i’ve been doing IF for almost two years now with an “off time” of a few momths usually. it always worked and i could stick to it well, but something has changed.
the holidays and lockdown force me to be at home and not busy all of the time. i still do my daily 10000 steps, do as many chores as possible and try my best to stay busy, everything usually goes fine throughout the day and i finish eating be 6-7pm (as usual). but now that i don’t have to sleep early in order to wake up early as well i have a lot of “empty’ time in the evenings. when 4-5 hours pass i start to get ravenously hungry which is really hard to control, but i still do. my worst days are at maintenance and i hate it, it feels like my whole “good/controlled” day was for nothing.
i’m not sure if it’s my boredom, too much free time or the increased carbohydrate intake (a little less protein over the holidays) - my calories are also a bit lower than they used to be. i’m so stressed, i want to try omad but i feel like it’ll be even harder to fast for the rest of the day.
Some people might disagree with me as it could “break a fast” but when this happens I supplement with a 8oz glass of super greens powder in water around 10pm as a “mind trick” and call it a night.
Try drinking a small casein protein shake right before you start the fast, as your eating window ends. It is much slower to digest than whey protein; a lot of bodybuilders swear by it to keep hunger at bay at night, when they’re getting super lean for the stage.