If you’ve ever tried fasting, you’re probably familiar with its biggest foe: hunger. Even with the many benefits of intermittent fasting, overcoming the hunger barrier can be enough to stop you from sticking with it long enough to see any results.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. If you can learn to manage or ignore hunger, intermittent fasting gets a lot easier—and the benefits will be well within your grasp. And let’s not forget: Like most things in life, intermittent fasting gets easier with time. Many people who do intermittent fasting for longer periods are no longer hungry during the fasting period.
What is 16:8 intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting, or time-based eating, is the practice of abstaining from eating during certain parts of the day, prolonging your fasting time—most of which takes place while you’re sleeping—to 12–16 hours a day. For example, this could mean that you stop eating at 8 p.m. and don’t eat again until noon the next day.
Many people do intermittent fasting to help with weight management, but it can be an effective tool to help improve overall health, too.
How to not feel hungry when fasting
All of this sounds great, of course, until the hunger strikes. But hunger doesn’t have to make or break our intermittent fasting success. These tips can help you manage hunger and stick to your intermittent fasting goals.
Start slow. Intermittent fasting can be a big lifestyle adjustment, so the best chance you will have for success is to ease into it slowly. Start with a smaller fasting window—12 or 14 hours—and slowly work your way up to 16 hours as your body adjusts to your new eating pattern. For more tips on getting started, see these intermittent fasting do’s and don’ts.
Eat nutrient-dense foods. What you eat during your fasting window matters just as much as how long your fast lasts, if not more. Sure, you could load up on candy and potato chips during your eating window and still call it intermittent fasting, but this isn’t going to do you any favors when the hunger strikes way sooner than you plan to end your fast. A well-balanced, nutrient-rich diet not only ensures you will get the nutrients you need for the day, it will also help you stay full for longer. Focus on filling foods that have a lot of protein, healthy fats, and fiber, especially during your last meal of the day. Curious what to eat after you break your fast? Here are seven foods to eat after breaking your fast.
Stay hydrated. If you start feeling hungry, you might actually just be thirsty, so drink some water before you start rummaging through your pantry. Make sure you’re drinking water all day—both during your eating window and while you’re fasting. If you need a break from water or want something a little more energizing, try one of these beverages you can drink without breaking your fast.
Take Unicity Balance and/or Unimate. Unimate, an ultra-pure yerba mate supplement, supports cognitive function and endurance, and you can drink it without breaking your fast! It’s an excellent option for busy mornings to help you get a jump on your day, and helps you prolong your fast without a ton of effort.
During your eating window, remember that you can take Balance to help curb your appetite and keep snacking in check. Unicity Balance is a fiber supplement designed to ease some of the impact excess carbs and cholesterol can have on the body, and also contains soluble fibers to keep you feeling full for longer.
In short, both products support satiety, helping you manage hunger more effectively both while you’re fasting and during your eating window.
Avoid ultra-processed snacks. As tempting as it may be to spring for that candy bar when the hunger sets in between meals, you’ll be better off if you choose a more satiating snack that won’t leave you ravenously hungry again in a few hours. Instead, try one of these low-calorie snacks, or, if you just want to enjoy your favorite snack, eat it alongside a food high in protein, fiber, or healthy fat to keep you satiated for longer.
Adjust your fasting window as needed. One of the major plusses of intermittent fasting is that it halts a bad habit a lot of us share: late-night snacking. That being said, if sticking to your fast means going to bed hungry, you might want to think about adjusting your schedule. Try eating dinner later and fasting for longer the next day, or go to bed earlier before the midnight-snack call has a chance to beckon.
Remember, consistency, not perfection, is key, so settle on a fasting schedule you can keep most days of the week.
The Feel Great approach: An easy way to help manage hunger while fasting
Unicity’s Feel Great system was designed to help people maximize the benefits of intermittent fasting and achieve elusive health goals, too—without requiring massive amounts of effort, willpower, or diet restrictions. Learn more about how Feel Great can help you succeed at intermittent fasting, and visit ufeelgreat.com today to get started.
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