I saw this video called "Fasting vs. Eating Less: What's the Difference? (Science of Fasting)" just yesterday, and it's good to hear many of the points it raised validated by your experience:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APZCfmgzoS0

> hunger comes in waves, you'll get to a point where you feel super hungry, it'll usually pass after some time

Matches what the video above talks about "Ghrelin" from 5:03 onwards.