I need some advice about the 18/6 IF. The issue is that I live a 1hr drive away from the lab and a 12-6p time frame doesn’t allow for me to have the second meal because I get home at 6p. I can try 1-7p, but I feel that’s a bit late. If I did a 17/7, then it would leave me with 1hr to prepare and eat dinner as well as tend to my animals. Would a 16/8 work better for me, provided that I commit 2hrs of driving a day for 5 days? Let me know what you think.
Convenience is definitely an important issue in today's job environment. Focus first on getting used to the idea of restricting your eating time, rather than restricting calories. Calorie restriction will inevitably lead you to regain your wait because your metabolic rate slows down, and your body will respond trying to store energy, as it perceives that famine is ahead. If you feast and fast, your body will not perceive the need to store energy because you will be feasting (at least one time a day).
Clearly, it is going to take some time to get used to the feast/fast routine. In your case, the ideal would be to have the one meal a day with your family after work. This may be hard for you to get used to, at least at first (3 weeks or so). In my case, I committed to OMAD from the very beginning, and I got used to it right away. I imagine that the fear of fasting is a serious issue for some more than others.
I suspect that if you start going from 3 meals (+/- snacks), to 2 meals, it wouldn't matter much what the time interval between meals is (6 or 8 hours). Give yourself time to adapt, but I suspect that if you see results from the beginning, you will feel encouraged to migrate to the OMAD and that is the very best approach to lose weight and gain health.
Be sure to do 1 hr or so of exercise every day, even if it is a brisk walk. I find that putting the effort of exercise keeps me motivated to stay with my OMAD regiment and viceversa. Imagine that if you eat your OMAD in the evening, it would be easier to skip lunch because you can keep busy with work, or you time the lunch time for exercise.
So be sure to get started with 2 meals, and then progressively cut the time between them until you have reached the OMAD, which is the ideal.
Also, consider cutting carbohydrates in your food. The Standard American Diet is full of Carbs, and that stimulates Insulin spikes, which is what causes your body to store energy in the form of fat. If your lunch includes little or not carbs, you may succeed in reducing Insulin secretion.
I should have said, that my advice comes from my own personal experience and what I have learned from videos, scientific papers, and interaction with other users of IF. But you don't have to take it from me. Here is Dr. Eric Berg. See how he suggest one adapts from several meals a day to IF:
http://feastfastforlife.com/intermittent-fasting/
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