The FastDay Forum

I am in my second week and so far I am enjoying the ride! The whole fast thing is making me think a bit more about my eating habits, which can only be a good thing.

I have been wondering about snacking. At work I am used to snacking on fruit/veg for various reasons - to keep hunger at bay, to help me eat my 5-a-day and also to help me resist the cakes and biscuits which make a daily appearance in the kitchen. In a typical (non-fast) day I might have a banana, an apple, 3 clementines and carrot batons. Is it ok to graze like this or should I not eat between meals? This means that I am never really hungry and I am starting to learn that being hungry is a good thing.

I am worried that my constant grazing (albeit relatively healthy) is not the right approach. Any views?
Thanks for your advice

[carorees]

This seems to be the opinion of the experts...that grazing, even if on fruit is not ideal. If you are incorporating fasting into your life though, I don't know how bad grazing is on feed days. I find I'm not so hungry so snacking is decreasing anyway.

Snacking was invented by the food industry in the early 1970's to sell more product.
It has no basis in nutrition.
Its all about selling stuff.

Your digestive system works better if you give it time to work on the food it receives.
That is why fasting is so good for you.

Only in the west is three meals a day considered normal - most of the world eat a bit in the morning and a big meal at the end of the day
and the west has the obesity problem - go figure!!

AS I said repeatedly on the forum I came from
STOP SNACKING

[carorees]

You're absolutely right TIP. Now we have all been 'trained' to snack by the coalition of the food industry and the medical professionals, we have to work hard to get our bodies to go back to the correct way of eating.

I find I'm snacking loads less than I used to which is definitely no bad thing. I just don't feel the need to anymore. Starting to seem more natural to go from breakfast through til about 1pm and beyond til I eat again and have a bit of lunch.

I seem to recall reading in the book that snacking is OK (or maybe less damaging) if you don't eat large meals as well. Don't quote me on that, though.

I bet there was - the profit margins on snacks are astronomical.

We are NOT DESIGNED to be able to eat all the time.
WE are designed to work extremely hard for a day or two to find / catch / grow enough for a daily big meal.

It is commendable that you are trying to keep your fruit & vegetable intake up. Although there may be very good reasons for not snacking, (and I wouldn't argue with that) if it helps you at the moment to snack, then why don't you try to gently wean yourself off your snacking habit, adding them to your meals instead?

You could try going 'cold turkey' but if this means that you eat the cakes and biscuits instead, then an apple is a better choice! Perhaps a piece of fruit in a desk drawer for emergency use only would work?

The whole idea of this WOE is that you can make it work for you, so I hope it goes well for you whatever you decide to do.