“I used to be able to do intermittent fasting so well!
And now it seems like I can’t do it anymore.”
A gym friend shared with me yesterday.
When I see a “failure” with a habit — fitness, eating, work, discipline — I can guarantee it’s one of the 2 things none of which have to do with your actual ability to do the thing:
Too much, too fast.
No system of support for real change.
Too much. Too fast.
You throw yourself at a habit like a frog into boiling water.
The frog jumps out🐸
Your nervous system gets flooded with stress hormones.
Your energy tanks.
Hunger spikes.
Your tolerance, mental and physical, hasn’t been built yet.
So of course, it feels impossible.
And of course, you quit.
Would you walk into a gym and start squatting 100kg with zero training?
Probably not.
Is it possible with training?
For most adults without injuries — absof*ckinlutely.
Can you do 100 cold reach-outs a day, get mostly NOs, and still feel confident, excited and peaceful?
Absolutely.
From day one?
Probably not.
Same principle.
Your nervous systems adjusts through reps and then that “hard thing” doesn’t feel that hard.
Intermittent fasting isn’t special.
It’s just another load.
Start with 10–11 hours.
Get consistent with finishing dinner an hour earlier.
Build tolerance.
Instead of jumping straight to 18 hours or one meal a day, which is like trying to lift those 100kg without warming up.
No systems of support for change.
If you want to fast successfully, ask yourself:
Have you designed it around your work schedule?
Your social life?
Your energy cycles?
Your most productive hours?
Your non-fasting meals, are they actually planned well?
Or are you eating at random times, random food, that fight your biology, your calendar, and your life…
and then wondering why the habit feels like the whole world is against it, including you with some form of “self sabotage”?
If so, yes, the whole world is against your new habit.
Because you designed it that way.
I organize my meals to support my work, my social life, and my energy.
So fasting doesn’t feel heroic.
It feels a natural part of my life.
Less friction.
More follow-through.
Fight less. Win more.
This isn’t a willpower problem.
It’s a design solution.
So, as we move into the second month of 2026 this week, dear reader, ask yourself:
Where have I designed my “game” as a losing proposition, and where would better design help me win more?