16:8 on shift work

[ScottishBeth]

I wonder if someone has any tips. I am sort of doing 16:8. My eating window is usually 12-8, though sometimes (quite often) it is an hour or so shorter than that. This weekend I am working two consecutive 5pm-3am shifts, and I'm trying to work out what to do regarding food. I haven't worked these shifts in a long time due to health problems, but am now largely recovered.

I will have a break at around 11pm, and will likely have the opportunity to snack throughout (will try to avoid!). Does anyone have any suggestions about how to manage this? My job is quite physical and I'll need to be able to keep going.

Once you are fat adapted you will not feel the need for food to do anything physical. I do all my weighlifting sessions fasted and never feel hungry before or for hours after.
Great thing about fasting is you can be flexible with it. You don't need to have set hours for your eating window, if you have a smaller eating window it is easier to shift it around the day to fit in a minimum of 16 hours fasted between. You could try an extended fast of over 24 hours to alter what time of day your eating window is in too.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm trying to be flexible with it. I don't think I can do 24 hour fast though!

What is fat adapted?

It's just the body swapping from burning glucose to fat for energy, it's a struggle to transition when you start fasting but the more you do it the easier you'll find it.
Hunger lessens, you will be more energetic and should see improvements in sleep.

I felt hungry a lot in the early days but been doing it over 3 years now and rarely feel hungry until it's time to break my fast (sometimes not even then). I find it much harder if my carb intake is on the high side or I don't get enough protein.

Thank you, that's really interesting.

If you have a day where you don't fast for as long, do you find the next few days harder?

I work 7pm-7am.

On those days I will eat before work then have a couple of snacks around midnight then fast until dinner the next day so around 17 hrs.

Could you eat around 3/4 pm then snack around 11pm then nothing till 3 the next day? That would give you your 16/8.

I usually have nuts/cheese/Greek yogurt and don't find my energy dipping.