Dear IF Steemit Diary, welcome to day 35!
I have decided to record things using the day count rather than the week count as I was getting confused as to which week I was on lol
So I have figured out today is day 35!
I actually went the full 16 hours fast without consuming any calories today which is great. I have not been doing so well with it for the last week because I have been ill and felt as though my body needed the extra energy earlier, so it feels good to be back on track again.
I have cut out lemon from my water during fasting times so that I don't trigger an insulin response and I also did something a bit strange today.
When I broke my fast, I didn't have a meal, I had my morning coffee with cream. I had prepared my meal ready to eat, but the coffee and cream completely satiated my appetite. Usually at this point I would eat anyway, just because I am in my eating time and I want to eat (want, not need), but I thought to myself 'you know what, I am going to wait until I am hungry again before I eat my meal.'
This may not sound like much, but for me this is a HUGE step! My inner demons would normally be screaming at me by this stage, telling me to eat everything in sight, but I had an epiphany last night about my 'demons' aka self sabotage.
I have realised that due to a traumatic past, I always do the opposite of what someone tells me I have to do. I don't like to feel pressured into doing anything I don't want to and I have become slightly stubborn, if not rebellious when it comes to following instructions. I won't go into what happened to me here, perhaps one day... but not today.
This realisation was traumatic in itself as it brought up a lot of bad memories from the past; but it also made me realise that I WANT to follow my own instructions and it is ME, not someone trying to overpower me, so it is safe to stick to the 'rules' that I am setting for myself.
I wonder how many more people out there don't realise that past trauma is still affecting their everyday lives? It was certainly an eye opener for me. Another side effect of IF that I truly didn't expect.
Anyway, I don't want to go down that road right now as I am feeling positive and empowered for overcoming my inner demons!
So, we are at day 35 and I am feeling slightly better than I have been doing this week. My voice is coming back slowly and I have only consumed 50 calories so far today. I am getting peckish now though, so I am off to get some lunch!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your constant support! Much love to you all, @beautifulbullies xx
(Thank you to unsplash.com for the free images)
Nice work! You're a couple weeks ahead of me on your journey. I started maybe three weeks ago...first time doing IF.
I've always drank my coffee black so that part has been easy.
Did you change up your diet as well, or are you just focusing on your window? I've found it is hard for me to really take in a lot of calories in 8 hours, so not much diet change (not going keto).
My diet started out really clean at the beginning, then I had the 'Donut Dilemma' lol I literally went to the shops and bought a bag of donuts and ate them all in 1 go! A perfect example of my inner demons kicking in. I will not let them win however, I am determined to do this! I need to lose about 2 stone in total so I have to fight these demons hard! My diet is now pretty much normal. I can't be bothered to eat certain things or cut out certain things, which is why dieting has never worked for me before I guess. But I have found just focusing on my window is so much easier to do. I have set an alarm at 7pm to remind me that I must not eat after 8pm, so if I do need to get some calories in, I have an hour to do it. Not sure if that is a good thing yet though as last night I ate just because my time was running out. I am not doing keto exactly, but I avoid bread, pasta and anything else that makes me feel bloaed after I eat it, so I am probably low carb accidentally on purpose!
Are you keeping a diary of your progress here on Steemit? We could start a new tag! :D
Oooo sorry for the essay, that could have been a post in itself! haha
It sounds like we're doing similar things in our diet.
I have found that last minute rush to eat being a temptation as well. Had some chocolate last night at 8 sharp!
What has been most interesting to me is not having hunger pains in the morning. I could certainly eat, but not eating keeps me sharp and focused, which is nice. I think it also helps me think more about how I feel after I eat, depending on what I ate.
Not blogging about it yet! Been focusing a lot on a project, and don't want distraction from it. I do post my food on Steepshot sometimes, though, which is a great steem app.
Sounds interesting, I will check out your project :)
Yes, I have used steepshot in the past but I have forgotten about it recently for some reason...I think I will have to remind myself about it again! :D
I am a chocoholic...or was! I have't craved chocolate at all since 'IF'ing, which is a bit weird I guess... Now I will have to go buy a mars bar haha xD
The chocolate was a gift from a friend traveling from the Netherlands.
Europeans do amazing chocolate!
They do don't they! I have a Flemmish friend and when she goes home to Belgium, I always ask her to bring me back some real chocolate to the UK lol Apparently we use too much milk in England according to Eurpoeans?!
Me and my daughter have started the 8 weeks blog sugar diet. Good luck with your journey
Awww that is fantastic! :D Good luck with it, I will check it out!
Its no carbs no sugar 800 calories a day. Lots of cooking. Its day 1 and I'm worn out already lol
That's cool that you're doing IF. I remember doing that, the first week was so difficult that you get tempted to eat during your fasting period. The worst part was when you feel so weak and without energy. One thing i learned from IF is that you really need to train yourself especially during the fast because you get tempted whenever somebody eats or when you smell the aroma of food. But good luck on your IF my weight became consistent because of that.
you are sooo right! It is literally training yourself not to eat which is strange as it goes against our very nature!
Thank you for your words of encouragement! :D
But once you train yourself everything will follow haha
You're Welcome! :)
I recently started IF and am on week 4. Are you doing 12:8? I find I feel like garbage in the mornings some days until I've had a proper meal, but luckily I don't crave food at night.
I am doing the 16:8 at the minute, but I was doing the 18:6 until I got ill last week. the 18:6 was really hard in the morning, I struggled not to break my fast before 1pm, so I am finding the 16:8 much easier and I am seeing results. I am day 36 today so I am probably only a few days ahead of you! Have you seen any positive results so far?
I've lost 7 pounds so far, and weight loss was the main reason I started IF, so I'm pretty pleased. Now I'm more interested in how it fights inflammation in the body.
Haha, I meant 16:8. I eat between 12-8pm. My brain is a little foggy in the morning before breakfast
Hi, your self control is extraordinary, despite your internal demons, as you say. The important thing is that you were able to get ahead and complete your fasting cycle. I congratulate and support you. I invite you to visit my profile, I would be pleased to have your help. Thank you..
Thank you so much for your support and your kind comments! I shall certainly visit your blog :)
Wow very interesting food my best friend. I like it your great full post. thank you so much.
lol thank you...but I didn't actually write about any food as such... Please at least read peoples posts if you are going to comment on them and not even leave them a small upvote of appreciation! You are lucky I am kind, I know lots of whales/dolphins on here that would have flagged this comment...