Have You Tried Intermittent Fasting?!

(This post contains affiliate links, but I only recommend things I love!)

As I look back over the past year of what I have shared here it’s just been talk about my house. I’ve shown you room after room of makeovers and remodel and I still haven’t shown you everything! But today I want to just take a break from all of that. Even though I am in a bit of a spring cleaning mood these days and I did spend $100 at The Container Store last weekend on things to get more organized and I may go back for more.

But this is not about getting organized in the house. This, I guess, is more about being organized with the mind & body. After a few hard years of really struggling with eating the way I should and taking care of myself, I’ve finally gotten back on track. By “track” I mean not wanting to eat chocolate ice cream after every meal. I’m not talking about thinness or how I look (even though that’s naturally part of it). This is about being healthy. I am making wise choices and assuming my looks will catch up eventually.

The exciting part for me is that I have been doing really well. I have stuck to this plan easily since Jan 1, and that’s saying something since I typically last about 3 days. What’s been the difference? I’ll tell you…..intermittent fasting (IF). Yep. I said it. I can hardly believe it myself. I have a friend who has had huge success with IF and she talks about it a lot. Pretty much every conversation we have had since last summer has had some mention of IF. So I decided to read the books she recommended, because I know her well and I knew how much she has struggled and was so proud of her success. First I read The Obesity Code and was blown away by the science behind this idea of fasting. Then I read Delay, Don’t Deny, which is more like a conversation with a friend, and I was convinced. Fasting has been the missing piece of the puzzle that I have lived with my whole life.

If you haven’t heard about it, I can tell you a little, but I won’t explain it nearly as well as those two books so you need to get them. They’re both in book form or audio (I’m all about an audio book!). But the gist is that you only eat in a short window of time each day. It’s unique for each person. You might find that fasting for 16 hours and eating during the other 8 hours of the day works for you. For me I have found that a 20:4 plan (fast for 20 hours and eat in a 4 hour window) works best. I generally don’t eat until around 2:30 and then stop eating at 6:30. I shift it a little if I need to, like if I’m going to dinner with friends or traveling. But generally that’s what I do.

There’s more to it than that, like drinking a LOT of water and watching what I eat during my eating window, but the fasting has been such a blessing to me in so many unexpected ways! I’m mentally calmer & more clear headed. Believe it or not I have so much more energy! I sleep better and feel better. I can’t say enough good things about it. I’m so excited about it that I started a Facebook support group for my women friends who want to do IF too.

Over the past few months I have traveled a ton. And IF is the BEST for traveling. It’s easy and free and you don’t have to try to find certain kinds of food for yourself from doing a strict diet! LOL! Seriously, I eat one meal a day and a snack or two and the only thing that made it hard is that IF has changed my cravings and I just don’t want junk foods anymore. So I have to find a restaurant with healthier options, not because I am restricting myself as much as I just don’t want anything else (I know…..who am I?! I don’t recognize myself).

I have lost some weight since the beginning IF, but it’s been slower than other “diets” I have done in the past. That’s ok; I’m not in any hurry. I am content with letting it come off slowly because I believe it is a permanent change. It’s not something that will end as soon as I hit my goal weight. In fact, even though I definitely need to lose weight, I am not focused on that at all. I only weigh myself twice a month and that’s just to make sure I am actually losing at least a little. I am not obsessed with the scale. It’s been very freeing! I can tell it’s doing what I need because my clothes are fitting looser and I feel so much better.

I have been surprised at how much energy I have during the fast! For the first few days I was really sluggish. I felt icky and sleepy and hangry. But once I adjusted I felt great! I have much more energy now when I am in the fasting part of the day than during my eating window. In fact last month when I was at Disney with one of my sons I had such an energy slump after I ate something (around 3:00 in the afternoon) that I decided to just fast for the whole day for the rest of our trip and eat after we were finished at the parks. So instead of opening my eating window at 3:00 I would start around 7:00 after we left the parks. I would have a nice dinner and go to bed and wake up the next day feeling great!

I had all of the usual excuses as to why I couldn’t do it. I get shaky, I won’t have any energy, I can’t exercise if I am fasting, I get hangry, I can’t focus, I need food! LOL! The CRAZY thing is that the opposite has happened! Once I pushed past the initial phase I found a place of excitement and energy and no hunger. In fact I am actually able to let my body tell me when and what to eat instead of being led by my moods and cravings and schedule. It’s awesome!

I would really encourage you to read those books and try this. I honestly think anyone (not children or pregnant moms tho) can benefit from this style of eating. If you want more energy, more control, less cravings, mental energy, better moods….all of it….you need to try it. And not for a week. It was a couple of months before I really started to see some big changes, so have patience.

Of course my oils helped me through the difficult beginning and still they are fabulous during the fasting hours. Because you want a really clean fast (only water or black coffee during the fasting hours) I love-love that I can still use my oils. I can diffuse them or use them topically or just smell them straight from the bottle and get the benefits without consuming anything. Peppermint, lemon and endoflex really helped me during the times I’d want to eat and needed to push through. Lavender, Peace & Calming and Tranquil are great when I can’t turn my brain off (my mind has been so clear and full of energy since doing this…it’s been incredible!). Valor (y’all know I love me some Valor) for all the strength. If you need some oils send me a message and I’ll help you get started! Or you can just go order your kit and after that I’ll reach out to YOU and we can chat about your needs. I just love meeting new friends!

Also, if you’re ready to try IF and want some support I can add you to my Facebook group. It’s a super sweet group of ladies and it’s faith based. There are other groups you can find that are open to men or non-faith focused if that’s what you want. Either way please get in a group….having support really helps.

Well now that I have gotten all of that off my chest I will be back with more house pics. The whole place has gotten an overhaul and I cant wait to show ya.