So I never thought I'd have a blog post titled that, but here we are.
Before I begin, this isn't a post about a diet, workout, or a new found fit life I've established. Maybe that will happen one day, maybe. But for now, I'm just trying to find a realistic way to feel my best now, and I'm starting to find it.
In addition to starting my day off with my Advocare Slim (instead of the once upon a time soda or half cut tea from McDonalds) and taking Plexus Probiotics daily, I also started intermittent fasting (IF) and turns out it is the tri to the fecta of what works best for me.
In a nutshell, intermittent fasting is not a diet, rather a 'timed approach to eating'. I do the Leangains which means I eat whatever I want in a 9 hour period, then nothing during the following 15 hour period. You might be thinking, "you can't eat for 15 hours?!" It's really not as bad as a it seems. I'm not a breakfast eater anyways, and don't consume food until I"m out the door and begin my day so I don't normally eat my first bite until 10am. I can then eat like normal until 7pm. We eat early dinners in the Garrett household anyways so this is really nothing any different for me.
What has changed is this-- no more mindless snacking after dinner. You know, that bag of chips, crackers, or couple pretzels while sitting on the couch watching TV at 9pm. That has been my kryptonite. After deciding I was going to try IF, the hardest part was not snacking in the evenings, not because I was hungry, but out of habit. Once I was mindful of it, it was so super easy to stop.
But that is why IF is effective in helping people to lose weight and feel healthier: it prevents you from snacking all hours of the day. It can also boost your metabolism and force your body to rely on that stored fat to produce energy during that fasted state. It also has a plethora of other health benefits, such as leveling insulin, blood sugar, blood pressure, and so much more. You can read about it all here.
So why did I start doing this? A couple of reasons, really. One, I know my eating habits need to change. But again, I'm not disciplined enough to eat strictly healthy. I for sure eat healthier than ever before and hope to continue to get better with time, but life without the occasional sweet, junk food, and glass of wine is not a life that I want to live. But the other reason why I wanted to try it was to try to drop a few pounds. I never lost the last 5 pounds I gained with Taylor, then I added 5 more. In the mornings I weighed 118-119, and 121-122 in the evenings. After 2 weeks of IF, I now consistently weigh 114-115, day and night. Two of those days in the last 2 weeks I ate outside of that 9 hour window and still have lost that weight. I say this to say I have not followed this strictly, like tonight since I'm eating dinner with my bestie at 7:30, and have still seen and felt results.
And again, the best part is it's been easy. At first it was just really about being mindful of when I ate. I did get a little hungry some mornings in the beginning but just kept myself busy to keep my mind off it. But as each day has passed, I find myself not as hungry as if my body is starting to adapt to this change. And seeing and feeling the results so quickly has made it even easier.
I've tried so many different diets and I could sustain none of it. I'm not that disciplined. But let me eat what I want, just within a restrictive time-frame that I really only eat in anyway? Easy peasy. Adding this to the other healthier changes I've already made has been the "it" for me.
I say all this to say this: Maybe IF is for you, maybe it's not, but I felt inclined to share my story because if you find yourself in this similar phase of life where you are trying to find a healthier you, keep trying to find what works best for you because it's a good day when you do!
