“The longer you have to wait for something, the more you will appreciate it when it finally arrives. . . . All good things are worth waiting for . . .”–Susan Gale
Window of opportunity ⏱️
One of the more popular health trends that continues to grab headlines is around time-restricted eating or TRE. It is a form of intermittent fasting in which a person chooses a window of time within a day, typically 6-12 hours, in which they eat. During the time outside of this window, those following a TRE protocol, do not consume any other calories and drink only water, although there are some following a TRE plan that consume unsweetened tea or coffee.
The idea of TRE is to reduce the amount of overall calories consumed in a day and to reduce less-positive habits such as eating late at night or snacking too much early in the day. Besides the obvious benefits of managing body weight, scientific research into TRE continues to show promising results, including reducing insulin resistance, reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress, can alter and improve the composition of the microbiome, and improved sleep to name a few.
Time to Eat 🍱
Time restricted eating is nothing new to me. In fact, my childhood taught this. I grew up with a natural TRE called breakfast, lunch, dinner and no snacking in between. Furthermore, my parents believed that if we didn’t like what was offered at a certain meal; well, we wouldn’t starve because I could eat again at the next meal.
I can recall sitting in elementary school feeling my stomach growl. Sure, I had breakfast, but we ate early in order to make the school bus. I would look at the large classroom clock on the wall, counting down the time until the teacher l lined us up and walked us to lunch. Standing in line waiting for everyone to go to the restroom, wash their hands, and line back up, my mouth would water in anticipation of food. By the time I sat down with the other students who had packed their lunches, I thought I would perish from hunger! But, oh how good that simple food tasted when I could finally take a bite!
By the time I got home from school, my stomach would once more be begging for food, but there was a hard-fast rule. No snacking before dinner because you’ll ruin your appetite. This was made more challenging if my parents had ordered a tray lunch from the school cafeteria, and I didn’t like the food. Still, there was no debating–wait until dinner.
Fortunately, we tended to eat between 5:00 and 6:00 pm, so I didn’t have to wait too long. However, I tended to be persnickety about certain food items, so if the meal consisted of a food (or foods) that I didn’t like, too bad for me–or any of my siblings for that matter–there was always breakfast. We weren’t going to starve–even if we thought we would.
Delayed Gratification ⌚︎
The beauty of my parent’s rules, whether they intended it or not, was two-fold. First, food tastes better when truly hungry. It felt downright wonderful to have a hearty appetite as I sat down for a meal. The other skill learned was the art of delayed gratification.
Sure, I’ve went through phases, such as camps, overnight stays with friends or family, and later in college and as a young adult, where I ate completely differently than how I was raised–eating at irregular times and noshing on foods I would have never been able to eat at home.
As an adult, I have also likewise gone through similar phases. It is more challenging now to have those structured meal times since food is so widely available at all hours of the day. No wonder TRE is so popular now. It brings back that structure and discipline in which I was raised.
The art of delayed gratification, given the immediacy that technology brings, is perhaps becoming a bit of a lost skill set. The ability to resist an immediate reward for a greater or more favorable reward later requires self-regulation and impulse control, skills that often get lost while scrolling through our various screens. However, delayed gratification is a skill that can be learned at any age, but it is not easy.
Benefits of Delayed Gratification 🎓
Delayed gratification is what some parents try to teach their children by insisting that all homework must be completed before the kids are given permission to choose a more preferred activity. It is what adults practice when saving for an important item, such as buying a new car, house, or even something as simple as setting aside money for rent, groceries, utilities, and other bills. In fact, anytime we choose not to be distracted from our goals or priorities, we are practicing delaying gratification.
Success in any endeavor, from career to finances, to the most mundane such as cleaning house to choosing when and what to eat, requires the ability to resist the temptation to do something easier (the distraction) and instead, complete something harder, such as studying for that next level career exam or simply choosing, as my parents taught me oh-so-long ago, only eat at meal times.
So how do we get better at delayed gratification? ⤵️
There are multiple books, articles, and youtube videos designed to provide various methods. Some people like big changes all at once, such as TRE, leaning into some variation of: Here’s the rules, the parameters, and the start date. For certain personalities, a total overhaul of their habits works great.
However, I tend to prefer more gentle approaches such as:
- Start with one small change (habit) and stack it with an already existing habit, i.e. I already drink coffee in the morning, why not drink 8-12 ounces of water beforehand?
- Repeat that change again the next day
- Set a goal for continuing that new change/habit for a set amount of days with a planned celebration/reward upon reaching the goal
- If you’re really resistant to completing something, set a timer for two minutes. At the end of those two minutes, get started. (It sounds silly, but for some people, it works.)
- Try the “if-then” principle: “If I do this,” (clean kitchen, set up budget, exercise . .), “then I can do this” (scroll through social media, read, nap, etc. . .).
- Play mind games and daydream (Instead of focusing on what you want to do, daydream about all of the positive feelings you will undergo sticking to and achieving your plan. Likewise, focus on the negative feelings you will experience if you give-in to a distraction.)
- Offer forgiveness to yourself when you slip-up (and we all do), but then return to your goal again the next day.
Make Delayed Gratification work for you! 😄
Ultimately, whether you are trying to stick to TRE, save for new tires on your vehicle, or make that next big career step, employing the art of delayed gratification can help you keep your goals at the forefront of your mind. By keeping those goals small and achievable, you can visualize the steps along the path to success (better health, cleaner house, better finances, etc . . .), make peace with your distractions, focus more on your plan/goal, and face challenges (aka distractions) with a bit more self-composure and kindness to self.
Steph Simply 