Trying Intermittent Fasting

As many of you know I am getting ready to do the Dopey next January. I have a year to train and lose weight. So I have been doing a lot of research on diet and exercise. That’s just how I approach things. I buy a book and I start the google thing! So I am going to be trying intermittent fasting.

I also talked to my doctor and with her help and guidance I am starting the Mediterranean diet and Intermittent Fasting. And the more I research the more I am finding I really need to make some heatlhy changes to my lifestyle.

So follow along on my health and fitness journey!

What I am reading

My doctor recommended me to listen to a podcast. She told me after she listened to the podcast she purchased the woman’s book.  Not being a slacker I listened to a podcast on the way home. I listened to several the next day as I was waiting to have my windshield changed. When I got home I ordered the book. I received it last night and while I am only on chapter 3, I want to tell you, this book makes sense to my brain!

Fast. Feast. Repeat by Gin Stephens

It is my firm belief that we all learn differently. That approach to ideas hit different people in different ways. To boil it down, my brain is wired differently than your brain.

And this book makes sense to me. The first couple of chapters are very “science-y” as Ms. Stephens says herself. I appreciate this approach to explaining this method of … not dieting, but a healthy lifestyle change.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

To simply put it it is fasting for a set time and then eating. That is the real dumbed down discription huh?

I have always known that my body needs that time when I am not shoving things in my pie hole to what I thought was recover and process what I had just eaten.

Well it is all that and more. Fasting can put your body into ketosis (no, I am not going to tell you to go keto). That is where the magic happens and you will start to burn fat. That is the goal we all want right?

In the book, and I am not going to get into it all here, there are so many other benefits as well. Things like anti-inflammatory, helps with type 2 diabetes, even studies showing it helps fight cancer and Alzheimers.  She quotes studies done to back up these statements. We all know that these things are not true for everyone, but if there is hope and the possibility? Sign me up please.

At the very least, a period of not eating can make me healthier. That’s a whole lot to think about!

Different ways to approach this Intermittent Fasting thing

As with all things there are different methods. People can fast for a day and then feast. People can fast for a few hours and then eat. You really have to listen to your body.

What I am going to try, to start with, is 16/8. I will fast for 16 hours and then have an 8 hour window to be able to eat.  I will go from 7PM until 11AM the next day.

During my fast I can have plenty of water, herbal tea and black coffee.

I typically don’t eat until lunchtime. While I like breakfast, I usually am just happy with my coffee. And to be honest, there are days when I forget to eat lunch.

Now my thing is night time snacking. I know this will be very hard for me. I like salty. I like sweet. Especially after dinner so I know this will be the toughest road for me.

New to all this

I am very new to anything other than something like Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem. This is a whole lifestyle change for me. As well as the IF (Intermittent Fasting) I will be going by the Mediteranean Diet. I wanted to find something not “restrictive” but healthy with all the fruits and veggies. I don’t like Atkins and Keto. They just aren’t for me. My husband has great results with these, but I just can’t. I need to learn how to eat to be healty and be able to run.

I know this isn’t going to be an instant success story. And I know there will be times that I just don’t make it. I need to learn to give myself grace. And while I may just slip, I am not going to stop.

Just like in my online ventures and this blog, consistancy is key here. Just because I miss a day or even a week, I need to keep going!

So follow along with me as I make this journey!

For now I am getting on the treadmill. I have fallen off that routine and need to get back on that too!

Let’s get healthy!