I’ve been on the 8/16 intermittent fast for a few weeks now. I know many of you have been curious about it. I thought it might be helpful to your own considerations for me to share my schedule.

• sometime between 5:40 & 8:10 AM—Wake up, ravenous.
• until 8:40 AM—Think obsessively about breakfast. Oh, and have a pot of green tea.
• between tea and 10:30 AM, drink water to help pretend I’m not hungry.
• 10:20 AM—start preparing breakfast.
• 10:30.000 AM—Eat breakfast.
• 10:37 AM—Start thinking about Elevensies.
• 10:54 AM—Prepare Elevensies.
• 11:00.000 AM—Elevensies.
• 11:07 AM—Start thinking about lunch.
• 11:08 AM—Start planning lunch menu.
• 1:00.000 PM—Eat lunch.
• 1:17 PM—Start thinking about Fika.
• 3:00.000 PM—Fika.
• 3:14 PM—Start dreading 6:30 PM.
• 3:15 PM—Start thinking about supper.
• 3:15.30 PM—Start planning supper.
• 3:48 PM—Start wondering if it’s Happy Hour yet; continue dreading 6:30 PM.
• 4:14–4:52 PM—Keep wondering if it’s Happy Hour yet.
• 4:36 PM—Start planning Happy Hour; continue dreading 6:30 PM
• 4:53 PM—Make cocktail for Happy Hour; simultaneously dreading 6:30 PM.
• 4:58 PM—Await Happy Hour, cocktail in hand.
• 5:00.000 PM—Happy Hour.
• 5:20 PM—Resume dreading 6:30 PM; anticipate cooking supper.
• 5:25 PM—Restlessly gather ingredients for supper.
• 5:28 PM—If supper = leftovers, resume dreading 6:30 PM. If supper = new dishes, begin cooking, dreading 6:30 PM in the back of my mind.
• 5:48 PM—If supper = leftovers, start reheating, dreading 6:30 PM
• 5:54 PM—Set up TV tray, pour bubbly water, turn on TV; mute sound; dread 6:30 PM
• 5:58 PM—Plate supper, dread for 6:30 PM a background emotion.
• 5:59 PM—Wait for 6 PM, unmute TV; dread 6:30 PM.
• 6:00.000 PM—Eat supper, PBS NewsHour providing distraction from dark thoughts about 6:30 PM.
• 6:20 PM—Realize only 10 minutes remain for dessert; fly to kitchen to dish up dessert.
• 6:23.000 PM—Eat dessert, 6:30 PM looming like vulture.
• 6:30 PM—Begin thinking about going to bed, sleep being the only escape from longing for 10:30 AM.
• Continue likewise until bedtime, hunger and dark thoughts increasing constantly.