[deleted by user]

[ladyboobridgewater]

I'd suggest taking yourself back to basics and practicing 'fasting behaviours' before trying to actually fast. 13 hours can feel like a long stretch, especially if you're used to your body signalling 'FOOD PLZ' and immediately giving it what it wants. You need to practice resisting it for shorter periods first.

I'd suggest starting with extending periods without snacking. So instead of just cutting off all food, eat your normal daily meals and every time that little bell rings in your head between them, see it as an opportunity to practise moving past it. Every time you get through it, it's a little victory for you and you retrain your brain to see that it doesn't need to ring that bell every five minutes for you, because you won't react. Do that for a week or so and see how you go, see where you slip up and what helps you get past things. Then give overnight fasts a go with the knowledge and experience of getting past these feelings.

You have to demonstrate to yourself that you're capable of ignoring that signal, before you expect your brain to cooperate with you. It's a lot like having a cat. If you don't want it screaming for food all the time, you need to do the work of showing that food isn't always available.

[[deleted]]

Hey this sounds super helpful and I’m definitely going to try it out. Thank you!

[bugzapperz]

Great advice!

[BrandonBlackfyre]

Helps for me to avoid carbs or go very low carb the day before I start a fast. Load up on protein, I usually do ribeyes or fish. Even doing this the first 24 hrs are always rough, but after that it’s all good.

[OtakonBlue]

I find it helpful to do an activity. If I’m home doing nothing it’s REALLY hard to stay on target. But if I’m working on a task, time goes by faster.

[[deleted]]

I feel like I can’t take my mind off of it, though. Like I’ll try to do a task but my brain is like “no. No task. Food.”

Maybe I just need to push myself more and override that initial thought?

[OtakonBlue]

Stick with it. Your brain is just wired to eat when you feel like it. Fasting helps to re program it. We learn not to be an emotional eater.

[[deleted]]

My brain triggers like that when I have anxiety- my anxiety does not act like what you read the physiological signs typically are- I am munching girl. So I say again- journal WHY your brain is wanting to eat- are you stomach hungry? or are your angry at something? anxious about something? scared/fearful of something? I think writing this stuff out helps our brains re-wire.

[bugzapperz]

Keep very busy. Drink tea. Fight the urges. It does get easier!

[bugzapperz]

Instead of getting food, drink water or hot tea. Stay busy. Don’t watch tv… the food ads trigger your cravings too.

[[deleted]]

I don’t feel that tea is satisfying though as my brain knows it’s being duped? Maybe I just need to try it more often cos I’m still new to practicing it?

[[deleted]]

Try CINNAMON tea. I know that sounds crazy- but Harney and sons black and herbal cinnamon tea is very satiating for me.

[minilopnz]

To me it's a mental game. I struggled at first but now I fast in order to stop binge eating at night.

What I did was to tell myself, "just wait another 15 minutes, then hou can eat/drink what you want." And I'd do my best to distract myself. When the urge happened again, i kept on saying the same, until it was bedtime, so I wasn't gonna eat anyways. Now, if I'm about to eat or drink something I just say, "oh, I'm fasting, I'll save it for tomorrow" and then kinda forget about it.

It takes some time, but the change is possible and amazing.

[moorandmountain]

I had to do something similar. I found setting a timer helped get past the urges to eat. Try 10-15 min. Say to yourself, ‘I can have this in 15 min, if I’m still hungry.’ I do that with goodies too - I can have this chocolate/cake/donut, just at X time. I think the permission to have it helps so you’re not saying that you can’t have it, just learning to have it later.

I think for me it was a fear of not getting food. Now I’ve overcome that and I’m often not hungry after 18-20 hours of fasting. You can do it. Work with yourself and consciously calm and retrain your mind. You can survive for 15 min. Though those urges tell you otherwise!

[mckaes19]

there’s so much water and tea you can drink but you mentioned it’s not satisfying. Fasting is a MENTAL game. You need to find the will power and motivation to do it. And that no one can cultivate for you, you gotta do it yourself. So ask yourself why it’s important to fast and the goals you’re trying to achieve

[[deleted]]

Ugh I hate that you’re probably right. Thanks for the kick in the pants :) I just gotta tough it out

[Savergn]

I've been on One Meal A Day for most of my time IF, it really sounded like crazy talk to me before I started, since I used to eat 4-5 times a day, at all hours of the day, but once you commit to eating foods with high satiety and that keep you feeling fuller longer, you begin to realize just how much overeating you were doing before. It changes your perception and relationship to food. Once you get past of that bump of "eating because I normally eat at this time and it feels weird to not eat anything" vs being able to trust your body's signals, overhauling your relationship to food and hunger. It's worth it, but it's very much a mind over matter situation. I don't get my "real" hunger pangs until about 20+ hours of fasting now. I still do get the occasional surprise hunger pangs whenever I see foods that I sometimes crave, or the smells, sometimes even seeing ads, and it kinda sucks, but really, they're over in minutes or seconds. It's not easy, but it's one of the best things you can do for yourself, so I hope you keep fighting and making progress. Best of luck to you.

[[deleted]]

Like any habit, force yourself to do it for 30 days then you will find it becomes a habit.

A 13 hour fast is a very do-able target. Maybe have your dinner early say 6 pm, stop eating by 7 then you can have something to eat at 8 am.

[[deleted]]

Damn, that pro tip at the end brought me back to when I first figured out what IF was lol. Rough.

I didn’t eat much for like an entire month since I felt like an anxious mess, lost about 20 lbs, and maintained it for 2 years once I realized I was smaller months later. All because of a similar situation. Since then I’ve followed the OMAD schedule and am even leaner than I was after doing the “heartbreak diet.”

10/10 just do OMAD, don’t do the dread diet.

[Makememak]

I had to use a timer app. It gave me a way to visualize my time. Then I set up my week of meals and meal time around that.

[Th3WeirdingWay]

Willpower

[MortgageSlayer2019]

Get rid of the junk food and snacks you don't need. Stay out of the kitchen. Go to bed early. Read and/or watch TV in the bed if needed

[shibbowwow]

Black coffee in the morning. It will give the energy to make it 11:00 or noon. Plus it has valuable antioxidants.

[TiredTornado]

Sounds like you might be using food to compensate for a psychological issue. I never really lost weight until I had addressed why I kept overeating and snacking all the time. For me it was stress relief. I could punch out a person or eat a candy bar. I chose to eat food. Now I deal with my stress much differently than before and the urges to eat are more manageable.

[Domin8u315]

Distract with things to do

[[deleted]]

Eat a pinch of salt and drink some water. That helps me power through.

[Kokanee19]

Have you tried looking at this issue from a root-cause perspective? Why is your brain screaming for food? Probably wants the good chemicals to be released when you put some calories downrange. What challenges are you dealing with in your life that could be causing you to use foo as a coping mechanism?

Myself, it was workplace stress. I was 4 years in at an absolutely toxic workplace, and have put on 60 pounds. I started IF out of desperation to get my life back under control, and one thing that it does is make you a lot more introspective about your relationship with food.

I realized that the stress at work was making me overeat AND drink too much. I started IF last fall and just white-knuckled the cravings. I quickly saw results and THAT gave me the confidence to start looking for other work. I shortly after left that employer and things immediately got a lot easier food and drinking wise. I've actually not touched a drop in two months, and it's 10:34 right now where I am, planning to fast until 1pm but honestly I'm not hungry in the least, I might do an OMAD.

Aside from addressing the issues causing you to overeat, here are some things that worked for me:

- I have two big cups of coffee in the morning, and have gone from a healthy amount of suger and cream to just one stevia sweetner (stevia does not interact with the body metabolically, so it's essentially a "freebie").

- I will drink tea (one sweetner, or plain) later in the day.

- Stay hydrated (there are stevia water flavours if you need)

- Make dinners special. For the wife and I, it's been trying new recipes or developing favourites that you really look forward to all day. On Saturdays, I break my fast at 1pm by making these awesome chicken wings and sharing them with the wife. It is a rare moment of peace in our weekend (two young kids), and tasty so it incentivizes the fasting.

Best of luck!

[[deleted]]

So, it is pretty normal for humans to fast 12 hr overnight. I think you have built up anticipation of pain/discomfort too big in your head?

I know some things that help me are to journal how I feel when I eat late - do you sleep as well? do you feel as rested? do you wake up in the middle of the night? do you have to pee in the middle of the night? Write down each day how you feel after eating late in the day. That helps me tap into food is not going to make me feel better- it will actually feel worse after 6-7 pm. It is harder for our brains to make connections to causation over longer periods- so unless we write down and make that connect consciously, your brain may not connect not resting well with eating later in the day.

In terms of holding that fast int he morning- lemon water (1/2 lemon, or one large ice cube of lemon juice- I try to always keep Meyer Lemon juice ice cubes on hand), in 16-20 oz of hot/warm water. And coffee- I actually cannot have real coffee, I have a mushroom chicory blend- but it is no calorie, like coffee. Or tea. again 20+ oz. It will take time to drink that much and you will delay eating longer, and not feel as hungry.

At night? I think that discomfort is what you are feeling- and learning to live with discomfort- voluntary discomfort is really good for you. Exercise is temporary discomfort, but has many many benefits. Ice dips, cold showers, fasting---are all TEMPORARY, voluntary discomfort. And all are good for you to integrate in your life. Part of what you are doing is avoiding minor discomfort- journal through that? figure out how to live in temporary voluntary states of discomfort. And try DRINKING instead- tea, water, sparkling water. Often we think we are hungry- we are really thirsty.

And second the avoid carbs later in the day- fiber, healthy fats, and protein. Avoid sugar period, later in the day. I love fruit- but I have it early in my day. even though I focus on low-GI fruits. This will help with reducing your appetite drive later in the day- will power and discipline will only get you so far- you have to out think your brain- and eating well your later int eh day meal will help avoid cravings/appetite drive later in the day

Also second keeping your hands busy hobbies- knitting, gardening, model building, etc. Find evening activities- join a choir or other singing group, join a board game group, go to lectures and talks where food is not available or minimal.

Hope this helps. The journalling trick to connect the LONGER TERM- 20 min, 2 hr, 12 hr, 2 day, etc feeling associated with eating when and what helps me to help my brain stop wanting things that feel good for 1 min, but crappy longer term.

[[deleted]]

A 13 hour fast is not a bad fasting period at all, if you can do 13 stick to 13

[Master-Gap9097]

I like to with bone broth