Happy New Year Friends! While I’m not typically one to dive into fad diets or over-promise myself new years resolutions, this year, being the start of a new decade, encouraged a change. Not just for my weight, but for my health overall. Let’s call this year, the year where mind, body & spirit take precedent. And where healthy is the new skinny. Last week on Instagram Stories I shared that I was diving into intermittent fasting, that quickly brought on many comments & questions from you guys. So many of you shared your own success stories (which I found to be so uplifting and encouraging) and so many of you asked what this intermittent fasting thing was all about.
Time for a Change
Facing reality and getting motivated to make some major lifestyle changes
I think before starting any lifestyle change, you’ve got to ask yourself why you’re doing it. If it’s a diet for others, or is motivated simply by the pounds on the scale, I think you can quickly find yourself discouraged and quit, or easily find yourself on a slippery slope of unhealthy obsessions. So, while I’m fully transparent with you about the pounds on my body and therefore the number on my scale, please be reminded that the number is not what it’s all about. Again, healthy is the new skinny! That said, last fall I found myself weighing in and fluctuating around 175-180. The same weight I was just nine months ago, when I was 9 months pregnant with baby B. But even more important than that, I found myself once again in a place where my health was in choas! I was extremely sluggish and tired. My thyroid was acting up again, and my PCOS symptoms were out of control. None of my clothes fit, my self esteem was suffering and for the first time in my life I crossed over to ‘obese’ on the BMI scale. And all of these factors are what motivated me to get serious about making some major lifestyle changes. I once again gave up dairy, (which always clears up my eczema), made better choices at home and the grocery store…more leafy greens, less processed foods. And over a couple months lost about 5 pounds and found myself fluctuating around 170-175lbs. Not bad for some minor changes, but frankly, I still wasn’t feeling good health wise. And my PCOS symptoms were still running a muck. That’s when just before Christmas I started seriously considering intermittent fasting.
Why Intermittent Fasting?
For me, the decision came from a lot more than just “losing weight”. While I’m clearly no doctor or expert, and I hands down don’t believe in one size fits all diagnosing, after speaking with my doctors and doing my own research I found the following very compelling…and before you make any diet or lifestyle changes yourself, I encourage you to also partner with your doctor and do your own research. Here’s what I found: Fasting can reduce inflammation (hello PCOS), improve digestion, reduce bloating, lower sugar cravings and result in better sleep. ALL things I desperately need in my life! Fasting can also improve blood sugar control, which could be especially useful for those at risk of diabetes (hello PCOS!). Decreasing insulin resistance can increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin, allowing it to transport glucose from your bloodstream to your cells more efficiently. Which in return causes our bodies to tap into fat stores for energy. This fuels fat loss, specifically in the abdomen (hello PCOS!) and around major organs. Low insulin levels also improve mental clarity! And lastly, what I found most compelling, is that fasting promotes autophagy. Autophagy is an important process for cellular and tissue rejuvenation and prevention or delay of neurodegenerative diseases. After losing my mom to cancer, it was a no brainer for me to consider something that could possibly alter my genetic course.
So after weighing all of this, and finding myself once again in a place where my PCOS and health was in chaos, I felt motivated and encouraged to give intermittent fasting a go for a 40 day trial.
What’s My Fasting Window?
When it comes to intermittent fasting, there’s a lot of discretion on what fasting windows are best and how to fast. Some people change their windows daily…some people fast for entire days throughout the week…and some people stick to strict “windows” of time. I chose the latter, mainly because that’s what worked best for me, my family and our schedules. Week 1, I decided to fast from 6pm-10am (16 hour fast) and Brian chose from 6pm-9am (a 14 hour fast). Once school and work start back next week, we’re planning to adjust those times a bit. During our eating “window”, we chose to eat whatever and whenever…obviously trying to make healthy choices, but not putting any restrictions on our food other than not eating during fasting time. Also to note, while we have chosen specific window times for this first 40 days…we also decided we’d be flexible should something arise. Our kids bring us breakfast in bed…of course we’re not going to decline because “mommy & daddy are fasting”…should things arise we’ll just push back our windows accordingly. But we also knew for the most part, that we would commit to staying in our windows otherwise. And in case it’s not obviously clear, our children are absolutely not fasting with us or committed to our fasting windows. Their eating schedules and snack times are staying the same.
What was Week 1 REALLY Like?
The first three days were hands down the hardest. Truth be told, Brian and I had gotten so accustomed to eating late night dinners…hello takeout!… that those first three nights were extremely hard mentally. I had gotten so accustomed to eating dinner after 9pm, that by 9:30, all I could think about was food. To combat the ‘mental hunger’, I invested in some great decaffeinated teas that I could sip throughout the evenings. Each evening I’ve alternated between these, all which I found at my local grocery store : I loved this one to help with water weight (but note use very sparingly). This lemon everyday detox tea. And this, my all time favorite nightime lavender tea. These were a life saver and something I’m permanently implementing. Also to note: supposedly, you can consume under 50 calories during your fasting window without breaking your fast. So, for me, a glass or two of tea at night and coffee in the morning works with that. In addition to that, I also put vitamins back into my daily diet. Last fall I found this multivitamin brand (currently buy 1 get 1 50% off!) and love how easy they are to consume…gotta love gummies! So this week I also added their probiotic vitamin to the mix (also currently buy 1 get 1 50% off!) And after doing a lot more PCOS research, I found some compelling information about Myo-inositol. And while I am not trying to get pregnant, found this supplement (which other PCOSers seem to rave about it because in addition to myo-inositol it also contains 100% daily value of vitamin B12..use this link for $15 off). I’ll keep you posted on how I feel about it.
Week 1 Results
Drumroll please….after just one week I lost 5 lbs, weighing in at 165. Now, while losing more than 1 lb a week is absolutely not advised for healthy weight loss, I’ll acknowledge that the majority of this stemmed from water weight and excessive bloat. Again, one of the many challenges that face those with PCOS. For the first time in a long time I didn’t feel as much inflammation and the bloat around my mid section not nearly as extreme as what I consider my normal. That alone, was a HUGE accomplishment for me in week one! And by the end of week, the late night cravings weren’t nearly as bad. I’m counting week 1 as a success, and I can now see why people rave about intermittent fasting. So, for now I’m 7 days in on a 40 day challenge and motivated to keep going!
I hope you’re having a great start to your New Years, and I hope this has helped motivate you to make whatever lifestlye changes you’re hoping to accomplish in 2020!