To put it simply, Reframe “Hunger.”
To expand: from infancy we are taught the rumble in our stomach means we are “hungry” so we should eat something. Next time your stomach growls, try using the power of your mind to tell yourself “Ooo… looks like I’m metabolizing fat!” If your congruent in your thoughts and actions (i.e. don’t cram a slice of cake down your throat when your tummy growls), you’ll eventually be able to condition your body to not think of it as hunger. As you continue down the IF path and your blood-sugar levels off, what you used to know as “hunger” will be easily mediated. Because you’re really not hungry; you have plenty to eat during your feeding window, you just need to relearn bad habits instilled from the time you were a baby.
Caffeine. Black coffee and unsweetened tea. Both help me.
There is a thread on good coffee somewhere in here, and it really does ring true. I was a “cream and sweetener in my coffee” person before IF. My friend that I’m doing it with can drink rusty nails shaken in a can. I bought more reasonable coffee than that, and it has helped me with black coffee.
Also, time. Just time. It takes a while for your body to get used to all of this. At least a bit.
I would also say that trying to do “tricks” like sweeteners may have a negative effect as well since you may still spike your insulin and create a hunger response either way. I’m no doc, so I don’t know exactly if that’s a real thing, but it seems so for me.
Good luck. You got this.
Hot green tea. It helps suppress your appetite, and unlike coffee it contains l-theanine which will help counter jitters and increase focus.
I do 20:4 fasts and break my fast at 2:00 pm. I drink a whole thermos of hot green tea at around 10 am, and it helps me power through the last little bit of the fast.
This may be counterintuitive, but it works for me: when I’m hungry, I do food prep. Handling food (without eating any) can help me to realize that I don’t truly need to eat. I feel satisfied knowing what I’ll be eating at my next meal. It’s a way to keep busy and also be near food. Seems to help me.
I think really satiating meals do it for me. I eat whatever I want, pay close attention to protein and fiber, and do OMAD. So for instance, my meal today was some fresh baked rustic bread with margarine, lots of roasted broccoli with cheese tortellini in my favorite red sauce, and a PB chocolate protein bar with an oat milk mocha for dessert. All less that 1500 calories for the day. All foods I looove. And the protein/carb/fat/fiber combo completely satiates all my food craving.
I roll with total acceptance. I remind myself that the reason I feel hungry is because my body is used to over eating and that each pang is my body getting used to the new pattern. I find that trying to fight it just makes it worse and I end up fixating on food.
Water and black coffee only during fasting window.
I was drinking zero calories zero sugar sparkling water but the artificial sweetener was absolutely messing with my hunger. Not sure if it was an insulin response or what(sounds like it was) but when I moved solely to water and black coffee, this all because way easier.
I’m 349lbs and I absolutely get hungry during my fasting window but it’s not until about 90 minutes before I can eat
Add lemon and salt to your water or keto butter coffee(bulletproof coffee) with sugar substitute to keep your body on ketosis and zaps your appetite. I fasted 56 hrs last week and lemon and salt kept me going strong without and problems
You can try and reduce hunger when fasting by eating in a way that causes you to release more satiety hormones. It’s addressed here in detail. https://blog.thefastingmethod.com/controlling-hunger-part-1/