Over the last year, I have lost about 44 lbs. This was accomplished through dieting (keto) and incremental fasting (mainly sticking to carnivore/keto and not eating breakfast). Today, I just completed a 5 day fast consisting of eating nothing and drinking only bone broth and water. For a lot of reasons, which I will explain later, this is the best way to lose weight. I had actually planned on fasting indefinitely until I hit my goal weight but a bout if dizziness, constant irritability, and an overall lack of productivity left me feeling like I couldn’t continue anymore unless I got a small meal. I ended up eating a meal which consisted of three eggs and four pieces of bacon. Even though I was failing my fast, I have never enjoyed eggs and bacon more in my live.
In the several weeks before starting the fast, I was not diligent in sticking to my keto diet and incremental fasting. Work trips and food binges were consistently getting the better of me. I was starting to see all the weight loss progress I have made over the last 10 months slip away. Feeling bad about the lost progress, I made a quick resolve to fast until I had achieved my goal weight of 175 lbs down from 230 lbs.
Despite the backward slide, I have been learning a lot about myself. One of the things that I am learning is that I do have willpower.
Fasting can really teach us a lot about willpower. One of the things that people don’t understand is how much willpower it takes to complete a fast whether it is for sixteen hours, eight days, or more….
One of the strategies that I have been using to be able to deal with hunger pains is to tell myself, “It’s a good thing that I have a lot of willpower, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to do this”. This gives myself a kind of reassurance that I can push through any discomfort that I am feeling. The only times when I will quit is if I feel like I am not able to think clearly, too crabby to those around me, or unable complete my day to day work and personal responsibilities.
There are a lot of people out there that have literally no willpower. They look at discomfort as a bad thing. If they go without food, they think they are going to die. If someone says something that upsets them, they get swept away by negative emotion. They don’t realize that physical discomfort is not a bad thing. Its a good thing. Many of them use food or drugs as a crutch. They are looking for an escape from past trauma or are unhappy in their life.
I actually feel very bad for people who are dealing with addictions and trauma. I feel bad for people who are constantly giving in to their cravings or taking drugs to numb their physical or psychological discomfort. What they don’t understand is that every time they eat a cookie or a piece of cheesecake, they are making their willpower weaker. Every time they take a painkiller or anti anxiety pill, they are making themselves weaker.
Too many diets focus on “what to eat” and “what not to eat” without first focusing on peoples ability to harness their own willpower. In the word we live in today, we are constantly being marketed to with processed foods containing sugar, and prescription drugs. Hungy? Eat a Snickers. Feeling down? Take a Xanax.
The first conversation that needs to be had with people who have overeating disorders or drug addictions is a conversation about willpower. They need to understand that comfort is not the way to improve themselves. Only pain and discomfort will cause the spirit to grow stronger.
People need to be taught first strategies and methods to increase their willpower and once they learn that they do have willpower and how good it feels to be in control. Then they can make progress to cure their food and drug addictions.
Liam's Blog 