In need of support!

This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Cherrylips 7 years, 11 months ago.

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Cherrylips

11:05 am
16 Jan 17
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Hey you all! I am starting this program again this week, and I am in need of some support and motivation.
I’ve tried to get started the past few weeks, but up untill now, it hasn’t been a big succes. I’ve managed to blow almost every fast day by starting to eat after work (a whole day of nothing but drinking water and coffee), and simply not being able to stop after I’ve taken in my 500 calories. So frustrating! I then start again the next day, go through the same routine, and this way, I’ve blown 2 whole weeks of trying to do TFD but never really succeeding.
I have done it before, and it worked for me, as long as I wasn’t too strict. That means that for me, counting calories on non fast days is out of the question. That’s exactly what I love about this plan: you don’t worry too much about your food on normal days, and can still control your weight by doing the fast during 2 days of the week. This fits my ‘all-or-nothing’-personality, especially when it comes to food. When I made this program work in the past, it made me feel so much better, because it gave me a sense of control which made me less obessive about what I ate on normal days. This had a positive effect, not only on my weight, but especially on my wellbeing. I think that this is exactly what makes this lifestyle sustainable for me.
You would think with all these benefits, that it would be easy to get started again, but that has been a dissapointment. I need to manage the hunger better and seem to lack the determination to see a fast day all the way through.
I think I’m going to give real fasting a go. It kind of scares me, but then again, at the moment the 500 kcal don’t seem to work for me either. The small amount of food makes me even more hungry. I’m wondering what would be best: sticking to water (and the occasional coffee) or just sticking to fluids (water but also things like low-calorie soup)?
I’m not overweight, I weigh about 59 kilos, but would love to go back to my ideal weight of 54 kilos. Apart from the weight, I am also interested in the overall health benefits. I have been severely ill twe years ago, and feel like this lifestyle gives me a means to do something beneficial for my health.
Your advice and support is welcome!

LJoyce

12:27 pm
16 Jan 17
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Hi
There a couple of things that you may find helpful.
Try a fast day that doesn’t involve solid food. For example take your calories as a bowl of broth or soup and a smoothie (eg a low cal smoothie option: unsweetened almond milk, natural NF yoghurt, a handful of berries, psyllium and ice). You can have quite large volumes within the 500 calories. I find that the act of chewing real foods is tied up with the desire to keep eating and liquids often don’t seem to trigger the same response. (This doesn’t always stop me wanting to eat solid food, but sometimes it does – especially in hot weather I find.)

Something I use when I want to delay eating long enough to get back in control is “yes, later”. A friend of mine is a retired psychiatrist, and she told me that our subconscious will rebel we we tell ourselves “no”, so we need to find a way to achieve “no” without thinking or saying it. Her suggestion was that I try “yes in an hour” when I was trying not to eat something. I experimented with this and found “yes, later” more helpful as it didn’t set up an expectation that I would be rewarded with food in an hour. Sometimes I also use “yes tomorrow” – helpful if tomorrow is a NFD. (Usually when tomorrow rolls around I’ve already moved on and am craving something else.)

Hope some of this helps.

Cherrylips

3:05 pm
16 Jan 17
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Joyce,
Thanks for the advice. I might just limit myself to low cal liquids, as you suggest and see how that works out.
The mantra of ‘yes, I can have that tomorrow’ definitely helps. I am on my first fast (fast 2.0) today, and my coworkers seem determined to see me fail (they don’t actually know about my fast but have offered me several ‘treats’ throughout the day, which I have all gracefully denied). Repeating that I can have all that tomorrow if I want indeed seems to trick my mind into persevering and makes holding off less hard. Let’s hope it keeps on doing the trick when I get home tonight…