Hey y'all!
So, I did a thing. I started intermittent fasting a few weeks back, and I have to admit, I'm entirely convinced I can live the majority of my days doing this and that it will be beneficial to my health and waistline! The cool thing is, this is NOT A DIET, it's a feeding schedule. Essentially, I skip breakfast, and stop eating after dinner. I chose the 16:8 schedule, because I believe this will be manageable for me to do most every day. This means, I eat 8 hours a day, and don't eat for 16 hours.
Let's back up though.
I've seen a huge up-kick in the number of people "doing Keto" which I've heard summed up as the modern take on the Atkins diet. In case you have no interest in clicking the links provided, I'll sum them up this way: low-no carbs... Lots of meat. Yes, apparently that is a thing.
I can remember my initial disgust whenever some of my regulars at the grill, (my mom-in-law's restaurant, and no that's not it's actual name) ordered a cheese burger with no bun and a side of salad... I thought, how dare you do that to a perfectly good and delicious burger! Then, after some contemplation and their explanation of "Keto" I thought, okay... yeah, there's no way I would choose to live life without bread and potatoes, not to mention chocolate, but okay... have fun with that! 😳
I've had the pleasure of observing these people suffer through their sacrificial diet, and shed many a pound, over the last few months and I will say, I admire their gumption!
All that said, how many times do we hear ads for the newest supplement or diet program? How many people do we know who get super enthusiastic about it and lose a ton of weight, only to gain it all back, once they drop the program?
I'm all for managing weight, as heart disease is killing more people than cancer at the moment, and more and more studies are pointing to poor diet and lifestyles as leading causes.
Back to my initial point, I chose to do intermittent fasting whenever I discovered the video linked in the beginning of this post, and after a week or so of exhaustive research. I was amazed to discover people who had been practicing this lifestyle for YEARS with great success!
My progress so far has been interesting. I began this lifestyle change two weeks before leaving on vacation, and fully expected that to demolish the plan. I can say, happily, it didn't! I lost 5 pounds within the first week, and began to lose the second week, until I quit following the routine in the chaos of preparing to take a family of four on vacation.
The week we were gone, I ate and drank whenever and whatever I wanted, then was pleased again whenever I returned home and hadn't gained any weight. My theory is that in the two weeks prior, I had developed a better gauge of whether I was actually hungry, or just thirsty. Oddly, I only occasionally would intermittent fast in the next few weeks, as we had big changes at work and in preparing for the kiddos and myself to go back to school.
Can we take a moment to be real here? Having kids makes every little thing more complex. Moving on...
I only began intermittent fasting consistently again a few days ago, and I'm already feeling full before I've finished a meal and losing weight again!
In summary, if you want to do something that is sustainable, and will help you to develop better portion control (huge weakness for me), and you are healthy enough to try something like this, (ASK A DOCTOR IF IN DOUBT AT ALL. I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.) I highly recommend giving it a go! Huge bonus, and TMI warning here, doing this for a week will have you pooping like clockwork! You're welcome! 😉
I have more energy now, I don't tend to over eat at meals anymore, I crave fruits and veggies and best of all, I'm starting to easily fit into clothes I haven't worn comfortably in a long time!
Do what works for you, and love yourself no matter what! 💙
Delanie
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