A good friend recently reminded me of a time when we would sneak off to MacDonald’s after a bad day, order a big mac meal (usually large), have a good old moan and gorge on the terrible, terrible excuse for food that is Maccy d’s. We coined this as an ‘angry eating sesh’. It became a bit of a problem.

However, we weaned ourselves off, joined the gym, and you’ll be pleased to know that neither of us were hurt or became clinically obese in the process (my nameless friend is also now a fellow faster and doing extremely well).

This led me to think about the concept of ‘comfort food’ and why we turn to food when life gets a bit shit (sorry- no other language choice would fit the bill here).

Apparently the fatty acids in certain foods function as a mood enhancer, which would explain the cravings for comfort food when we feel low. More recent studies however, have claimed to disprove this, meaning that the whole concept of ‘comfort food’ is potentially a bit of a deception. It’s difficult to know how comfort food really affects our emotions but it’s likely that our attitudes towards it will stay the same as long as the very name ‘comfort food’ exists. It is one of the many justifications we use when we slip-up, and as long as we are human, we will slip up.

I am definitely guilty of turning to food after a bad day. This week I crumbled. I momentarily fell off the 5:2 wagon. My justification is that ‘it’s Christmas’.

Yes I’m disappointed in myself, but I’m still a firm believer that everything in moderation is key. This is essentially what intermittent fasting is all about. Comfort food shouldn’t be too harmful as long as portion control is adhered to. I’ll be back to the fasting days in a week, but in the meantime I intend to eat, drink and be very very merry.