TLDR; I’m doing Keto+IF+calorie counting for weight lost for a surgery I may be having in 6-9 months. Learnt a lot about my eating habit just committing to IF that I wasn’t aware of when I was just zombieing through life. Does anyone know how to replace emotional snacking with something else?
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I’ve done Keto before with great success until I overcomplicated things and lost my way. Now, two kids and 4 years later, I’m ready to reclaim my body. I’ve always been overweight and my lowest was 140lb and that was on Keto - that felt great! It felt like I was in my body, if that makes sense.
Fast forward, part of reclaiming my body is doing a surgery that I’ve put off for about a decade. My GP told me it would be about a year’s wait where I’m located - no problem, I can do a lot in a year. Ideally, I want to be as close to my ideal weight before surgery. But then I got a call from the surgeon’s office that the consult and surgery will likely all happen before the end of summer, so now I have 6-9 months instead of 12 months. That day I decided to start IF + Keto, two days later I started counting calories too.
Here are my thoughts from the first week:
- I really wasn’t sure about fasting but I grew up not eating breakfast and only started eating breakfast socially with colleagues at work (grabbing a starbucks sandwich or a smoothie) and then with my kiddos because family time etc. So stopping breakfast was alright.
- I realized how much of my kids food I would eat. A bite here to taste it, then a bite there if they offer. I’d sit and eat with them to bond over meals. I’d finish their last bites of this and that because why waste food right?
- SO… my first mindset shift is: “My body is not a garbage can.” This helps me stop dead in my tracks when I’m about to put that “last bite” of my son’s down in my mouth.
- Second, I never understood how much of an emotional eater I was. Neh, an emotional SNACKER. Just now I had a pretty rough solo bedtime putting the kids down for the night and immediately after I wanted to snack and crack open a beer so bad. To soothe my feelings, for sure. But I’m on a streak for IF so it was “easy” to say no. I am someone who likes to continue a streak.
- Third, keto frankenfood is tempting AF. Was at costco today and there are just SO MANY more “keto” choices which just comes down to it being artifically sweetened. I’ve stayed off artifical sweetener so far because I recall last time, I just fell into this keto frankenfood hole and replacing junk food with junky keto food and forgot how to make whole keto food. So this time around, I’m limiting or plain just saying no to artifical sugar and keto frankenfoods.
- Fourth - on IF, it took me 3-4 days to get adapted to keto and then about day 5-6 I realized I no longer get hungry before 12:30pm. Then I eat a meal that is even less than what I would normally eat when I’m not on this eating plan and I am FULL. So full that my dinner at 6pm with my family is small, or I’m just taking a few bites here and there.
- Fifth - I need to find time to do things i enjoy that isn’t EATING. For all young parents out there, time after kids sleep is sacred. I used to reserve this time to have a decent adult meal with no one asking me for milk refills, one more napkin, to pick up a fork, or that their brother ate the last slice of apple… Now that is gone because IF has started at 6:30. So… I miss having this luxury time eating. Perhaps I could move my eating window to 3pm and then I can eat till 9pm? anyone done a off schedule like this? It doesn’t help much that my husband has a weird work schedule and sometimes he will come home late and have dinner around 9pm, and now I just sit and drink water and watch him eat while chatting. He’s okay with this as he’s grown up without meal time as connection times anyway.
All in all, it’s been going well and I’m getting used to IF. I like it in that it’s very clear - eat now, don’t eat now. I miss snacking still… but I am not hungry, I’m emotional lol.
Any tips or encouragement on the snacking for emotional needs front?
I feel you with this! I’m also a mom & a serial snacker lol. The late nights when I’m having alone time or husband time watching cooking shows are the hardest haha. But It’s gotten easier over these last 3 weeks it’s become more like second nature vs trying to mentally convince myself at every turn. I think because I’m not depriving myself it helps like I’ll think oh I’ll have this one treat tomorrow in my eating window. I’ve been deciding whether or not to transition into keto because I’ve found when I do eat carbs I tend to overdo it so I’m gonna emphasize whole foods more this week and see if I can stick to under 20carbs.
Personally I would try to avoid the late night snacking. I speak from experience because I loved a big bowl of popcorn EVERY night. It’s hard to cut out at first because it’s a habitual thing- but once I did I realized I wasn’t even hungry it was just boredom eating. Now I use the time I don’t spend boredom eating reading, going for a nightly walk, yoga, even picked up a couple hobbies. It’s important to still make time for YOU, but that doesn’t have to be snacking. Pick up some fun teas from the store, or sparkling water, try to find something you enjoy and can sustain. GL!