These days, more and more people are realizing that intermittent fasting has tons of health benefits.
It can help you prevent various chronic illnesses, and even reverse some of them (like type 2 diabetes).
But what if you wanna try intermittent fasting, and your partner’s not on board?
Today I’ll share a few tips and suggestions about how you can implement intermittent fasting as a couple, or a family.
Discuss Your Goals
First off, it’s a good idea to sit down and discuss your motivation with your partner. In other words, don’t just tell them you want to try fasting, talk about the frustrations that made you want to try this in the first place. Then tell them your health goals, how you think fasting can help, and what sacrifices you’re willing to make.
If you spend some time chatting about these issues, your partner is a lot more likely to be supportive. In some cases, they may even decide to try it out with you.
Choose Breakfast or Dinner – Whichever is More Convenient
The easiest way to start intermittent fasting is to simply shift the timing of one of your meals, at least one day per week.
In other words, you could delay breakfast by a couple hours (or skip it). On the other end of the spectrum, you could eat dinner a bit earlier (or skip it).
Talk to your partner about which meal is more important to them, in terms of sitting down and eating together. Most people prioritize dinner, because it has a stronger social element, but other people may be the opposite.
And don’t forget, you don’t have to do it the same way every day because…
Fasting is Flexible – Adapt to Your Schedule
One of the great things about intermittent fasting is that it’s super flexible. You don’t have to do it the same way every day, which makes it really convenient and adaptable to almost any lifestyle.
For example, you may find it convenient to skip breakfast on weekdays, but perhaps you like having a special breakfast with your family on weekends. And that would be totally fine.
Keep track of what works for you over time, and talk to your family about it. See what works for the best for everyone involved, and then get into a routine.
Focus on the Benefits
If you think about it, fasting can actually be really convenient and save you time and effort.
For example, think of all the time and effort you could save in terms of shopping, cooking, and clean-up if you skipped breakfast (or dinner) a few days per week.
Notice these “wins” and bring them up when you talk to your family members. That will help you remember the positive benefits you get from intermittent fasting (other than the health benefits).
If You Have Kids…
In addition to your partner, having kids throws an extra wrinkle into the situation.
Here are a couple tips you can try if you have kids:
First, even if you’re going to skip breakfast you could still sit down with your kids when they’re eating breakfast, and drink a cup of black coffee or some type of tea.
It’s ok to drink coffee, tea, or something like apple cider vinegar while fasting because they have almost no calories and don’t really disrupt your fast. And by having a drink you can make it seem like you’re still “participating” in the meal.
If you decide to skip dinner you could do something similar. This is a good way to still have that family time while getting the health benefits of fasting.
Final Thoughts
Intermittent fasting has a ton of health benefits, but sometimes it can be challenging to coordinate as a couple, or with family members.
Overall, fasting is super flexible and it’s worth using a little bit of creativity to figure out something that works.
By implementing intermittent fasting into your lifestyle, you’ll be more likely to live longer and avoid illness, which means you can spend more quality time with your family in the long run.
About The Author
Ben Tanner is a physician assistant / PA (similar to a doctor) with experience working in the emergency room, family practice, and urgent care. After observing the devastating complications of diabetes and other chronic illnesses, he started a website about fasting to help other people take control of their health.