| Yes, 2 years and intend to keep doing, my usual target is to hit 18hrs fasting (or more) 6 days a week. But there are days when you just can't keep it up, esp. when socializing. And it's OK to not do it 1-2 days/week, it is not going to completely undo the gains you might have made (gains might be: better gut health, weight loss, weight maintenance, whatever). To be technically correct, I practice something that's closer to Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) than it is to Intermittent Fasting (IF). Subtle, but important difference being, IF usually also entails reducing caloric intake, whereas in TRF you eat the same amount of food you would if you were eating throughout the day do it within a much smaller time window (4-8 hrs). I had to work a lot at it, lest of which was developing enough will power to resist yummy food in front of me! There are a few tricks that have helped me, and it all boils down to how strict you want to be and if and when you have to break it, don't feel guilty about it afterwards. Here's what works best for me, in that order...
#0. Never go to sleep without brushing my teeth, so, the first thing I do when I have wrapped up my last meal of the day is get up and brush my teeth. So if I have a temptation to break the fast before my intended time, then there's additional friction because then I have this one more boring chore to do, brush my teeth before calling it the day. Surprising this 2-min chore is a good enough deterrent to work! (Note: doesn't work if you really enjoying brushing your teeth :-D, so YMMV).
Key is to add some tangible and immediate friction to breaking the fast/routine. #1. Most of my friends and family now know about intermittent-fasting, so instead of forcing food, most of them are supportive and even accommodate in their planning. But still, so much of our socializing is built around food'ing that you will stick out like a sore thumb if you are too rigid/strict; that is where #2 comes in handy. #2. If the next big "party/meal/socializing" is planned then I will simply skip a meal the previous day to compensate for it. It is harder than it sounds, and it takes some mental and physical conditioning, but that's the best approach of trying to find a middle-ground. If it is unplanned,try to compensate it afterwards (best if done immediately the following day, instead of accumulating it for later!). #3. Don't get anal about absolute calories (it is futile anyways), instead, I tend to focus on the quality of food I ingest: vegetables, protein, fibers, fats and limit added/refined sugar as much as humanly possible. #4. And (I know this is a repeat) if you still have to prematurely break the intermittent-fasting/time-restricted-feeding routine, don't feel guilty about it and just enjoy the "extra" meal :-) IM me if you want to know more. |