I dreaded stepping on the scale this morning. I travelled out of town over the weekend, and lunch out with friends and a particularly yummy Chinese buffet on Saturday evening, combined with no exercise, had wrecked my intermittent fasting and weight loss progress, I was sure.
I stood looking at the scale, one foot dangling above it, awaiting bad news. 170 pounds. Whew. Not as bad as I had hoped. Still down four pounds from where I started. I didn’t really wreck my plan; I still followed the fasting hours – no calories after 8 p.m. or before 11 a.m. I just plain cheated on the amount and quality of my food intake and was about as active as, well, something really inactive.
That being said, I am ok with the results this morning. It’s back to proper portions and getting my feet moving to burn fat. Come on Monday, let’s do this.
The Intermittent Fasting Plan Recap
What is intermittent fasting? It’s not a diet. According to healthline.com, it’s one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends. It involves cycles of fasting and eating. The site claims intermittent fasting can cause weight loss, improve metabolic health, protect against disease and perhaps help you live longer.
Healthline.com went on to say intermittent fasting doesn’t dictate which foods to eat, but rather when you should eat them.
There are several different intermittent fasting methods, all of which split the day or week into eating periods and fasting periods. Most people already “fast” every day, while they sleep. Intermittent fasting can be as simple as extending that fast a little longer. You can do this by skipping breakfast, eating your first meal at noon and your last meal at 8 p.m. Then you’re technically fasting for 16 hours every day, and restricting eating to an 8-hour window. This is the most popular form of intermittent fasting, known as the 16/8 method. There are a few variations of intermittent fasting that may work better for you.
Intermittent fasting seems fairly easy to do. Many people report feeling better and having more energy during a fast. No food is allowed during the fasting period, but you can drink water, coffee, tea and other non-caloric beverages. Taking supplements is generally allowed while fasting as long as there are no calories in them. It is recommended that you consult a doctor before trying intermittent fasting.
Everything I’ve read online says you should expect to feel hungry when beginning an intermittent fasting plan until you get used to the new eating regime. Yes. I get hungry. But instead of gummy bears and SweeTARTS, I’m choosing wiser snacks like apples and nuts between meals.
I haven’t drastically changed the way I had been eating; I have just cut out fast food and large amounts of my candy addiction and I’m controlling my portions. And I already feel better overall by eating cleanly.
