Petra @newmiboYour fasting game is great, you find it pretty easy to fast daily, sipping on water, minding your own business. However, when your fasting window is over, you suddenly lose all control and the first bite of food triggers your binge monster. You ruin your fasting efforts with out of control eating.
I use the word binge to describe excessive uncontrolled over eating and I am not referring to a binge eating disorder. If you suspect you might be suffering from an eating disorder please seek professional advice, don’t suffer in silence.
YOUR FASTING WINDOW IS TOO LONG
You’re on a mission to lose weight quickly, so you force yourself to follow the most extreme version of fasting.
If you fast too much or too long, you put yourself at risk of eating in excess once your fasting window is over. How long is too long? If you can’t control yourself once your fast is over, it is too long for you.
Regulate your fasting window according to how you’re handling your eating window.
The length of your daily fast should feel comfortably challenging not stressful and you certainly should not be suffering. Expand your fasting window gradually, it’s a long game, not a 15 day challenge.
HAVE A SET “FAST-BREAKER“ MEAL
This is a game changer specifically if you’re struggling with overeating after fasting.
Create a list of a few meals which do not trigger your cravings, are healthy, affordable and easy to make. Ideally, this would be a small meal just to prepare your stomach for your main meal without feeling ravenous and wanting to eat everything in sight.
My personal list of fast-breaker mini meals include: eggs, greek yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese. These are all high in protein or probiotics, easy to grab and eat, affordable and help me wait for my main meal without any problems. None of these foods trigger my cravings or make me want to overeat.
You don’t need to cut out any food group or macronutrient just make sure your menu doesn’t only consist of your trigger foods. Processed, overly sweet or salty foods are designed to trigger your cravings so that you keep eating more and more.
Include enough protein (essential amino acids) and healthy fats (essential fatty acids) in your diet.
It is far more difficult to overeat on eggs, cottage cheese, avocados or fish and chicken than it is on muffins, pastry, crisps, pizza and chocolate.
PLAN YOUR MEALS
Plan your weekly meals. It is much easier to overeat if you’re grabbing random foods and snacks or ordering food on a whim, especially if you’ve been fasting for a few hours and now want food asap.
You don’t need to count calories or do a meal prep, simply write down the dishes you are going to eat, including your fast breaker meal, your main, your dessert or anything that fits your needs.
MIND YOUR MINDSET
Your mindset is equally as important as how and what you eat. A mindset of deprivation is going to make intermittent fasting impossible. Thinking that you’re missing out, that you’re suffering, obsessively thinking about food, glorifying food is a path to failure.
Fasting is the flip side of eating, both are important in the right doses. When you fast, think of it as time you give your body to repair, rejuvenate, and use up some of its fat stores for fuel. Think of the money and time you save not buying or making food, the control you’ll gaining over your eating habits.
MODIFY YOUR FAST
You could try including some spices in your fasting beverages perhaps towards the end of your fasting window, some broth or even some creamy coffee or tea which will provide you with some calories aka “fill a gap”, before you start officially eating.
Create a relaxing fast breaking ritual that you can look forward to instead of rushing to eat. This could be as simple as simmering some spices for a flavoursome hot drink whilst re-reading articles on my blog (wink).
It is perfectly normal to want to eat more after your fasting window is over, although this should adjust overtime. It is also normal for hunger to fluctuate; some days you move more, eat less the day before, or it is your pre-period week when naturally most women experience increased hunger.
Experiment, adjust but never give up xox
