Rmanzo – snacking is a difficult habit to break, at least for me. I’ve been trying for years and still find myself snacking or wanting to snack even though I’m not really hungry. I think it is easier to change what you snack on. Find something the helps like celery or carrots. Maybe some nuts if you are really hungry. One of my favorite afternoon snacks is an apple with a small handful of walnuts. Not really low in calories but very good for general health. Anyway I given up on deserts and eat that instead later. Not really great for blood glucose, but mentally it works for me.

When I fast I don’t eat anything. That is actually easy. However once I start eating it is sometimes a real struggle to control it. So I try to surround myself with foods that won’t do too much damage.

Rmanzo – on the surface it may seem good that you recognise that you don’t stick at things but IMHO I’d really try and stop that unhelpful internal conversation – by saying that to yourself you are saying it’s OK to fail…because “that’s what I always do” – so I’d try hard to completely suppress conversations like that about yourself – really – just stop thinking that about yourself and move on. The same goes for thoughts about what you haven’t managed to do in the past – forget all that and concentrate on what you want to do. I always think – “do I want to loose weight/become healthier yes or no?” – that’s the internal conversation I focus on. The same goes for all the stress/injuries/illness/issues/baggage – when you get to know people – everyone has something to deal with but I think you have to be open to the idea that it’s possible, that there is a place you can be where you don’t let any of that deflect you from doing what you really want to do – lose weight – it’s very rewarding to be able to do it. RE: Snacking – just don;t have anything in the house – don’t buy it – if you can’t help sneaking things into your trolley when shopping can you get someone else to do it. e.g. we never have chocolate, cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks, crisps, etc in the house and I treat bread as cake – as a treat – I just don’t eat it any more). I always have carrots, celery, tangerines, grapefruit and pickled things to snack on (chillies, gerkhins, onions). A boiled egg and an apple are regular things to snack on (I never have more than 1 of each a day though on a fasting day)- they are surprisingly effective in taking your mind off eating – especially the egg I find – I don’t hard boil mine – I make them just on the turn (put large eggs into pan of 75% boiling water/25% cold – reheat until the eggs start bumping hard on the pan and starting timing 4mins 45s then straight out and under cold water to cool – shell/peel them after a few minutes when cool – I just mash mine up and eat with a teaspoon – sounds so sad doesn’t it – but it takes my mind of eating for hours.) The other strategy is to drink something instead of eating something – hot water, lemon & ginger tea or just tea or coffee. The other thing I find important is to keep busy – I have an allotment to go to – I can spend a few hours there with no food or drink and just get on with weeding/digging – my 5:2 fasting days are usually the most productive days of my week – I just concentrate on work or doing things that need a concerted or a lot of effort. IMHO 5:2 is just about the easiest and simplest way to loose weight – it is simple – you have 5 days where you can eat normally without thinking too much about you eat and 2 days where you eat as little as possible – that’s how I see it – on a fasting day I know I’m not eating much so I don’t really have to think much about food. I couldn’t diet everyday and have to think about what I was eating all the time – that just wouldn’t suit me at all – I’d rather be thinking about and concentrating on other things in my life other than what to eat and what it’s calorific value was and how much, etc.
hth