I’m trying IF with 12-8pm. But the problem is I sleep around 1am, and I get hungry around 11pm. I read some articles said it depends on what you eat at dinner as well. But they don’t tell me what I should eat. Any tips on how to do this?
Add enough fats… they sustain. And if you’re DYING for something, use the keto trick that fat will keep you in fat burning mode (ketosis, which you should be in fat burning phase by 1am) and a small fat to tide you over won’t ruin your gains. HOWEVER, I drink water and tell myself this will pass and you know what? It DOES, it passes as soon as my stomach starts eating my love handles for a fat snack!!
Maybe try moving your fast to 2:00-10:00. Make the hours fit your schedule. Also, I would try to end your fast with some extra fats, they are a very useful tool to use for satiety. So, you could end the fast with an avocado “dressed” as I like to call it (halved, topped with lemon or lime juice, garlic salt, and pepper) and maybe a hard boiled egg or some cashews.
This may seem weird but I swear by having something sweet before bed. I’ll have a big dinner around 6, then at 7:30 i’ll have a little dessert or something sweet like candy, fruit, etc if it’s in your calorie goals you should be fine. I also stop eating at 8, and I notice when I have something I often crave in the middle of the night before my eating window is over I don’t get the cravings :)
Try eating in the morning instead. Your high carb diet / rice is making you hungry a few hours later. If you push your window to the morning your hunger might be gone by the time you sleep. IF will be hard when you eat rice though. Like someone else mentioned, try adding more protein and fats with the rice to slow down the glucose spike (which results in hunger later on)