Intermittent Fasting Is Easier Than You Think

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What exactly is intermittent fasting? Simple definition: eating in a certain time window. It is also known as time-restrictive eating.

Fasting isn’t hard. It’s quite easy, actually. I’ve been doing intermittent fasting (IF) for about a year and a half. I don’t have to try hard at this. IF is the only thing that I have been able to do consistently without any struggle. Once I lost the weight I wanted, I have been in maintenance for the past year. No foods are off-limits, which is awesome because I love all the foods. But don’t be surprised if your food preferences change. I look at foods as window worthy now. Gin Stephens’ first book was called Delay Don’t Deny. To me, that is perfectly said. I’m not denying myself anything I’m just delaying when I eat it.

The first thing you need to know about fasting is the “clean fast.” When you are fasting, you don’t eat anything. But you can have drinks. Black coffee, black or green tea, or water. That’s it. No creamer, no milk, no sugar, no flavored teas, no flavored waters. Trust me when I say you don’t want to cheat in this area. If you think a diet drink will be ok, you are wrong. Your body doesn’t know the difference between real sugar and fake sugar, and you will have an insulin response and therefore break your fast.

I typically follow a 16:8 protocol. Which is fasting for 16 hours and eating in an 8-hour window. I normally do two meals a day. There are many protocols that you can do. You can change the hours you fast; for example, you can do 18:6 and 19:5, and some people even do 20:4. Some do one meal a day, also known as OMAD. And some do alternate daily fasting, also known as ADF. That’s where you eat every other day.

IF has done so much more for me than help me lose and maintain my weight. My energy is way up. I feel like I’m in my twenties, not my forties. It has helped with brain fog and increased my mental clarity. I’m no longer thinking about food constantly and when I am going to eat next. I no longer suffer from decision fatigue. It has sparked an amazing desire to want to learn more about health and nutrition. It ultimately leads to me doing this blog. Even though I talk about everything, not just fasting.

I have heard from many people that they could never fast. My answer to that is you already are. From the time you take your last bite for the evening till you eat the next day is fasting. So if you are sleeping 8 hours at night, you are fasting for at least 8 hours. You don’t have to jump in head first as I did into fasting. Just push back your breakfast an hour. Then in a few days, push it back another hour. Till you eventually get to the fasting window you want. You also don’t have to have a 12 pm – 8 pm eating window. Your window could be a morning window where you eat breakfast and lunch and skip dinner. There is not a one size fits all protocol. That’s the best part you make it work for you.

I will be glad to give you advice or suggestions. Just send me a message or comment below. I’m no expert, but I can point you to those that are. There are so many resources out there. From medical journals to blogs to books to podcasts. Most of which are free.

Here’s a great tip for books. Download the Libby app and link your library card to it. You can read and listen to audiobooks for free. You are limited to what they have, but I have found so many great resources. Not just about fasting but about well-being altogether.

Please know that you aren’t going to drop 20 pounds in 2 weeks. You might even gain a pound or two in the first month. It doesn’t mean that fasting doesn’t work for you. It’s just your body adjusting to the new schedule and getting your body fat adapted. You want to deplete your glycogen every day and let autophagy do its thing. Autophagy is a process where the body destroys old or damaged cells in the body. How cool is that? Our bodies are amazing creatures.

**Disclaimer: I am not a medical expert, and this is not medical advice. Please always talk to your doctor before you change anything with your diet**

Keepin’ it real,

Magan O.

Don’t forget to check out my other posts

How My Weight Loss Journey Began