F30, 4’11 and 165lbs. It’s hard sticking to the fasting window when people in my household are eating. How do you maintain the discipline?
I’m new to this but one thing I am struggling with as well is caffeine. I love starting my day with tea (cream and sugar included). What timings do you all suggest I have so that I can incorporate tea into my routine?
I used to listen to fasting affirmations when I was struggling. As of right now I only do 16:8 at the most because I am the home cook for the family. The longer fast we’re really hard. But listening to the affirmations while I cooked helped to remind me not to taste. I also would sip my tea at the table when my kids wanted me to sit with them. Good luck!
I’m also the cook for our family. I have tried to time it so that I eat with them every night, whether that is 18:6, OMAD, or MADF (500 cal mini meal on down days, no restrictions on up days). Also, something that has helped me that I saw someone else do is keeping a list of foods in the notes app on my phone that I want to eat when my window is open. Delay. Don’t deny!
Fortunately I don’t have to cook for anyone. But i am often at friends or visiting the family and they snack.
A) I repeat to me that I do not WANT to eat since it is not the time yet. I do not want! Not I cannot.
B) I found green tea to be very good against hunger pains. I am drinking it often while others eat. Warm fluid in the stomach makes me feel full and not hungry.
C) I stay busy when others eat. Looking at something, taking a walk, cleaning, folding the wash, playing with a pet…
My eating window is from when I wake up until about 3. This means I don’t eat from 3:00 p.m. until when I wake up again the next morning. Since I’m the home cook for the whole family, I have taken to making dinner earlier in the day, so it’s ready for whenever my husband wants to serve it to the kids. Either I can eat it during my eating window, or put some aside for the next morning, but I’m not around at dinnertime. During dinnertime is when I have planned for other activities that are just for me (art, working out, doing my podcast, taking a bath). “Don’t deny just delay” is a good mantra. In the moments when I start feeling challenged, I will take 2 tablespoons of Acacia root powder in water as a soluble fibre supplement. This fills my tummy, brings a sense of satiation, feeds my healthy gut bacteria, and doesn’t break my fast. Another thing I do in moments of difficulty is look through this sub, and research stuff related to IF (especially loving the tiktok videos by RobertWBLove and Trentytok, and the American Glutton podcast). I spend time cleaning my teeth thoroughly with oil pulling, flossing, and gum massage. I also record the hours I’ve fasted on a chart which I also record my waking temp, weight, menstruation etc. Even though IF gets easier over time, it’s ok to feel like you’re doing something difficult. Making changes is not easy and greater outcomes always come with greater difficulty. I hope this helps!
What I usually do is remove myself completely from the table/others if they feel uncomfortable with me sitting there not eating. Otherwise, I’ll join but just order a glass of water, tea or coffee. If you still feel awkward doing this then just remind yourself that there are other people who do order a plate of food but only take 3-4 bites until they’re “full” and end up sitting there talking/drinking for the rest of the meal too (I.e. it’s not that weird)