I lost my job in April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. Like many others who were not expecting to be suddenly unemployed, I fell into depression and hopelessness almost immediately. With the uncertainty of life and the lack of purpose due to no longer having 40 hours of my week occupied with work, I began to comfort eat. The eating was made worse by my moderately active life turning into a mostly sedentary one. All of a sudden there was no need to wake up early and get dressed, haul kids back and forth to school, no more weekend trips to the mall or outings to the park: there was simply nothing to do and no reason to move! I noticed myself gaining weight in all the wrong areas so I decided I needed to change something.
Why I choose Intermittent Fasting
To be honest, I thought working out was the only thing I could do and since we are continuing with honesty, I HATE working out. Especially since during this time the gym was not an option. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been the type to sit in my living room or back patio and do a full workout. I always end up quitting, getting distracted or convincing myself that three situps is more than enough.
This is when my husband suggested I try intermittent fasting. To me, changing my eating habits and restricting my food intake seemed a lot easier than working out. Afterall, I could do that from the couch! Also, it didn’t cost any money to start, unlike signing up for a new gym membership or doing a diet that would require me to grocery shop for all new things.
Side bar: I hate diets. Not only do they suck, but they are also difficult for moms of picky eaters. Making myself a keto dinner and having to cook the kids an entirely different dinner just doesn’t fit into my lazy lifestyle! In the words of sweet brown, “Ain’t nobody got time for dat!”
What is Intermittent Fasting and Why Does it Help
The research I did about fasting really blew me away. Intermittent fasting is all about alternating between eating and fasting on a daily basis. As opposed to most diets that focus on what you eat, this focuses on when you eat. Intermittent fasting is very flexible so you can cater it to your lifestyle. I chose to do a 16:8 fast. This means I fast for 16 hours each day and eat during an 8 hour period. For me, that is between 10:30 am-6:30 pm. Some fasting plans include no eating on certain days or sticking between a specific caloric intake on some days while eating normally on others. Do your own research before choosing a plan that is right for you.
The health benefits of intermittent fasting are vast. Obviously weight loss is the main reason and benefit for intermittent fasting, but this lifestyle change can increase your overall health. According to Mayo Clinic and Web MD, intermittent fasting can improve brain function and memory, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels, stabilize blood sugar levels and more.
My experience with intermittent fasting
I chose 10:30-6:30 pm as my eating hours because I felt this fit my lifestyle the best and would increase my chances of success. My body is used to eating breakfast early in the morning and eating dinner earlier in the evening, so I knew this time period would allow me to be less of a shock to my system and our family’s normal schedule.
As you can imagine, the first few days were the hardest. I was used to eating breakfast around 7:30-8am each day so waiting until 10:30 am felt like forever. Especially since I need to make breakfast for my kids before then. However, changing my nighttime eating habits proved to be the hardest part. Me and hubby love to settle in and watch movies with plenty of snacks throughout the week. Usually, this takes place way later than 6:30pm, so I had to break my habit of snacking while watching TV each night. More than once Hubby had to persuade me to put down the cupcake or bag of chips I wanted to eat with him on the couch!
That first week showed me that I never allow myself to feel hunger. I think many Americans eat at set times, whether they are hungry or not, so our bodies are used to preemptively eating to avoid hunger all together. There have been many times when I’ve eaten something just so that I wouldn’t be hungry later. Apparently this is terrible for our metabolism!
After the first month of fasting several things changed with my body:
- I was less hungry. When I initially started, I would eat everything in sight during my 8hr window. After a few weeks, I noticed that skipping lunch or only eating a small snack was enough to keep me satisfied until dinner.
- I no longer got the ‘itis’. Eating until I was so full that I needed a nap is something I often did. I feel like it’s a normal thing in our culture. But after fasting for so long, my stomach just couldn’t handle meals that large anymore.
- I was less bloated. I did do some light workouts during the first month but fasting was my main focus. Fasting alone did help me drop a few pounds but having less bloating really changed the appearance of my stomach/waistline.
- If I ate after 6:30pm I got nauseous. This is one thing I wasn’t expecting but it did help me to stay on track. My body was literally a trained machine by the end of the month!
Keep in mind, during the first month I made little to no changes in what I was eating. During my second month I began to drop sugary foods and most breads all together. I put my body changes into hyper drive!
When I started fasting I had no start or end date in mind, only the goal of feeling and looking better. I’ve since decided that this is something I want to incorporate into my life for the foreseeable future. July makes about 80 days that I have been doing daily 16:8 intermittent fasting. I’ve since integrated some low impact workouts and it has greatly affected my overall health and appearance (more on this later). Speak to your doctor and do research before you decide to fast, as I am not a medical expert. In my life, I say that fasting has been a game-changer. I feel so much better about myself and my eating habits. This whole summer has been about improving and loving myself and my body. Fasting has for sure helped with that.
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I agree! It’s been an amazing tool to help with overall health and wellness. Thank you!
This is such a great way to achieve your goals in a way that works for you. I need to build this into my schedule.
I’m so sorry to hear about your job loss, Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Sounds like you’re doing amazing! Keep up the great work! It’s so important that we try our best to take good care of the health God has so graciously given us. You’re story is an encouragement to others, keep sharing!
This was really interesting, I never knew there were so many benefits of intermittent fasting! Lockdown really is the ideal time to overhaul something you weren’t happy with, well done on feeling better in yourself! Becca x
This is amazing content love the storylinesl
Sorry to hear you lost your job, I can understand how you felt, I was laid off for a few months, I just went back to work and it’s still not full time. I just resumed my workouts since our gyms reopened but I am very interested in this intermittent fasting, I must do some more research, I think this would work perfectly for me as well. Thanks for sharing!
I really like your approach to this. I have looked into intermittent fasting before and some of the protocols can seem really extreme. However, I feel like I could do what you’re doing (I think)! I’m going to give it a try and see what happens. I’m sure the first week will be rough though. Question – in your first week/month – did you ever cheat and even have a healthy snack after 6:30? Also, I assume you had drinks after 6:30 pm or just water? Also – what about caffeine before 10:30 am?!!
Hey Yolanda! Thanks for reading 🙂 So in that first month I did not cheat and eat after 6:30 pm and I took no days off. I think this is best because being lenient only makes it harder to stick with it! Also, if you eat your body won’t go into ketosis so you won’t see the results as well. I did allow myself a glass of red wine after 6:30 but other than that I only drink water. Same with the mornings, only water before 10:30 am. I’m not a coffee drinker but I think an exception can be made!
Thanks for the additional info! I’m going to start tonight 🙂
Yes to intermittent fasting! I like to fast im the morning as well. And I have the same results that I am very happy with! It seems we have alot in common! So glad to be getting to know you! Will be reading more!
Hey sis! I’m glad you made it over! Yes we in this together!! lol
I’m so sorry about your job, I can’t imagine going through that 😔 I was lucky to be able to take my job virtual for the time being, but it was a huge adjustment. I have heard about intermittent fasting and even was not intentionally almost following the 16:8 method! Lol You’ve got me thinking about it again…
Sounds like you’re almost there. You should try it again! 🙂
This is really great to know about your fast. I wish I could be on a more set schedule because personally I feel like I fast most of the days and some days I don’t. I just don’t have a time where I eat at the same time which is all away bad! Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I don’t. My dinners are all over the place as well. I’m interested in doing the 16:8 intermittent fast but I need to research the others first to see which one would work best for me. Also about the working out, I am the same way, if I go to the gym I’m just lost on what to do. I rather take classes and follow what someone else is doing. I just can’t seem to get it on my own. I recently found out that if I don’t clear my mind so I can commit to working out it’s going to be really hard to work out. It’s just hard for me to stay focused to actually be committed to working out. I need to do a lot of inner work to be relaxed and to avoid distractions and addictions like social media, sugary foods. My end goal is to have a balanced healthy lifestyle overall.
Hey there Mykra! There are many different ways to do it so don’t be discouraged! You just have to find what works for you. At this point, we are all just trying to survive so do the best you can and that’s enough! But I agree, it is really hard to commit and stay committed to working out, especially without a trainer or someone there to help! I’ve always struggled with that. But I’m trying to do better. Thank you for reading, I hope you come back for more content in the future!