Hi everybody. I’m just starting IF again, mostly OMAD and 20/4. I was doing IF a few months until last summer. Then my brother in law got ill and life got too chaotic to continue. He passed away a few weeks ago so now I want to start fasting again.
I gained a lot of weight because of my medication over the last few years, I am hoping to lose some of it. Fasting isn’t too hard for me, but I still tend to eat unhealthy snacks after my meals. Today I ate a healthy meal, but afterwards still ate some chocolate. Couldn’t help myself… I want to stop doing that. My starting weight is about 99 kg.
It works well for me if I allow myself a little treat here and there. I’m watching carbs, but I’m not doing keto. Denying yourself too much can backfire. The benefit of IF for me is that I don’t crave those treats like I used to, and I can stop after a little piece. Separate your treats into small portions that might be acceptable to have one time a day or so.
And I’m sorry for your loss.
I feel like it’s OK to have a small treat sometimes. I would suggest focusing on making it “sometimes” rather than “always.”
It’s OK to have dessert sometimes — but it’s also OK to skip dessert sometimes. It doesn’t mean you’ll never get to have dessert again, and it doesn’t have to mean feeling deprived. It’s just that you don’t always have to have dessert. It’s not required. You can be totally OK and satisfied with your meal without dessert.
This is actually my thought process with treats like chocolate or beer. I do have them some nights. I just don’t have them most nights, because they aren’t required in order for me to feel like I had a good meal.
I’ll try to keep your tips in mind. I don’t want to be to hard on myself since I’m just starting again. I remember from my last IF period, that the cravings became less over time. So I’m hoping it’ll get easier after a few weeks.
Like Aqua-Sky said, denying yourself of things you enjoy can have the potential to backfire. Let yourself have treats, just be consistent with the fasting. OMAD and a little exercise can do crazy wonders without you even noticing. I think if you remain consistent, you’ll gradually start eliminating foods that make you feel bad and start gravitating towards the good stuff, especially with OMAD. You literally have one shot to make your meals count on OMAD.