Do you ever feel like you’ve hit a wall when it comes to weight loss? You keep trying different diets, even ones that worked for you before, but you’re stuck at the same heavier weight? Or even worse… now you’re gaining weight after starting the diet!
This started happening to me as I grew older wiser, but I’m going to share the #1 practice that has been pretty easy for me to do and has helped me lose weight steadily… it’s intermittent fasting (IF).
Even though my weight fluctuated growing up, I never did the yo-yo diet thing that my mom and sister struggled with. Losing weight wasn’t so difficult for me when I was younger. The moment I decided that I wanted to lose weight, I would stop eating as much sugar as I had been eating at the moment and BOOM, the weight would start to go down.
As time passed, then I had to start incorporating exercise to see results, but once I did both, the weight started going down again.
And then I hit my mid-thirties…
My usual go-to weight loss regimen no longer worked. I started yo-yo dieting, which did not work either. I would lose weight and then gain it back with some extra pounds added to the mix. At the end of 2015, I started doing Insanity MAX 30 and following the color-coded container diet that went along with the program.
This worked! It was amazing, I started slimming down, working out with friends (I love to partner up for workouts), and eating healthier. I became a Beachbody Coach to spread the word because I wanted everybody to experience the same success. Being a coach also helped keep me accountable.
Then my husband and I tried unsuccessfully to have a baby, had a loss, and spent most of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 pumping my body with fertility hormones. I gained 40 pounds!
There I was depressed about having no baby and being 50 lbs heavier than I wanted to be. I had to do something about it.
And then the universe stepped in…
My husband’s career moved us from the Fort Lauderdale area to Seattle. I found that healthy food options seem to be more readily available in Seattle. Then, I joined Orange Theory Fitness, which I had gone to in Fort Lauderdale and loved. There, one of my coaches told me about her experiences with gut health and I started doing research about it.
I implemented some changes that kick-started my weight loss (you can read about it here). But I noticed that the more marked weight loss came after I skipped breakfast. Honestly, if I skipped breakfast, it wasn’t intentional. Most of the time I wanted tea and would forget to have anything else. Hearing that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, I generally tried not to skip it.
STUMBLING UPON “THE OBESITY CODE”
I came across this great book by Dr. Jason Fung called The Obesity Code, followed by The Complete Guide to Fasting, written by Dr. Jason Fung with Jimmy Moore. The first book focuses more on the research behind fasting and the second book focuses on the practice.
This explained why I noticed better results in weight loss when I was skipping breakfast. I had been fasting for 14 – 16 hours several days a week and didn’t even realize it.
The best part was that the books cited a number of benefits resulting from intermittent fasting (I’ll talk about those later). Since I had unintentionally fasted without feeling like it was very challenging, I decided I would try it.
I’ve been fasting more intentionally since then….
WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING?
Basically, it’s periods of eating, interspersed with periods of fasting, or not eating. If you think about it, you fast every day. While you’re sleeping, you have an extended period when you’re not eating, and therefore you are fasting. With Intermittent fasting, you are extending the window of not eating and gaining several health benefits in return.
Right after we eat, insulin levels peak to move the energy from food into energy for our cells. This is a very simplified way to explain it, but the point is that the insulin hormone regulates the use of energy from food as well as the storage of that energy.
When we eat, we have more energy from that food than we need to use at the moment. Our bodies store the rest of it to be used at a later time. After a period of fasting, insulin levels decrease. This allows our bodies the opportunity to finish burning off the energy from food. Since our cells still need an energy source, we move on to burning stored fat for fuel.
This is similar to the ultimate goal of the Ketogenic Diet. It’s hard to not have heard of this diet because it’s so popular. It’s the low carb, high-fat diet that you may already be trying at this moment…or seriously considering. Ultimately, ketosis can be achieved in more than one way. Intermittent fasting is the option that helps you lose weight without restricting proteins and carbs dramatically as you would with the Ketogenic diet.
BENEFITS OF INTERMITTENT FASTING
First, I want to point out that IF is not starvation, it is a controlled period of not eating. YOU decide the length of the fasting period. It should include constant hydration and be followed by a period of eating nutritious foods. Having proper nutrition should be a part of any diet.
Before we talk about nutrition during eating periods, here’s a list of benefits of intermittent fasting. Please note that the benefits extend beyond this list, but here are some of the most salient ones:
- Weight Loss with Muscle Maintenance
- Regulates Blood Sugar, Decreases Insulin Resistance
- Mental Clarity
- Decreased Risk Factors for Heart Disease and Cancer
- Increased Good Cholesterol (HDL and LDL) and Decreased Bad Cholesterol (Triglycerides)
- Increased Growth Hormone (Antiaging and Muscle Building)
Check out this site for additional information on the benefits of Intermittent Fasting.
MOST COMMON INTERMITTENT FASTING METHODS
When it comes to the length of time you can fast, I think it’s a very individualized decision. You can read more about how to determine your Intermittent Fasting schedule here. While I can easily fast for 16 hours, some people find it to be too difficult. More than 16 hours is too much for me, but many people commonly fast for 24-hour periods and beyond.
The best thing is that you get to decide which is the one that works for you! Here are three of the most common IF techniques:
- Leangains – This method is the one I follow, and it entails fasting for 14-16 hours and feeding for 8-10 hours a day.
- Warrior – With the warrior method, you fast for 20 hours and feed for 4 hours every day. This method does allow for limited consumption of fruits and vegetables during the fasting period.
- Eat Stop Eat – With the eat stop eat method of fasting, you fast for 24 hours once or twice per week. You then follow a healthy diet for the remaining days.
WHAT TO CONSUME DURING FASTING
Hydration is essential during fasting and throughout the day. Ideally, you will drink a lot of water throughout the fasting period. This will keep you hydrated and help flush out toxins from your body.
Tea and plain coffee are also good options. I drink green tea throughout the morning. I sometimes drink it after dinner too.
Another excellent low-calorie option with nutritional benefits is bone broth. I find bone broth to be filling too. On mornings I feel hungry before the start of my eating period, bone broth holds me up until lunch.
WHAT TO EAT IN BETWEEN FASTS
I think it’s important to include what you should eat in this post is because you will not get the benefits of IF if you eat a lot of junk in between fasts.
Since the window of time when you’re eating is shortened, the goal is to nurture your body with foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Eat a lot of veggies, healthy fats, proteins, even unprocessed carbs. EAT CLEAN.
Think about it, you’ve just given your body the opportunity to burn energy from your fat stores. Do you want to fill it up with pizza, beer, cupcakes and ice cream?
The purpose of intermittent fasting for me is to be healthier. Killing the opportunity by eating highly processed and sugary foods seems pointless. Now don’t get me wrong, I have eaten pizza since I started, but that is an exception. I also don’t believe in depriving yourself so much that you then binge when you give in.
By eating clean, I’m talking about eating fresh, unprocessed foods. You can eat a fruit cup, but the healthier option is to eat a banana, and apple, or better yet some berries. The fruit cup has real fruit in it, but it also has added sugar.
I grew up eating rice and beans pretty much every day for lunch. This is the Dominican staple, with lunch being the heaviest meal of the day. I LOVE black beans. While I don’t eat them every day, when I cook my black beans, I pour them over brown rice or wild rice. It tastes just as delicious as with white rice and hasn’t been stripped of most nutrients.
In general, organic foods, grass-fed beef, cage-free eggs, etc., are better options. But let’s be real, not everybody has the budget to buy everything organic. Regardless of what you can buy, try to go for foods as close as possible to the way they are found in nature. Whenever possible, leave out as many processed foods as you can. For more information on what to eat during Intermittent Fasting for weight loss, click here.
POINTS OF CAUTION
It goes without saying that because IF has worked for me, it doesn’t mean it is the best option for everybody. Here are some things to keep in mind before jumping into an IF regimen:
- You should always consult with your doctor before starting this or any major change in your eating patterns.
- There are some conditions, or some medications, in which going for long periods without eating can cause problems. Again, consulting with your doctor will ensure that following an IF regimen is right for you.
- Shortened periods of eating can reduce general caloric intake that can lead to weight loss. Don’t be fooled by this, it’s still important to ensure sufficient nutrition for optimal health.
- Intermittent fasting is NOT recommended if you are underweight, pregnant, or breastfeeding.
IS INTERMITTENT FASTING FOR YOU?
As I’ve mentioned before, this is a very individualized choice and you should consult your doctor before trying it. For me, it has been a very helpful and easy to use “tool” in my weight loss journey.
The great thing is that you have options on how to practice IF. They extend beyond the common methods specified in this post (16:8, 20:4, and 24 hours up to 2 times per week).
So far, research is showing that there are benefits to this practice ranging from weight loss, blood sugar regulation, improved heart health, mental clarity, anti-aging, and muscle-building.
While a low carb diet during feeding periods can enhance the effects of intermittent fasting, it is not necessary to experience the benefits. This is one of the things I like the most about it!
I shoot for eating low carb, but I don’t feel restricted on special occasions. I have still seen a difference of 15 lbs since I started doing regular 16:8 fasts in the past three months! This is with the holidays in between.
I hope this information helps you decide if Intermittent Fasting is right for you.
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