16:8 for 6 days - headache and can’t stop thinking about food...

[Plipplops]

I started 16:8 last Thursday and have had a mild headache every day bar one since. I used to have just one cup of tea in the morning then move to decaf, so it’s possibly a caffeine thing but I’m not sure? A black tea doesn’t fix it (but I have weak black tea as it’s so bitter otherwise, normally I’d have strong but milky tea and don’t want the milk now).

Also I’m just finding myself constantly thinking about food! Wake up and am thinking about when I can eat at noon, what to have, and feeling guilty for everything I do have that’s fatty. I’m not calorie counting but am trying to be more mindful (so I’ll eat what I like as long as I really want it - I was very prone to just eating whatever was around before). Also trying not to snack between meals.

I feel like it would be helpful to count calories to lose weight (on My Fitness Pal or similar), but then I’d just be thinking about it even more?!

Will the headaches go? And will I just get used to it and stop bloody thinking about food all the time at some point?

I've been doing 16:8 for 17 days now and I've had a head ache a couple of those days, it's tended to coincide with not drinking enough water.

I can't drink black tea without milk so I've gone over to green tea, which is much nicer to me.

Along with water, lots of people add or take a 1/2 teaspoon of pink salt. You get a lot of salt and minerals with your food and your body can become unbalanced if you don't replace them.

I do calorie count with mine but and really struggling to get above 1200 cals in my eating window. I would suggest making sure you have a fair amount of fat and protein with your last meal as it keeps you fuller for longer. I have found that I have no desire to snack at all anymore, which, quite frankly, is a bloody miracle!

If youhavent already read them (I found them free on the internet rather than buy the books because I'm a cheapskate!) Read Delay don't deny and the obesity code. I found understanding the process has been a big key for me to stick with it. I'm 8lbs down now and I feel anything but deprived!

I drink a lot of hot water instead of tea or coffee. It's an acquired taste but once you get used to it, it has the comfort of a hot drink but the benefits of plain water. Unless the weather is very hot, I don't enjoy cold drinks so find I don't drink enough when relying on them for hydration.

Yes make sure you are drinking LOTS of water, and getting enough salt. I would take a decent multivitamin while fasting, too.

Are you eating balanced meals with enough protein?

Hunger can be more of an issue for the first couple of weeks, then tends to get better.

Thanks all, thinking about it it could definitely be dehydration, I didn’t really consider how much (decaf) tea I’d normally get through in a day? Great - that’s easy to fix.

And I’m hungry but it’s not so much the hunger I mind (that sort of feels like I’m doing something constructive), it’s just I’m kind of boring myself by waking up and thinking I’d really like some breakfast but can’t have it iyswim? I just want it to be normal that I don’t have breakfast, but that’s not happening at this point...

Gin Stephens' books - Delay Don't Deny and Fast Feast Repeat are both worth reading if you need extra info.

She mentions headaches......they should improve if you stick to it. The body needs time to adjust to a different pattern of eating and the first four weeks can be tough but worth persevering for the benefits (both health and weight loss).

One thing she says about fluids is be sure to have enough but not TOO much, or you can flush out essential nutrients and make yourself feel worse. Just finished reading Fast Feast Repeat today and I've found it really helpful.

I've been doing 8:16 for 8 days and haven't lost any weight. Tend to eat btwn 12-8, in the morning I have 2 coffees with oat milk. Have also had headaches every day but put it down to hormones (always get headaches after my period). Also having palpitations but probably unrelated! Should say that by the time I eat I'm absolutely starving.