(IF) When to start eating?

kbushe3221

So I am interested in incorporating intermediate fasting into my life and wanted to get advice on when I should eat my first meal of the day. I wake up very early in the morning, 5:00 a.m. I usually go to sleep as early as I can and this is 8:30-9 most nights.

snake_man_32

It depends on factors such as when you work or exercise, etc. When I did IF, I used to fast from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.

kimny72

It's entirely up to you. Take into consideration what will work best with your schedule, when you typically have social meals that you wouldn't want to have to skip going forward, and what times of day you are normally hungry and normally don't think about food or aren't bothered by appetite.

NovusDies

I wouldn't worry about a schedule to start. I would start by just trying to decide for yourself how you can stay satisfied and energized eating 2 meals a day instead of 3.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

It is entirely up to you. The great thing about IF is that you can fit it in to just about any schedule. Some people like to have lunch be their last meal of the day, that way the hardest part of their fast is while they are sleeping. I've never been a morning eater, so I don't eat until after 1pm most days. Play around with it until you find what works best for you.

Sm3018

I want to start again too I use to do 7pm 8pm until 10:30am

RodaRose

kbushe3221 wrote: »

So I am interested in incorporating intermediate fasting into my life and wanted to get advice on when I should eat my first meal of the day. I wake up very early in the morning, 5:00 a.m. I usually go to sleep as early as I can and this is 8:30-9 most nights.

It does not matter. Choose your eating window at a point in the day when you have enough time to each your daily calories.

CarleyMarie83

my eating window is 11am - 7pm

slbbw

11am-7pm worked for me when I did it. Workout was at 7am. Now that I work out at 5 or 5:30 I need my first meal by 9:30 or I am starving most days. As it stands I have relaxed my IF back to a 12 hour window. But I am pretty near goal weight and I find it tricky to get maintenance calories while doing IF.

cmriverside

That is about my sleep/wake hours too. I'm up at 4AM and go to bed at 8PM.

I eat breakfast around 8-9, then a small snack midday and my last food/meal around 4PM. I've eaten this way nearly all my life. Delay first meal, small midday and then last meal 3-4 yours before bed.

Just figure out what will work time-wise for you. Intermittent Fasting is just a schedule and it doesn't really do anything else other than limit eating to a set number of hours.