keto/Mediterranean. You can’t starve and do IF it won’t work. I was eating like a hound then found out I had pre diabetes. Went cold turkey keto for 1Week then pushed back my 1st meal over time to 1-3pm. Honestly I had to force myself to eat someDays. It didn’t take long. If you jumped into fasting too soon you are going to feel the pain. Check out Dr. Eric berg on you tube he goes through how to start IF healthily and easily. AlsoDr. Jason Fung. Make sure yourBlood glucose isn’t out of whack too. KetoWillHelpWith that.
Your body is conditioned to eating a specific amount of calories, carbs, sugars etc.
You are depriving it of what it is used to so you have cravings because it’s going through withdrawal. My best advice is to make every meal within your eating window as nutrient dense as possible to make holding out till the next window a bit easier. Drink plenty of water and stay strong. The body has no choice but to adapt once again and the cravings will slowly stop once it has reprogrammed itself.
I actually have no idea if I am doing IF or not. I guess it depends on what you are doing.
I’m starting with the day cycle routine but it can also be referred to as calorie cycling. You can either do 4:3 or 5:2 or 6:1, where your main days, you are eating at your maintenance or your caloric deficit days [for me that’s between 1400-1600] and then the off days you can either fast for the entire day or you eat at a really reduce calorie amount. I opt for just rating the reduced calorie amount and they are usually on days that I am not working.
As for helping with cravings, I can’t drink coffee, I experience the super laxative side effects if I do and that is not an experience I would recommend. So, I drink tea and I have sugar free/zero calorie flavors I add to it. I also have my stevia available as well.
When I am at home doing this, I am usually making myself busy by cleaning, crocheting, learning a random skill, and Minecraft.
Hardest part of the day for me is getting the kid’s lunches ready for daycare/school. I WANT breakfast lol. But I power through it and then have a nice big black coffee w/ x2 stevia sweetener.
Another coffee once I get to work, hydrate hydrate through the morning, maybe a green tea. Then I break my fast at 1300hrs with about 500-600 calories. Then tea and water in the afternoon and I get another 14-1500 calories at dinner. My TDee is 2700calories and I’m seeing some good weight loss.
I wish I was as strong as a lot of my fellow IF’ers here but I actually am taking Wegovy. That takes ALL of your cravings away, it is so weird-doesn’t make you think of food or want it…at least in my experience. But also having a daytime work schedule, I only eat when I come home from work so OMAD for dinner…I’m praying that my stomachs/brain get used to this so when my doctor takes me off this med I can continue the same routine and the cravings don’t come back 🙏🏽
I’m still new to this as well. But keeping my mind busy and hands busy help. For me that looks like doing chores/cleaning or going out for a walk or make a cup of black coffee 😆 that sure nips out some hunger while choking it down.
I jump back on when I fall off, which is pretty much every weekend as I can’t keep myself away from food (seeing family/friends etc). I figure it will make a difference just slower! Keep pushing, you’ll find your way :)
This doesn’t really work for me since I love anything that’s a vessel for salt but if you’re more of a sweets person there are these Listerine-esque strips I bought on Amazon and they make sweets taste bad. The idea is eventually you stop craving them.
I usually put them in after my meal (don’t get cravings during the day anymore) so that I don’t eat anything else.
Carbs are mainly what gives you those cravings, even more if they have any sugar. That is why most people who do IF, either go with full on keto, or at least a low carb diet, meaning less than 60-80g carbs a day.
If you eat a heavy carb meal as your last meal, is gonna be a tough fast. Try to make it a fat/protein meal, from chicken to something like a pork chop.
Also I suggest you break your fast with a 16oz of water, with 2 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar, a pinch of sea salt and a couple lemon/lime drops. This drink helps A LOT with cravings, it makes it so you don’t get hungry much. I’d say look up info on it on youtube, it was a game changer for me, it’s the reason I can manage OMAD, and 1-2 days fasts.
Is hard at first, if anything, the fact you’re getting hungry like this means that it’s working! So try and lessen those carbs and sugars, be mindful of how you break a fast and how you end it.
Might also help you to count your calories. Who knows you might be eating too little! On the link below you can see a rough estimate of the daily calories intake you should do according to your sex, weight, age and weight goal. Check what is your calculated caloric deficit (can’t be higher than %20 or you risk not getting your nutrients) and adjust yourself for better results :D
https://legionathletics.com/tools/weight-loss-calculator/
I find regular exercise helps me controll my appetite. I don’t mean “if you feel the urge to eat, just go for a jog instead!”, I mean have a scheduled time to work out weather or not you are in the mood to eat. I’m not sure why it helps, but it absolutely does for me.
I’m doing omad, one meal at 6pm, doing this for about 2 years now.
I have noticed that if you keep busy doing work, you tend to think less about snacking. It’s harder for me in the evening when I’m relaxing, this is the danger zone for me :-)
Also, it’s good to know that the craving only last for a while and it will go away. I drink tea or black coffee to have “something warm and nice”
I also noticed when I “sin” during the weekend, the next day will be harder, as if my body remembers what I did. But that could be my imagination, I’m not sure.
Honestly? Eat early and sleep early…
This means barely even waiting for your window, at 10am so you aren’t hungry or getting cold because of calorie deficit.. then later getting the last meal before 6pm and being able to sleep by 10pm fairly easy
I feel the exact same way. I find that I always want to snack when I’m bored, but if I keep myself busy I hardly ever feel hungry. It’s so much easier for me to fast when I have something to occupy my mind other than, “Can I eat yet..”. Go to the gym, go shopping, do a puzzle, call a friend, walk the dog, etc. Good Luck!
I’ve tried IF twice, one time was miserable and one has been easy.
The first time, last July, I ate mostly plant based whole foods that were high in carbs. Every fast was hell. I was so consumed by cravings that I couldn’t think about anything except food. I kept at it for about 4 weeks, and I did lose 15lbs, but my energy level sucked.
This time around, I changed to a keto diet first, then incorporated IF after my body was already producing and using ketones. Now, fasting is incredibly easy. Hunger is mild, doesn’t last, and the uncontrollable cravings are absolutely gone.
Keto makes IF super easy to adapt to, for me.
I’ve read that eventually your body gets used to switching between fuel sources, but I think that takes months of keto and then months of carb cycling.