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I've joined a new team at work as of a few weeks ago. I'm getting along well with the people I've met and I enjoy their company.

There is a fairly big going out to lunch culture on the team. Groups or the entire team goes out to lunch 2-3 times per week and I'm usually asked if I'd like to join. And I like their company so I'd love to just for the social aspect!

However, I do intermittent fasting during the day on weekdays to keep my weight in check. I usually eat a very light breakfast and then don't have anything until dinner time, where I'll have a large meal. Not only does eating lunch frequently cause me to put on weight, but I always feel sluggish and foggy for hours afterwards and it definitely impacts my productivity. When I'm just a little hungry during the day I find I'm much more sharp and alert, and able to focus well on work.

I feel it'd be really awkward and strange to go to lunch with them and just get water or tea, and no food. I'm expecting there's really not a fantastic answer here but I can't imagine this being an exceptionally uncommon problem.

In short is there any way I can still socialize during lunch events without skipping the food portion seeming awkward or strange?

I'm an intermittent faster as well. I'm autistic and hardly ever feel hungry, so I skip breakfasts to make it a bit easier for me to feel the hunger. However, I have other dietary restrictions due to autism that sometimes make it difficult to eat outside with other people who don't have the same restrictions.

My coworkers know about my restrictions so it is easier for them to accept that I won't eat with them but still would love to join. When they first invited me to join on their lunch break, I casually told them beforehand that I wouldn't be able to actually share a meal with them but that I'd be happy to have a drink or a side dish I could eat alongside. Maybe you could opt for a drink too? I'm sure you're aware that the rule with intermittent fasting, in order not to break the fast, is to have drinks that don't have calories in it or sweeteners that may be understand by the brain as sugar. So maybe you could have black coffee, tea, or other drinks with sweeteners that don't break the fast? You just need to make sure you'll have something to drink or share with them when joining.

Although it is much easier because I told them why I couldn't share a meal with them, if you haven't told you coworkers and are not willing to disclose it to them, the key is not to make a big deal about it. You could say something along the lines of

Thanks for the invitation, I'd love to join you for lunch. I won't be able to share a meal but I'd happy to share some time off with you and banter.

Now they will likely have questions about why is it you can't have lunch. The simplest way to handle this would be to be honest about your journey and why you're doing this. If you don't want to tell them, you could say that you're restricting your food intake to a big meal per day. Surely they will be intrigued, but fasting is much more common these days and telling them would dismiss most of the potential questions they could have. The key is to show them you enjoy these times together, no matter what's in your plate - or whether you actually have one in front of you.

Another option would be to propose other ways of spending time together. My spouse recently started organizing board games during lunch break. Their co-workers loved the idea and they're now having a great time together almost every day, after they've eaten (I don't think any of them do fast, but some of them have restrictions like organism or IBS that make it difficult for them to join if the others go to a "regular" restaurant). Maybe this could be a way for you to spend time to get to know your coworkers while not being uncomfortable by the fact you can't eat with them.