In my mind, When I mess up and cheat I feel I lost all progress made and I’m going to instantly gain all the little bit of weight i’ve lost back? I was fasting for about 2ish weeks and I feel like a failure at the moment. sigh
Four days is only four days. Mentally, you are just using that as an excuse.
Life is going to happen. Sometimes we are going to fall off the wagon, either by accident or even on purpose (events, holidays, etc.). Don’t let that derail you. In the big picture, 4 days is nothing. What matters, is what you do after those 4 days, or that event or holiday.
Start right back, today.
You not a failure.
I you zoom out you’ve done well 14 out of a possible 18 or 77% of the time.
I’d say thats a pretty good hit rate, especially time of the year considered. Now challenge yourself to do better over the next month!
I’ve been fasting for quite a long time, and I’ve fallen off the wagon this week as well! Once you indulge in all the chocolates and sweets for Christmas your leptin signals are all over the place and it’s so much harder to get back on your fasting track. I haven’t eaten breakfast in years and on the 27th I HAD to. I was starving, but I know I wasn’t starving, I just FELT starving.
Physically, you haven’t lost hardly any progress, just mentally enabling your body back into the “okay, we are fasting not binging now” is the hard part.
Nope it doesnt mess everything up, it doesnt mess anything up really except your mentality, and if you can beat that then you’ve got it sorted. I had 4 days between the 23rd and 26th when I fasted less than my goal. I was staying with my family and would have felt very un-festive constantly turning down food, so I had no expectations for myself while I was staying there. Back on it yesterday and today! IF is a lifestyle, and can survive a day or two of celebration as long as you pick the habit back up afterward. Your unbroken streak isn’t what’s important - your health and your progress is. Start the clock again, it’s a new day. Try to frame it in the sense that every fast is a healthy success, rather than every stumble is a failure.
I look at it this way:
Whatever has happened is done, so you have two choices now:
Get back on the horse and keep going, and continue down this path.
Quit and continue to gain weight until you’re right back where you were.
When you look at it that way it’s a pretty simple choice. Realistically you can only do so much damage in a few bad days of dieting, and it will only take a few days or weeks to “reverse” a few bad days.
Don’t beat yourself up, everyone over indulges over the holidays. I did as well, and I basically planned for it ahead of time. Next year, don’t set yourself up for failure. Plan to go off the diet for a few days, limit the damage, and fast as much as you can, and get back to it afterwards.
I take a break every year around this time… Holiday parties, gatherings with family & friends, more alcohol than I’d like to admit…
Most years I beat myself up over it but this year I tried to take a more holistic approach to it– it makes me happy and I know I’ll hit the ground running after the holidays, so f* it.
Got right back on the horse on the 27th and am on my way to 2023.
You got this, OP
The same thing happened to me. I had also fasted 16:8 for 2 weeks and cut out extra sweets. Then 4 days of failure. I started right back up yesterday and today I’m glad I did. I have the motto, “I can do hard things.” No one else will do this for you. You can do it.
Not doing IF currently, but I managed to pack on like 6 lbs of Christmas weight. I woke up yesterday and decided I was done with the leftovers, and moved back to my regularly scheduled program. Don’t bear yourself up because then you REALLY won’t progress. It’s part of the negative cycle.
The point is to make those four days an anomaly, not a habit.
The actual habit you’re looking to build is the fasting. You get back into it, and soon you’ll have another two weeks under your belt. Then another two weeks. Then another month. And so on. The fasting becomes the normal state of affairs, not the occasional thing.
And that way, the next time you goof or let yourself enjoy a holiday or vacation for a day or a few, you know you’re fine; that anything you’re seeing on the scale, or feeling in your body, is temporary, because the 12 hour eating window, or the plate of fettuccine Alfredo, is also temporary. It’s not what you normally do, and the results won’t be either.
It seems tougher when you’re just starting out, but you’ll eventually reach a point where “fasting is the normal state of affairs, not the binging,” is second nature. Until that happens, you just need to remind yourself.
Like others said, it is Over. Move on. Imagine 2 more weeks of losing it. That’s bad. Just start afresh right now. Mostly it is our monkey brain messing us up. It isn’t really that bad. Once we get out of the over thinking phase, and focus solely on the task i.e. IF that’s it half the battle is won then. Wish you loads of non thinking ahead bud.
It’s ok to fail, remember to just take it one day at a time, even people who do IF 2-3 days a week see results. Most of what you’ve gained back is most likely water weight so up your water intake and get back to starting your fast. Lifestyle not a diet is what I always say :)
Nobody succeeds without some failures along the way. How you deal with thise failures makes all the difference. Try to learn something about yourself each time, then modify your approach if you need to.Don’t fall into the pity trap. Have a moment of self reflection then jump right back in. The game is won by those on the field fighting, not by standing on the sidelines whining.You can do it!
Success should be the finish line, not the route you took to get there. Circumstances will happen so that you may not be able to fast every day perfectly. That, too, is part of the journey. Just be proud of your progress and continue on your path.
I just did the same thing for 5 days I felt physically terrible and emotionally like a loser Thanks to this community I started IF again and am on Day 4 Feeling good again It’s ok to give yourself a break Being kind means being kind to yourself too
I purposefully adjust my fasts for known events such as Christmas celebration, so I don’t feel like a failure. Why even try to fast on days like that filled with wating from dawn till dusk. Start back up strong and knock any lbs gained off as fast as possible. As always, drink lots of water on those days as well.
I just got back from Disneyland and spent three days eating crap in the park as well as another two days of road trip food. I weighed myself this morning (allowing a couple of days for road trip bloat to leave) and I’m exactly the same weight I was before our trip. Five days didn’t derail me and four days won’t derail you. Hop back on that horse and get back to it. You’ll be fine.
Definitely not! You should be able to have these moments and get right back on the horse. I’d be more worried if you strictly adhered to your regimen for 365 days a year. Have your fun and get back to what makes you feel good :)
No, it doesn’t matter. It only matters for those who have a goal-oriented mindset. To be successful, you need a practice, or habit oriented mindset. Once you fully change your habits, 4 days is nothing.
I fell off the wagon for two weeks. Didn’t gain anything. Didn’t lose anything either but after I’d finished my two weeks of binging I went back to IF and dropped a few kilos very quick.
Don’t beat yourself up. You’re human like everyone else. :)