1200 cals is very aggressive. Why not just start IF 16:8 and eat healthy without snacking too much? After that gets comfortable, cut more calories if you want to. You’re setting yourself up for failure by going all-in, while this whole IF thing is more long term / lifestyle.
Takes about 2 weeks until your liver knows to release glucose to tide you through. But if you under eat you’re gonna suffer so much that it doesn’t matter.
If you go on caloric deficit more than 200cals, plus fast, plus intense workout, your nervous system will not be able to take it long term so you have to drop something to keep stress level managed.
Yeah, the fasting does get easier and 7 days may not be enough for that. I still get hungry-ish in the mornings but it goes away after about 1/2h and I’m never ravenous to the point that I’d eat anything.
That said, if you’re that hungry, it probably just means that you’re not eating enough in terms of calories and/or volume and/or you need to adjust your macros (I personally do a lot better with fat than I do with carbs when it comes to satiety and satisfaction. When you say low carbs and low cals, does this mean you eat a lot of fat? What about proteins?)
1,200 seems low for someone who’s active and doesn’t have much weight to lose (7kgs).
Exercising after lunch may also help.
That’s also a lot of things that you changed all at once.
Fasting isn’t the issue, you’re eating too few calories. I’m 10cm shorter than you and I easily burn 1500 calories even on days when I don’t exercise (just by walking around and doing chores). On days when I do go for a run, that number goes up to between 1800 and 1900.
You can still do CICO without going about it too aggressively.
I was just like you when I started. I started with eating one meal a day but couldn’t eat enough so I opened my window to four hours trying to eat noon-4:00. However, I’m an anxious person and cannot make it until noon so I decided to eat from 10-2. And that works for me. I’m not hungry at all after 2:00 which is nice but I still wake up hungry every day-hungrier if I didn’t eat enough in my window. I maintain a healthy weight for me 138 lbs 5’7” (I naturally have a lot of muscle) and eat around 1800-2000 calories every day. My job is very active and I run 3-4 days a week. So, you may just have to play with your window but I think you need to eat more too.
There is some acclimation to a change in eating routine but sometimes you need to play around with a few variables. For example you could have a smaller serving of something in the morning, ideally high in protein as it’s very satiating and move the majority of your calories to later in the day.
You need to meal plan that noontime so you can avoid binge eating. But 1200 is very little. So you have to figure out how to find 150 calories for a protein drink so that you can stop being ravenous and then continue your eating period mindfully
To me doing low carb, low calorie and intermittent fasting simultaneously seems be a bit aggressive. Like you I started a few weeks ago but I’m only doing OMAD/low carb (noontime feeding) which I consider aggressive enough. I haven’t had the intense hunger pangs you mention. Maybe try eating clean with low carb with your fasting as you’re doing but eat more plentiful during your feeding window to make your goals/plans sustainable. Note: I did low carb for a year many years back and had great results but constantly lived with hunger. I’m liking how the intermittent fasting (OMAD) is making things much more simple and knock on wood I’m not dealing with excessive hunger. I should add I work from home and am getting little physical activity other than walking. If I had a moderate to active lifestyle I would definitely be increasing my caloric intake right now.
These replies are all great. Also, consider changing your fasting window. I have a much harder time skipping breakfast than I do dinner. If I skip dinner, I might be a little agitated in the evenings sometimes, but I spend most of it asleep. If I skip breakfast, I’m cranky and my productivity in the morning plummets. So I eat first thing in the morning and end my eating window early afternoon.
About a year and half in… for me. Maybe two. Like 6-7 months after you reach your weight goal. Because it’s not easy to determine the weight. So it’s like push and pull of the last 10-15lbs.
For example. I thought my 160 is sustainable. But in fact it’s 165-170 So I was pushing harder and harder till the 160. And when I finely realized my body doesn’t like the 160. So I backed off. 6-7 years of just eating at 5pm sometimes later.
I fell apart over the holidays. Getting back on track now, but still haven’t started IF. I’m just having no snacks or beer after dinner. After a week or so, I’ll start skipping breakfast and go until lunch. Then add some 24 hr fasts. Basically baby steps or I’ll fail doing too much at once. Over time, you just adapt and it becomes your new normal. Good luck!