Challenges, Pros & Cons

So far when I've tried this here and there before it works amazingly for weight loss but socially it's a little awkward and I do have a family who wants dinner, and I find it difficult not to want to eat with them. So those are the main challenges for me.

One change I've made to help with this is I've started to have dinner ready at 3 or 4 pm, and I feed and eat with the kids at that time. It's not that crazy, really, considering the children eat at school at 1130, so by 3pm they really are hungry. If I give them snacks then, they eat a whole meal's worth anyway. With the early afternoon meal, I get to have all the cooking and cleaning finished in the early afternoon, instead of having to do it all in the rush between evening sports activities and bedtime. When they get home from their activities around 615, their dad eats his dinner from what I made earlier, and they have a snack.

I actually think this is better for them, because they go to bed at 8 to 830. I don't think it's great for them to have their biggest meal of the day at 630/7 and then go to bed an hour or two later.

One thing I want to work on is having a healthier snack available at that time. I am thinking maybe a fruit and cheese plate with some veggies and nuts. If they still want their cereal or whatever, fine, but overall I'd like to give them the opportunity for eating the healthier stuff.

So pros are definitely:

• going to bed with a lighter stomach and sleeping better from that
• not having to do so much during a busy time of day when I'm getting tired
• having more time in the evenings for relaxing

And the cons are still:

• feeling like I'm missing out on family dinner
• getting hungry at dinnertime because that is what I'm used to
• some supplements I take after dinner that really help with my PMS need to be taken with food or they make me sick
• the kids still need to eat something at that time, because they eat every few hours still and they are hungry after their sports

Some ways I plan to deal with the cons: 

• making a drink or having a very light snack per The 3pm Secret book, such as fruit, milk or clear soup, and sitting down with the family
• making sure we have sit down breakfast and early dinner times, for that important family time and opportunity for the children to learn how to eat and behave at the table
• planning and preparing ahead for the evening snack, like cutting up veggies and fruit in advance, so it's easy to get that snack on the table
• trying to take the supplements at my early dinner and hopefully they don't make me sleepy

And other mindset shifts I want to work on:

• remembering that if someone told me I had to fast from waking up till lunch, 5 or 6 hours, I would think it's no big deal. Well, this also is just 5 or 6 hours, and I get to spend the last 8-9 hours of the fast asleep, instead of the other way around! 
• I can still have a social life, because I'm only doing this during the week. If I have something social to do, I'm going to participate and won't miss out. 
• knowing that if I allow myself to get used to not eating in the evening, I won't get hungry then anymore.
• knowing that if I allow myself to get used to not eating in the evening, I will actually be hungry in the mornings! 
• feeling ok about giving the kids early dinner, because they're having the same number of meals, just dinner and snack are reversed, and it's actually healthier for them too.