Question for those that are good or became good at fasting...

[FreeBritnee]

...give me your tips and tricks.

I’m a cranky faster. Most days I fast from 8pm till 12/1pm. My body loves it, my brain really doesn’t. It fights. It wants me to eat. How can I become better at it?

Following in the hope someone shares some wisdom, my body love 16:8 some days my brain does to but other days I watch the clock waiting for it to strike 12 all morning

To add I’m low carb. Great energy so I don’t think it’s a blood sugar thing. I have a strong appetite so it certainly could be that.

My body loves 20:4
When I'm in the zone, it's easy. The zone for me is in proper ketosis. Just getting into it though, is really really hard! I'd say push through the first two weeks and then it's easier. Your body and brain definitely don't learn and adapt at the same pace!

I find that if I keep my body active- exercise, go for a walk, housework etc then I am fine. If I need my brain to be active (work is fairly brain heavy) then it is harder and often I have to eat. Sometimes I can shuffle things around to do more admin but once my brain is in a munching mood then I can't really work until I eat so I try to plan my fasting around my work where possible.

When are you experiencing issues - evenings or mornings or both? Things I find helpful are keeping busy to take your mind off it, mornings are easy enough as I have work but evenings are hard, some people swear by crafty things to keep the hands busy, I also quite like a hot bath if I'm getting the munchies, feels like a bit of a treat but also kills the appetite (can also brush teeth after which is also a good disincentive to eat). If the after-dinner period is a particular issue maybe a quick brisk after dinner walk while the nights are still light would help reset things a bit?

Also, drinking is very helpful - it's easy to mistake thirst for hunger. I have a whole variety of nice zero or very low-cal drinks to choose from (hot and cold options) and any time I want to eat I first go and have a good drink of water, then after than a 'nice' drink, usually that sorts me out, the liquid helps physically and the idea of it being a bit of a treat helps mentally too!

Keep busy. The busier I am the less I'm bothered about food.
Also drink plenty.
There are some days I just try and listen to my body and if I'm still hungry after doing these things I eat.
I also try and get plenty of healthy fats into my eating window to keep me fuller for longer.

Remember it's delay don't deny. And hunger is like a wave so it builds but then it falls.

I'm doing 22:2 mostly with some longer (~44) fasts. I find it very easy so long as I'm not tired. BUT I am super fat so I assume it's easy because my body is content that there is sufficient energy supplies

Op, I fast mostly 6pm -2pm, but I throw in a 48hr fast too. Eat Monday 4-6, then don’t eat Tuesday and eat Wednesday 6pm dinner. I keep my goal in mind, loosing weight, wanting the scale to go down.
Drink water
Distract
Delay don’t deny (so I eat cake, choc etc if need to but only in my eating window),
I worked up to longer fasts, started small and built.
I used to binge eat at night, now I can’t over eat as I feel so uncomfortable.
It’s a long game

If I feel it’s needed I drink tea,

Have you read Gin Stephens (Fast feast repeat?)

At the weekends I fast 6pm - 12 noon and eat twice 😁

@maxelly please can you tell me what you hot and cold treat drinks are?

I do 16/8 from 8pm until midday. I hated it the first 2 months but then my body just became used to it. Now I would struggle to eat breakfast. I drink tea and coffee with milk through the morning though, I dont believe the bit of milk ruins the fast.

Oh and I find brushing my teeth after my evening meal means that I find it easier not to snack in the evening.

Black coffee and lots of it :) Agree with others that keeping busy helps, I find if I’m just sitting at home it’s much harder.

Also be aware that at certain times of the month it will most likely be harder, the week before my period, I’m always ravenous.

Oh and yes, eat lots of protein.

I’ve been doing 16/8 for over a year now, it becomes a way of life and gets easier. Plus,it really does work. I only had a stone to lose, lost it quickly and it’s stayed off.

I'm very on/off about it - just couldn't do it for ages but I'm back on track now and it's 100% about mindset for me. It helps that I managed to get to my lowest adult weight thanks to fasting a few years ago, and then stupidly put it all back on again... but I know how much better I felt and looked so I'm determined to get there again! And not having any treat foods at home makes all the difference.