This being the first week in January in 2022, many people are making resolutions to improve their lives. A popular resolution many people make is to change their eating habits. Most want to improve their diet after over-indulging during the holidays. Who could blame them? With back-to-back holidays with parties galore to celebrate each holiday, too many people overeat and drink too much. I know I ate too many snickerdoodles. You probably heard about intermittent fasting and the Carnivore Diet and want to do both, but need to know the realities of doing so. I’m here to tell you because I do both and have for quite some time.
The easiest way to start intermittent fasting and the Carnivore Diet is to start slow. All the research I did suggest easing yourself into this new way of eating instead of plunging right in.
When it comes to intermittent fasting I suggest pushing back your first meal, which is usually breakfast. I would get up and delay eating breakfast by an hour. So if you normally ate breakfast at 7am then eat it at 8am. Do this for a week, and then delay eating your breakfast by another hour. Do that for another week. This teaches your body to get used to the eating schedule. As for me, I don’t eat my breakfast until 11am, but I can go as long as noon without getting too angry.
And let’s talk about hunger. If you find yourself getting light-headed and very hungry, or just don’t feel good, then you need to break your fast. Sometimes our bodies can fast for long periods but other times not. Especially if your body is trying to heal itself after a tough work or to battle a sickness.
When it’s time to eat you want to choose the right food. And since you’re on the Carnivore Diet that’s going to be meat and/or seafood, unless you want to do semi-Carnivore Diet. What is that? You eat primarily meat but also eat a little fruit or a little bread. In full disclosure I do not adhere 100% fully to the Carnivore Diet. Whatever method you choose you want to make the biggest part of your meal meat. It could be a steak, a bowl of ground meat, pieces of chicken, a few pork chops, a nice portion of salmon, or some other type of meat or seafood. Finally, choose a fatty cut of meat as this will keep you fuller longer. Thus, you can fast longer.
Before changing to intermittent fasting and the Carnivore Diet, I constantly ate. I would have breakfast and then an hour later have a snack. And I would probably have another snack before eating lunch. I did that because I was hungry. Turns out the problem was dehydration. I misinterpreted the signals from my body as hunger.
Thus, as you fast you need to learn the signs when you’re thirsty. For me, I get stomach pains, and sometimes my stomach gurgles. When that happens I go and drink water. And if I worked up a sweat I’ll add Pink Himalayan Salt to my water to replenish my electrolytes. Other people I know like to add Redmond Real Salt.
You’re probably going to fast while at work which can be problematic because there’s always food at work in the breakroom. Someone brings in a cake to celebrate a birthday. Or a coworker went out for lunch, brought their food back, and it smells delicious! It’s Girl Scout cookie time and someone brought in boxes for the department to enjoy. Whatever the reason, you must learn to resist temptation!
When I was working in the office I would take a break and go walk outside. Not only did I get away from the alluring food, but I got some exercise. However, many people work from home and the tempting foods could be right on their counter or in their fridge. In that case I still suggest to go out and get some fresh air, but you can also stop buying those foods. This is difficult, however, if you live with other people who aren’t following the same diet as you.
Finally, if someone offers you food just be honest with them. I tell people I’m currently fasting and can’t eat at the moment. You’ll probably get questions about it but don’t turn their questions into a big deal. Most people are curious and want to know. Then they’ll move onto the next person.
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