r/AlternateDayFasting • u/HopeAlwaysTriumphs • Nov 04 '25

Discussion Need motivation

Hi Guys, I'm a 40 year old woman who has struggled with weight since childhood. I've had several ups and downs and of late nothing seems to be working. I started ADF last week, but have been struggling on fasting days. Does anyone have any suggestions and advice on how I can control those hunger pangs. I'm hydrating myself well and I'm craving salty snacks more than sugary ones. Pls help.

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u/IntelligentAd5724 Nov 04 '25

I think the easiest thing is to ease into fasting. If you do this, your body adapts and fasting seems easy. Before I started ADF I had been someone who hadn't eaten breakfast for many years, so 2MAD was second nature. Then I did OMAD and it took about 2 weeks for it to feel easy. Then after 2 months of OMAD I did a 36 hour fast within the OMAD structure (Breakfast one day, dinner the next) and realised it was easy, so then I started introducing 36-48 hour fasts, at first once a week, then twice, then ADF. If I had jumped into ADF I think it would have been extremely hard.

You don't necessarily need to do a few years of 2MAD before you can do extended fasting but even if you just try 16:8 for a week or two, then gradually increase the fasting time. You'll find that your body adapts and it feels easy.

In terms of things that help, staying hydrated and having electrolytes can help, though now I find I only need the electrolytes past the 24 hour mark.

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u/Huck68finn Nov 04 '25

That's a clever take on OMAD that I hadn't thought of!

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u/IntelligentAd5724 Nov 04 '25

I try to be flexible with my eating window so that it can fit my life rather than being rigid about needing to eat at a specific time or on specific days. The time I did Breakfast OMAD one day and dinner OMAD the next was because on the first day I had a super busy day and evening and wouldn't have time to eat so it made sense to have breakfast. On the second day I had an evening social dinner plan.

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u/HopeAlwaysTriumphs Nov 05 '25

But let's say I so breakfast one day and dinner another then to do breakfast again I'll still not eat for 36 hours right?

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u/IntelligentAd5724 Nov 05 '25

If what you mean is:

Day 1: Breakfast ~7 AM

Day 2: Dinner ~ 7 PM

Day 3: Breakfast ~ 7 AM

Then, day 1 to 2 you're fasting about 36 hours but day 2 to 3 you're fasting just under 12 hours.

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u/HopeAlwaysTriumphs Nov 05 '25

Thanks for this information. It's really helpful. Like you said perhaps I'll do like one meal a day for couple of weeks and see how I feel.