Hunger totally goes away. You just have to power through the annoyance for like an hour, and then it backs off. Taking a walk makes the hunger go away faster, for me at least.
It also helped me to read up on the biology of fasting and hunger signaling. When I first started IF, the hunger would hit right around 16-17 hours. Through learning about the biology of fasting, I realized that must be when my body has burned through its easily-accessible sugar stores, and is having to start burning more fat. My body clearly wasn’t used to doing that, and complained a lot about it. It helped a lot to know that the hunger wasn’t an emergency — just my body going “I don’t wanna burn fat! I don’t wanna!” After an hour or so, my body had clearly made the switch to fat-burning, and the hunger went away.
It helps a lot to maintain curiosity and compassion for yourself. Curiosity, because it’s a lot harder to judge yourself when you’re thinking “Hm, I wonder what my body will do? Oh, interesting!” And compassion, because you’re doing the best you can, and it’s important not to beat yourself up.
It really just takes discipline to get through the hunger pangs as you’re getting used to it. Your body is going to want to fight to get what it’s used to for the first week or so. I would recommend getting in a good cup of coffee or something near the end of your meal cycle as well. I nurse a sugar-free Red Bull for a few hours during/after my meal and I feel it definitely gives me a decent boost while suppressing my appetite into the rest of the day.
I’m currently two weeks into a new OMAD/IF cycle and am eating my only meal early in the morning. I used to think eating was what made me lazy, but it was really just a sedentary/office job lifestyle that caused that (and likely too many carb-heavy meals).
Some people may disagree, but I have a light workout right after eating and then a more intense workout later on after I’m more…digested. I feel so much better being active and just don’t think about food nearly as much. I’m more focused throughout the day on accomplishments and maximizing my workouts.
Good luck!
I started slow (12-14 hour fasts), then up to 16, and now alternate between 16 and OMAD every day. It’s easier working up to it.
Also, when you get hungry, remind yourself: It’s not that big a deal. You get to eat in only a few hours! Relax, have some tea, and you’ll be eating before you know it. (As someone who tends to overthink things, reminding myself of this is helpful. There are people on here who go days without eating. Skipping breakfast and lunch is not a crisis. 🙂)