starting out, here are the non negotiable rules that i will strive to follow every single day.
have a 16h fasting period between meals each day - ideally eat only from 12:00-20:00, but if something interferes with that schedule, the time of the last meal today will determine the time of the first meal of tomorrow by being seperated through a 16h fasting period
have a 40h fasting period once a week - this allows me to eat 2000 calories six days a week while still coming out at a deficit and it resets my insulin sensitivity, which i definitely profit from
eat no more than three meals a day; absolutely no caloric intake between meals. if i have a latte for breakfast, that's one meal. if i want an apple for a snack, that's a meal. this serves to prevent emotional or boredom eating - if i am truly hungry, instead of grazing on singular slices of cheese throughout the day, i can commit to having an actual meal, eat, and then be done with it
sit down to eat and eat mindfully. prepare, plate and serve every meal. no eating standing up or out of the package. this will hopefully contribute to a more mindful approach to eating and prevent grazing and boredom eating.
no packaged sweets. this one is temporary for now, i'm hoping to be able to allow sweets back into my diet at some point, but right now, i am unable to control myself around them whatsoever and i am very clearly addicted to sugar. since i can simply buy them, there is no situational value attached like with baking cookies or having birthday cake, so for now, i'm committing to total abstinence
sweet "treats" only on one day per week. again, this one is temporary for the moment and serves mostly to allow me to bake cookies with friends or go out for cocktails every now and then. i know i am unable to eat sweets reasonably, even at home, so i can not allow a casual attitude towards them. as with the previous point, i am hoping to be able to beat my sugar addiction and loosen up on this at some point. alternatively though, if i can not stick to this, i will have to give up sweets entirely and completely
no second servings. i am unable to cook at home without eating it all. meal prepping is mostly impossible for me. i will therefore try to establish a clear rule of not allowing second servings - i will prepare a portion i deem sufficient, and if i finish it, that's it. if i am genuinely hungry, i can go back and have another meal an hour later, but chances are i'm not truly hungry and i have to learn to see food as nourishment for my body instead of a quick dopamine fix to hit whenever i feel understimulated or overwhelmed.
i will carefully watch myself in these coming weeks and try to figure out what triggers binges. especially the sugar concerns me and i am desperately hoping to find that i don't have to cut it out completely; i am holding on to the hope that i can still learn a normal relationship with it and eventually indulge every now and then without feeling myself completely lose control.
i will also focus on eating as much organic and unprocessed food as possible and i think i will formulate this into specific guidelines in the future, but for now, i think this is more than enough to work on. i am doing constant research on food addiction and nutrition and my current quest will be to figure out a sustainable way of eating that puts me in control of myself and is good for my body and mind. i will be documenting as much of this as possible, and i will push to write about it even and especially when i fail, because those are the situations i need to learn from.
