Help! I have been pretty successful at IF 18:6 with an eating window from 1pm-7pm. However I have started exercising at 6 am. Cardio/weight lifting and by 1030 im starving. Do i try to move my window to 10:30-430? That means no dinner with my kid and I dont want to set that example. How can I curb cravings before 1:00 pm?
You could mitigate some of that hunger, by increasing fat% and reducing carb% in your diet.
But there are certain lifting exercises that makes fasting and weight loss near impossible, due to how strongly they stoke hunger in general (not only in fasting window).
For me, the only thing that worked was doing periods of weight loss where I kept exercise light, followed by periods of strength/muscle gain, where weight increased too.
If you do something like this, I would advice that you get down to fairly slim before doing a period of gaining weight and muscle. (Because that would mean that your metabolism is in a good place, which would allow you to gain a higher ratio of muscle to fat, during that period of weight gain.)
If possible, change the time you exercise. Possibly before your last meal. Without a doubt, exercise will trigger your appetite. I often work out late at night, but then go to sleep not too long afterwards which then suppresses the food cravings.
If you can’t change the time you exercise and you wish to continue to IF, you may have to battle through the hunger pains and hope that your body will adapt to your early morning exercise routine.
You could investigate TRE - time restricted eating. I don’t know much about it just yet, but on the first glance, it looks like it could be something for you to try out. Combination of IF and TRE. I didn’t know it, but it’s a thing.