How to prevent overeating after fast?

[Mitch]

Occasionally I am on water fast one day a week but recently there is a tendency to overeat when I come home from work. I eat mostly unhealthy food and destroy all the benefits of fast than. How do you manage not to overeat during/after fast?

[MysticTree]

I don't know. I just don't. When I over eat it tends to be a gradual build up thing and fasting removes the desire to over eat - for me. What are you breaking your fast by eating?

[Mitch]

I don't know. I just don't. When I over eat it tends to be a gradual build up thing and fasting removes the desire to over eat - for me. What are you breaking your fast by eating?

Usually fruit which should be the easier to digest. But maybe I should not go with the sweetest (bananas) as it has high glycemic index.

[MysticTree]

I think Aleesha is probably better able to answer/help. Sorry.

[streetsurfer]

First understand the importance to your health of not breaking a fast improperly.

Plan your break-fast meals beforehand and abide by what you have proposed. Use the proper foods and only those, to break the fast. Write out what you intend to do and repeat it to yourself outloud as you write it.

During your fast, spend some time meditating on your fast breaking strategy. If you are simply not up to speed on the methods best used to break a fast study on it before the fast and during your fast refresh your memory of what you've learned. Taking notes to paper (not typing to a computer) helps here too. Commit it to memory.

Repeated fasting will improve your self discipline.

Stave off hunger with a tall glass of water rather than more food.

[Aleesha Sattva]

please don't break with bananas. you won't poop!!!

breaking with soft fruit is an excellent way to break. overeating/binging after fasting (can't imagine how you are doing during a fast as your question asks about that as well???) happens. it happens to pretty much EVERYONE.

the key is to keep foods in the house that you really love that are good to break with. i looooooove cantaloupe, papaya, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers... so i keep these in the house to break with.

always (i mean always) make sure you have a bm after eating your first fast breaking meal. if you don't poop... wait to poop before eating more. this is essential to healthy fast breaking.

if i don't poop (and i pretty much always do) then i make a glass of apple juice and have that before eating anything else.

and in the end... self-control is what is needed. remind yourself that you can eat X Y and Z tomorrow, the next day or next week (depending on the length of your fast breaking)

[MysticTree]

the key is to keep foods in the house that you really love that are good to break with. i looooooove cantaloupe, papaya, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers... so i keep these in the house to break with. :) 5 of my most favourite foods. Could it be there is a tendency to over eat if the fast has either been too short or too long? I ask because the fasting I have done so far has been generally very successful but I mentioned not doing my Monday water fasts during December because I didn't feel they were working. I felt initially that if I switched the day to another one it might start working for me again but reading this thread got me thinking. I wonder whether maybe it's not working because my body is asking for more than just one day. It's certainly loving this weeks' fast. Day 4 so far. Sorry if I have hijacked the thread.

[Aleesha Sattva]

no hijacking... good question.

i would say no though.

my 209 day fast... i broke that fast in the BEST way i've ever broken a fast. it took me 30 days and i was sooooooo good about breaking it slowly. i didn't have any overeating or eating the wrong foods. same with my 84 day fast. (those are my two longest fasts).

i think it's more about headspace. if you are thinking about what you are going to eat when you break your fast while you are fasting... planning all the foods you will make/eat... then you have more of a chance to eat poorly.

if your head is in the right space... then you accomplish a better fast breaking (in my experience anyway)

[MysticTree]

I didn't mean that every fast should be the same length. Rather, that at different times the body needs different lengths of fast just as sometimes the fall-back food of say a plate of tomatoes doesn't satisfy until you eat a few olives or whatever as well.

Similarly, perhaps, there are times when the best way forward is not fasting even when you previously planned to. I guess I'm not saying anything any more earth shattering than "listen to your body" though I think that phrase does have its weaknesses sometimes.

Also I suppose everyone has a different definition of over eating and a good break.

[Mitch]

(can't imagine how you are doing during a fast as your question asks about that as well???

During I meant if fast is ended before it was planned. :)

Thank you very much for replies! I hope my fasting will be easier from now on. :)

[Garlic]

Aleesah . . . you did nothing but green juicing for 209 days?
WOW, impressive!!!
did must have lost a boatload of weight, yes?