Whether someone is offering you a stick of gum or a piece of cake while you’re fasting, the answer is “no”.
That’s it. That’s the blog post.
…ugh don’t you wish it was that easy? Don’t worry, so does everybody else who starts Intermittent Fasting.
I am the queen of saying “no” to food. If you ask anyone who knows me, they’ll verify that I will deny any and all food with ease if I’m fasting.
But it wasn’t easy getting to this point. As humans, we develop habits over time. And that’s exactly what I did: I formed a habit of saying those two letters whenever someone offered me food that I couldn’t have.
As mentioned in another one of my blog posts, my trick is to say “no” before I even know what food is being offered to me. If I turn down their offer right away, I don’t even have the time to think about whether I really want it or not! I literally don’t let them finish their sentence! Now, if you’re in a situation where that would be considered rude, then just say “no” in your head! Then once it’s a polite time to respond, you can respectfully decline.
Use a similar tactic if you can actually see what they’re offering. For instance, if someone comes over to you holding a huge plate of warm fudgey brownies and they’re like “Oh come on Aly, just have one! They just came right out of the oven!” before you can think about it, just say “no, thank you”.
At this point, for me, it becomes more of a social thing. Because I’ve audibly declined the offer, it would make me seem less disciplined and less strict if I went back on my original response.
When in doubt, be honest! Let the person know that you really wish you could enjoy their food, but you are fasting so you unfortunately cannot. A lot of people will try to push you and try to get you to cheat. This is not the time to back down! This is when you become the queen of saying “no”, put on your “no” cape, and say “NO, thank you!”.
Make saying “no” a habit. The more you do it, the easier it gets.
When in doubt, just say “no”!