IF gives me the discipline I need not to snack. It’s much easier not to eat, than it is to eat responsibly. Two meals a day are also plenty for me.
Another benefit is eating smaller meals and getting fuller. My stomach actually has a chance to shrink. It’s important to break-fast with a high quality meal consisting of fats and proteins for max satiety. If you break you fast with a carb-heavy meal, you might be tempted to binge.
I’m also getting used to the fact that hunger isn’t a bad thing. I’m not gonna die of malnutrition just from skipping a couple meals (like the corporate establishment would like us to believe).
This took me a while to realise but it made me realise how I was using food to comfort myself. When I am stressed out I can no longer reach for food if it is during a fasting window, and that has made me question what kind of relationship I had with food. If I am to handle my life stresses it has to be by not trying to escape using food or porn or netflix. Ultimately it made me realise I would have to learn to deal with being uncomfortable within myself and look for solutions, and that meant not trying to escape but trying to actually deal with the situation. I wouldn’t say it was all IF that made me realise this but it was a piece of puzzle that helped put it together.
I’ve noticed the craving for the usual snacks (read: carbs and sugar) have come down noticeably to the point where it’s not a question of having/not having willpower anymore. What I mean by this, is that I don’t need to force myself to avoid them. It’s like I just decide, “Nah, I don’t think so”. I also noticed how sweet some things that I usually snack on really are.