Finished my first day of IF

FlowerFairy493

I'm not a dietician, but I've been practicing IF for about 2 years now and here's what my hypothesis is...

IF significantly alters your insulin levels; over the course of a few days it will stabilize your insulin levels and that's what makes it easier to adjust to the fasting windows without significant hunger pangs. When your body is experiencing an insulin fluctuation, that's usually what triggers a craving and/or feeding response. Obviously food intake has a pronounced effect on your insulin response, especially when just starting the IF regimen. Once your body adapts, it becomes less insulin responsive.

I believe that your first day of skipping dinner triggered an insulin crash that your body was not accustomed to, hence the wakefulness you experienced. Your body has been conditioned to process most of its fuel at night, so you probably had run out of "fuel" which jacked up your circadian rythym.

Again, this is just my theory but after a few days, your body will adapt. My fasting window is normally from ~6pm - 11am, and I found that the most hunger I would experience was in the morning for the first 3-4 days. After I powered through it, things went back to normal.

Good luck!

I love science :drinker:

amusedmonkey

You can't really judge by one night. You never know what happened, it may have been random or you may just be adjusting to the change of schedule. Give it a few days and see how it goes. I don't remember having any sleep problems when I did it. You're probably over-excited

If your whole first week is the same, allow yourself a snack containing a banana and a warm cup of milk right before going to bed. Even have it when you are already in bed and lights are to be turned off so you aren't tempted to get up and snack. Bananas are known for aiding relaxation and milk is a mild sedative that would help you sleep through the night.