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Fasting as a habit in the long term

Hey everyone!

I’m very fresh to the community and I wanted to take this opportunity to ask a question after I started IF for the second time now.

Little bit of context: I (21F) am not a beginner, I started IF for the first time in the end of 2020 and it worked really well, I lost a lot of weight and got pretty comfortable with my body. I’m a binge eater and pretty food obsessed and IF really helped me keeping that in check. In the end of 2021 I stopped tho, I don’t really remember why… I was comfortable in my body and thought I could just start eating normally. And as a consequence of that I gained a lot of weight again through binge eating and overeating. So just this week I started again and I comfortably got into it. And I already feel better about myself.

My question now is: How do you sustain fasting as a lifestyle in the longterm? Or should that even be the goal in your opinion? I did use the Fastic app the whole time the first time and I do it now, too. And I feel like that’s kinda the problem. I completely rely on this app to tell me when to start and stop eating and I think the last time I somehow got bored of it. Like, in a game, when you do something just for doing it instead of getting a reward. I think, the app is pretty good in giving you a feeling of reward after the fasts but at some point it just didn’t work for me anymore. Got any tips for sustaining that feeling of reward? Cos I feel like I need it to stay motivated, especially with my adhd brain. Thank you in advance!

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Answer

I think the way to convince yourself to make it as a lifestyle is to understand that humans weren’t made for eating continually and the digestive system and whole body need rest . To activate the autophagy on cells . Many religions have encouraged fasting . Religion is ancient wisdom. The pearls of trial and errors of our fellow humans through different civilization and times then not long ago a scientist earned Nobel prize cause discovered how fasting induce autophagy crucial to keep our body younger and free from many deceases. The key to keep it long term I think is find he balance and hours ratios of fasting where your body and mind feel at its best and keep it , don’t let people with no context try to convince you that the normal is :”…”. The best and normal is what makes your body and mind thrive.Personally non strict keto carnivore 80% and 20 % of keto even if is not carnivore . In a window of 18/6 is working great. My hunger , my energy levels , my sleep, my mind less distracted. But I think each one has his own particular needs. I hope you find yours . Have a nice day, and nice journey towards heath ❤️

Answer

I think you have to just do it for about a month and make it into a lifestyle choice. I don’t even think about it now. When it’s 12 it’s time to eat. Occasionally it can be difficult if I’ve worked out a lot and I might cut myself a little slack here and there and break fast earlier or later dependent on how I am feeling. I think seeing it as a flexible, but consistently implemented thing can make it much easier to accept into your life. So, just do it and eventually your relationship to times of day and food will change. It’s pretty easy to stick to for the most part because we usually eat breakfast at home and not with other people. If you are required to go to lunches for social events or work, it’s fine because you’ve already hit the basic fasting window. That’s why I like it so much. It doesn’t really impact any area of my life in any significant way (apart from the occasional grumpy day or hungry day).

Answer

For me the solution was to get rid of food as a driver of positive emotion almost entirely. When there’s no positive feedback – reward, comfort, relief, anticipated pleasure, nostalgia, the flavors are endless – there’s automatically no room for abuse. Fasting (or straight CICO for that matter, to each their own) is then just routine for routine’s sake, with neither expectations nor a sense of restriction attached.

I do understand that food is a universally socio-culturally endorsed “happy drug”, something that unites people. If one is capable of enjoying it in moderation, more power to them. Personally I’m addiction-prone. I don’t mind being a junkie if the psychoactive “substance”, tangible or not, generates added value on some level; with food in my case the negatives clearly outweigh the positives and preservation of my core physical health comes first. I’m okay with eating ultra-palatable stuff every once in a while as part of inevitable social compromise but not in order to spike my feel-good neurotransmitters.

I’ve done OMAD for a year and a half now and intend to uphold it indefinitely, provided that my overall level of functioning remains favorable. I get to manage my weight almost on auto-pilot; have significantly more free time on my hands; have attained better glucose tolerance and lipid levels; have resolved my propensity for sleep apnea and acid reflux; my joints no longer complain; my skin has seen a renaissance in my 30s; the list goes on. Trading these persistent perks, which on their own increase my chances for finding purpose and even pleasure elsewhere, for a few isolated moments of bliss, would be irresponsible on my part.

Answer

I LOVE food. I could eat all day. I have done that actually. I never got huge because work kinda forces me not to.Part of the reason I do OMAD is to get that full feeling.

The biggest I hit was 265lbs at 6’ which isn’t as high as some, but for sure causing problems.

I started about 15 years ago. I’d rather sleep a bit more than spend time making breakfast. So I’d wake up at 0615 and be out the door at 0630. Eventually on weekends when I had no work I just didn’t think about food until lunch.I figured if I could skip breakfast, why not lunch and just have a huge supper? Now I do OMAD without even thinking about it.

I’ve gotten off track (usually during alcohol binges….) and back on a bunch of times but once switching back to OMAD came back pretty quickly. I do loooong fasts too, 18 days was my longest. But started a few weeks ago doing weekly 5 day fasts.

I explain it as an exercise. You aren’t going to start at a gym and start lifting 300lbs. You’re going to gradually work your way up. You’ll stall and sometimes have to unload a bit, but eventually get to the 300lb mark.

If you “fail” don’t get too hard on yourself and just get back at it.

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