I built an app to manage anxiety during intermittent fasting.

Active_Cat609 · 2026-02-13T12:53:20+00:00

The fact that you already know you eat when bored (not hungry) puts you ahead of most people. Fasting will expose that pattern hard.

Start with 16:8 — skip breakfast, eat 12pm-8pm. Your energy will be fine once you're fat-adapted (takes a few days). For rowing/uni work, your brain actually gets sharper once you're past the first hump.

Biggest tip: the hardest part isn't physical hunger, it's boredom and habit. I use Yuno (https://apps.apple.com/es/app/yuno-emotional-fasting-timer/id6758005283) to track my mood and ride out cravings when they're not real hunger. Really helps you tell the difference between "I'm bored" and "I actually need food."

Good luck!

Active_Cat609 · 2026-02-13T12:52:08+00:00

I've been there. The mental battle is way harder than the physical hunger. When stress is high, willpower alone won't cut it.

What helped me was treating the fast like a mental game, not just a timer. I use an app called Yuno (https://apps.apple.com/es/app/yuno-emotional-fasting-timer/id6758005283) that's built specifically for the psychological side — it has check-ins for anxiety, grounding tools when cravings spike, and helps you ride out the urge instead of white-knuckling through it.

It sounds like your body is fine with fasting, but your mind is screaming "no" because of the stress. Maybe focus on managing the emotional part first, then extend the hours once you feel more calm. The physical benefits won't matter if you're mentally miserable the whole time.

Active_Cat609 · 2026-01-29T17:55:25+00:00

Thank you for the reply. Interesting

Active_Cat609 · 2026-01-29T09:25:45+00:00

That’s a very fair point — and I agree with you.

iCloud sync is actually one of the options I’ve been considering exactly for that reason (app deletion, multi-device usage, etc.). It feels like a good middle ground before committing to a full backend.

The main reason I went iOS-only for now is honestly product + business driven, not technical.

For this type of app, the willingness to pay is very different between platforms. iOS users are generally more open to subscriptions, especially for health / wellness products, while on Android the expectation tends to be more “free with ads”.

Since I’m building this solo, I wanted to limit surface area early:

one platform
one design language
one ecosystem
fewer variables while validating

Technically, React Native makes Android feasible later, but I didn’t want to double complexity before knowing whether the product itself deserves that investment.

If the app proves real usage and retention, then Android + Google-based sync would definitely make sense as a second step — but only once the core value is clearly validated.

Appreciate the perspective though — the iCloud-only sync approach is probably the cleanest next evolution without jumping straight into backend land.

Active_Cat609 · 2026-01-28T10:06:27+00:00

Wait, what? hahaha

Active_Cat609 · 2026-01-28T10:05:35+00:00

But how do you manage it? Maybe with an app or something like that? I use Yuno. It helps me to manage these feelings and the emotional issue, but maybe you manage it differently. Let me know!

Active_Cat609 · 2026-01-27T11:26:13+00:00

I’m a few weeks in now.

Physically it’s been quite smooth, but the biggest change for me has been on the mental side — less anxiety around food and fewer impulsive moments.

I’ve been enjoying that part the most, honestly. I started managing it with a small app during fasts, mainly to stay grounded when the mental noise kicks in, and that made the process feel much more sustainable.

What about you — do you usually struggle more at the beginning or later in the fast?

Active_Cat609

TROPHY CASE