Hi! I do a weekly 36 hour fast (sometimes 48… but that is honestly very trying for me!)
I’m in the middle of one right now. I got some bad news this morning about a loved one’s health, and I find that all I want to do is break my fast and eat chocolate.
I definitely thought I was past the place where emotional eating affected me. I guess not.
I guess I’m just opening up a discussion for those of us who fast, are dealing with bad news/ difficult emotions, and rather than the physical strain of fasting, are dealing with emotional strain. I know I’m not hungry. But I just want to comfort-eat and cry lol.
Personally, if I am having a really emotionally hard day, I indulge. But only if there’s a real reason. Like, I’m not fasting through a loved one’s funeral. No way.
But we’re all different, if you want to stick it out, you do you! When I’m feeling down and want to eat just for the good-feels, and I don’t want to indulge, I usually just try super hard to distract myself. Leaving the house works great! If I’m not near my fridge…
Hiking especially works for me, gets me away from food, and I get the good-feels from the activity and nature.
I did rolling 42s for most of September, I was doing great! But then October came and I needed to make 3 trips, 300-mile drive each way, to help my sibs clean out my deceased parents’ home which sold suddenly with 30 day escrow. I didn’t even attempt to skip a day of eating because I knew I would be pretty maxed physically and emotionally already. I managed a solid OMAD instead. My weight loss stayed steady on target and I avoided the extra stress of handling hunger, something I just didn’t have the bandwidth for. Sometimes you just need to give yourself a break. I’m home now, settling back into regular patterns, and I’m 18 hours into my first 42 since this upheaval, because I’m ready again. If you need a break, be kind to you and take it.
Yeah, at one point in life I realized everyone has a go-to for stressful times.
For some people it’s drugs, alcohol, over eating, gambling, risky sex, etc. For other people it’s knitting, hiking, painting, reaching out to friends, going for a run.
I would have loved to have parents that modeled good behavior when stressed. I’ve had to learn all new on my own.