Personally for me it’s the end of the day, so dinner. But honestly it depends on you. I’m a night owl, and I feel supremely depressed if I can’t eat dinner since I love the ritual of it all (particularly since I feel best in the evenings). However everyone is different. It just depends on how you feel.
I will say I still even get lethargic during the late afternoon, but I’m going on my second year of IF and it’s a lot better. Just make sure you’re eating enough when you do eat.
I eat between 6-7pm. Fast has the opposite effect for me - the longer I’ve fasted the more energy and mental clarity I have. I bet in a week or two your lethargy will go away. I’ve been practicing IF for a while
Really depends on your personal situation. I try to eat a nice breakfast with my family. I work in a restaurant, and when I try to do prolonged or extended fast, if I haven’t eaten before work, I will really struggle to stay fasted when there is all this food around me. Eating earlier in the day allows me to stick to the plan. If I breakfast at work, then I will mostly likely completely fly off the rails and just start eating whatever and the day will be a wash for my fast. So I try to eat early in the morning before work. Works for me.
Best time for is 3pm-4pm. It works great compared to late evening or even dinner time I tried cos inevitably I used to feel a little hungry in the morning after waking up. But somehow never felt so with the 3-4pm window. Also helped that by the time you wake up, it’s a great feeling to know you’ve fasted for a number of hours and that makes me feel good already and stay motivated!
I opted away from eating at dinner/evening as I would be more likely to food binge based on my past history. In addition, in the evenings my tendency would be to reach for a glass of wine or other spirits. Doing my meal around noon is working out great and is helping me staying alcohol free to maximize results.