Fasting Space

Most weight loss advice assumes
that you live in some kind of vacuum.

It's like maybe a perfectly controlled
scientific study.

It's some sort of perfect world,

becalmed and peaceful, everything

beautiful and entirely under your control.

But what happens
when your reality is different?

And my reality is different?

When the reality of work hits?

We're surrounded by stress and chaos
and pressure.

people putting out trays of treats
and things that you want to eat,

and you see it and smell it
and you say so hard not to have it.

Or maybe you have a job
where you're literally surrounded

by and touching the food
that you're trying not to think about it,

but it's all around you, and the pressure

and stress is huge, and you're feeling

chaos and limited control
over your surrounding and space.

And maybe a space like
that is at work, at a job.

Or maybe you say that is here

because I am at home
and I've got to do all kinds of work.

I'm not even getting paid for it.

But I'm making food for people and like,

we can have the same environment
in so many spaces.

Today we're talking about fasting on
the front lines, like the reality of it,

you know, not just stuck off
in some sort of abstract space, but like,

how do we move forward in real life,
you know?

That sent in a very thoughtful question

from a member of our community here.

We're going to be going
through this powerful question.

What do we do
when we're stuck in a cycle of stress

and eating at work in
anything we're doing in life?

I'm going to give you seven real world
strategies for trying to break out

of a cycle of like this,

and really
looking forward to the conversation.

If you're here with me live,
throw your thoughts in like Pat.

Happy Monday work.

Making it much harder.

Even if I didn't, snack food becomes a
comfort and a stress reliever at dinner.

Thank you for sharing that.

I think you are dialed in
with what many people feel.

I know what I feel
when we lose some amount

of control in scenarios
and stress is coming.

It's just dialing in the pressure.

Absolutely.

And if that's not you,
if you say, hey, I can,

I can fast at work
is absolutely the way to go.

Stick with me in this session
because you can take these ideas

and you can apply them to anywhere
where the stress is hitting in your life.

So take a look at this question.

Doctor Z, what advice can you give me
for fasting when I get hungry?

And I work around food all day
and my job is stressful,

so I find myself eating
when I'm not hungry.

I want to stop this vicious cycle.

Can anybody out there relate to that?

Oh yes, I think we can.

Absolutely. Yeah.

I think this is one of the big things.

Good to know we are not alone.

Sometimes you can be, you know, in a space

everybody else is going about their day

and you think, oh, am I
the only one that is feeling this way?

I just have to tell you from my position,
somewhat unique, having talked

with thousands of people

who are trying to walk a path toward,
I say it is very, very common.

And just even to know
that it can bring some comfort,

hopefully, and help us press forward.

So before we take a look
at tactic number one,

I want to establish
a really centering thought for us

in this space, which is that kind of
where you're coming out of that comment.

Like, we can develop a mindset
of self-compassion

and to realize that this scenario
is really difficult.

It's actually a huge thing
that people are struggling with.

And so just taking a minute
at the outset to recognize,

hey, this is something
people really struggling with.

It's not just me.

Like,
this is collectively like a huge thing,

just taking some self-judgment
away, right?

We want to have compassion
for ourselves, recognizing,

hey, we are trying to do something
really strong and powerful, difficult

just to stand up in the middle of,
like the most difficult environment.

You say.

It's like we're not buying the peaceful
lake in the mountains

and everything is calm and perfect, right?

We are in a very intense environment
and food is the type of thing.

This is what makes it extra tricky.

Food can help, especially in the short
term, right?

Doesn't it? Can't it be a tool?

Say I'm going to help deal
with some stress here and like

we can feel better with it,
at least in the short term.

And this is what can create the cycle
because it's not like it's all negative.

Positives to it.

But then we say in
the big picture is a choice like this.

Heading in a direction
is supporting our metabolic health.

It is fostering our long term goals.

And if we say we isn't,
if we say it isn't, then we are,

you know, having to be very strong
in that moment just to think the thought.

See, everything starts from our thought.

So if we're starting in a place like this.

You're here moving toward it.

Like Marie says,
I definitely eat to de-stress from work.

Right?

So we're going to take this
sort of space.

So many people
working with seven thoughts.

All right, here we go.

Share your thoughts along the way
on the replay in the comments.

Let's get even more thinking with it.

But here is tactic number one
where I wanted to start,

which I say maybe is a curveball.

I'd love to see what you think about it.

Something to think about.

Make sure you are climbing
the right mountain.

And so we are almost done with this series
I've been going through

the Mountain Is you
and that's where that book really starts.

You don't want to climb up
a giant mountain and get to the top

and realize, oh, this isn't,
you know what I even wanted?

All right.

And we are trying
to create a space of flow.

So I also put this on here. Always invert.

Write that Charlie Munger

investing quote, try to look at things
from the opposite perspective.

And so before we set out to blast our way
up the mountain

of this occurs,
you know something to think about okay.

Fasting is never required.

It's never forced okay.

Even here, like we're sitting here,
we're on a fasting based channel.

Everything fasting, fasting.

But it's like, you know, the phrase
it's like when you're a hammer,

everything is a nail.

Okay.

So, you know,
we don't have to hammer fasting.

Fasting to me is openness.

Everything should be flowing.

And so if we are sitting in a space,
it's like so much thinking is priming it.

This is and this is something I say,

if you can fast at work,
it can be a huge win win.

And this is kind of a classic advice.

Be like,

they're paying me to be here
now I'm getting double

duty is like getting paid
to lose weight, right?

If I can fast, I just get my work done,
say we're not having dinner with people.

And so there's all this momentum to say,

oh, like when I'm fasting,
it has to be like at this time.

But if we are sitting here in a space
and maybe, you know,

this advice is probably
for a specific person

and not for another one, but like, really
think about it.

If this is level ten out of ten,
this is what I was thinking about.

Would you agree?

It's like many people say

this is one of the most difficult
situations to practice fasting.

And then we feel like
because so many videos and so much

thinking is like, this is what we got
to do, that we can just feel pressure.

I want nobody to ever feel
any pressure to have to do it or like,

oh, I'm failing because I can't do it.

Don't walk into a level ten space
and just say, I'm

just going to master it and think, oh,
I'm just going to flow through it.

And doctor Z says, like a river.

And it should be easy.

But then, you know, look, what do people
say, say, oh, it's very, very difficult.

And so we say is the unlock
just focus on the healthiest foods.

Don't fast in the space.

You don't have to do it
and then fast in a different space

when you can get home,
when everything can be in a much

more controlled
and positive and thoughtful setting.

And if this is the way that things start,
and this is the way you build through it,

and you can have success with it, like
you never have to feel bad, like we're

not in any kind of competition to say, oh,
this person is fasting all through work.

And and it's so awesome. See?

No comparison, all that stuff.

I want it to be gone.

Yes, I like how I say a calm, cozy
at home, thoughtful.

Can you flow through that space
and does it balance it to me?

Anytime I'm talking about fasting,
I'm talking about healthy eating

and periods of time without food the same
everything in balance.

And so for each individual person, say,
where is the optimal space?

And for some people say,
I just want to fast at home

where everything is calm
and some people are the opposite.

Some people like no home, I'm
going to be cooking my food,

I'm going to have
those meals. We're going to have that.

So just at the start,
take a thought and see if am I forcing

something too hard, and could it be
the case that I could bring some

healthy things
and I'm going to take the fasting part

off the plate
there, eat something healthy?

Going to help me get through not eating
other things at work that I don't want

because I brought good, healthy
things that are giving me

energy and nutrition
and all that could be beautiful.

Okay, let me know what you think of that
and then let's keep rolling.

Tactic number two

focus on the eating window first.

So now we're going to try
to kind of circumvent this.

We're going to say

now the rest of these we're saying
okay we are trying to fast at work.

We've making sure

we're not forcing something,
but we say, no, I really want to do it.

I don't want to be eating this food
that is at work.

I don't want to be bringing things
because. Right.

We said there's so many benefits.

Save some money
heading in, don't have to eat out

there, don't have to buy special things
and refrigerated and prepare it

and say, I'm just going to let fast
and take that pressure off.

If fasting is feeling pressure,
we don't have to do it.

If we say, oh, fasting is taking away
pressure,

I'm not even going to start eating
because that can start a cycle for me.

Now let's focus on the eating window.

Sometimes I say, how do we start fasting?

We just focus on eating.

Because fasting
can feel like a restriction.

This is what culture says.

Culture brings all these perspectives.

Oh, it's normal
to just be eating all the time.

And so to start fasting, you say,
we can feel like it's a deprivation. Now.

We want to be very far away from that.

Because what we see in the broad
scope of the world is it's not normal

to be eating all the time,
and then we have unhealthy patterns.

And then actually fasting is
just showing us a natural balance

that the body is designed to have periods
of time of eating in periods of time

without eating.

But to start with,

just focus on the eating
and then the other stuff just disappears.

You know, it's like
we're not even thinking about it.

And so what is the meal that we're having
when we get back from work,

or the next time
making sure that that stuff is optimized?

Okay.

If if we are not eating well,
then the terms when we're fasting,

our body is not going to have
like the strong nutrition that it needs.

Because, you know, we are built
out of the energy that we give to our body

and we need minerals and nutrients
and all this sort of stuff.

And so it's like we don't fast forever.

We have periods, especially here,
simple fasting, which I basically say

fasting in a day, maybe alternate daily
fasting would be like a very, very intense

end of simple fasting before you head on
to more advanced fasting practices.

And I say, why don't we just try
to squeeze as much benefit as we can

out of the shallow end of the pool?

And that keeps solid nutrition
coming in fasting

space open
so we can reset the hormonal structure.

So make sure you're putting the healthiest
foods in the meals that we are eating

that aren't at work,
all the processed food getting out

so that our blood sugar
is not spiking and crashing.

And when we're going through
something like that,

that can be like very unsettling.

And so trying to work
in a stressful environment that we say is

like level ten out of ten, you know,
you want the strongest foundation

possible for that
and give ourselves every advantage.

So tactic to make sure that the food
that is like outside

of the time we're trying to focus on
is totally dialed in.

Okay,
so now we've jumped through two things.

We've said, no,
this is really what I want to do.

We're at work.
We're trying to practice fasting.

We're in the stress.

We've optimized everything outside of it.

Now we're going to be flowing in to

the actual working space.

Bridges to fasting.

Here I put the video.

I got fasting Aids video on the channel.

My best fasting aids
says make fasting easier.

And then I put some questions in here
for you to think about.

If you have go to fasting Aids
before I list through these,

feel free to put them in.

I'd be happy to hear,
but I'm going to go through these things,

so I don't know
if I'll put the quote on here.

Don't let the perfect be
the enemy of the good.

This is
what I think about in this regard.

If you are wanting to

practice some fast
and you say, but it's difficult,

we don't always have to go straight
to level ten.

Doesn't
always have to be a perfect fasting space.

You say, are there something that
I can add to it to help make this easier?

There I put the quote, don't
let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

We're looking for something good.

If, say, we're stuck in a cycle,
we need something good going on here.

Maybe one of these

is something
that will get you through better.

Oh, I should have put a picture on it.

My beautiful chia lime drink.

It's on the cover photo of this thing.

A picture I put.

Can you mix some chia seeds in water,

a little lime juice, maybe a little honey
or some kind of sweetener?

If that's something you like, that's
something you can mix up ahead of time.

And there would be something you got to

I mean, keep it
a little bit cool is probably better.

Easy to do, almost no cost.

And maybe there is 40 calories
in one of these

when you mix it up and you say,
what if that's good enough?

I guess the main thing with refrigerating
and maybe don't have to refrigerate,

someone's just better,
you know, so it's better.

Nice chill drink.

So there's something that's not perfect
fasting, but it's tasty.

It's refreshing it to me okay.

It's a thirst quencher.

It's a hunger quencher.

And because it's fun, it tastes good.

And I always imagine that I'm
on some sort of tropical space.

Okay,
you bring that into a stressful space,

it can absolutely help bridge that gap.

Absolutely.

And here's a couple other things
I can any type of beverage I put in here.

What are your favorite beverages?

If you're trying to get through a space
sparkling water, water

with a pinch of salt, you know, for
some people are big soda drinkers.

And then it's mainly
because you get some caffeine

and that is powering you through a space
I just throw out there,

go to the gas station. You can even order.

You can order it online.

Caffeinated water, okay.

If you just want a caffeine,
you don't have to have tons of sugar

and artificial sweeteners to get it,
and you can have it in just water.

You can't taste it.

I'll tell you, as somebody
who's had periods of time where

I've I've had too much caffeine, like,
you gotta watch it.

Caffeine can amp you up
and make you jittery.

And that can add to a cycle of stress too.

So everything in its balance.

But caffeine is a natural appetite
suppressant.

You don't need sugar to get it.

Of course,
the standards might go to the coffee,

the tea very pleasant
if you can have something like that

in a space and that gets you through,
you know, don't.

Don't have to make it
any more complicated

than what is working for you.

Love the quote, I think don't let the
perfect be the enemy of the good, right?

I used to think fast, only counted
if they are clean

or perfect, but lemon water zero calendar.

Carbonated water keeps me going longer.

Absolutely.

And I just think it is a perfect
way to go.

So if someone wants to put some lemon
in something, it's like just do it.

And if you want to call that training
wheels, as they call it, training wheels,

and maybe someday you can do it
without those things.

But like, only if you want to
and only if you need to, like, really

dial up the power on it,
they say, well, work on it.

Fasting is a practice.

Use all these things to help you do it
and build out the skill of doing it

over time and help take the pressure off.

Make it more enjoyable.

You know, like should be enjoyable.

Fiber supplement I used in that video
something like a metamucil

could be capsules

if you don't like drinking this stuff,
but the powder is also fine.

If you can get some of that stuff
down, you say, what is that?

It's just it's non calorie,
the bulk, the filler part of food.

You say that can soak up
some acid in the stomach.

It gives you some bulk. It just hits.

There are satiety sensors.

It's saying,
oh, like food has come in here.

So you take a fiber supplement,
you're getting water.

You're getting a little bit of taste
in some of it.

Watch the video.

I show you how I mix it with

just a little bit of juice, with one
that has no artificial sweeteners in it,

no extra flavorings, because I'm trying
to get as many synthetic things out.

So you get bulk psyllium
fiber, add a little of your own juice,

and then it's like you kind of ate a meal,
but no calories.

You're still kind of fasting, but like,
not really.

But like that can be a bridge
that is like, you know,

very physical, tangible.

If, say,
coffee is not quite cutting it for me.

Does a fiber supplement boost that along?

And that's something, you know, throw it
in a locker at work, you got some water.

You can just mix it up and hit it and back
you go.

And like does that give you, you know,
that feeling of some more fullness

that is helping you through the wave,
right through the stress

wave, through the hunger wave,
they're both crashing together.

And can you put something like that
in there to absorb it?

Isn't that what fiber does?

Just absorb stuff.

Coconut oil I put in the video.

That'd be another sort of thing.

Depending on the temperature, it's
either solid or liquid, but coconut oil,

the specific fats
that are in that very satiating.

You take a little tablespoon of that
and you hit that,

and that is hitting a lot of sensors
that are saying, oh,

there is some dense calories
coming in here.

And it is right.

If you were if you start

binging a whole jar of coconut oil, okay,
you're going to get a lot of calories.

So watch the video.

What I'm saying,
can you take one spoon of it

and you know you're going
to get under 100 calories in that.

But if you hit that so satiating
and you hit so many sensors in the body

that are telling you,
hey, we are getting dense nutrition here,

and that is going to start the process
of calming down a hunger wave.

So if you can use that to get
into a space, that's another sort of thing

can keep it in a locker at work.

If you're having a stress situation,
you know, here is something

very healthy in the right amounts
that can keep you going.

Say, like Maurice said,
is it pure fasting?

No, it's not pure fasting,
but it's like ultra low carb,

you know, eating,
and it can really keep you on track.

And then broth is one of my super go tos.

And broth is like a comfort food.

Don't have to refrigerate it.

Throw the box
you know, in the locker and then at work.

And you can heat it up in a microwave
quick and you see it for just a moment.

If you got a just a minute
or three to get in there, okay.

It's warm and.

You can kind of smell it.

And then it's like
it's like fasting comfort food.

That's what I say.
It's fast and comfort food.

Yeah.

And so, so many
things like in this sort of thing.

Thank you for sharing.

Share your favorite things
to get into this space.

Right.

Because the next one
is like some sort of,

you know, protein
or fat based low carb snack.

If beef gelatin is getting you in there.

Perfect.

I put in here like, you know,
a hard boiled egg can be thrown in a bag.

Nuts and seeds.

You can bring this stuff on beef jerky.

I, I don't tell people.

Make your own beef jerky at home.

You can do it in an oven on a baking rack.

Just turn your oven down as low
as it goes.

Mine goes to 170,
so I cut my little strips of

cut of meat from the store,
and then if I want it, kind of chewy,

you know, maybe I go for hours on it and
then you got to use it within a few days.

And then if you head out 6 or 7 hours,
you can really dry it out

like the stuff you get in the store.

So if you bring something like that,
that's kind of like, merging

tactic one with our bridges here
where it's like,

maybe, see,
we can always have a plan B, right?

We can try this stuff out at work.

And maybe this point is like,
what is our plan B?

What if we are getting into work
and we're trying to do it?

And our mindset is we want to be fasting,
but do we have a fallback

if you have some pumpkin seeds
or a beef jerky or something there?

And it's like, okay,

I was going to eat the donut at work,
but look, I've got a fallback.

Like, I can't handle the stress.

I need to eat something
instead of tripping in like I've done and

end up eating three donuts because
I ate one and then I couldn't stop.

And it's just like, do we have a fallback
where it's something like this?

If you had back
and you eat a hard boiled egg,

and then all of a sudden you're like,

okay, it's giving you a space,
I'm filling up, I'm eating something.

So it's a bridge. We say, we made it.

Maybe you can't do the whole marathon
all at once, but as like,

how far can we make it?

And then we got our fall back
and see if that is helpful.

Okay.

Tactic for creating a reward

for ourselves
or delaying a reward for ourselves.

And I just put this quote in that

I have been going back to a lot
because I just love it.

Between stimulus and response,
there is a space in

that space is our power
to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth
and our freedom from Viktor Frankl.

And so think about this space
that we're in at work.

Think about the struggle
or wherever we're at in life.

Whereas like we're in between
these worlds of stress and food

and then trying to move forward in a way,
there's a stimulus, right?

The stressor might is like this stimulus
to say we're trying to eat right.

But then the response is the eating.

But now there's a space between
that happens, what is happening there.

And really we're
just trying to get in there.

Think of like a crack in the sidewalk,
you know, it starts tiny,

but then the water gets in
and then freeze again and it just

you get a little foothold in there
and then you can break something open.

So this is what we're trying to do,
get in between the stimulus and response.

And this is really, I think, the mindset

of how we break these things open.

Yeah.

Shift the dopamine right,
is what we're trying to do.

So that dopamine is this feel good
chemical.

It's giving us the reinforcement.

It's saying like oh this is good.

And it's like we're stressed.

Don't we want something to feel good?

Say, oh,
if I eat this, I'm going to feel better.

And then it does. Right.

And so
but this is that space want to shift.

This is how we start breaking it apart.

If we say we have a reward, the reward.

In the moment I'm at work,
I stress eat the thing.

There's no delay.

The space is minimal.

So we're trying to say what is shifting
the reward look like I put down here?

Choose the reward that's in here.

Maybe turkey bacon is the reward.

Maybe turkey bacon is the snack.

The thing that you bring.

You know, there's another thing
that you can bring with you.

Easy.

Doesn't require a lot of prep, you know.

Do you have a break?

Do you have a minute
where you can get away at some point?

That isn't right

in a space where it's like something
is there that you want to eat, right?

And can you set a timer for five minutes?

Right. It would be the way to start.

Stress
is there. Now we're recognizing it, right?

Because we're doing the hard work.

Like we said at the beginning,
we're standing up in the middle of it.

Like, you know, these would be
absolutely places to journal.

Where is the difficult spot?

Now we're seeing it.

Now awareness is there.

Say, oh,

this is the cycle starting right here
because I feel the stress coming on.

Okay. Can I delay it?

Do I get a break where my plan B is,
and can we start to widen that space out

just a little bit, what it might look like
if we're widening that out quite a bit

is it gets till after the shift
and this would be the progression.

Can we give ourselves many rewards.

Maybe it's a piece of dark chocolate
that we keep in the locker.

Maybe it's you know, you pick your thing,
it doesn't really matter.

It doesn't even have to be good.

Like a good thing. Exactly.

It was.

We're just practicing shifting

the timing of it
because we're trying to break the thing,

because we don't want this dynamic
to be set up like this one, where.

Stress equals eat right now, okay.

We don't want that.

We got stress in its place
keeping our fasting window in its place.

I like how this says visualize the reward.

Right.

So in this moment, instead of

like just stress eat
we want to say stress.

Visualize eating okay stress
I've got my reward.

And maybe that's going to be a delicious
meal that we're making when we're back.

Or maybe

it's a treat that we keep in the car
that's like, okay, I'm going to get to it.

And then we have it there.

But like bring some of the enjoyment,
the future.

Experience of eating it.

Just recognize like,
hey, look what I'm doing right now.

I've already planned this out
and I'm going to be having this thing.

And can the thought of it gets you

through the moment as much as doing it?

That's what I would say, delaying

and giving yourself rewards
and be a real reward.

Give it something you really like.

Say, hey, if I make it through this
amount of time, I'm going to have this.

And then that can be the thought.

And then,
you know, here's like the secret is like,

you can have it anyway,
even if you don't make it,

you know, it's like, say,
because you gave it your best shot, right?

And you want to give yourself positive
reinforcement as much as possible.

Say, I gave it my best shot.

I'm giving myself for my reward anyway
and would try again tomorrow,

you know, if that works for you.

Tactic five we are moving on.

Do be thinking about one.

Tactics are your favorites.

What are you going to try?

What are you going to bring through these
last couple tactics I really love?

Okay.

Make your thoughts and your feelings

objective as much as possible.

So I say get a dedicated work journal.

And there's a couple different ways
that you could do it that we'll talk

through work Journal is it's
not everything else in life.

It's just like a focused thing
for this specific issue.

And it might be a mini journal
you can buy.

Like literally

maybe it's like a notebook, like something
small that you can put in a pocket.

Maybe you get one of those little golfing
pencils, not a big,

you know, giant pencil is like awkward,
but one that is just,

you know, tiny that you can pull this out.

I'm a big
I just love getting stuff on actual paper.

You know, maybe a pen is the answer,
especially if you can get a small one.

You can do this on a phone,

of course, if you have a phone,
but something to actually write it out.

I'm a huge fan of what if you wrote
this thought out, I am stressed,

the food is right there, but I am choosing
to think one thought over the other.

That was the phrase
we did from the session last week that

that we titled The Most Powerful Weapon

Against stress,
because that's that was the quote, right?

That the most powerful.
Is that what he said?

The most powerful weapon against

stress is our ability to choose
one thought over the other.

And so we are here in this moment.

The stress is here, the food is here.

This is like level ten stress.

Can we just write it out?

Can we write it out
instead of eating it out?

This is the the thing
to just the actual difficulty of it.

And if it takes too long
to write a sentence like that,

can you get a word?

Is there one word?
Maybe I put that down in a question.

What is one word you could write or think?

Right?

Maybe just having the journal there
that you could write it.

But work is so busy
you can't even get it to write it.

But can you think about it?

Does having it
as a tangible thing that you could write

help you to think the thought in it?

These are ways to make the feelings
objective,

to keep them from racing around in here
and to try to get them out.

And this can be very helpful here.

This one transitioned
from being a venting tool,

which is how I would say to start
venting is just a very fine thing to do.

Venting into a journal
instead of venting through like stress

eating is like the totally the thing
and it's a fine place to start.

But then what it builds into
is it builds into a record of victory.

And this is such a beautiful thing.

Like if you've been stuck in a cycle
like this.

You're going to work. You're coming home,
going to work, coming home.

Always the struggle is there just kind of
floats into this, you know, big thing.

But all of a sudden
if you have a record like,

oh, here I am struggling with it, here's
what I wrote right in the moment.

So look what I did here.

I did this and here I did this,
and that was Monday

and Tuesday and Wednesday
and like look at Thursday here.

Like I really, you know,
then you can see the small wins

like made it through the first break
into like this time, you know

before I really felt over and we say,
oh I'm widening that space.

You know, I'm doing the work
and you can use the tool.

Maybe this is the most important part
to be able to give yourself encouragement

and just to realize like,
hey, look, I'm a human being here.

I'm in a difficult place
and look at what I am doing.

Love this thought. And.

Maybe you can carve out space on a break
or at lunch or whatever

it is at work, 100% of focus
or really enjoy it.

Maybe this is a cycle.

After it is past,
whatever has happened, good or bad,

say we're going to reflect on it
and we got something positive.

I want people to have the very most
positive, healthy relationship

with food,
and food is a joyful, positive thing.

And so this is the balance that we find,
because that's true.

And food can also be such a struggle
and a difficulty.

And so we are trying to bring everything
into balance

and find the space
that balances these two positions.

But I love that.

Can you bring a journal into a
stress space and what else could you use?

If that wasn't practical, I'd
just say, here's my little fasting stone

right to me.

Like some sort of object journal could be.

An object has incredible value
because you can write thoughts into it

and a stone.

You can't write thoughts into it,
but you can hold it.

You know, everybody
got a different work environment.

And if you are in a work environment,
you say,

I don't have the physical ability
to carry things on me.

I do not have space.
Let's just go, go, go.

And you know, something tangible
that you can hold

to put your intentions and thoughts into.

They say, even if I can't write it,
you know, here's something objective.

You know, this is a fasting stone.
And what does that mean?

It's just because I call it
it just for fun, you know?

But it's a ways to bring meaning
into our thing, to center ourself.

Is a journal more professional
than a list on the phone?

You know, if you're fasting
journals on the phone, nobody knows that.

You're not on TikTok.

Nobody knows that you're not, you know,
sending a text to somebody and so does a.

Does a journal actually
look more professional, a little notebook.

And people say, what are you doing?

It's like, I'm just taking notes
to better my work performance.

You know, you can make
it's like and people are like,

oh, like it's very clear they're not
you're not on social media or something.

So it can be nice that way.

Tactic six now we're driving deep
into things that I really care about here.

Lean into breathing. Right.

Breathing.
We've talked a lot about on the channel.

I've led us through breath sessions.

I have talked about box
breathing as kind of my core

kind of go to done some talk
about kind of a double inhale

where we're really doing a deep breath

and then incorporating that in.

And if you think about really difficult
spaces,

people dealing with pain
and the huge amounts of stress,

you talk to NFL quarterbacks
playing in front of millions of people.

There are dialing in on the breath.

You think about how are we getting through
labor and just difficult things okay.

Just keep breathing, okay.

And so even in the very most
intense experiences of life

okay, we can breathe through it.

And so maybe this is the,
the thing, it might actually be

one of the most intense
and important times in life, right.

To be able to flow through a space

eating the way we want, since it's
so central to our metabolism.

Can breathing help us in that space?

I say it absolutely can,
because a deep breath is the off switch

for the stress response in the body
when stress is coming in,

maybe we can't stop the stress it's there,
but how do we cope and deal with it

in a way that helps the body
to retain a hormonal balance?

Because we've gone through on the channel
that chronic stress,

stress response always happening,
sending that

constant cortisol message
telling the body things are not okay.

This is what leads to inflammation
in the body.

It starts of so many negative cycles.

So we are talking about the negative cycle
of stress eating.

But you see
then that that cycle is one of the drivers

that is driving inflammation in the body
and so many other things.

So if we're trying to get way upstream of
so many health problems and difficulties,

I'll just tell you a deep
breath is getting way at the core of it.

Amazingly, how can something so simple
that we just do

without even thinking of okay,
but this is the whole idea.

Simple fasting. Bring everything.

We've got complex problems, oftentimes
people looking for complex solutions.

But so many of the times simplicity.

The simple is actually what is bringing

clarity to complexity.

And a deep breath is the off
switch tells the parasympathetic system

to turn on, tells
the sympathetic system shutting off

so the adrenal gland stops
shooting out all the cortisol.

Help the blood pressure, the blood

sugar, the stress level
bring focus into the body.

Stop racing thoughts.

These are the types of things that
can happen in even a single deep breath.

Take a big why don't we right now?

Why don't we just take a single double
inhale breath together like this,

as high as you can go.

And then what? You notice little pause.

Then the lungs will stretch out
and you'll be able to get more in.

Top it off an extra 5%.

Really stretch that out.

And that's the the bigger
you make that inhale, the more stretch

you're giving to the lungs, the stronger
the signal you're sending in.

Those things are really okay.

And so even if you can only take one deep
breath at work before you grab the thing.

Oh, doctors, Eve said,
take a deep breath. Okay?

This is the little crack in that space.

We're widening the space.
The breath is happening.

We're really stretching it out.

Maybe within that breath, enough
signal flows out.

Picture the stress going out.

Right. These are all the things.

Can you think in that thought?

Oh, we just stretch that out an extra
four seconds.

Can I get out of this space?

Right. Can I just leave that be?
I'm going to walk somewhere else.

I'm going to do something else.

Can that be the start of it?

Even a single deep breath telling the body
everything is okay in this moment?

Absolutely. It is right.

When do you take a deep breath?
Only when everything is okay.

So even if everything is not okay,
you know you're in and you're on the floor

and the shift is happening
and the chaos is happening.

And there's three patients
to see in the charge nurse is saying

this and the calls
and the doc is here yelling here.

And this person's, you know, I mean,
oh man, a deep breath okay.

Deep breath.

Breathe through the hunger.

Breathe through the stress. Maybe.

Is this the most important tactic?

I don't know, I love them all,
but this one I ultra love I really do.

Tactic seven here
we are getting to the end.

Ask for help.

Okay is very hard ever in our life
to ask for help.

And don't we have a culture
that it does not support it?

And don't we feel like asking for
help is a validation of our weakness?

And isn't that part of how it can set up
cycles that are so hard to get out of?

Because it can be hard to be objective
and hard to get out of things,

and we aren't really meant to,
I think, solve

all of problems on our own.

But then we think that we are

and we think that we have to be
as strong as possible to to do it.

So very, very difficult to do.

And you know that this is the trouble,
because when we ask for help,

it is a vulnerability, you know, as like

we are open it like,
I don't have this, you know, and so,

you know,

there's a certain amount of that,
that, that we say, oh, there's risk there

because we might ask for help
and we might not get it.

And maybe we are not in a healthy work
environment. And.

Maybe you can't do it if you are not in a
thoughtful environment,

you know, thinking the thought about it,
being open to it, finding the avenues.

Maybe that is here, right?

Asking for help here? Absolutely.

Ask it wherever you can get it.

But if we have the mindset to do it,
I say if it's practical in your workspace

to ask for help
because like we said at the beginning,

this is very common and it is
people don't like to talk about it

and everybody likes to look like
they've got their stuff together.

And so we can be kind of struggling
on our own when it could be

that other people in your environment
is struggling with the exact same thing.

And if we open it up and like just here
would be some ways to think about it.

Like, hey, do you ever struggle with this?

Like, hey, what do you think about this?

Or just to say it like, man,
I am really having trouble with this.

And just like you don't have to say it
a hundred times, but like,

you know, if you put it out there
and other people are like, oh, me too.

And like all of a sudden
if we have a bit of vulnerability,

the can we end up finding

coworkers,
other people in our environment?

If multiple people start to realize

we're all struggling with the same thing,
can we work on this together?

Are there ways that we can either change
something about this environment

to make it better in some way?

Or can we, at least with our own combined
human spirit,

support each other in the space?

Like if there are ways in it,
this could be a huge unlock there.

Like, look, we are all have to be here.

We're trying to do this job,
but like we also want to be healthy

and we have these goals
and we recognize together.

So sometimes asking for help
can be the thing that can really unlock

some stress too.

And to try to bring some love and light
and fun, you know, to it,

you know, everybody's situation
going to be different.

But you say,
how do you change an environment where

like if we're working around food
all the time,

like our food service workers
we saw in the photo in the beginning,

like if the other people can change,

it could change the stress in some way.

Maybe it can't always, but

in case it can, sometimes it can.

So sometimes it can.

I say just to kind of close
some of these thinking.

So we got seven tactics
I say plan these things.

Take some of these.

I wrote a couple scenarios
of what it might look like.

Have you experienced this right.

Automatic thinking stress happens.

We did in the fall thinking fast and slow
playlist realize

okay, we've got the cortex layer,
the very conscious layer,

and then we got the sub layers
that everything is happening

under the surface and stressful moment
we can just shift in.

Have you ever experienced this?

Like all of a sudden
you're eating something.

You never really thought about it, right?

So it's like these things can just happen
in a way.

And so preloading these decisions,
you know, there's a lot of practices.

People teach visualization practices.

We were talking about that earlier
in the tactic of like

visioning our reward in the future,
bringing that benefit into the present.

So people in very high stress scenarios,
like mentally practicing it,

trying to help, you know, build
the groove of this thinking.

So when we get to this thing,
so take your context,

make your own scenarios, practice
those scenarios in the mind

so that when you get to them,
you've got some history.

Oh yeah, we practice this.

Here's
how we're going to make the decisions.

Here's some example.

If my boss is yelling at me,
then I will walk back and drink

my soothing thing of bone broth
as just be one example from our thing.

Put in your, you know, fallback
plan for whatever is at work, okay?

Because like, you know,
I've dealt with plenty of different jobs

I've done in my life, people,
you know, angry people everywhere.

Right?

And it can be really stressful.

So game plan, how are you going to do it?

So you're not just hanging out there
in the moment looking for something.

You've got it planned out.

If someone puts a box of donuts
in the break room, then

I will go write something in my pocket
journal.

Okay, I love that one.

And because this is what I struggle
with the most,

you know, at my own clinic,
it's like new doctor Z fasting clinic.

I don't have to struggle with that.

Okay, thank God
we got no donuts at Simple Fasting HQ.

Keep the pocket journal there.

I would write into it.

Not walking in the break room today, okay,
I just walk.

Don't do it.

If I feel overwhelmed
and I want to stress eat,

then I will pop a peppermint mint or go
brush my teeth.

I just thought this was fun
to kind of put at the end.

You can't really go eat something
after you get you brush your teeth, right?

They got that sodium laurel sulfate.

If you got one of those,
I don't think I'm not convinced that

that stuff's good,
but that's what knocks out your taste.

And for this thing, you go brush
your teeth.

You're not going to want to eat
some sort of other thing.

A peppermint mint. Okay.

You could OD on peppermint mints.

And so if it's a I would if you're going
to get a peppermint mint because you can't

eat much after a peppermint, right
like that, it's going to kill it.

I would never eat a donut
after a peppermint anyway.

And so if you you get
I would say no artificial sweeteners.

That would be my recommendation.

Get a real sugar one if you're going to
think a deal, it would be a little one.

But you know
five calories of sugar on a mint

if it kept you from eating, you know,
two treats that you really didn't want.

It could be the type of thing
that could get you through.

And like the quote, like I said, don't
let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

And if a mint gets you through or a gum or

like whatever the crutch is, there's
another sort of thing,

you know, it can be just fine
if it fits the vibe for where you are.

So make your examples of your scenarios
about how

you get through these space.

You are welcome for this topic.

I love thinking about this topic.

Maybe we do more sessions on it at work.

Listening right now?

Yes. Crushing it. That's awesome.

These are some tips I can really follow.

Videos. Helpful.

Hey, really wonderful
to have you in this space.

Thank you for the email
the other day and mug is coming to you.

So mugs for viewers this is I'm
excited about this I like this.

I ordered up a case of mugs.

I got them over there in the corner.

I got a bunch of these.

If you would like to grab a mug
and join us.

Fasting space
is. Just see, it's very simple.

There's no quotes or nothing.

It's just says simple fasting,
which I like very clean esthetic.

And you know,
that's the kind of vibe for this,

that simplicity is the way forward.

And so if you're having a coffee
or tea at work or at home or a thing, does

having a beautiful, sleek, simple fasting
mug help

to bring some more intention and presence
and say, oh, look what I'm doing.

This is fasting space.

Send me an email.

Doctor Z at simple Fasting.

I am not a logistics expert.

So now that I have put this out there,
now I'm getting all my packing stuff

and figuring out how to do it so
it's not broken when it gets to you all.

But I'm having fun with this.

I'm putting my.

Email in the chat.

Okay, shoot an email.

Free mugs for everybody.

If if this blows up in some big thing.

Okay. And there's thousands of people.

Oh well supplies last okay.

So we'll see.

But I'm happy to send those out.

I get them out in the next couple days.

So that'll be fun.

Yeah I would carry on on this topic.

So what I would say for this session
take these topics.

We got seven
and probably some bonus tactics in there.

Implement some of these things,
try them out, work on them and then

come back and share your experience
with them, good and bad.

What tactics are working?

Where is struggle still happening?

And you know, to me,
the big vibe that I want on the channel,

I want everything reality based.

I don't want anything pie in the sky,
you know, it's like perfect scenarios.

We're just dealing with real life
and diving deep on it.

And like, this is the big idea of simple
fasting for me is it's, you know,

I did a fasting research study
at the university,

everything tightly controlled
to like an insane degree.

And we say, okay, that's great.

But like, life
isn't some tightly controlled process.

Life is, you know, it's messy
and it just is.

It is what we it is what it is.

And if there is to be real value

in a fasting process,
which I just am 100% convinced,

there's incredible deep real value,
you know, but

you have to be very thoughtful about it
and to maintain it in the long term.

And I've worked with people over a decade
who have been able to bring

fasting principles into their life
and have tremendous

benefit, tremendous benefit.

This is all on for everybody.

I want tremendous benefit to people, okay?

You have to build
a very strong foundation for that.

And we we have to find the ways of flowing
through every obstacle.

This is why I'm bringing books,
overcoming obstacles, really digging deep

on our thinking, because these are
the things that help us to actually do it.

And I'm going to continue doing that.

I want to be here as a resource
for you to help you do that.

So really appreciate you being here.

I'm looking forward to being back with you
soon.

Have a beautiful day, everybody.