#177 - Keep A Healthy Mindset About IF: Health Tip For Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting tip number 42 is for those who are just getting started with intermittent fasting. Coach Tadris Parker has personally tested this recommendation and a hundred other health tips commonly shared in the running and fitness world. Listen to the audio clip below to hear his take on keeping a healthy mindset about IF. Learn all about this at Keep Calm and Run To The Best You!
Don’t put yourself at risk of developing an eating disorder due to improper thinking. If you’re using intermittent fasting, think about the health benefits as your body prioritizes detoxification once digestion is a done deal. Focus on the positive effects instead of treating it like food abstinence or punishment for eating badly.
Tip 42. Keep a Healthy Mindset about IF (intermittent fasting)
There is a lot of talk about mindset these days - so much that perhaps you’re tired of hearing about it. How much does your mentality really matter when it comes to running, weight loss, and intermittent fasting, anyway? Are we overdoing this topic?
We don’t think so. Here’s why:
Positioning Yourself for Success with IF
People often fail when they speed past the mindset bit to give attention to their hopes, goals, and actions. When you fail, you become discouraged. Failed attempts can set us back temporarily, or sometimes indefinitely, and at the very least it takes a toll on willpower. If you want to be one of the “success stories” you hear about on our podcast, you need to get your mind right, right away! A healthy mindset is the bridge from half-heartedly trying something for awhile to overhauling your lifestyle and maintaining something greater.
It’s easy to get caught up striving for the results you want and placing importance on the actions it takes to reach your goal. However, your mindset makes a difference. We all know the phrase “work smarter, not harder” and the only way to work smarter is through awareness of what’s driving you and also what is hindering you. If you don’t know, then you’re facing a long road of trial and error. Mental clarity and awareness will keep you motivated and on the right track, so work smarter and reap the rewards.
Keep a Healthy Mindset about IF
Keeping a healthy mindset about IF is bigger than just thinking positive thoughts. It involves honest awareness, a realistic strategy, and a long term commitment. At Keep Calm and Run To The Best You, our members use a range of different IF methods but all of them require keeping a healthy mindset about IF. Coach Tadris helps people overcome emotional eating disorders and coaches them to break habits that lead to a health crisis. He can guide you on getting your mindset where it needs to be, timing your eating window according to your schedule, and following through so you have measurable results.
To increase your rate of success with intermittent fasting, adopt this 3-step method:
Understand your “why”
Why are you interested in trying IF? Is it because you’ve tried a long list of fad diets and this is the next one on the list? Or, have you been trying to gain control of your eating for years and you’re now facing a medical emergency. Do a “brain dump” on paper or have an open conversation with a friend to help you nail down your core reason for intermittent fasting. Be as specific and personal as you can. Coach Tadris Parker started his IF journey years ago with the goal of avoiding diabetes which runs in his family. He found that IF improves his running performance and he’s now able to coach others through IF as living proof that it works.
2. Learn the scientific method of IF
How do you know that IF will work? Educate yourself so you know what to expect and so you’ll have a good reason to believe in the process. Researching the scientific relationship between food and your mind/health results will motivate you to stick with it as you understand your body better. Coach Tadris was originally inspired to try Intermittent Fasting when he learned the science behind it on Thomas DeLauer’s YouTube channel. He’s learned even more from Dr. DeBerg, and from listening to the Intermittent Fasting podcast by Gin Stephen's and Melanie Avalon. “These three sources helped me develop the right mindset around food and my emotions,” Coach Tadris has shared.
3. Commit and be accountable
Once you understand your motivating reason and you know what it takes to do IF successfully, commit to a method that seems the most practical for you. Consider this your new lifestyle because knowledge is power. Believe that your body will respond positively when you are strategic about your health, and keep yourself accountable. If you know you’re more likely to give up on your diet around the holidays or a certain time of day (or once a month!) plan ahead so you won’t backslide. Assign an accountability partner or join the Run/Walk Group to surround yourself with like-minded people. We will support you on your journey to better health.
At Keep Calm and Run To The Best You, we are actively helping people from all walks of life to get healthier and happier in the body they’ve got! We’ve collected advice from professionals, combed through archives, and gathered insights from our group members. Click here to see the rest of our 101 health tips about running, intermittent fasting, and weight loss.
Find support and accountability at Run/Walk Club
Coach Tadris Parker educates and motivates people at all levels of intermittent fasting and mindful eating.
Email coachtadris@gmail.com with questions about our Run/Walk Club, running events, or health programs.
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