Every time I’ve tried to start IF in the past I’ve had severe anxiety coming up to the first fasting period.
This anxiety stems from life long disordered eating.
It feels like I’m being deprived of food and therefore my instinct is to binge eat to compensate. It’s a common reaction for me during times when I try to apply rules that end up feeling like intolerable restrictions.
Has anyone else experience this? How did you get past it?
I have not experienced it, but I do want to acknowledge your history of eating issues… That’s serious and we need to treat it seriously.
Unfortunately my only answer is part of my “standard routine“ with people who are new to fasting. I suggest they start out at a sub optimal level, maybe 12 hours a day. Do that for a few days or a week, maybe longer, and then move the needle. The other thing I tell people is to absolutely positively not go longer than 16 hours for the first month. I suggest this to prevent overreaching and burn out, but perhaps it would help you?
For my first week I just thought of it as Skipping Breakfast. I’ve had lots of times in my life where sleep was more essential than food so I would skip breakfast. Even after a couple months, the concept of “Fasting” can be a lot to explain to someone else. So I just say I don’t eat breakfast. Which is also true, and the life hack to start fasting. I also read the book Fast Feast Repeat, but there are a few books on fasting that are good. It didn’t take very many skipped breakfasts to start reaping the rewards, and then I was hooked. It’s not difficult for me at all, bc I truly want the benefits: great sleep, less pain, less inches, more comfort, good skin, less inflammation…
I have NO experience or insight into this disorder. I can only tell you how it works for me. And for me (someone who does not struggle with this) the reason IF works is because it doesn’t feel like deprivation. Everything is on the menu. I don’t deprive myself (within reason) within the feeding window.
But know this - there are periods when I’m really really hungry. Part of what fasting has thought me is how to deal with hunger (it’s just a feeling, it comes in waves, it actually doesn’t get worse over time, there are ways to make it subside or distract). So idk, I don’t suffer anxiety about it - but I do have to deal with hunger and you kind of can’t get around that. What helps me is knowing that I can still have all the good stuff I love…just not right now.
Start easy and build up. What about preparing your food and snacks for the next day and taking some pics of it. The images might settle your brain down. Write down the thoughts causing trouble snd create helper thoughts snd post them around. So like you use these to “teach” your brain that this is ever so good for you and this is very different. Get some anxiety go tos…music, breathing, fuzzy blankets. Tons of compassion!! If you can, great stuff to work with in counseling.