I want cornbread!

[sinanju]

I made cornbread for dinner last night, and snippy made some black-eyed peas. It was a delicious dinner, thank you very much.

And now I can't wait to get home from work and scarf up a corn muffin or two with butter. Partly, that's because it'll be good. But a big part of it is that I'm hungry now. Alas, I'm fasting until 6 p.m. so I can't eat. Most days it's not too difficult. But today is not one of those days. I'm haunted by all the things I could eat if I were willing to break my fast. I keep thinking of how good cornbread and butter would taste.

But I won't give in. Dammit. I'm gonna stick it out. (Giving in means you eat, and then you're not hungry. But it's not like you won't be hungry again later, and you'll have failed to boot. Given in. Wussed out. Keeping that in mind helps.)

Mmmmm. Corn bread.

Comments

[snippy]

MMM. Just this once, I may eat the cornbread even though it's not fresh.

[meta4life.livejournal.com]

May I ask if there is an official reason you are fasting?

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Just 'cause? For my health?

No, really, I started out doing the Intermittent Fasting thing. That's where you fast every other day. I did it off and on for a long while, fasting (usually) from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the week. Which meant I ate every day, but I went 24 hours without food.

Why? Because IF is believed by some (based on studies that've been conducted) to have the same beneficial effects on metabolism as a calorie-restricted diet. We KNOW that works on rats and chimps. It seems to work on people too. It results in lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, better insulin response, lots of good things-- including, in rats, a longer life span. (Obviously, it would take a very long time to establish the same in humans....)

Currently I'm doing a modified version in which I eat every day, but only between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. The other 19 hours a day I don't eat. I fast between 3 and 5 days a week (I don't fast on weekends).

Fasting works for me because it's a simple yes/no decision. Yes, I can eat or no I cannot. I don't have to fiddle with portions or weigh whether I should have a donut if there's one available. Either I'm eating or I'm not. Plus, after doing this fasting thing for a while, I've realized how much food I can eat on a "normal" day that I clearly don't _really_ need. Even on the days when I do eat I usually eat a lot less than I once considered a regular lunch.

And...it's a form of discipline. Practice at making a decision and sticking to it even when there's food everywhere around me (and boy, some days you really notice AND you can't get away from it).

[(Anonymous)]

I did the IF thing for several months and I'll probably come back to it, maybe even tomorrow! I really liked it. I lost fourteen pounds, though I didn't go into it to lose weight. I went into it for the health benefits. I had the same experience as sinanju--on days that I did eat, I tended to watch what I ate. I appreciated food more. I didn't want junk food as much, especially (they still sound yucky to me) pop and potato/corn chips. I craved veggies, especially fresh veggies. Yeah, I think I'll have to IF some more.

My modification was that I'd have oatmeal for breakfast every day, regardless of whether it was a fast day or not, and if we went out with friends I wouldn't turn it into a big deal and just eat with everyone else.

Kami

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

I don't fast on the weekends so my lovely and talented wife doesn't have to wonder "Is Sinanju eating today?" if she wants to go out to lunch/dinner. Now that I'm fasting during the day and eating at night (as opposed to eating on alternate days), the only issue is lunch--and like you, if she wants to have lunch, we'll have lunch and I'll eat just not get all worked up about it.