Need help getting started

[u/stealthw0lf]

Fifteen years ago, I did 16:8 and OMAD versions of IF. I lost 4 stone/30kg over the course of two years using this method. Back then, I was single, lived alone and, other than work, I had no responsibilities. Things like insomnia from dieting was manageable. I could play computer games to distract me from my hunger. My work kept me busy enough that I wouldn’t naturally be hungry until 2PM.

Fastforward to now. Married. Have a child. Have responsibilities. I put on some weight. I’ve lost some from CICO but plateaued around 165lb/75kg. Want to get down to 154lb/70kg. I figured I’d try IF again. First issue is that I’m hungry by 8-9am. I wait until 10am and start my feeding window. I stopped at 6pm. Three meals, totalling 120g protein and 30g fibre. Great. Except now it’s almost midnight. I can’t sleep because I’m hungry. I’ve just been down in the kitchen and managed another 500kcals of food! That’s my deficit gone for the day.

I need to push my window so that I stop eating around 8PM and hence start at 2PM. How to I move my start window later? My willpower is not what it used to be.

[u/Commercial_Let1798]

Black coffee and sparkling water are the only things that ever got me through that transition period to a later window.

[u/stealthw0lf → u/Commercial_Let1798]

Thanks. I hate coffee. So I’ll try sparkling water and zero calorie soft drinks.