Emotional Regulation on a Difficult Diet

I woke up at three in the morning in an absolutely foul mood. Negative thoughts dominated my mind, and I didn’t have the willpower to muster a rational defense. I squirmed around for a while, got out of bed, and started complaining to ChatGPT that my entire existence was a total mistake.

I was physically hungry, but not to the point where I couldn’t wait for food. I wasn’t supposed to eat until at least six. Still, I went downstairs to drink a protein shake, since it was sweet and the macros were perfectly in line with my diet. As I walked down the stairs, a feeling of relief began swelling in my mind. It was powerful, contrasting starkly with the misery of just moments before. The relief grew as I prepared the shake, and as I drank it, all negative emotions seemed to finally disappear.

This event shook my outlook on food and my understanding of discipline. There are upsides and downsides to when we choose to eat. Just because you can eat, and you feel some hunger, doesn’t mean you should at that moment. This is especially important on a difficult diet.

Food should be used to ensure we function properly as we work toward our goals. That means what you eat matters just as much as when you eat it. In the case of a heavy caloric deficit of 1000 or more, it is more important to regulate your emotional state than to focus only on what you feel in your stomach. When calories are that low, you will feel hunger no matter what. But hunger alone doesn’t do much.

Set your awareness on your emotions. Are you able to remain clear-headed and focused on your work? Or are automatic thoughts increasingly distracting you? If you are reading something, can you do so quickly, or do you find yourself rereading sentences multiple times to understand them? The worse these symptoms become, the closer you are to actually needing food.

Today, I noticed myself growing more frustrated as lunchtime approached. I had decided to experiment with not eating, instead relying on two cups of coffee and trying to delay food as long as I could. I kept a close eye on my emotions and realized, as I reached the end of a chapter and could barely appreciate the text I was reading, that it was finally time to eat.

If you are not on a deficit, then you have more flexibility with timing and food. You can optimize your energy earlier in the day to increase productivity. But for someone on a deficit, regulating emotions and minimizing discomfort must take top priority. Productivity is measured in how quickly the weight is coming off.

The question is whether you are disciplined enough to overcome the physical discomfort of a hungry belly. If you are not, then you will never be lean. Leanness is more than just an appearance—it reflects one's ability to plan and optimize, to be tough, and to have foresight and good instincts. That is why it is so attractive.