I’m certain I overeat and indulge due to anxiety, so when I fast I’m not sure what to do with myself when I would otherwise just be eating. Any suggestions that worked for you?
Watch videos on fasting and the benefits of fasting. I find Dr. Pradip Jamnadas particularly enlightening. If I’m ever having a rough time, I’ll sit down and rewatch one of his longer vids. Super informative and they keep me motivated.
Yeah I just drink a ton of water, anytime I feel hungry or just bored really I take a few gulps of water and i feel better, fasting is just like giving up anything you’re used to, breaking the habit is the hardest part I find.
Try to find something else to fill the void, water helps for me, but if you have issues with anxiety maybe try some meditation or breathing exercises?
Good luck
I work ten hour days and I’m basically ready to sleep once I drive home and shower. Chew gum. When I get home I clean my coffee cup in the kitchen and after that I never return to the kitchen until the next morning. Fasting on my days off seems almost impossible. Stay strong you will get there with practice. I oddly watch cooking shorts while I’m fasting. It gives me something to look forward to along with ideas for my cheat days.
I have a list.Clean closets…eww…. doneWalk Get on the floor and do mobility exercises while watching TV or listening to music.Gold stars on your refrigerator because you didn’t open the refrigerator door. Trust me this works.
Basically find a rewarding activity ir a reward other than food
When you are changing a habit you have to figure out how to reward yourself other than food.
My self rewards have changed over time.
One month u made a bath mat out of wool that looks like pebbles. It makes me smile every time I look at it and my guests make jokes about my ‘stone’ bath mat.
What would feel like a reward to you instead of food?
Our brains that drive us emotionally are not very smart but our emotion based brain is very powerful so trick it into the path you want by giving it something to be happy about.
When you choose not to eat what are you really choosing? For me it’s long term health, weight loss and longevity. What are choosing?
Restorative yoga or yin yoga! Deep stretching when you’re fasting is so excellent for the body and digestive tract. I typically do this at dinner time when I feel the gap most so I’m all relaxed for bed
You sound just like me. When I’m having a stressful day at work I used to go to the cabinets and binge eat snacks to deal with the anxiety. Now with fasting, I like to think of my electrolyte drink as a treat. If I feel like going to grab for food, I instead make one of those (pink lemonade is my fav flavor) so that at least it’s something different than just water. Also, I sometimes just find something around the house to clean.
When my hunger gets pretty intense I watch food videos. People showing me how they make the food I want to eat at the moment, or food competitors like beardvsfood. It sounds counterproductive, but my wife put me onto it, it actually makes it better. Might not be for everyone, but i’d say it’s worth a try.
Recently I took up embroidery and it’s a great hobby to pass the time. I also like binge watching shows, for me it makes tracking the passing time weirdly fun? because I can say oh I started the fast during this season and now its season 5. I wish I could just let go and not think about the time though but I haven’t gotten there yet.
Drink water, take electrolytes, and keep busy. I find the hardest time is when I’m up past bedtime. I just want to eat something – anything (mostly holiday candies). Once I either go to bed or start an activity, though, the urge goes away. Kind of.
I smoke. Yes it’s not healthy and it’s sucks but that’s what I do :( not telling you to smoke, but maybe try something like chewing flavorless gum or something. I also drink La Croix, my friend makes fun of me for it but it’s good and zero calories
Le croix and flavored soda waters I find helpful if you’re used to drinking soda.
Tea and black coffee help as well.
You can chew some sugarless gum but careful not to overdo it.
Otherwise you quickly get hungry sitting around all day. Plan a day filled with work or activities or something to focus on and you’ll forget about hunger.
Find an activity that requires total concentration and helps you learn something new. Boredom is an unnecessary obstacle to IF success. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you can zone in on it…think of times you’ve worked through lunch or whatever…you probably didn’t even notice because you were occupied.
Personally I like to learn new software for my work and hobbies, or learn new and random things about anything.
I found meditation work really best for me…
repeatative chanting of the my target verse upwords of hundered time or about an hour’s time would usually alleviate the hunger but making sure never set the verse amount as target i.e; by the nth time I should memorize such and such amount of verses. Since, stress is my trigger so I tend to avoid goals but put my trust in the process carrying out the chanting wholeheartedly.
learn to enjoy the process and found hunger is a complex communication between you and a part of your inner-self. Remind your self this is a journey that you alone can take. Take a moment to celebrate your small wins through out the day where your are able to reject the temptations and pat yourself for able to achieve so much and psych yourself to the destination that you are aiming for either for health or better physique. Never allow or let yourself the easy way out because you are today is the product of choosing the easy way. next, to break free from this stagnant state is to have conviction that this proses would cleanse you of past weaknesses. finally try to remind yourself that there’s no single last ditch struggles that would solve all your issue but A simple consistence solution done persistently would gear yourself to your dreams.
if everything fails ….
I take a long nap 😴😴😴😴…
Get a pack of cigarettes. That’s how our grandparents and great-grandparents got through the day on an empty stomach. It’ll fill you up, end your appetite. Plus, you won’t need to worry about social anxiety any longer, as you’ll look cool as hell smoking.
I spend my extra free time when I’m not cooking and eating reflecting on how much more positive I feel about myself now that I’ve taken control of my eating and how if I can finally get control of that, I can do pretty much anything I want to do. It’s replaced all the depressing thoughts that drove me to overeat. I’m also spending more time with my pet rabbits, reading more, and catching up some awesome dumpster fire reality tv and some really good movies. Oh, and shopping for and buying jewelry and makeup to adorn myself because I now believe I’m worth a little self care. Waiting on clothes shopping for now because I can’t afford a new wardrobe every three months.