Festive Fasting

Back to the grind: January guilt and the cheese baby

~ eaton24 ~ Leave a comment

 (When work events feature a cheeseboard like this one, it’s hard not to conceive a cheese baby)

I’ve been a very bad faster. The ‘oh I’ll treat myself to a bit of a break from fasting over Christmas’ mentality hasn’t done me any favours. As they say- ignorance is bliss. Or at least, it is until in one of the family Christmas photos it looks like you’re about eight months pregnant ( and no. That one is NOT going on Instagram). While at this current stage in life I find it far more preferable to be ‘with cheese’ than ‘with child’, it was still a pretty major shock. So this and the fact that last week I was in Bulgaria on an all-inclusive skiing holiday playing the game of- let’s see how quickly one can shove goulash, feta bread and spag bol in ones face before hitting the slopes again- has not stood me in good stead to kick start 2016 in any remotely slender state.

I’d managed to avoid the scales throughout the Christmas period until yesterday when I had to lie down in order to relinquish the subsequent shooting pains up and down my arm. I’ve put on about 10lbs. Shit.

But hey. It probably would have been more had it not been for the skiing and I did have a bloody good Christmas. If anything, living the 5:2 lifestyle for the past 13 months has taught me that weight is actually quite easily controllable. So it’s time to once again grab the reigns of weight management I think, starting with my first returning fast day today of coffee, banana, Bovril and salad. It’s actually pretty good to get that virtuous hunger feeling back again.

So to all my fasting friends, followers and dieters in general, my cheese baby and I wish you all a slightly belated Happy New Year. Let’s get back to the grind.

p.s fasters, dieters and friends. If you do enjoy reading my blog, please, please use the following link to vote for me in the UK Blog Awards. Go on. I’ll love you forever…
http://www.blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2016/my-entry/eaton-eating



 


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Confessions of an angry eater: comfort food and why we crumble
		

			

					

				

						 ~ eaton24			 ~ Leave a comment					

				

		
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.



		
	
			

	


				
					


	

			
The mince pies are everywhere and I can’t get out: A brief survival guide for festive fasting
		

			

					

				

						 ~ eaton24			 ~ 3 Comments					

				

		
Fasting days at the moment seem to be a little more torturous than normal. I’m putting this down to the season of ‘merriment’. With mince pies in the cupboard along with cheese, pate and all sorts of other goodies, events such as Christmas ‘lights on’ festivals and pubs with open fires beckon and tempt us with the promise of mulled wine and comfort food make fasting days tougher than ever. In fact everyone in the office today is a walking, talking mince pie..


As I’m not really a big breakfaster on a normal day I find the fasting days more of a challenge in the evenings. Hot soup at lunch generally keeps the hunger gremlins at bay until about 1700 hours at which point I HAVE TO EAT SOMETHING NOW! Or somebody gets hurt.


I’ve come up with a little routine which helps me curb the temptation during cold wintery evenings:


    

  1. Eat something– Protein is good if you have enough calories to play with. The other night I had roast trout fillet on a bed of spinach leaf and plum tomato salad, a little feta and olives and a lemon and dill dressing. I didn’t go to bed hungry- which is always the aim.
    2. 

  2. Avoid the TV– at this time of year the adverts alone are enough to make me want to break a fast. I have been known to uncontrollably shout ‘I WANT CHOCOLATE BAUBLES’ at the telly in response the one of this year’s supermarket advertising delights. You know the one.
    3. 

  3. Read a book– It’s always good to stay distracted. At the moment I like to indulge in a trashy Christmas novel (a guilty pleasure). Alternatives if you’re not the bookish type are: magazines, newspapers or doing a spot of online Christmas shopping for an extra sense of accomplishment!
    4. 

  4. Peppermint tea– Mint is apparently an appetite suppressant. It could be the placebo effect of course, and it isn’t quite the same as having a proper brew (white, one sugar) but it seems to work for me.
    5. 

  5. Have a bath– This is probably my favourite part of the fasting day evening (or close second after the bit that involves eating). I’ll play my favourite new itunes purchase and wallow in bubbles and self pity. It’s blissful.
    6.