When the World prompts self-reflection: Is this a 'habit' or do I 'have a problem'?
Greetings Steemit,
As a 38 year old human specimen - I've bounced about this host cell Earth long enough to acquire some formalities that are unique and habitually practiced in my day-to-day life.
Some of these rituals are meager unspoken mindsets that I hold without any public proclamations (i.e. Being a courteous driver and always pausing to allow people to merge) - and some are more boastful in which my friends or family could recite the concepts back to you if asked, based on my 'detailing them to death about it' often.
An example of the latter illustration is the Intermediate Fasting (IF) method I've been using for over a year now.
Intermediate Fasting in layman's terms is basically the notion that its equally as important 'when' you eat, as much as 'what' you eat. Basically the idea is if you put food in your body shortly after waking every morning, your body will then be programmed to expect that nutrition in that morning window as opposed to burning its own stored fat via the process of Ketosis. This means that if you eat breakfast everyday and then skip one for whatever reason - you will be super hungry and feel crappy until you do eat.
The flip side of that coin is eating too soon before going to bed at night. Your digestive process stops when you fall asleep - so whatever food is still in your stomach/tract is held undigested until you wake, meaning its not processing as its designed to do before you add more food on top of it the very next morning when you wake up.
IF sounds kinda wonky yet I had first discovered this method when listening to podcasts hosting Doctors & Nutritionists who were treating Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighters and swear by the method. (I listen to a lot of MMA casts)
Giving it a shot last year - I opted for the "Don't eat 6 hours after waking or 6 hours before bed going to bed" experiment - effectively giving me about a 6-7 window in the day I can eat based on my sleep schedule. I wake up about 5am(ish) most days. I will drink coffee and LOTS of water in the morning, but usually do not eat any food item until after 12pm.
It was hard to give up breakfast at first, the first few weeks blunt honestly flat out sucked. However in a few weeks, I learned how to manage & control that Hunger as my body reprogrammed itself, and it soon was not overbearing at all.
Now a days I don't even get hungry until sometime in the afternoon. Some days if I'm busy, I honestly don't even think about it until LATER in the day, at which point my stomach will growl at maybe 3:45pm - and I'll think to myself "Why am I hungry? Oh - I haven't eaten anything yet today. Maybe I should do that" in a very passive manner.
The evening window is the same - making sure I just don't eat anything after my dinner window of about 6pm. This saves me from going on those late night snack binges, that I had been doing a lot of beforehand, meaning I don't look down and realize that I just ate an entire bag of cookies 30 mins before crawling in bed for the night. (That may or may not have happened a few times in my life before beginning IF dieting)
After practicing this method for over a year - I'm happy to report that I've lost lots of weight (since my body is burning its own stored fat appropriately) and honestly just feel generally wonderful in both my energy levels & processing mood stability.
The daily practice of "Sharpening Your Willpower" is VERY important to me, and finding this IF method that has effectively rewired my brain to not give a 'Knee-Jerk reaction' to 'Hunger signals' honestly feels like a big, big win.
All that said....
Sometimes the mind wants what it wants - and we give into temptations. (I'm only a Man!)
So this morning.. when I awoke - I had the notion of how nice it would be to eat something tasty for an 'actual' breakfast paired with my morning coffee. I have been visiting a Braums location early in the day, several times a week recently, to grab that aforementioned morning coffee - however in doing so I also OFTEN grab an Ice Cream treat at 6am, which unbeknownst to the drive-thru clerk, is then stored in the freezer intended to be enjoyed as that evening's desert.
Admittedly I have noticed some funny looks from the staff reacting to the precision of this routine - as a grown man ordering what appears to be Ice Cream for breakfast 5 days a week may be a little unusual.
At the Drive-thru window this morning - I broke my own rules and ordered a breakfast item to pair with my coffee. When the clerk asked "Does that complete the order?" I paused with dreams of Ice Cream swirling around my mind, then decided that the breakfast offense of breaking my IF window was damaging enough, and the punishment for such transgressions would in fact be (in my best 'Soup Nazi' voice) "No Ice Cream For You!"
As I pulled up to the window, I was greeted by the same clerk I see often. We've never broken the "Customer v Staff" relationship in our (almost) daily exchanges, its all very primp & proper - I hand them currency, they hand me Coffee/Food/IceCream.
This morning's interaction was different. As I handed her my Debit Card she smiled as she recognized me - paused - then completely unprompted added "What, No Ice Cream for Breakfast This Morning?". I laughed Heartedly at her observational familiarity - then realized "Oh dear - Maybe I do have an Ice Cream problem?"
So finishing these thoughts I'm still sitting here floating between the notion that apparently I eat enough Ice Cream that the clerks at the store are EXPECTING me to order it most days at 6am, and will now comment as if something is 'off' should I not do so.
Or.. maybe they recognize me as a loyal customer & are just making small talk? I'm honestly not sure.
I do know that if you try & upsell me Ice Cream - you'll probably land that sale. I also know that eating Ice Cream for breakfast is a mighty fine way start to your day.
Cheers Steemit!
~GiftedGaia
-What is: Steemit Talk Podcast
-Life is short - hence why Podcasting is Important
-My Youtube Page (lots of Drone Videos)
-GiftedGaia's Favorite Quotations on Life and Music
The saying "Life is short--eat dessert first" comes to mind.
In all seriousness, though, I guess it becomes a question of what your ultimate intention is... and does the enjoyment of ice cream materially interfere with your desired life path and that's unfolding...
I'd kinda hoped to believe that "All Paths lead to Ice Cream!"
Lol i love the soup nazi bit. This post had me lol'ing
Very interesting experiment ! The moment is definitely something important. But even if your body can get accustomed to skipping breakfast and eating later, do you think it's the healthiest way ? Maybe it depends on people, but I feel like I lack energy when I don't eat breakfast. Even if I catch up with a big lunch, it's is not the same.
What do you think of the adage : "Eat like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper" ?
I did notice the lack of energy - but not after doing the IF for a few weeks. Now I wake up happy & energetic (after a cup of coffee) and don't even think about it.
I pretty much follow the adage: Do what my body tells me I should do.
Breakfast ice cream, you my friend are brilliant!!
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Well done sir! I can absolutely relate to the Nazi theory, although I compare it to the tone I use with my 2 year old.. The tone when he has opened the fridge for the 4th time and now has his hands in the eggs. That tone :D I use the same tone on myself when it comes to food, and it has created self control, as I see yours has too! Kudos to you, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to take control of any part of you. Especially concerning ice cream on a warm summer's day!