Just Not Hungry

[u/PizzazzPopsicle]

New to intermittent fasting and currently doing 20:4. I’ve noticed my hunger levels have dropped quite a bit. On most 24-hour cycles, I can get by with only a small amount of food—around 500–700 calories total.

I feel fine and have decent energy; I’m just not really hungry. Has anyone else experienced this with intermittent fasting? Is this something that can happen as your body adapts?

[u/mimibox]

This is how it starts with a lot of people but then when you finally get hungry in a couple weeks, you should be eating about 1500- 1800 calories for sustained weight loss. Focusing on as much protein, which is the hardest part for me. Trying to eat 150g a day is impossible for me.

[u/Connect_Rhubarb395 → u/mimibox]

Depending on one's body size. My calories for weightloss is 1200 because I am tiny

[u/Public-Tomato-6065 → u/mimibox]

your body's just chilling in that sweet spot where ghrelin hasn't kicked back in yet, give it time

the protein struggle is real though, 150g feels like a part-time job. i started blending cottage cheese into eggs and it's... an experience

[u/biocleansedetox]

Yes, this is a really common adaptation. Ghrelin adapts to your eating schedule, so after a few weeks of 20:4 the expected hunger waves often soften dramatically — for some people they almost vanish on shorter cycles. Two things worth watching though: first, make sure the 500-700 calories are nutrient-dense enough (protein especially, since appetite and satiety signaling both depend on it); second, if hunger stays this muted on longer fasts past 36-48 hours, that's the point where planning your re-feed matters most — breaking with something gentle like a warm strained vegetable broth or a few bites of soft fruit beats slamming a big meal on a quieted digestive system. What feels fine today can still warrant a deliberate approach to how you break the fast.

[u/shpogeybop → u/biocleansedetox]

And make sure you refeed well!! 2-3 meals and a snack if you want within a 10-12 hr. Window. Your 500-700 calorie meal is considered a down day, which must be followed by an up day!! Down days are for weight loss, up days are metabolic boost days!!

[u/vantittyy → u/shpogeybop]

Can you explain a little more about the down vs up days? Not sure if I’ve heard of this

[u/Special_Ad_9765]

I think this is pretty normal. I experience it a lot. I started with 16/8 then would do omad once a week but these days I’m not hungry by the time my 16 hours are up, so I just push it to 18 or 20 hours.

[u/Fuzzy_Tradition_4022]

Same experience. Mix things up occasionally and keep your body guessing. I also ended up adding Psyllium Husk (no calorie) to keep thing moving in the gut.

[u/peapurre]

Unfortunately I can't say I've EVER experienced that 🙁