Intermittent Fasting - IF 16:8 Day 78 Update
Intermittent Fasting 16:8 - Day 78!!!! I cannot believe I have successfully followed this way of eating for this long!
11 lbs lost in 11 weeks! Now that is awesome…
I have lost 11 lbs slowly, but steadily over a period of 11 weeks without extreme diets or adding copious amounts of exercise. I don’t class IF 16:8 as a diet, I see it as a way of eating and a lifestyle choice.
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I will continue this way of eating for the rest of my life if I continue to feel well on it! I have been surprised with the amount of changes it has actually made to my body.
I am no longer experiencing pain upon waking in the morning in my sides and back. I don’t know if the pain was due to the extra weight I was carrying or my kidneys/liver aching, but whatever it was, that has stopped and I am able to sleep more soundly. I am also more flexible, which is an odd benefit, especially as I haven’t really added any stretching to my regime.
I have had issues with constipation, but this last week I have increased my intake of fibre and it seems to be helping.
The jeans I bought a few months ago that were a size bigger than I was used to wearing, are now too big, so I am due a shopping trip. Yey!
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The weather has turned and it is starting to feel colder. My bones have started to ache a little from the damp and cold and I can feel myself wanting to eat warm comfort food. I will have to be careful I don’t slip back into my old ways of eating.
A nice warm bowl of Porridge and raisins sweetened with natural honey before 8pm should hopefully do the trick…
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So how does Intermittent Fasting work?
I follow the 16:8 Protocol, which simply means I fast for 16 hours a day and I have an eating window of 8 hours a day. There are no specific foods that I have to avoid or consume, I can eat whatever I choose during my eating window.
Fasting allows your body some much needed down-time from processing food and insulin spikes. 6 - 12 hours after eating, our bodies are no longer processing food. When the body is not concentrating on our digestive system, it can turn its attention to the other cells and organs in the body that need replacing or repairing. Fasting can also help with inflammation.
I have observed a few unhealthy habits that I had which have now gone due to IF.
For example, chocolate used to be one of my biggest downfalls. I would go so far as saying I was a choc-o-holic. I couldn’t go a day without it.
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Since starting IF 16:8, I haven’t been craving chocolate. I realised that I tend to eat chocolate at night while on the computer or reading a book and it was a bad habit that I had fallen into.
After telling myself I was no longer to eat after 8pm, IF took away my chocolate consumption time slot; before I knew it I hadn’t eaten chocolate in weeks. Boom!
I did have a sneaky chocolate fairy cake the other day at the dog show as a treat, it was yummy! But I really haven’t bothered with it since and certainly haven’t had any chocolate cravings.
My food portion sizes are shrinking as I just don't eat as much. My stomach must have shrunk inside as well as outside. I am happy extremely about that.
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I would love to say I have bags of energy, but I am struggling at the minute with my thyroid bloods being off and my energy levels are low. This proves to me just how powerful IF is for weight loss, because I am hardly moving at the minute due to feeling drained; yet I am still burning excess fat from my body.
One of the main things I have noticed when family ask me how I have lost weight is that straight away they tell me ‘you are starving yourself’ or ‘you should eat breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day!’
Yet if I had told them I was calorie counting or I was fasting for religious reasons, nobody would have made any negative comments at all. It is interesting to see how heavily our society has been influenced by the cereal big-wigs who tricked us all into believing that Corn Flakes were the answer to having an amazing day.
Don’t get me wrong, some people need breakfast to get them going in the morning, especially if they have a hectic schedule or a manual job. I however prefer to delay my eating times until lunchtime because that pattern works better for me. Mornings are busy with school runs, dog walking and tidying the house, so my pattern works for me.
If a person needs to eat breakfast, they can still follow the IF protocol, they can just alter their eating times to suit their own schedule.
So that’s me, 11lbs lighter and a whole lot happier!
Much love to you all, @beautifulbullies xx
Last time I read one of your updates, it was a 1lb loss! Not much to boast about.. but 11lbs, now that's something. A big well done... you need to celebrate by going to Poland in November I think :)
Haha that made me chuckle! Perhaps I could add it to my list of reasons to go to my husband... 1) birthday 2) weight loss reward... 😂😂
I was only reporting my losses from week to week before but I wanted to show how much I have lost in total. It is more motivating to see the big loss for myself too. Thanks for your support as always!
Good going! I loved doing intermittent fasting (I think I've told you before how I did the 5:2 diet for 8 months last year and lost 31lbs). It's so much easier than a conventional diet, where you have weeks or months without going near any of your favourite foods.
Also, people on IF usually lose weight around the waist, which is the most unhealthy place to store weight. I think it's a really healthy weight-loss method.
When I was fasting, my mum used to say, "Are you starving yourself today?"
I also decided to cut out sugar while I was losing weight, because I was addicted to it. I started buying 100% cocoa chocolate, which is sugar-free. It tastes odd at first, but it was a great way to determine whether it was the cocoa or the sugar that I was craving, and after a while I got used to the taste, and started to love it. Unlike with normal chocolate, I would only need to nibble a small amount to get my chocolate fix.
Yes, cutting sugar was a big help for me too. I would say I was probably addicted to sugar, but now I don't have it, other than natural sugars in fruit, I don't crave it at all.
I bought some 70% cocoa chocolate yesterday as a treat. I had 1 piece and thought I don't actually want anymore haha
Thank you for your support! :)
Congratulations! The effects are really impressive. Improvement of the body is in my opinion the greatest success and weight loss is just a (pleasant) bonus. I also congratulate you on eliminating bad habits and replacing them with good ones. I can't believe that chocolate belongs to the first one. 🙈😃 I still wonder why some people so easily accept some myths as the only truth.
I know what you mean about chocolate, I wish someone would make calorie free choccies haha
I think more and more people are opening their minds to other ways, especially as research is so much easier nowadays with internet access. People no longer have to take their doctors word or their parents word as the whole truth, they can make decisions themselves based on a whole heap of data and research which is amazing! Sharing our experiences helps to build a bigger picture for everyone in the future :)
It’s neat to see the results you’ve had with this IF! Is your low energy directly a result from this plan?
I’ve read an article on IF before that was somewhat similar to this one. However, I think that one said to consume all your food in a 2 hour window before bedtime. That seems a bit extreme to me(and a little undoable.) But I found it interesting how they pointed out that the Bible talks about supper all the time but doesn’t mention much about breakfast and dinner.
I’ve tried skipping breakfast and wait to eat until late morning, and find that I’m not so groggy.
I think my low energy levels are due to my underactive thyroid, as most people who IF report an increase in energy, but I don't 100% know for sure. There are some people who graduate to OMAD (one meal a day) after IF'ing for a while because the body doesn't need to eat as much once it becomes used to fasting. I have probably done OMAD a couple of times, but never intentionally, it just happened that way. I think in Western society, we have too easy access to copious amounts of food and that is why we are gradually eating ourselves to death. In biblical times, I am sure food wasn't as readily available so perhaps you are on to something there! Thank you for your comment :)
At the end of the day you are the only one who can say what works for you, really really happy to hear that this has worked for you, you have done really well, well done my friend xxx
Thank you so much! It is working and I am happy with the results so far. I still have a way to go yet, but I feel better and I am healthier too so I will stick with it. I hope you and the girls are well xxx
Well done! I truly believe food can be your best friend or worst enemy! I generally have my morning juices around 10 am...I never eat right when I get up. So glad you are feeling better too. Juicing was a huge game changer for me with regard to cravings and energy. Turmeric has been a huge help with Mr. Bird, achy joints... You're doing so well!! Congrats :)
The older I get, the more I believe that food can be medicine or poison too! It is a cliche, but we truly are what we eat :) Thank you so much!
Intermittent fasting sounds interesting. I am glad you are having success with it.
Thank you 😁
Have heard so much of this intermittent fasting
So happy that it is working out for you
Maybe it is time to see it is one I can adopt
Thank you for sharing your journey 😊
It is really easy to follow. No tricky foods to avoid or cook, just dont eat for 16 hours and then eat during the next 8 hours. Easy 😁 thats probably why ive been able to stick to it. Good luck with it if you do try it!
You can drink in the 16 hours?
And does it have to be a fixed time or can it vary depending on your day?
You can drink water or black coffee during your fasting times. Anything else will break your fast due to calories. You can change the times to suit your own lifestyle, so if you really can't cope without breakfast, your eating time could start at 7am and finish at 3pm. It is very flexible :)
Thank you @beautifulbullies
Guess with anything it’s just a matter of getting used to it
Think I will give it a go for a bit and see how it feels 😊
You are doing GREAT! It's working for me too - I skipped eating loads of carbs and then almost automatically I started 'intermitted fasting' because I simply wasn't hungry in the morning so I started eating only 2 meals a day - which also means I sort of magically ended up doing an IF sort of thing. I now just eat when I need food and feel great :-)
Don't let society tell you what is 'good' for you - it's all mantras and repetitive 'wisdom' <3
Thank you! :D
Yes, low carb meals make me feel fuller for longer too which is great. I love the keto diet, but I am not strict enough with myself to be able to stick to it, and I do love a bowl of porridge :)
Society has been brain washed in soooo many ways. I think it is great that we are all waking up to this though and researching things for ourselves, rather than thinking the doctor's word is gospel!
Thank you for your support! <3
This is what I say as well, it's not a 'diet' it's just a lifestyle. It's just how I eat now and I don't even think about it anymore. My body is expectant of it.
The only time I noticed anything different in my digestion, I simply added some yoghurt a few days a week as a treat with a banana in, which I don't do all the time as it is carbs, but I figured the cultures were good for digestion.
This might sound odd, but when I think of comfort foods I find if I burn those wax heat disc things in autumn aromas like apple pie and cinnamon I still get that Fall feeling of comfort food without having to eat any of it.
That is a great idea! I love the autumn scented candles too...I think I might have to pop to the shops later to get some! :D
I haven't actually had yogurt in ages! I could try adding some and see if it helps.
Thank you for your support! :D