How to keep intermittent fasting on holidays?

December 21. 2021

Just when you thought you had everything under control, if it’s either your weight or your weight loss journey or just your diet, the holiday season appeared around the corner and made it harder to stay on track. It seems impossible to resist all those temptations on tables full of delicious treats. But don’t be devastated; there is a way!

We will reveal a secret weapon that is scientifically proven to work. It involves eating luxuriously (yes, you don’t have to give up on anything) and requires just a tiny amount of effort, and you can still avoid gaining weight on holidays. Well, it doesn’t have to be just gaining weight. Just think of the havoc with your blood sugar and insulin levels and bloating and fatigue it can cause.

The secret is in intermittent fasting on holiday. You must have heard of it. It is a pattern that alternates between eating and fasting. You eat for 8 hours and continue fasting for the rest of the day. 

If your goal is to keep your weight as it is, you can consume anything you want within those 8 hours . But, if you skip that one extra cookie or a piece of pie during your eating window,  you will end up losing a couple of pounds effortlessly. During fasting, you can have water, tea, or unsweetened coffee. 

This may be your sign to start or keep intermittent fasting during the holiday season.

Benefits of intermittent fasting

A large number of people started intermittent fasting as a diet due to the tremendous weight-loss results it makes. But once they realized other benefits it caused it became a new way of life for the majority.

It has been shown to:

• improve body composition by decreasing fat mass
• preserving muscle mass during weight loss
• improve blood sugar control and cholesterol levels
• cleans your body
• boosts metabolism
• effectively boost mental function and immune function
• reduces inflammation and relieves the intestine
• increase energy levels

How to avoid questions about why you’re not eating

If you decide to stick to intermittent fasting on upcoming holidays and you’re at a party or a friend’s house, people are probably not monitoring what you eat and if you eat. But don’t be surprised if you get a lot of questions about refusing a meal or a dessert.

You can always say you ate earlier or that you’re saving yourself for later. That’s enough to handle a lot of situations. But if that ends up not being enough, go ahead and explain what you’re doing. You’ll probably get more support and interest than you think. And if not, you can always point to the benefits stated above and give your reasons why you’re doing it.

And of course, if you want to avoid explaining yourself, you can always extend your eating window.

What if you slip up

It is not easy to refrain, especially if you don’t have company or enough support. Seeing everyone enjoy their food, you might end up feeling tempted to join them, and at the same time feeling guilty for breaking the pattern.

Thankfully, taking chromium picolinate for weight loss as an appetite suppressant can help. That way, you won’t even feel the need to eat the tasty food in front of you and won’t feel any regret for not taking it because you really won’t feel like eating it. Another suppressant that is known to be effective is phentermine. If you’re considering taking any suppressants or you’d like more information, contact our weight loss clinic and consult our experts.

How to keep fasting

A few tips to help you continue intermittent fasting on holiday we can give you are:

Stick to your schedule

So, if you decide to stick to the 16/8 fasting, try to fit going to lunch, dinner, and parties into those 8 hours if possible. Also, try to eat at roughly the same time each day, which conditions you to get hungry at the right time.

Skip or postpone breakfast

Linked to the previous tip, you can open your eating window later in the day if you postpone breakfast. On the other hand, the breakfast table during holidays is filled with all of the breakfast foods you can think – times ten. If you’ve already been fasting for quite some time, your body is not used to that much food. As a result, your body will struggle to process all those carbs. So do your body a favor, and think about skipping this meal.

Drink water

Having a glass of water in the morning can help with the breakfast situation. Either it can replace it, or it can help you not overeat. It can also help you not overeat during other meals of the day. Additionally, having enough water is how to intensify phentermine and other appetite suppressant effects.

Avoid snacking

Even though you’ll be surrounded by yummy snacks, you definitely won’t miss out on anything if you avoid them. That is something that will do the most to prevent gaining a few pounds.

Avoid nibbling as you cook

No matter who is preparing the meal, quality control is a necessary thing. You end up adding a lot of calories to your daily intake, plus you end up overeating because you can’t skip the prepared food, and you’re already full because of all the tasting. Try involving everyone equally into taste control.

Eat mindfully

Don’t just inhale the food in front of you. Try taking your time to eat it with all the senses included. That will leave enough time for your body and brain to digest and enjoy every bite and tell you when to stop.

Don’t skip daily physical activity

Maybe you won’t have time to fit in your regular exercise, so try taking a walk to your friends and family’s house, and take a walk back home. Not only will this trigger your metabolism, but you will surely end up feeling less guilty if you eat an extra plate.

Final thoughts

It seems like holiday intermittent fasting is a perfect option because of its flexibility and practicality. But don’t confuse fasting with a miracle that will erase every extra cookie you eat during this time of the year. But it can prevent you from going wild on food choices during holidays. Think about getting your family and friends on board for the next year, and it may turn into your new tradition. It can turn out to be fun and also benefit everyone’s health.

Author

Nurse Walton

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Chanay received her Practical Nurse licensure and went to work in clinical specialties such as Home Health, Assisted Living, Long-Term Care and Dialysis Centers. Through this work, she realized the importance of diet, nutrition and weight loss among her patients. This led her to open A Better Weigh, Inc. Medical Weight Loss Center in 2009.