All About my Intermittent Fasting
I would say starting in June, I really wanted to get in better shape, for myself. I have always lived a pretty healthy lifestyle (doing competitive gymnastics for 10+ years really helps when you're young). I was always very athletic and loved playing sports. Throughout college I started working out less, but my metabolism was still amazing (thank goodness!). Once I graduated, I moved to San Diego, CA and really wanted to do more beach activities. When I met my boyfriend, I was so excited because he was very active & athletic and that's just what I wanted. He surfed, played beach volleyball, rode his bike everywhere - this was all the motivation I needed.
Fast forward to about a year later, we had done all those activities, but I still wasn't eating as healthy as I could and it's been said that diet is more important than exercise when it comes down to it. I had a few friends who had done intermittent fasting (successfully) and I never really considered it because, lets be real, I LOVE food - late night snacking to be specific. After a lot of hesitation, I decided to try it because why not, and if I didn't like it then I could stop whenever I wanted.
So what is intermittent fasting? It's where you fast for 12-16hrs/day and only eat during a set period of time. For example, I jumped right into it and ate from 11am-7pm (8hrs) and fasted from 7pm to 11am (16hrs). Some people have to ease into the process by only fasting once every other day until their bodies are used to it and that's ok! Everyone's body reacts differently so it's important to do what works best for you.
I saw results almost immediately! I was so excited this was working that I decided to keep going with it and I am still currently doing it today. For the first two days, I was a little hungry, but after that my body started feeling really good. Whenever I would eat super late I would wake up with an upset stomach the next morning. This went away. I had energy in the morning and didn't wake up all groggy! I wasn't hungry in the morning, and if I was, I would drink some tea and be all good. This was the most shocking part for me because I was always told breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and with IF (intermittent fasting), it's not.
I began eating less food in general. I sometimes only need to eat 2 meals/day. My portion sizes have decreased and I tend to only want to eat light foods. My "ideal" meals in a day would be a smoothie at 11am, a meal prep lunch at 2pm and dinner around 5/6pm. After some experimenting, I like to be done eating by 7pm at the latest. My body responds best to that. When I stopped eating by 8pm, I didn't feel as good. Some days I'll even wait longer to eat, like until noon or 1pm, eat lunch & then dinner at night.
I have been doing this for about a month now and haven't changed my workout routine and I have lost 4lbs. I am really happy with my results and how I feel that I plan to implement this into my daily life. IF has definitely been great for me, but please research before you start! It's not for everyone and there is definitely a safe way to do it. Any questions, leave them in the comments and I'll answer as best as I can! Good luck on your fitness journey. You got this!
