Depends on the person, schedule, diet, etc. I’m sure some folks can go straight to OMAD, but I certainly had to work up to it and still don’t consistently.
The biggest change in my hunger was cutting artificial sweeteners out of my fasting window.
My guess is the comments will be a varied as those who comment. What works for some won’t necessarily work for others. When I begin IF it is a process. I start by eliminating alcohol, processed carbs, and refined sugar, going as keto as possible for about a week. I then move to 16/8 IF for about a week. Finally, I move to at least 18/4 with a 24 hour fast once a week. Finally, I move to OMAD. This process takes me about three to four weeks, but I’ve found–for me–this phased approach is the most successful. The hunger seems to come and go like waves. With time the intensity and frequency of the waves grow much less.
I also only weigh once a week. Weighing daily tends to demotivate me because of the fluctuation. My trick is to weigh on Monday mornings. Because I weigh on Mondays, weekend temptations are easier to avoid. OK, way more than you asked for. Good luck!
If you are coming straight at OMAD from a standard American diet (SAD) it might be very challenging. I would recommend a two or three week fat fast which you can find on the internet. This will become very boring and will take away your will to eat. Haha. It also gets you into ketosis pretty quick and that is where the magic is. There is no hunger or very little hunger in ketosis.
Give a shot.
Personally, anything too restrictive will eventually derail me so jumping right into OMAD wouldn’t work. I’m on my 2nd week of 18:6 and once I have a good handle on that, I’m going to ease into 20:4. Baby steps.
Not everyone has this problem so just give a few days and see how it works for you.
For me, gradually reducing my eating window worked well. Eating all my food for the day in a single meal was hard to imagine. I didn’t plan on going any further than about 20:4. I tried OMAD a few times and felt uncomfortably full. Then, at some point, it just felt right and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Jumping right in might work fine for you. Give it a try, there isn’t much downside. If your body isn’t ready for OMAD right now, don’t be discouraged. Give it some time to adjust.
​
As for hunger, I was already avoiding sugar, but when I also stopped eating starchy foods, which for me was mostly rice and potatoes, after about a week of adjustment hunger pretty much ended.