Well, I finished breastfeeding recently and so had been gearing up to make my IF shift: IF stands for intermittent fasting.

Honestly, my shift was not a drastic one.

I was already eating with my man the two main meals in a six-hour eating window.

I was having some additional snacks outside of the eating window: a handful of nuts or sometimes some soft boiled eggs before our first meal. I also was having some alternative milks in my tea or coffee in the am.

Even though I was eating great and healthy foods, I was not allowing my body to have the extra time and energy to do repair work. And I wanted to, but had yet to make the change.

So, I did some research to get me motivated, (see link at bottom of post for that story) and then I made the shift without willpower or force.

For me, it was actually quite easy. I had about three days where my brain felt a little weird, slow and foggy from 11am til when I ate. I knew that this was a small detox and I rolled with it.

In the first couple of days, I also felt quite hungry after my last meal. I decided to just drink some water and that helped considerably.

What exactly do I eat?

7 am

I drink caffeine in the morning, most often yerba mate, but sometimes coffee. Plain with a tablespoon of oil; either coconut oil or ghee or grass-fed butter or MCT coconut oil; depending on what we have in our kitchen.

1 pm: Meal

I eat a salad with some kind of warm vegetable and a couple of soft boiled eggs, lots of olive oil, flaxseed, and avocado. We definitely switch up the veggies (cucumber, celery, carrot, radish, daikon, beets, kale, arugula, etc.) We also add proteins like tuna.

6 pm

Cooked veggies with a little whole grain. Or salad and meat. Sometimes a little unpasteurized cheese. Almost always, kraut.

Sometimes I have a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit or a piece of dark chocolate or some kombucha.

Intermittent fasting refers only to the times, not the what that I am eating. The idea is to extend your fasting window from your sleep hours. The eating window varies, mine is six hours.

I am in a relaxed and fun place with food, now.

After years of work with my relationship with food:

I have a really easy relationship with food, I eat what fuels my body.

I am very aware if I am eating because my body needs some fuel or if I am eating for pure pleasure or to solve an emotion.

The way I eat may not be for you… or it may be a place you are headed.

In our world it is common to turn to food to solve our emotional life.

The work that I do with my digestive clients is to solve the emotional stuff internally, without using food to feel better. It is a win-win.

What do you use food for?

Do you use it to avoid feeling bored, or maybe to feel better when you feel bad?

Do you use food to calm you down when you are stressed?

What if food was only fuel for your body?

Does that question freak you out?

Do you ask your brain quality questions?