I want to have positive internal dialogue about my reasons for fasting. I know that it helps to have self talk like ‘I’m fasting to feel healthy’ instead of ‘I’m fasting for better health’. I feel like speaking more positively to myself can improve my resiliency. Using the word ‘better’ can almost imply I’m in a bad place and need to get somewhere else. How do you improve your self internal self talk and get your mind right when fasting?
I like “I deserve” phrases because they combat the “I deserve” talk that so often accompanies eating junk. Like “I deserve good health”. I deserve to be a normal weight, I deserve to reverse insulin resistance. I deserve a normal blood pressure. I deserve better endurance and stamina.
I don’t know what your religious particularity may be, but i find it helpful to think about how this is something I’m doing to perform my dharma (obligation) to care for my physical body and my family. Without a healthy body i cannot take care of my family, and that would be adharma (irresponsiblity). It helps me to shift the focus from the service of self to the service of loved ones.
As far as self-affirmations go, I form mine as present tense being or doing statements. So I start off with “I am … “ statements that define who I am. I follow with action statements, that describe what I do, and include the affirmations “I choose to be healthy. I choose to be happy.” This keeps me focused on the present and reminds me that I have control over my behaviors and attitude right now, independent of how I got here or what I think I want in the future. This has also helped me overcome my negative self-talk, which concerns itself with past failures or future fears.
The justification I found most effective for explaining my fast to others is the one that also helps me the most. I tell people I’m giving my body more time to digest what I’ve already eaten before I start packing on more
Clearly the three meal a day model has not worked for me. I’ve been told since I was a child that I had a very slow metabolism. Should have come as no surprise that I started losing weight immediately when I leaned into that reality.
The thing about fasting is that you can’t force it. You will know when it’s time. I have tried forcing it and always fail. Whenever I successfully fast I am in a calm state of mind and just slip into it. Right now I have been trying too fast but I have too much going on and I am under immense stress that I know I can’t pull it off.
I am going to attempt to fast tomorrow but spend most of my day studying and practicing meditation and watching motivating videos.
No TV or visiting the usual junk websites
I don’t know. I literally just decide to stop eating, and then a week later I go hmm, I’d like to make a nice meal.
There’s no effort involved. No hunger to tempt me. No cravings to speak of. I just simply don’t eat if I decide not to.