I went to my home country for a 2-week vacation. It was nice and I enjoyed seeing my family and friends.
At home, my family’s love language is mostly food: making my favorite meals, eating together, etc.
We ate all the food that I was craving for (ie the types of food I can’t buy or make in my current country). Funnily enough, most of those are what I used to call “bad food” - junk food and lots of sweets.
This time, however, I let myself enjoy the meals with my family. I especially enjoyed the desserts. And I didn’t feel any regret afterwards. Those meals are love in tangible forms, and I enjoyed every last bit.
I’m now back in my own home, and preparing to start my fasting again. I don’t think I gained much during my vacation so I’m easing back into routine slowly.
All these to say, IF is such a big help in my mental health journey. I wouldn’t have enjoyed my non-fasting vacation if I was worried about weight gains or other things. I had fun sharing meals with friends and family because I am in a healthier state - physically and mentally - than I was a year ago. IF is really more than a diet, and I am so grateful that I’m learning how to make the most of it to enhance my quality of life.
You can get right back into this structure and live normally, even if you step out of it for a while.
You can add austerity measures to the structure and all of the sudden, the structure is your diet. You can do 3 or four days of diets, or go back on calorie counting for a month.
The discipline that this provides, and the habits you form make it easy to come back to once you’ve learned it. It’s so simple. Don’t eat. Don’t eat, until you can eat.