I have come to enjoy intermittent fasting very much - independence from eating, feeling good, and the ability to go for long periods without eating or discomfort are a few of the benefits.
A new tool I've grown to really like in the diet wars is bulletproof coffee!
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/
In general, I'm interested in reducing my coffee consumption. I've run hard for years on as many cups per day as I could stand (two pots/day was a "good start"), but I finally burned out some receptors or something and found myself with negative symptoms as a consequence.
One way to break a very strong pattern of behavior is to simply never do "the thing" unless it is very, very good. Chocolate? Sure I eat it but I only eat very good chocolate (enough to equal 10-20g of sugar every work day for lunch, during the spring/summer), never that mass produced shite that you can get for a dollar anywhere/everywhere you go. After a while of only eating good chocolate, the low grade shite tastes like .... well, not too good.
Ditto with beer. I never drink the swill I used to drink in college. I have become a beer snob, much to my own benefit. If it's not expensive, very interesting beer, I just leave it be. This is also much to my benefit.
So with coffee, the first rule was "no shite". The second rule was to avoid coffee when I habitually want it the most - first thing in the AM. To do that I substituted decaf. To enjoy decaf more, I added Kerry Gold salt free butter and MCT oil a la "bulletproof" coffee (salt free because salt doesn't go with good coffee, I eat plenty of that in my other meals). That's a good move for daily energy levels (low that slow burn from short and medium chain triglycerides in butter and MCT), and it pushes back my start time for coffee without fighting any sense of deprivation.
I'm drinking about 3 cups per day now of caffeinated coffee. Achieving independence from habit/addiction always feels good!
Since I'm downing all this fuel first thing in the AM, I don't know if I'm really doing intermittent fasting any longer - but I still don't have a meal most days until 1100 (unless I want one earlier).
All this means to you is, first, there are experiments you can try to start you off on the path to a good food day, and good food days are the goal. Second, the same tips that work to reduce coffee consumption can work to change any habit. First, just try to eat the "food" you need to get rid of less frequently, and only when it's not your favorite time to eat that food. Then, find a substitute that doesn't do as much damage. Try to avoid thinking "I can't have that" and think "I can wait another hour to have that", or, "I can have that if I do something I need to get done, and then I get the "junk" as reward." IOW - use a dose of the "junk" to inspire you to complete a task, and use the task as a delay tactic so you interrupt the "craving-satisfaction of craving" cycle.
Each of these tactics has been helpful as I reduced my diet cola consumption from several per day (40-60 ounces), to one per day (20 ounces), to perhaps 2-3 per week. That experiment, by the way, hasn't made any noticeable impact, but I don't like the stuff as much any more, so the bottom line is - I have more money to spend on good coffee, good butter, and good chocolate.
A new tool I've grown to really like in the diet wars is bulletproof coffee!
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-coffee-recipe/
In general, I'm interested in reducing my coffee consumption. I've run hard for years on as many cups per day as I could stand (two pots/day was a "good start"), but I finally burned out some receptors or something and found myself with negative symptoms as a consequence.
One way to break a very strong pattern of behavior is to simply never do "the thing" unless it is very, very good. Chocolate? Sure I eat it but I only eat very good chocolate (enough to equal 10-20g of sugar every work day for lunch, during the spring/summer), never that mass produced shite that you can get for a dollar anywhere/everywhere you go. After a while of only eating good chocolate, the low grade shite tastes like .... well, not too good.
Ditto with beer. I never drink the swill I used to drink in college. I have become a beer snob, much to my own benefit. If it's not expensive, very interesting beer, I just leave it be. This is also much to my benefit.
So with coffee, the first rule was "no shite". The second rule was to avoid coffee when I habitually want it the most - first thing in the AM. To do that I substituted decaf. To enjoy decaf more, I added Kerry Gold salt free butter and MCT oil a la "bulletproof" coffee (salt free because salt doesn't go with good coffee, I eat plenty of that in my other meals). That's a good move for daily energy levels (low that slow burn from short and medium chain triglycerides in butter and MCT), and it pushes back my start time for coffee without fighting any sense of deprivation.
I'm drinking about 3 cups per day now of caffeinated coffee. Achieving independence from habit/addiction always feels good!
Since I'm downing all this fuel first thing in the AM, I don't know if I'm really doing intermittent fasting any longer - but I still don't have a meal most days until 1100 (unless I want one earlier).
All this means to you is, first, there are experiments you can try to start you off on the path to a good food day, and good food days are the goal. Second, the same tips that work to reduce coffee consumption can work to change any habit. First, just try to eat the "food" you need to get rid of less frequently, and only when it's not your favorite time to eat that food. Then, find a substitute that doesn't do as much damage. Try to avoid thinking "I can't have that" and think "I can wait another hour to have that", or, "I can have that if I do something I need to get done, and then I get the "junk" as reward." IOW - use a dose of the "junk" to inspire you to complete a task, and use the task as a delay tactic so you interrupt the "craving-satisfaction of craving" cycle.
Each of these tactics has been helpful as I reduced my diet cola consumption from several per day (40-60 ounces), to one per day (20 ounces), to perhaps 2-3 per week. That experiment, by the way, hasn't made any noticeable impact, but I don't like the stuff as much any more, so the bottom line is - I have more money to spend on good coffee, good butter, and good chocolate.
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNeeded to see this.
Struggling with good (Paleo) eating habits...again.