I think Intermittent Fasting ruined me

[PhiSig2298]

First off, I'm not bashing IF, so hold your negs..

Lately I've been noticing that if I don't have a meal over 1,000 calories, I feel so hungry. I've had a few occasions where it was physically impossible to eat a large meal.

Example: every Sunday night, my wife & I have a parenting class with our Sunday school group & there's snacks. I've tried eating a big meal before & after but nothing seems to help. I literally can't pay attention because of hunger pangs.

Now, I can go nearly all day without getting hungry but it's like my mouth is a food slut. The second it gets food, it's expecting a lot of food.

Last Sunday, I had My big meal right before & didn't eat the Snacks, but really wanted some.. It was like I was depriving myself only because I'd rather go without than a 300 tease...



This is basically just a rant & I'm sure you guys want to say "if isn't for everyone" or "OP is a phaggot". Like I said, not bashing IF, just frustrated on what my diet has become.

I've gone back to 3 meals & a snack but its only been a few days so I can't tell if it's going to work.

Thought about having a"grazing period" where I can get my calories in without "meals"

- Anyone else feel like this?
- If so, how did you change?

[MITCHAPAL00ZA]

im honestly the same way. i usually eat around 400 cals in the AM, then go until about 6-7 pm until i eat my post workout meal(s)...no hunger at all during the day, but the minute i start eating i never seem to get full. almost like food is sparking the hunger.

[Siafu4Life]

Ugh...hopefully things get better for you, PhiSig. Sounds terrible.

For the record...I don't think "OP is a phaggot".

[sawoobley]

Intradasting, I really don't understand why people are having such a tough time with IF. I'll be doing IF for a couple of weeks and then I'll eat several smaller meals instead because it will be more convenient for a couple of days and then back to IF. Doesn't matter to me one bit. All I think about is spreading my calories out throughout the day so I don't consume too many calories. It doesn't matter how I do it just that I do.

To each their own I guess.

So many people have said this recently and you guys sound like IF crippled you or something. lol. No necessarily the OP...but I've heard several people having a rough time with IF.

Good luck OP.

[staunchkg]

Meal frequency has no metabolic or body composition benefits

srs, just do what suits you bro. I follow the a typical IF protocol (feed between 1pm and 8pm) during the working week and then on the weekends I just eat when ever and how much I feel like . I've found by doing that my appetite is much more controlled regardless of the situation.

Good luck with the bub and I don't think you are a phaggot either!

[juliacheh]

IF almost destroyed me. In combination with low bodyfat (think around 7% for men), poor sleep and sort of overtraining I developed unhealthy obsession with food and was on the verge of an eating disorder.
I am back to 3-4 meals for 2.5 months and it is still very difficult for me to stop eating since I got used to eating large meals, whereas before I could easily stop at 400 calorie meal.
Fasting was never an issue for me, stopping always was. So IF is truly not for everyone.

[BunkMoreland]

I tried it as well, and didn't care for it. but im still going to neg you

[PhiSig2298]

Thanks for the feedback so far.. I'm usually an advocator of "eat when you're hungry" but I seriously think my body has changed when it comes to food.


I see a lot of threads saying "I feel too full on IF" and guys are telling them that it takes time to your body to adjust & I guess it's the same in this situation..

Also, since my wife is pregnant, our eating patterns have changed & so that's another reason why I've switched. Just aggravating to eat a large meal to some (600-700) and just crave more.

[PhiSig2298]

IF almost destroyed me. In combination with low bodyfat (think around 7% for men), poor sleep and sort of overtraining I developed unhealthy obsession with food and was on the verge of an eating disorder.
I am back to 3-4 meals for 2.5 months and it is still very difficult for me to stop eating since I got used to eating large meals, whereas before I could easily stop at 400 calorie meal.
Fasting was never an issue for me, stopping always was. So IF is truly not for everyone.

Me either and if I wasn't married and a stay-at-home dad, I would seriously look into eat.stop.eat but my family life just won't allow that right now.

I tried it as well, and didn't care for it. but im still going to neg you

Neg me softly, please

[sawoobley]

Also, since my wife is pregnant, our eating patterns have changed & so that's another reason why I've switched. Just aggravating to eat a large meal to some (600-700) and just crave more.

Maybe you have Couvade syndrome?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couvade_syndrome

Wut?

[Ashlei]

Could be your body telling you it needs something it's not getting - some micro nutrient or something.

Are you sure it's not thirst? Also do you eat high volume foods? I find I don't get ravenous when I fill up with fiber/fruits/veggies.

[hockeytownfan]

It doesn't matter how I arrange my meals, once I start eating, I never get "full". I rarely get "not hungry". Luckily, I manage to stay pretty busy, so I eat when I can, and just have to cut myself off at my calorie limit. Though, snacks just usually piss me off, so I skip snacking. Usually 2-4 squares a day for me.

[PhiSig2298]

Could be your body telling you it needs something it's not getting - some micro nutrient or something.

Are you sure it's not thirst? Also do you eat high volume foods? I find I don't get ravenous when I fill up with fiber/fruits/veggies.

I'm getting plenty of fruits & veggies. One of the perks of a garden . I drink around a gallon of water.

I've been able to fast & not get hungry, but once I end my fast, I could eat & eat & eat.. I'm going to stick with the 3 squares & a snack to see if I can get the hunger under control

[staunchkg]

I'm getting plenty of fruits & veggies. One of the perks of a garden . I drink around a gallon of water.

I've been able to fast & not get hungry, but once I end my fast, I could eat & eat & eat.. I'm going to stick with the 3 squares & a snack to see if I can get the hunger under control

Maybe you need to shave? Too much food getting caught up in that epic beard

[PhiSig2298]

Maybe you need to shave? Too much food getting caught up in that epic beard

Maybe just get rid of the stache and keep rockin' the Amish look?

[staunchkg]

Maybe just get rid of the stache and keep rockin' the Amish look?

Yeah man it is like you got a food filter on your face

feelsbadmanistillcantgrowonemaybewhenim40

[PR1MO]

Maybe you need to shave? Too much food getting caught up in that epic beard

yeah, perhaps this is happening?

[Ryan314]

Definitely feel the same way man. When that first meal comes around, I can pound down some serious food. I can eat 1600+ calories in one sitting and I'm still craving other food, and usually just satisfied and not full. You totally nailed it saying that once you get that first bite, your body is expecting LARGE amounts of food (which is basically what happens on IF). I can relate to what julia is saying... I can't even imagine going back to eating 400-600 calorie meals.... it would be so hard.

Today my first meal was 1700 calories... could still eat more after.

Forever hungry

[waatsgood]

OP is a rather nice guy.

[PerpetualMotion]

I've been able to fast & not get hungry, but once I end my fast, I could eat & eat & eat..

How fast do you eat?

I personally love IF. It makes life simple, especially cutting.

[Lvisaa2]

I'll kill a days worth of calories in a sitting if I let myself. I agree with lacking an 'off' switch.

I simply have my meals set to general calorie ranges. Generally once I step away from the food for a little then the hunger subsides.

[PhiSig2298]

Definitely feel the same way man. When that first meal comes around, I can pound down some serious food. I can eat 1600+ calories in one sitting and I'm still craving other food, and usually just satisfied and not full. You totally nailed it saying that once you get that first bite, your body is expecting LARGE amounts of food (which is basically what happens on IF). I can relate to what julia is saying... I can't even imagine going back to eating 400-600 calorie meals.... it would be so hard.

Today my first meal was 1700 calories... could still eat more after.

Forever hungry

same here.. I started out about 1,100 calories & now I'm not even satisfied unless my first meal is 1,400. Even then, I don't feel "full"

OP is a rather nice guy.

Thanks brother

How fast do you eat?

I personally love IF. It makes life simple, especially cutting.

Considerig I have a 2 year old with me, It takes a while to eat. I haven't timed it out but I will tomorrow

[Ryan314]

What definitely helps is getting my mind off food as much as I can. When I have classes from 8 to 1pm in the fasting period, I am never hungry. But if I'm at work in the morning and it's a slow day, and I'm thinking about my first meal, it can be harder.

[waatsgood]

In all srsness, though, I've experienced the same problems op and many others itt have. My advice would be to go back to a more typical eating pattern, maybe 3-4 meals. It was really hard at first, but just like IF, you get used to it. I'm also a member of team never full, but I've managed to deal with it a little bit by eating foods with more volume/less calorie such as popcorn,veggies,diet soda and by staying busy between work/school,etc.

[PerpetualMotion]

Considerig I have a 2 year old with me, It takes a while to eat. I haven't timed it out but I will tomorrow

Oh, then my question becomes irrelevant. Usually people who eat fast never feel full. I guess some people just have to deal with it. I personally like the feeling of being a little hungry. Makes my stomach feel smaller, less bloat, and just overall better.

To a larger extent, it's purely psychological. I'm surprised that your kid doesn't take your mind off of food.

[foodpr0n]

It should be used carefully.
It can seriously mess with hunger signals.

Essentially it can entrain you to lose your sense of being full. It happened to me.

I've moved away from it slightly (First meal about 11am, last about 10pm) purely because I could never really be satisfied. Now, if I'm strapped for time, and it ends up being a 'truer' IF schedule, I'll eat fairly calorically dense so that volume isn't huge.

I get feel satisifed/full now

Also just not thinking about what meal you can create with your macros and all that crap helps.
Routine, can be good.

Same thing happened with diet soda, I could drink it to what seemed limitless amounts, before, during and after eating. Fullness would never be achieved. You just get accustomed to the trying to obtain bloat/fulness with epic amounts that your body just expects it everytime.

[Cumulonimbus]

I work full time at a physical job and I IF. Being busy helps, but for the last few nights I had trouble eating 3,500 calories in 1 hour lol

[Andrew_S]

Are you saying you are still hungry, or just that you don't feel topped off and ready to stop?

[l3al3yJane]

Now I know what I'm about to say is probably, most definitely neg worthy to some, but bear with me because it is a possible solution....



I was having the same problem with NEVER being full ever. I was using IF to diet this summer and my appetite kept getting bigger and bigger. My carbs were relatively low so I was eating huge volumes of lean meats and veggies. We are talking an IF "meal" that required 3 plates and totaled 1100-1200 cals, several literal pounds, a gross distended stomach when finished and....still hungry

So then I tried to go to bulking because my bodyfat was getting low-ish plus lifts were suffering and I allowed any and all carbs back in...holy god, can you say uncontrollable appetite? I was constantly hungry, constantly thinking about food. I literally could not get full. I was quickly on my way to looking like a disgusting blob. Scale weight went up 21 lbs in 2 WEEKS. Yeah. Strong fulking right here. Lots of water and glycogen, but definitely not all, I got some of teh fatz.


However, I recently ended up entering this multi-event competition that requires me to do max reps for leg press at 150% of my weight, and I decided that it would benefit me to drop all my retained water from the carbs and compete at the lowest possible weight I could.

So I did what I thought I never would...I tried keto. I dropped 10lbs water in just the first 2 days, but I was so scared that eating the high fat food would suck because a lot of it has no volume. However, it has actually worked to satisfy me!! I don't constantly think about food and go around trying to calculate the lowest calorie thing that I can eat the most of to fill my bottomless gut. It is really nice to be free from that right now.


It is not something I am doing for long term, not going full ketard, but instead of feeling like I wanted to just nibble throughout the day so that I could save them up and have a bajillion calories at night. I have had about 500-600 calories at both breakfast & lunch with a slightly bigger dinner 600-700 calories plus incidentals throughout the day (cream for coffee) and I have no problem stopping at night. I'm just doing this for about 10 days total (6 left) because that is when those groceries will run out and the contest will have passed. But I am hoping that my body will be readjusted to spreading cals out so I can transition to better future habits and a less fulky bulk.

Maybe this is an idea that could help someone else??

[HunterCML]

Happened to me too Phil.

Before IF 1,200 calorie meals seemed epic, 3,000 calories in a day seemed like a mountain of food and 4 extra handfuls of Cheerios felt like a binge.

After IF I'm not even vaguely "full" unless I eat 1,500+ calories. My hunger has no off switch and I feel like I'm cutting hunger wise despite eating 3,800+ calories and bulking. The few binges I have had since IF (really just a few "i don't give a fuk I'm hungry" days) I've taken down 6-7k calories within an hour and a half to two hours, and I'm dead srs.

Since I've noticed all that, I no longer IF. Im trying to get back to small meals and using self control. It's been going well actually. Ocassionaly (about one a week) I get that never ceasing hunger feeling and slip up and eat all my calories for the day in one sitting. That has become less frequent though thankfully.

Self control is a bitch when you feel starving 24/7. **** ain't right.