My Life as A New Intermittent Faster

 Greetings and salutations, friend(s)! I'm back today because I can't stay away. I am feeling empowered and enlightened today! Those are two of my new favorite buzzwords lately, because since I started Intermittent Fasting a month ago, that is how I've been feeling! Friends, I am SHOWING UP in my life in a whole new way, and NO, this is not a sponsored blog. LOL 

Food can be a way of soothing, medicating, and "helping" us tolerate or deal with uncomfortable emotions. It can be a way to relax when we are stressed. Food can get us through rough patches in relationships, tough times with tough situations, because it covers up a whole mess of what we don't want to deal with underneath. Many of us can become dependent on food to comfort us through life and not even realize that is what we are doing, but the rate of obesity-related illness in our country should be an indicator that there is a big problem with this issue. 

When food is removed from the equation, we are left with a strong desire to eat. That can be a good thing, because with that feeling comes our own power to deal with the things we've been pushing down with food. We find our own strength to deal with the things we pushed off on food to handle for us. When we can't reach for a Snickers or a potato chip after that difficult phone call at work, we are pushed to take a deep breath and use the strength we have inside of us instead. 

When food is taken away, it's like the lights are turned on to the things I tolerated before that I don't want to tolerate anymore. My eyes are more open to the goals I want to achieve and the obstacles that are in front of me, and the ones I placed there myself. I really felt weighed down not just by the extra 20 pounds that I had on me, but by the lack of control I felt about it all. I numbed myself with snacks and candy because I couldn't cope with my feelings. But it turns out, I can because here I am doing it. 

When I first started this program, I decided to try the "ease-in approach," because I really didn't think I could do this. I don't know why I thought that, maybe because I have failed at every single "diet" I've ever tried. (Diets are a joke, by the way) For the first 3 weeks, I eased my way into it with a low-carb breakfast or lunch, drinking only water or tea all day, plus my morning coffee, then I enjoyed a regular dinner in the evening. No snacks, no soda, etc. I made it to week four, and I had a really busy day in which I was unusually energetic with my chores, and before I knew it, it was 4:30, and I realized I hadn't eaten all day. 

I was pretty shocked at myself, so I decided I would advance to a different version of fasting which is called OMAD, or One Meal A Day. In this plan, you fast for the desired number of hours. For me, it has been about 20-22 hours a day. I then have an eating window of about 2 hours a day. I make sure to hydrate all day long, with only clear water or iced or hot tea or coffee, and then have a normal dinner in which I eat what I like with no diet restrictions. I make sure to include all the food groups, plus dessert if I want, and have enough calories so that I'm within a healthy limit for my body. And in this plan, if you want a Coke or a donut, you can have it at that mealtime. This is not a "food is the enemy" or feel guilty if you eat something "bad" plan. I choose to eat healthy foods, but I don't restrict myself, and that helps me make better choices. As a menopausal, weight loss-resistant female, this has been a life-changer for me! If someone invites me to a birthday party, I can adjust my eating schedule so that I can attend the party, eat cake with everyone else, and then get right back on my plan the next day. This has been the most realistic, do-able lifestyle I've ever done, and yes, I've lost a respectable amount of weight in a month! For more information on Intermittent Fasting, check out Gin Stephens' book, Fast Feast Repeat in which she details the science behind why this works. There are also great podcasts and YouTube channels out there on the subject. I learned about it as much as I could before I started the program to make sure it was right for me. I'm still learning as I go! 

Many of us feel out of control about things in life, and the truth is, there are many things we can't control. We can't control other people, the economy, society, family members, politics, the weather, and on and on our lack goes. But the one thing we can control is ourselves. We can control our reaction to all of those things and we can control what goes into our bodies. When I began to take back control of my body, I also took back control of my mind. The discipline that it requires to tell ourselves "No" to food is the same discipline it requires to tell ourselves "no" to a lot of the things we've been allowing that we know are not serving us well. 

I am excited that I am finally seeing success with my weight loss since entering my 50's, and I am feeling hopeful that this is the long term plan that I can maintain. I finally have the mental freedom that every fad diet has never allowed me to have, and I'm not walking around saying, "I can't have this, I can't have that," all while munching on carrots and celery. Life is too short, friends! Live it empowered and be as healthy as you can be!