Trying hard but I’ll either break my fast early, eat later at night, or both. It’s like I have no will power any more! I tell myself I’ll do better tomorrow and then I don’t! I’m desperate to be successful in losing but the last 2 years have just been an 8 lb yo-yo effect. Any tips to not give in? To be tougher? I’m just struggling so hard.
My fasting ideal window is 6 PM TO 1 PM the next day. (19/5)… but right now I’m just trying to do 16/8 and I’m failing.
I find that will power (imo) does not exist. So I do my best to control my environment. I do this by communicating to my family and peers that I’m in the middle of a fast. I find that if there are no snacks nearby or tasty food that I can easily get to it’s much easier to “resist”. Basically make it inconvenient for you to fail. Hope this helps! 😊 👍
You can try to eat more foods that are filling during your eating window, additionally, you can drink a lot of water to fill yourself up as well. I find when I am hungry and want to eat, I just drink a couple of mouthfuls of water. Some people also chew gum to help cravings, I’m not too sure about it as I’ve read things about sugar in the gum so maybe go for sugar-free gum or do your own research regarding gum.
You could go down the motivational quote route, my favorite one is: “You can either suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret”. I say this quote out loud to myself when I am thinking about breaking my fast; how I would rather feel pain from being disciplined rather than pain from regret and not making any progress.
You got this, remember everyday day you are even TRYING to do IF and diet, you are miles ahead of everyone else who is doing nothing.
OP, please stop being hard on yourself. You are unlearning years of tradition and brainwashing.
Take the weekend off. No IF at all.
Sunday have dinner and dessert. And start your fast. Plan for a 16.8. It should be easy peasy.
Break your fast after 16 hours. Rinse and repeat. You got this OP.
I found it is the easiest to break my fast with random food cravings and snacks, rather then an actual meal, so maybe try getting used to eating whatever you’re craving in your window and maybe it will be easier eventually :p
16:8 was rough for me to start off with. I did 14:10 first, then once that was easy (a couple weeks) I waited to eat as long as possible. That happened to be 16:8. After tht got easy (another week) I did the same. Waited as long as possible. After a few days of 17:7 I started comfortably doing 18:6. Another thing I found to be helpful was no sweeteners of any kind during the fast. Not even the “safe” ones like stevia. Those just trigger my hunger again. Without them, it became instantly eaaier.
I did 3 weeks of hitting my fasting targets and then all hell broke loose - after those 3 weeks i kept failing too. So i took a break. I had a day where i didn’t fast and had some breakfast with my kids when they woke up and ate more normal (though i didn’t snack as much as i used to pre-IF but that wasnt a conscious decision) and honestly i think it helped me kind of “reset” and i found the following days have been much easier to stick with IF.
Im still new to this and have no idea if this is an actual thing or a fluke but it worked for me so wanted to share :)
If you are new, there is an adjustment period. I personally strongly believe in the benefits of getting adjusted to a low carbohydrate food intake as well. Carbohydrates cause ups and downs in your insulin levels prompting hunger when your body seeks out more carbohydrates. What transitioning gradually to a low carbohydrate regimen does is keeps your insulin levels smoother and results in less feeling of hunger and more successful fasting. Be gentle with yourself, this is a process!
Add more Quality fats to your diet!
Avocadoes, Eggs, High fat nuts like Brazil nuts, Walnuts ,salmon.
The best analogy i heard was that carbs are like kindling on a fire! they burn quickly but not for very long! Fats are like the big log you put on a fire! It burns all night & slowly!