I remember my daughter saying, “Habits are created by saying ‘no’ to something you normally say ‘yes’ to… or saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’”
It stuck in my mind. Kelly McGonigal says deep breathing for a few seconds brings oxygen to our brain and improves executive function instantly (lowers our stress) and could help us make wiser choices
Hang in there, we are in this for a desired outcome
Anna’s Journal 🖤 Post 30 day water fast & refeed
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I love your food. I switched to being vegan after 3 months of meat based keto. I immediately felt fantastic (the next morning) and am not going back.
I use fasting for weight loss and eat lots of raw veggies with seeds and olive oil. It seems to be working because I’m still losing weight
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very wise Anna. You hit on a point I think about a lot when I think of how to change my own behavior. “make it easy to do the right thing. make it hard to do the wrong thing” I think both are equally important and deserve to be thought through together and separately. Like when I was trying to quit smoking a while back (and I succeeded!) I thought to myself what will make it easier for me to quit? well I can do A,B,C. But then enforcing that is by also thinking how can I make it hard for myself NOT to quit? really quite powerful
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Thank you for sharing that!
I’m glad you’ve found a way that is working for you! 
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It’s incredible that you quit smoking! I haven’t smoked myself but I know it’s a terribly tough addiction to overcome! I love your view on it! It does make a huge difference!
It’s interesting to see studies on smoking for example, where governments or other market players introduced laws or rules that banned smoking from different places, and smoking decreases tremendously because of the hassle and energy it takes to find a spot where it’s allowed!
The assessment changes lots depending on how easy or difficult something is!
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yes it really matters! In my case a medication called chantix really helped me break away from nicotine, just made the literal smell and taste disgusting to me, and since then I have just built good habits to not go back, I think I originally got hooked for social reasons, people I liked smoked so I did it… not unlike the reasons we eat when we aren’t hungry lol
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@Bri @Anna
The summer before I began my undergraduate studies at university I decided to break my smoking habit. I took a brutal approach. I started running. That’s how I did it.
Oh wait. Also dating girls who hates smokers also helped! LOL
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2020-01-27T23:00:00Z
Tuesday- Day 3 of 4
The day got by very quickly with no signs of hunger or cravings, even though I was cooking and baking for my boyfriend. I actually find it very therapeutic doing that while fasting, I get some satisfaction in just making it look and taste good for others.
For people who find it very tempting or difficult smelling food while fasting, I once heard a woman who put a tiny bit of ethereal oils under her nose, which minimised the smell from other foods around. Might be worth a try!
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I am sorry to hear about your self harming Anna but brave to disclose on here. Have you heard about the link between gut health and mental health? Is there a link with water fasting. Self harm is s taboo subject but it is important to be open and honest. I am unsure if something like psychotherapy could help??? We are both vegans and I always take a prenatal vitamin which may help?
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Whatevet research you do I am sure you will be brilliant at it
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Being kind to yourself too…this may involve a degree of selfishness too but I think for me anyway thats OK too😉
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Thank you for your response, that’s sweet of you!
Yes there’s lots of interesting studies on the gut bacteria’s influence on mental health, since it’s a great correlation of serotonin production and inflammation reduction!
It’s said to be our second brain which is very true!
I believe that for my own part, my main issue at this point are more about the behavioural aspect, since it has been a strong habit of mine for long now! I notice that as soon as I get a period abstinent from the habit, my mental health improves a lot!
But it’s very easy to get back into the same habits when the brain has a good memory of it and it’s endorphin response, so my goal is to be completely abstinent from it to weaken my memory of it.
I’m prepared that it might take from around 30-90 days, but I’ll have to grit my teeth!
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What course of study is this? What language?
Hi Terry!
Do you mean studies about the gut bacteria and mental health?
If you go to any database that collects literature of health or medicine, (PubMed, MeSH etc) you can combine search words such as Mental health and Microbiome for example and find many interesting studies about it!
I was about to say something and then I saw your note at the end. LOL
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Looks like a great plan, Anna!
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I’m with you girl. Breaking habits that do not serve us is so freaking tough! I approach it the same way; pure abstinence. You’re in my prayers sweetheart. I really admire your bravery to share what you have with the group. Utterly inspiring.
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What does IF 18:6 mean. I am unfamiliar with some of the terms.
Intermittent Fasting. 18 hours of fasting with a 6 hour feeding window.
Thank you Rebecca! 
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