I was visiting my mom and i told her how i was fasting until 6pm cuz i was doing IF. And she told me it was stupid cuz my glucose levels could go up and something about protein. Im so tired of her saying that it could harm me when there is opposite effects on other people.
I’m having a similar issue but with my wife. I think the key is to not bring up what you are doing and just know how well it will work for you. You can’t argue to people that have spent a lifetime of eating “3 square meals” a day that fasting is very good for your health. The results will speak for themselves.
Does she want you to eat dinner before 6pm? That seems a little odd. But if she wants you to shift to 5:30, you can easily change that and get back to your regular schedule the following day. It’s one of the great features of IF.
You can respectfully listen because she’s your mom and she has your best interest at heart. You can also choose to do IF because you’re seeing results ,and there’s a lot of evidence that it’s a good thing to do.
The way to “change people’s mind” is ALWAYS to take a non defensive approach. Give them the same curiosity you would like them to have for you. Saying things like “huh, that’s interesting. I’d like to read the study you have on that!”
And then when they don’t have the study… offer one you know is reputable. “Hey I know you were concerned about this, and I appreciated it! I found this reputable study that shows why im doing this, let me know what you think!”
It’s not going to work on everyone, but being defensive and dismissive will results in the exact same behavior back to you, and the cycle continues.
It’s natural for family to be concerned. We are all very emotionally connected to food and family can freak out if they, in their mind, think someone is ‘starving themselves’ . I’d suggest saying that you hear then and you will be very observant of your health and would stop if anything was going wrong. That your not stopping food just managing your eating window and giving your body a maximum rest window. And that 100s of thousands are doing it ..zero app gives you a number of people currently fasting
https://drjasonfung.medium.com/understanding-obesity-f233fbb38dc1
This article from a real MD explains how glucose, glycogen and insulin work inside the body, and how fasting works. See if she’ll read it.
The same way you ignored her when you were a teenager and thought you knew what was best. Your mom is just concerned, show her and let her know how well it’s going without her asking. Mom’s worry about their kids no matter hold old they get. Let her know you’ve got this and you are doing it well informed. Just make sure you are.
She’s your mom and her concern is based on what she knows. Perhaps she doesn’t know what you know so she has your best interest at heart. Explain to her how IF works to decrease her concerns or maybe find a way around mot letting her know you’re fasting.
Omad is like fight club. We do not talk about fight club. Everyone I’ve told at some point tried to talk me out of it. I just visited my brother for the first time since covid. He asked me a couple of times if I was hungry. I said no. We went for walks which I wouldn’t have done before because I got weak and short of breath. The day before I left he told me that I look good and my energy is improved so keep doing what I’m doing. He has a brother-in-law who is overweight and has gained 30lbs on omad so basically he didn’t think it worked. His wife was asking questions because she has read studies about mental health benefits. I think they might try omad in the future.
I don’t tell people anything about my eating habits unless they ask. If they ask I give generic “just watching what/when/how much I eat” answers unless they are someone I know will just let me do my thing. In the meantime, if meals come up I either say I ate shortly before coming and am not hungry, or I choose to adjust my hours that day to accommodate. My diet isn’t anyone else’s business, and I don’t feel the need to talk about it with anyone unless I want to.
[citation needed]
I did this with my wife, but politely of course. She was concerned and said some stuff, I acted very interested and asked her for studies or sources or articles. It was all stuff that I had read about myself, because I’m not about to risk my own health. She then stopped asking about it. Not sure if she did her own reading or what.
I probably going to have to do an education push when I go for a longer fast.