It’s January. The beginning of a new year, which also happens to be the beginning of a new decade. Like most people, I am thinking about my diet and weight loss goals for the year. One of the things I am trying new for this year is to be content. While I want to lose weight (of course), I will be happy to just maintain where I am at (see…this is where being content comes in). Another thing I am incorporating into my daily life is intermittent fasting.
*As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases*
Photo by Lum3n.com from Pexels
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Very simply put, intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you go through periods of eating and fasting. Sounds easy, right? It is! If you think about it, you already sort of do this in that while you are sleeping, you are fasting. By paying attention when you eat your first meal and last meal of the day, you are able to correctly add intermittent fasting to your daily routine.
Green vege Bento 3 Compartment Meal Prep Food Storage Reusable Lunch Containers,10 Pack,Black
Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting LifestyleThe Points Glass Stemless Wine Glass by Caloric Cuvee
Can You Do It with Other Diets?
Absolutely! I am currently doing Weight Watchers. Back when I was doing Keto, I gave intermittent fasting a try and really liked it. However, Keto stopped working for me and I decided to move back to Weight Watchers. Technically, there are people that JUST do the fasting without any other diet modifications. I wish I could do that, but I am not there yet! So, for now, it’s Weight Watchers and fasting for me.
So…How does the Fasting work?
Basically, you fast for 16 hours and you eat within an 8 hour window. That’s it! If you are like me and need an app or something to let you know when your fasting window is over, you’re in luck! They have an app for that! There are several apps for this, but I particularly like Fast Habit because it also has an app for my Apple Watch. I can look at my wrist and see exactly how much longer before I can eat!
Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS, 40mm) – Gold Aluminum Case with Pink Sport BandFitbit Versa 2 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with Heart Rate, Music, Alexa Built-in, Sleep & Swim Tracking, Black/Carbon, One Size (S & L Bands Included)
Some people like to adhere to the noon to 8pm model. For myself, I feel better when I don’t eat so late, so I open the app up after I eat dinner or a snack for the evening, hit start, and then I know what time I can eat the next day. Sometimes it’s noon, while other times it’s 10 am. It just depends. That’s what works for me.
How Do you Feel?
I feel really good the longer I stick to intermittent fasting. Currently I am sick, so I am in survival mode. Survive being sick, all while taking care of everything else since my husband is out of town! However, with that said, prior to getting sick, I was three weeks in and I felt really great. Absolutely zero brain fog; more energy; less cravings; overall, I just felt really really great!
Benefits of Intermittent fasting
From my research, I found the following benefits of incorporating fasting into our lives:
- It changes the functions of cells, genes, hormones…in a positive way.
- Helps you lose weight
- May reduce insulin resistance…which in turn, reduces chances of getting Type 2 Diabetes.
- Can reduce inflammation in the body
- Has been shown to be beneficial to heart health
- Induces cellular repair
- May help reduce chances of cancer and Alzheimer’s
- Good for brain health
So, as you can see, the benefits of intermittent fasting all seem to be really great! If you already sleep eight hours in a day, then figuring out how to fast for the remaining eight hours is not that difficult. Try it! Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!
Leave a Reply