I’ve not yet been successful fasting in the evening (breakfast and lunch have been easy to skip but evening feels impossible). Those of you who have figured out how to do this, what was helpful in your journey? Am open to any feedback on your experience, tips, tricks, etc. - thanks!
I LOVE breakfast so I skip dinner. I stay super busy at night. Evening is my chance to spend time with my daughter or jam and learn music. So many activities at night that I’d rather not spend cooking or eating.
I just keep drinking water and stay busy. I’ll occasionally have a decaf black coffee or a green tea .
One other thing I do is I always end my eating window with something sweet that’s quite small , just so the last thing I tasted is something desert like. It’s probably psychosomatic , but it makes me feel like I haven’t denied myself anything.
I had a tough time, but it was important to me try and skip dinner because of my blood sugar. So I started with bountiful OMADs at lunch and promised myself I could get whatever I wanted for my next OMAD, no calorie counting, no carb restrictions, nothing. Just tried to eat lots of veggies during OMAD too.
I would be so full from my lunch meal that it was easy to skip dinner. But I noticed that what I ate really affected how hungry I was by dinner. Meals with lots of carbs, like sushi or pizza, got me sooooo hungry. I stopped wanting to eat it for OMAD because i knew I’d feel terrible haha.
You could play with the timing too. Try eating a later lunch if you go to bed late, so that you have fewer hours between lunch and sleep.
My eating window is breakfast and lunch. Skipping dinner was initially difficult for me. I struggled for a few weeks, but don’t have issues with hunger anymore. My secret was to go for a brisk walk when I got hungry in the evening - around 5:30-6:00. I’d walk for about an hour and hunger just went away. Your mileage may vary.
People are all wired differently depending on hormones, metabolism, circadian rhythm, et cetera. Personally, I’ve found it’s much easier for me to stick to CICO and IF if I “front load” calories earlier in the day. I usually feel hungry within an hour of waking up, so I eat breakfast, lunch, and a large snack/light dinner within a 6 to 8 hour window. Then, I’m done eating for the day.
Today, for example, I had breakfast at 8 am, lunch around 11:30, snack around 12:30, and have about 400 or so calories left for the day. I’ll probably have some salmon and veggies around 4 pm or I might skip my last meal if I still feel full like I do right now. I find it takes a larger amount of food (and more calories) for me to feel satiated if wait to eat until later in the day.
I don’t know if I’m articulating that well, it feels hard to explain. Your mileage may vary - you may find you’re someone who needs to fill up later in the day. It’s a process of trial and error to find what works best for you.
I’ll make myself a tea or drink water instead of eating usually and tell myself that I am not really hungry and that it’s just appetite /boredom/stress.But snackcidents happen. I just ate a pack of ramen… :’D
(16:8 with occasional 20:4 here)
Edit: I’m new to if. About 3 weeks in. It gets better over time. The first evenings made me crazy.
For most people skipping breakfast is the easiest. Most people are busy in the morning and dinner is a family afar. Afternoon eating also allows u to partition carbs later in the day. This curbs appetite and allows for better sleep in most cases. I preface all this to say that either one works but you should have a good reason to fast in the afternoon.
Evenings are easy for me, it’s the morning that gets me suffering. Always been a morning person and need fuel for the day you know. Never been a fan of eating later in the day because your metabolism naturally slows down in the evening.
Stay well hydrated, but get it done earlier in the day as too much hydration near bedtime can lead to fractured sleep when you wake up and have to go.
Get used to the feeling of hunger. Not starvation, but hunger. Become comfortable with feeling that sensation. You can handle it once you embrace it. Lastly, realize that hunger isn’t constant but comes in waves. Tell yourself that if you can get through the hunger you are currently feeling, before long it will subside. Especially if you find something else to occupy your mind. Good luck!
I close at my job so I don’t eat at night. I did IF last year when I opened every day and had to incorporate IF around my schedule. Took me a bit to do it once I switched to closing. I also eat after I go to the gym so it is just a schedule/habit now
I clean and leave the kitchen and try to keep busy in other parts of the house after my window is closed. I can cook all morning without any sampling and I don’t struggle but I’m more likely to slip up in the evening so I stay out of kitchen.
Also, I do some small bit of exercise to mark the close of my window, 10 mins of strength or a 20 min walk. It helps me get my mind in the right place and turns off my appetite.
I’m in the habit of using a fast tracking app, it says at 8-10 hours I’m just getting into fasting mode. So I feel like I’m just about to hit ketosis and tell myself I’m not really hungry. Also I never think about food or food options for tomorrow or my treat meal. Good luck!
You should do what works for your life
My preference is a small breakfast, enormous lunch and stop. That lunch keeps me so full through the evening and I like sleeping empty (not hungry just not full). But supper in my house is the most important meal on weekdays, family together and I cook good food. Theoretically I could just pack mine for lunch but with a history of anorexia this would worry my family. So eating with them is important. Supper it is.
I don’t know your stats but maybe your lunch just isn’t big enough? Not just in calories, but in bulk.
Are you trying to do longer fasts or eat in the morning and fast that same evening? For me it’s almost impossible to eat breakfast/lunch and skip dinner. It’s easier for me to just not eat at all that day.
Eat plenty during breakfast and lunch, drink tons of water ALL DAY. If you still have cravings in the evening try exercising. I run around 6pm and by the time I come back home my cravings are gone and I’m tired af
This is my language…. I tried fasting many times before I was successful. Figured out what worked for me was skipping dinner. For one, I wake up hungry and waiting to eat past like 9am was torture. I obsessively thought about it and would get irritated, leading to over eating. It seemed like the only way to fast was skip breakfast. It took we awhile to realize to skip dinner. After I made this discovery, my journey really took off. Weight loss seemed to be better. Mainly because I was highly motivated in the morning and as the day went on my will power wore off so I would frequently over eat at dinner time. I think it’s personality based are you a morning person or late night.
Choose your own hours to fast. My usual fast is 8 pm until 12 noon. 16/8 Most days I eat earlier. You just make it a habit. I honestly am not hungry after it’s time to fast. It’s never a decision- should I snack on fruit or popcorn - it’s neither! The kitchen is closed! I do drink lots of water. I have found it to be the easiest way for me to lose, especially fat. I’d lose weight previously and have the same shape, but smaller. I’ve been losing FAT. It’s no a race. I’ve been losing only 2-3 pounds a month eating pretty much what I want. You still have to watch your caloric intake to lose. If not, you’ll simply maintain.