Angela Blythe Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 I'm having a hard time making myself eat on the weekend. This isn't new, but I'm concerned that I'm derailing my progress. I eat well during the work week but after my coffee with coconut cream on Saturday and/or Sunday, I won't eat anything for several hours and then eventually grab a jerky stick or RXbar or a piece of fruit to get me through to dinner. (Prior to Whole30 I would usually eat cheese or something.) It's not that I'm longing for off-plan food or that I don't enjoy good food when it's presented to me. I think I just feel like my entire life has become about food and eating, and that grosses me out a little. I'm on day 22 of my first Whole30 and have been compliant for the most part: I did have a salad dressing fail (contained honey) on days 15 and 16. Because of the timing of upcoming events I can't really restart the program until after the new year. In preparation for my reboot, I'd like to know if my weekend fasting habits are hurting my health and/or progress. I haven't really experienced the miracles yet, and I'm not sure if that's because of the honey, because I didn't follow the autoimmune protocol (which I plan to next time), or because of the fasting thing. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted October 30, 2017 Moderators Share Posted October 30, 2017 37 minutes ago, Angela Blythe said: I'm having a hard time making myself eat on the weekend. This isn't new, but I'm concerned that I'm derailing my progress. I eat well during the work week but after my coffee with coconut cream on Saturday and/or Sunday, I won't eat anything for several hours and then eventually grab a jerky stick or RXbar or a piece of fruit to get me through to dinner. (Prior to Whole30 I would usually eat cheese or something.) It's not that I'm longing for off-plan food or that I don't enjoy good food when it's presented to me. I think I just feel like my entire life has become about food and eating, and that grosses me out a little. I'm on day 22 of my first Whole30 and have been compliant for the most part: I did have a salad dressing fail (contained honey) on days 15 and 16. Because of the timing of upcoming events I can't really restart the program until after the new year. In preparation for my reboot, I'd like to know if my weekend fasting habits are hurting my health and/or progress. I haven't really experienced the miracles yet, and I'm not sure if that's because of the honey, because I didn't follow the autoimmune protocol (which I plan to next time), or because of the fasting thing. Any ideas? Three template meals a day every day is the minimum amount an adult human should eat... it is not beneficial to you to not eat all day on the weekends, subsisting on only coffee and a meat stick until dinner. It's not uncommon to feel that your whole life becomes temporarily about planning food, shopping for food, making food, eating food, cleaning up food.... that doesn't mean you should take two days out of a seven day week and just forget food altogether... I suspect that you would feel a lot better if you were giving your body consistent nutrients... imagine if you fuelled your car M-F and then just expected it to work on fumes over the weekend... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Blythe Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 11 minutes ago, SugarcubeOD said: Three template meals a day every day is the minimum amount an adult human should eat... it is not beneficial to you to not eat all day on the weekends, subsisting on only coffee and a meat stick until dinner. It's not uncommon to feel that your whole life becomes temporarily about planning food, shopping for food, making food, eating food, cleaning up food.... that doesn't mean you should take two days out of a seven day week and just forget food altogether... I suspect that you would feel a lot better if you were giving your body consistent nutrients... imagine if you fuelled your car M-F and then just expected it to work on fumes over the weekend... I understand what you're saying, SugarcubeOD, and even writing that post I could certainly smell the crazy. I grew up in a religious, physical-body-is-mostly-evil environment, and I can see where this habit of denying my physical needs may have its roots. ("How can I be so focused on my physical comfort when there is so much suffering in the world? Why aren't I focused on the spiritual? And why can't I be more like my sister?") It isn't that I don't get all that intellectually. But on Saturday morning when I think about making something to eat, I get a little dry-heavey and so I put it off. And put it off. And then it's 2:00 and too late to eat lunch so I grab something to keep me upright until dinner. So what I'm wondering is, is it just 'not good' for me, or is it also bad? I'm thinking that if I had a little science behind it ("Every time you skip a meal your intestines secrete a bilious substance that causes candida overgrowth and rectal itching, your inner child gets pinkeye, and an angel loses his wings") I could power through the yuck factor. Besides being an indication of some unaddressed childhood issues, what is the mini-fast doing to my health? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted October 30, 2017 Moderators Share Posted October 30, 2017 6 minutes ago, Angela Blythe said: I understand what you're saying, SugarcubeOD, and even writing that post I could certainly smell the crazy. I grew up in a religious, physical-body-is-mostly-evil environment, and I can see where this habit of denying my physical needs may have its roots. ("How can I be so focused on my physical comfort when there is so much suffering in the world? Why aren't I focused on the spiritual? And why can't I be more like my sister?") It isn't that I don't get all that intellectually. But on Saturday morning when I think about making something to eat, I get a little dry-heavey and so I put it off. And put it off. And then it's 2:00 and too late to eat lunch so I grab something to keep me upright until dinner. So what I'm wondering is, is it just 'not good' for me, or is it also bad? I'm thinking that if I had a little science behind it ("Every time you skip a meal your intestines secrete a bilious substance that causes candida overgrowth and rectal itching, your inner child gets pinkeye, and an angel loses his wings") I could power through the yuck factor. Besides being an indication of some unaddressed childhood issues, what is the mini-fast doing to my health? Wow, that's a difficult upbringing to come back from! Your physical body is definitely not evil and if you are comfortable because you feed yourself, that isn't going to make the world's suffering worse and you being uncomfortable doesn't make it better... it doesn't really work like that, which I know you know Have you read It Starts With Food? The science behind the program is very approachable and easy to understand and while they don't specifically talk about not eating on the weekends, they do tell you about cortisol and leptin and how getting your body consistently used to 3 meals a day every day is going to help you. It's not 'bad' or 'good'. Food doesn't have morals. But you're not really being very kind to yourself by being restrictive on the weekend. It might not give you rectal itching but skipping meals doesn't honor your body (which we've already determined deserves to be honored) and it doesn't help get you into being fat adapted or hormonally balanced. If you dont' want to read the book, then lets do an experiment. Do what you have to to eat your three meals on Saturday and sunday for two weeks and see if you feel any different... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Blythe Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 20 minutes ago, SugarcubeOD said: Have you read It Starts With Food? The science behind the program is very approachable and easy to understand and while they don't specifically talk about not eating on the weekends, they do tell you about cortisol and leptin and how getting your body consistently used to 3 meals a day every day is going to help you. It's not 'bad' or 'good'. Food doesn't have morals. I meant "good for me/bad for me" in terms of "good for my health/detrimental to my health," not in any religious or moralistic sense. The lessons I learned as a kid regarding the physical nature of human beings are no longer part of my world-view, although dietary habits formed in childhood may still linger. I just thought maybe there was some research that would specifically address skipping meals, like "By skipping meals on the weekend you essentially restart the program and lose all your forward progress," or something. And I have read It Starts With Food - I'll review. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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