I really, really love donuts — to an unhealthy degree. Some might even call my relationship to donuts addict-like. Time and again, I’ll go months or even years without eating a donut, but when suddenly donuts happen to be available, I’ll have one. This, of course, should be a meaningless event; eating one donut is a perfectly okay thing to do.
However, if I have that donut on a Tuesday, I’ll be back in the donut shop on Friday. The following week, I’m in there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’ll even go in thinking I’m not hungry, this is bad for me, I don’t need this … and then buy a donut. The next thing I know, I’m buying two donuts every day and justifying it by telling myself I just won’t eat lunch. And so on.
Because of my tendency to slide down this slippery slope, donuts are the only food I try to omit entirely from my diet. To accomplish this, I rely on Streaks. “I haven’t had a donut in two years” keeps me going, because I know if I have a donut, the clock resets from 2 years back to 1 day and I lose that competition with myself. Also, the longer I go without eating donuts, the more I can tie this fact to my identity, which I know will help me maintain the Streak. “I’m someone who doesn’t eat donuts” has the strongest sticking power of all.
With fasting, I’m able to be more flexible because it’s become embedded in my identity — I’m someone who fasts. Currently, I’m someone who fasts around 13–14 hours a day. I do this by skipping breakfast, which gets my fast in and keeps the donut out. And while I haven’t been tracking these fasts (mainly because I wish they were 16-hour fasts), I am going to join this month’s 7-Day Fasting-Streak Challenge to try and reaffirm that identity piece. Streaks have always been, and continue to be, a way to show myself that I’m someone who fasts. And seeing that commitment rewarded in the app might just motivate me to work my way back to my preferred 16-hour fasts.
Whether you’ve just joined Zero or you’re a veteran Member, I invite you to join me in this Challenge. All you have to do is log at least 12 hours of fasting each day for 7 days in a row, and you’ll earn the badge that helps to affirm that yes, you are someone who fasts. And while there might not be a no-donut Badge, I’m already on day 33, and I’m determined to keep the Streak alive.
- Tom’s April Update - April 22, 2024
- Tom’s January 2024 Update - January 8, 2024
- Tom’s November Update - November 6, 2023
