ND Dev<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://tech.lgbt/@Holobrine" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>Holobrine</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/actuallyautistic" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>actuallyautistic</span></a></span> <br>Let's simplify. There are four straightforward ways to lose <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/weight" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>weight</span></a>: eat less at a time; eat less often; eat healthier <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/food" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>food</span></a> and less junk; and do more <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/exercise" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>exercise</span></a>. The more of these your friend can do, the better. But <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/autism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>autism</span></a> brings its own concerns: our interoception (the way we sense what's going on inside our bodies) may be different from other people's, we may be strongly attached to some foods and averse to others, or we may struggle to find the motivation to exercise.</p><p>I find, with practice, I can go 24 hours without food and not be bothered by hunger, but once I start to eat, I can't stop. So, for me, one of the most effective ways to lose weight is to do a couple of 24-hour fasts each week and, on the other days, skip breakfast and never eat between meals. Eating less each meal is never going to fly: I've tried it and failed. </p><p>Eating more healthily works well for me (and has lots of other benefits besides weight-control), because I can eat my fill without touching junk food. </p><p>I find that fasting without exercise is awful: my metabolic rate slows down, so I feel cold and I have no energy, even on feed days. So I try to have a blast on the cross-trainer a few times a week (but always on feed days), just to keep my metabolic rate up and give me more energy on fasting days. Again, exercise has loads of other benefits, and everyone who can do it <em>should</em> do it. </p><p>Before I go further, there are lots of people who shouldn't fast, including all children, all women of childbearing age, anyone who's ever had an eating disorder, and anyone who has a medical condition that makes fasting inadvisable. If in doubt, talk to your doctor.</p><p>I've outlined my regimen not because I think it's right for your friend — it probably isn't — but to explain how I arrived at it (over a period of many years). I'm sensitive to the way my body and mind behave, and I've found a way of controlling my weight that works for me. You will be different, and your friend will be different again. There's no diet that works for everyone. Helen, for example, can't fast, but does brilliantly on <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/SlimmingWorld" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SlimmingWorld</span></a>, because she doesn't mind weighing out 40g of this and 60g of that and calling it dinner. It's ideal for her, but a non-starter for me.</p><p>The key is to know yourself deeply and honestly and and ask: what's one thing I could probably manage that would help? Turn it into a habit, be compassionate with yourself when you falter, and get it solid before taking the next step. That's how I gave up junk food: one type at a time. (Crisps were the hardest, and the last to go, but now I never touch them and barely miss them.)</p><p>Big-bang changes don't work. Look at the number of new year's resolutions that are guiltily forgotten by mid-January.</p><p>Some people find that company and social pressure help; I'm sure that's part of the way diet clubs work. I suspect that many autists will take less well to all that rah-rah, slimmer-of-the-week stuff than their neurotypical friends will.</p><p>I find that hard rules do work, even if I'm the only person enforcing them on myself. For example, I've just turned down some delicious snacks because it would have meant eating between meals. If I keep breaking that rule, it'll stop working and then I'll be plump (and at risk of type-2 diabetes) and so I'm motivated to honour it. I don't know; maybe that's an <a href="https://infosec.space/tags/ActuallyAutistic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ActuallyAutistic</span></a> way of thinking?</p><p>Best of luck to your friend, and to you as you offer your support.</p>