How intermittent fasting helps during the war

Ukraine war Lviv

The war caught Elena on a business trip to Lviv. This Ukrainian city is relatively safe. Elena tells us how her diet has changed since the beginning of the war.

On February 18, my husband and I arrived in Lviv. An ordinary business trip that should have lasted a week or two turned into a month-long hotel stay. The hotel room was entirely unsuitable for cooking: no refrigerator, no microwave, not at least some mini-stove. Therefore, there was no question of any full-fledged keto food when the war began. And I had zero appetite.

The first few days I only consumed black coffee and dry sausages. Then, for a couple of weeks, I ate store-bought sandwiches, in which 90% of the volume falls on gluten rolls. Then salads with mayonnaise, buckwheat, and cutlets from the culinary went on sale.

Oddly enough, I didn’t want any sweets at all: once I was drawn to junk food, but the story ended with a bar of dark chocolate (alas, not black). I was sure that I would gain weight in a month of eating food loaded with carbs, but this did not happen: I think a year and a half on a low-carb diet made me more metabolically flexible.

Eating two times a day also played a considerable role: intermittent fasting was beneficial, especially in the first week of the war, when there was neither time nor possibility to cook and eat.

Read more: “Under the constant explosions, you don’t really want to eat”

And although my body didn’t change visually, the face still became more swollen, and the speed and quality of thought processes dipped significantly. I do not know what is to blame in the first place – stress, carbohydrates, or everything all at once. Now, after the refrigerator and stove appeared in my life again, I gradually try to return to low-carb lifestyle.

A slab of bacon in the fridge confirms my intentions. It’s hard to say how the situation will change, so I can’t even imagine if I will be able to adhere to a low-carb diet fully. But I hope so. And I’m already looking forward to drinking some wine with dark chocolate for our victory when the war is over.

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