Delay, Don't Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle

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The fix: Plan ahead. Prepare a healthy meal that’s ready for you when your fast ends and make sure to eat whole ingredients when possible including healthy carbs like whole grains, lean protein and plenty of veggies, says Fung. Adopting my own version of intermittent fasting has dramatically changed the way I think about food. It was not planned - but over time - I found myself enjoying morefruits and vegetables and eatingless junk food. Gin earned a Doctor of Education degree in Gifted and Talented Education in 2009 from Northcentral University and a Masters degree in Natural Sciences from The University ofSouth Carolina. She taught elementary school for 28 years beforeretiring to focus on IF full-time. Since Gin also has two adult sons, one husband, and four cats, she is busy. Thank goodness for intermittent fasting, which makes her life easier! Archives

Community - Gin Stephens, author and intermittent faster

I started out my current weightloss journey doing a low carb/ketogenic diet in the spring of 2016. I had heard about keto from a friend who touted it's effectiveness. I read up on it, and started eating that way, and it was indeed effective, but I couldn't shrug off this feeling that I was still a slave to my weight. Sure, I could eat all the bacon I wanted, but I couldn't feel free to celebrate with a piece of birthday cake with my family, or a glass of wine with friends. I had this constant anxiety that one molecule of dreaded carbs would erase all my hard work. I could never feel totally "normal" eating low carb. It wasn't a feasible lifestyle change for me, because it didn't fully allow me to live.

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In 2020, during the Coronavirus Pandemic, I, like so many others, became depressed and even more overweight. I was sitting at home all day trying to teach kindergarten students remotely. At the end of the 2020 school year I knew I needed to make some serious life changes. I applied and was granted a part-time position teaching elementary physical education. I also did some research and started teaching English to the children in China from the comfort of my basement wearing my comfy pajama bottoms. At the start of the 2020-2021 school year as the new Elementary P.E. teacher, I was loving my job but felt like a bit of a hypocrite. How could I be teaching young children about the importance of exercise and eating healthy foods and be overweight myself? I will never forget the date: January 5, 2021. I was afraid to step on the scale for many months prior because I just wasn't ready to face the truth of it all. When I did step on the scale that day I was blown away! 174.6 pounds!!! What??? I had never in my life been in the 170's. That day was absolutely eye-opening. I cried for about two hours straight, curled up in the fetal position eating a box of Milk Duds and then I decided it was time to end my pity party and get to work. My story begins like a lot of the other stories I have seen. I am 49, but most of my life I have dieted or at the very least obsessed over my diet. I was always the bigger kid growing up, probably not by huge difference but in my mind, I was always big! I had my first child at eighteen and probably put on over 70 pounds. I prayed each time at the end going to my OB that I wouldn’t top 200. I went on to have 2 more children and at 26 I was settled into motherhood and always had weight to lose,..I would say anywhere from 30 up to 80 pounds more than I needed. At 30 years old I began slowly running and at 33 I did my first Chicago marathon and 2 years later I did my second. I truly enjoyed running and did manyraces, includingseveral half marathons, and completed 2 full marathons. I was very focused on accomplishing running goals and weight loss came as a result. I continued running until a few years ago after a long struggle with increasing right foot pain, which I learned was a stress fracture that left me in a boot for 3 months, I suffered from some plantar fasciitis after and it took its toll on me emotionally and physically.

Everything You Need To Know About Intermittent Fasting

Fast forward to today. Now at 57 years old, I have absolutely never felt more alive, healthier, more energetic, or sharper, after one year of incorporating intermittent fasting into my lifestyle. I have eliminated the need for blood pressure medicine. Gone! I am stronger than I have been in decades. All my general aches and pains have disappeared. Haven’t had a headache in a year; I don’t think I have even taken an Advil during that time. I wake up with a sense of well-being that is indescribable; in fact, over the past year I don’t believe I have had a single truly bad day. I feel so liberated from the toxic soup of negative thoughts and guilt I was marinating in about my health and my weight, starting upon waking every morning and rarely ever quieting down from their constant suffocating presence. My skin tags have vanished. I am so much more focused. I now have boundless energy! I have even developed a strong desire to exercise, returning to things I have loved since childhood, like biking and dancing and swimming and jumping on a mini-trampoline. I enjoy food more than at any time in my life, and I eat a robust and unrestricted diet. You might be inclined to opt out of dinner with friends or say no to birthday parties because you’re fasting,” Linsenmeyer says. “In that case, it might not be enjoyable or sustainable long-term.” In 2011, I did the Whole30 for 3 months. The Whole30 was the key to me quitting my 5 can a day Diet Coke addiction, but the constant meal prep was more than I could handle.Appetite Correction is the Holy Grail of intermittent fasting, and it is the state you reach when your satiety signals are in tune with an appropriate amount of food for your body.” 3. You Will Be Inspired: No matter if you’re looking to lose some weight or gain a healthier body, intermittent fasting is a good way to go. First of all, intermittent fasting is simple. It’s not about what you eat, it’s about when you eat. There are all types of plans out there that will help you decide what works best. I still eat carbs. I still have dessert (though I try to not do it as often). There is no forbidden food. The only limitation of this lifestyle is the time-- limit the number of hours in which I consume food.