Lockdown, fasting and social events

[Letialia]

Hello to everyone, so I am kind of new to fast and I am not sure how I am getting on..I am trying with 16:8 but since I have for a while been kind of having very very small lunches (fruits or salads as I really hate eating at the office in front of the comuputer), my daily routine has not changed much. So first of all I would like to hear from others how do you handle when other people go for lunch together everyday and you are just in your fast? People sometimes think I am weird but I just think I am finally getting into a healthy lifestyle, eating healthier and at the right times whether my collegues gather at 12pm everyday eating (also not what I would define healthy, at least for my body) and it seems weird I dont join. Has anyone had any similar experience?

Second, lockdown..how do people resist to temptations and nibbling all day when you are at home all day?

Any advice would be very much appreciated! Thanks

[S11m Volunteer 70lb IF20]

Hi, Letialia .

I am retired - so fasting at work is not a situation I have experienced.

Could you work through lunch and go home early?

What would work in well with fasting would be to go for a walk?

I eat between 10:00 and 14:00 - could you eat at lunchtime and fast in the evening?

When I have a festive meal scheduled, I eat one meal a day. This will only work well if you are fat-adapted - so you would not be too hungry to appreciate the food.

[Letialia]

I honestly prefer fasting during the day, I’m busy and I don’t feel hungry whether at night I am home with my friends and we love cooking together and enjoy the time but sometimes I feel that skipping lunch is preventing me from some social gatherings also with my bosses.

[Subtle_badger 16Kg IF 72hrs]

I haven't been in an office since I started fasting, but I have a few suggestions:

* Make you window noon - 8pm, then you can enjoy a proper lunch as a fast breaker.

* Miso soup is low calorie and low carb. You can buy it in sachets. Serve it in a bowl with a spoon, and it will look and feel like a meal.

* Google "fat fasting". A high fat meal doesn't break your fast as much as normal food.

* Make yourself a cuppa, lean back and socialise, without eating. Your workmates will soon get used to it, and some of them may eventually decide to join you.

As for temptations, I live alone, so I only have food in the house I allow myself. I could easily imagine snacking all day on biscuits, but a hard boiled egg, a tin of sardines or a spoonful of peanut butter are great when you are really hungry, but they are not moorish like biscuits or nuts.

Cheese is harder to resist, but easier than carb snacks.

[Hidden]

Hi Letialia

Apologies for the late reply.

I'm semi retired so don't have an issue with work as such as I only work odd times throughout the year and when I do work I don't eat lunch where I am and sometimes that means missing it. If I do miss my lunch then I'll maybe have a snack when home i.e. some nuts. When I was at work full-time I would join friends for a drink at lunch time but very rarely join in with food. I used to graze at my desk through the afternoon.

I do find the 16/8 fast helps my IBS. I don't do it every day, only when I feel I need to.

I find it much easier controlling my eating now as I'm a Vegan, so many of the unhealthy snacks are non Vegan. I went to a shop earlier in the week and looked at their Christmas cake and chocolate and non of it was Vegan, that was so much easier for me. Before I became a Vegan I made sure that I had specific snacks all marked out of the day and it tended to be fruit and raw bars, I kept chocolate at arms length.

Very best of luck.

Alicia