Some may think ‘I could never do a fast’ but the thing is, I have 1000% confidence that you can if it’s something you think will help you. (It will.)
Armed with these 3 tips, you can approach fasting too:
Do it with a friend (or join me - details below)
Plan ahead and choose a week for your fast in the future so you have time to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself. (Also, reschedule your food outings with friends and family!)
Remind yourself of the much harder things you’ve done in your life. This is a walk in the park in comparison
How I started
Rewind just over two years ago when I thought my husband was crazy wanting to try a fasting mimicking diet. He was working on some of his health markers and couldn’t seem to get one marker down to an ideal range through a good diet and regular exercise so he went searching the internet and landed on this.
To support him - and out of personal curiosity - I was in. Let’s do this.
The first few hours were tough! I wasn’t sure how I was going to last the day. I had read that most people have their hardest times on days 2 and 3 - how the heck was I going to last 5 days if I could barely get through the first half of day 1?!
Fast forward 11 rounds later and each time I get through it by taking it one hour at a time. This reminds me of when I quit smoking eons ago. The normal advice is to take it one day at a time but when you’re in a desperate situation 😅😩 it calls for shorter windows of dealing with and managing the pain.
When desperate…
I’ve had to take things 10 minutes at a time. This was my most effective strategy and mindset that got me through the hardest moments.
What does this look like exactly? I tell myself:
In 10 minutes, I can eat/smoke/do the thing I’m trying to refrain from
10 minutes go by and I pat myself on the back
Try for another 10 minutes. Rinse and repeat
You see the time that’s passed, you acknowledge how well you’ve done, and it drives you to keep going. 🔥
Don’t underestimate the small wins - they add up to hours, days, years, and your life.
-Jamie Ryder 🤓
Fasting benefits outweigh the pain tenfold
I’ve realized through multiple fasts that though I don’t have physical health issues (anymore), I’ve had a lot of mindset challenges to work through. I’ve learned so much about myself, my habits, and most importantly, how to gain control again over things I used to feel little control over.
I love junk food, fast food, and rich food high in fat, salt, and bold flavors. It’s interesting that I do eat abnormally well compared to others on most occasions but I still felt powerless when it came to these hyper-palatable foods. 🍕
Overeating has always been an enjoyment and issue for me. Until I was 25, it didn’t seem to make a difference. Once I hit the quarter-century mark, the saying ‘the fat you eat is the fat you wear’ rang true for me.
In my 30s, I learned about the importance of eating whole plants and allowing those foods to outweigh anything else I was eating. Though I became much healthier, I still had my challenges.
Now in my 40s, I can feel my body changing and holding on to the lipid content I consume more easily. Too bad it’s so easy to pack on the pounds from eating and seemingly sooooo slow to exercise it off!
The trick is to control my overeating (while still enjoying smaller doses of what I choose to enjoy) and focus on my mindset around food.
To help me make better choices most of the time, I needed an intervention. These fasting experiences have finally taught me how to truly want to eat the whole plant foods that I know are my optimal form of nutrition as my best meals. Even after a decade of eating so many more plants, I still needed this help because of the strong pull of fast food and other highly processed, delicious, brain-hacking goodies.
It feels good to nourish myself in the best ways.
It makes my ‘enjoyment’ meals that much more satisfying since my taste buds aren’t primed to expect those bold flavors. They love the surprise and delight of the heightened experiences. 😋
It feels great to have strong endurance during intense hot yoga & pilates classes with a room full of people sometimes half my age! My body is working as it should.
It feels the best knowing I’m living according to my values of being a positive example of healthy living and being a strong example for our daughter - my most important work, accountability, and human!
The hardest part comes after the fast
Interestingly, some find the post-fast period even harder. You no longer have defined menu items to eat and are free to go into the wild again and forage for your own food!
Having an abundance of choice is not always helpful but you’ll learn how to define what healthy living is for you and more easily live by it. It won’t happen overnight but I’m a slow learner when it comes to things like this so chances are, you’ll hone in on this control much sooner than me!
Not because you think it’s the ‘right’ thing to do but because there’s way too much JOY living this way. When we actually want to make the best choice for ourselves instead of going back to our usual, oftentimes destructive, behaviors.
This is food freedom, my friend. ✨
“People are at their best—mentally tougher and spiritually sounder—after experiencing many of the same discomforts our early ancestors were exposed to every day.”
-Michael Easter
I’m holding another fasting circle the week of October 16th!
We had some first-timers in the last round and I want to offer this to support them, including those who couldn’t make our September Fall Reset, and use it as an excuse to get back into the fasting state myself. 🤩 Join the party here or respond back to this email and let me know what questions you have.
Have a great weekend!
J xx
Lovely post, Jamie. Here's to the small wins. As you say, they add up to something big.