> Fitting 3 meals into an 8h window would be … tricky.
That's the main secret to time restricted eating, in my opinion: You don't have enough time to eat as much as you normally do so overall calorie intake tends to decrease. I think the other reason it's helpful for some people is that eating nothing for one meal takes less self control than restricting yourself to a small portion, leading to better adherence than normal calorie counting.
Another long term benefit is that it normalizes the feeling of hunger. To be able to feel hunger after not eating for 15 hours, but be able to wait that extra hour is huge for managing impulsively and learning that simple hunger isn’t as urgent of a bodily demand as one might have previously thought.
There’s a big difference between “I’m malnourished”, “My body feels hungry” and “I want to eat for reasons other than feeling hungry”. Intermittent fasting will definitely teach you what “My body feels hungry” feels like, and shows you how to suppress it for hours.
I think the positive reinforcement of eating during the time window also helps in this learning process.
I read a few years ago that hunger is not pain, it doesn't "hurt" and you can ignore it.
What I find fascinating about hunger is how it interacts with your subconscious. You start daydreaming about food. If you're not paying attention you'll find yourself standing in front of the pantry.
When I'm hungry I feel like my conscious mind is wrestling with my subconscious.
I think about hunger as a pressure. The longer you go without relieving the pressure, the stronger it will become. Eventually, any rational person will follow the natural urge to eat as it grows stronger and stronger.
I find being slightly hungry makes me mentally sharper. It’s a fine line though, as symptoms such as irritability, daydreaming, loss of focus, poor memory recall, and reduced critical thinking skills will accumulate over time.
Pressure is not the right metaphor for me because the hunger comes in waves and you can just ignore it forever. You can kill yourself on a hunger strike for example.
I've been following 16hr fasts by skipping breakfast and eating my first meal at around 12:00 each day. Normally have an afternoon snack, then dinner at 18:00 with my young family. Perhaps a sweet treat by 20:00 after putting the little one to bed. Honestly, it's not that tricky if you bulk up lunch a bit.
Edit: As a sibling comment says quite rightly, you do feel hungry in the late morning, but reacting to that feeling is optional
I stopped feeling hungry in the morning a long time ago. Just unhealthy amounts of coffee, without sugar or milk. If I eat even just the tiniest snack or sweet, the food processing tract will "wake up" and it's over. But if I can avoid that, I only break the fast because of convention, not because of hunger.
But it's also very contexy sensitive: currently working from a place where I usually go for high calorie throughput sports (think Tour de France climbs, but higher and a heavier rider, obviously a lot slower but the energy demand is mostly mass x elevation, almost unpacked to speed) and my body is in "eat! you will need it!" mode every day. Crazy weight gain on the working days.
That's the main secret to time restricted eating, in my opinion: You don't have enough time to eat as much as you normally do so overall calorie intake tends to decrease. I think the other reason it's helpful for some people is that eating nothing for one meal takes less self control than restricting yourself to a small portion, leading to better adherence than normal calorie counting.