**Disclaimer** I am not a doctor and I am not providing medical advice or direction. I’m just bringing you along with me on my journey.
I have been struggling to loose belly fat, to balance my Estrogen levels, and to loose weight. I was doing some research and came across Intermittent Fasting. I will be posting YouTube videos every Monday to keep you informed about my Intermittent Fasting Journey. Here is what I have learned so far.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is when you eat for a period of time and fast for a period of time. It is suggested that you eat for 8 hours and fast for 16 hours. You can drink as much water and black coffee during the fasting time. During your eating hours, it is suggested that you should eat 2 to 3 meals.
Intermittent fasting is not really a diet. To me it more of a lifestyle change. Here is some more of what I learned so far into my journey. I’m a little embarrassed about my current weight. So along this journey, I will be sharing with you how much weight I have lost.
How to intermittent fasting?
Now that we know what intermittent fasting is, lets talk about intermittent fasting schedule. There are 5 ways to do intermittent fasting:
1. The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day
The 16/8 method simply means you fast or do not eat for 16 hours and you can eat 2 – 3 healthy meals during you 8 hour eating window. This plan is easier for me because I do not eat breakfast. I only eat lunch and dinner. So with this plan, I skip breakfast, eat lunch and dinner and do not snack or eat anything after my dinner meal.
These times are just examples you help you understand the the 16/8 method. If these times are not good for you then simply change them to times that work for you. I eat between the hours of 9:00AM – 5:00PM. This works best for me. The times do not matter just as long as you fast for 16 hours and eat during you 8 hours.
This method is also know as the Leangains protocol. To learn more about Leangains protocol , please click here.
Click here to order Jaime Rose Chambers’s 16:8 book. It contain some recipes that you might find helpful.
2. The 5:2 diet: Fast for 2 days per week
The 5:2 method simply means you eat health for 5 day and then for 2 day you limit you calories. It is suggested that women limit their calories to 500 and men limit their calories to 600.
The chart above is a suggested schedule, but you can change up the days as long as you eat healthy for 5 day and limit you calories for 2 day.
This method is also know as The Fast Diet. It is called that because you fast not because you have a fast wight loss. To lean more about The Fast Diet, click here.
Click here to order your copy of the Fast Diet.
3. Eat-Stop-Eat: Do a 24-hour fast, once or twice a week
The Eat Stop Eat method simply means that you eat 3 meals one day and then fast for one day. You do not eat anything after dinner and do not eat again until dinner time the next day. You can drink the approved drinks that are listed above, but no food.
I would not suggest this if you are just starting your fasting journey. Start with the 16/8 method and build you way up to this method.
Click Here to order you copy of Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat.
4. Alternate-day fasting: Fast every other day
The Alternate Day Fasting means that you eat 3 meals on day and fast for the next day then eat normal and fast the next day. This can be done two ways. The first way is eating normal for one day, then during the next day you only eat a few hundred calories, then eat normal, and then only a few hundred calories. The second way is eat normal for one day, no calories during the next day, then eat normal and then no calories.
This is not suggested for beginners. This method is something you would need to work you way up to. Fasting for 24 hours can be very hard and leave you very hungry and unsustainable for a long time.
5. Spontaneous meal skipping: Skip meals when convenient
Spontaneous Meal Skipping method does not have a regular schedule to follow. This method is just skipping a meal here and there. If you are not hungry just skip that meal and make sure to eat two healthy meals that day. This one is easy for me because most days I wake up not hungry so I only eat lunch and dinner that day. I have been this way most of my life, but my husband on the other hand wants to eat when his feet hit the floor in the morning. If you get busy at work and do not have time to eat lunch then skip that meal. Or you have had breakfast and lunch and get home and you are not hungry, then skip dinner. So do what works best for you.
All of these charts are courtesy of Healthline.com
What is my intermittent fasting schedule?
I do a 16/8 fasting cycle and that means that I fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. If I’m not really hungry when my 16 hour fast is up, I will push it longer until I am hungry. But my goal is to not eat anything after 5:00 pm at night. I know this may all sound hard, but after doing it for a few days your body become adapted and starts using all the stored fat in your body.
This method works best for me because I wake up most mornings not hungry anyway. I have been like this most of my life. I usually did not eat until around lunch time anyway. The hard part at first has been not snacking at night. But after a few days I was fine.
I’m currently working my way up to doing a 20 hour fast and have a 4 hour eating window. I would like to do this twice a week, but I think working my way up to that is what is best for me. So far I have made it 17 hours. So I know this can be done. It just takes planning and staying with it because it is so easy to fall back into bad habits of eating bad foods and snacking.
I’ll keep ya’ll updated about my progress through our YouTube Channel, Russells Loving Life. I will be posting videos every Monday and will be linking them below. But if you would like to follow my journey, please subscribe to our channel and click the bell so you will be notified when we post new videos.
Can you eat or drink while intermittent fasting?
You can drink while intermittent fasting or fasting intermittent, but you should not eat while fasting. Here are some drinks that are great while intermittent fasting.
1. Water – During your intermittent fasting it is very important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Drinking water also curbs hunger.
According to a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition, increased hydration can aid weight loss by increasing fat burning and boosting metabolism.
2. Lemon Water – Lemon water is also great to drink while intermittent fasting. You still get the water to help with staying hydrated with a bonus of taste and a splash of vitamin C. Lemons are a natural source of vitamin C.
3. Coffee – Drinking black coffee does not break you fast. Studies have shown that drinking coffee boost your metabolism and helps with weight loss. Also drinking coffee increases you alertness and helps to curb your appetite because it contain caffeine.
4. Green Tea – Green tea is great to drink while fasting. It is packed with antioxidants and nutrients that are great for you body. Green tea also aids in the fat burning process. Just remember you have to drink your Green tea like you drink your black coffee. Do not add anything to it.
5. Unsweetened tea – Unsweetened tea is also another ok choice to drink while you are fasting.
Drinks to avoid while intermittent fasting
1. Diet Drinks – You should not drink diet drinks while fasting. I know they sound like a great alternative because they are zero calorie, but they are not. Artificial sweeteners trigger a sugar craving and can cause you to break you fast sooner than you should.
2. Sugar Drinks – I know you already know this, but I wanted to remind you that you should not drink any drink that has sugar in it.
3. Juices – This is kind of a tricky one so I wanted to add it to the list. Juice is great for you because of all the vitamins that it is packed with, but it is also packed with lots of sugar. So it is just best to stay away from juice while you are fasting.
4. Alcohol – Drinking Alcohol is not a good idea while fasting for so many reason. Alcohol will get into the blood stream faster and this can lead to dehydration, increased intoxication, and a bad hangover. Also Alcohol may contain calories that you cannot have while fasting.
What foods do I eat when I am not intermittent fasting?
I’m simply following a Ketogenic Diet. Which means I am eating low carb and high fat foods. I’m eating good fatty meats like, steak, ground beef, sugar free sausage, skin on chicken thighs and legs, and fatty fish like salmon. I’m also eating Keto friendly vegetables like avocados, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.
Dr. Berg defines the Ketogenic Diet as, “
A ketogenic diet is simply a diet, which causes your body to run on what are called ketones instead of sugar from carbohydrates like pasta, grains or sugary foods. Ketones are a type of acid formed when your body begins burning stored or dietary fat for fuel instead of carbs. They’re actually a very efficient fuel for your body. The most abundant, and beneficial, ketone is called beta-hydroxybutyrate or BHB.
On a typical American diet, your body is constantly converting sugar from carbs into energy. However, when you change to a high-fat diet and limit your net carbs, your body starts producing ketones for energy. As a result, on a low carb diet, your body automatically begins burning fat.
In a keto diet, the goal is to switch your body from burning sugar fuel to fat fuel.”
Dr. Berg also simplifies Ketosis as “Ketosis is the state your body is in when it is converting fat into energy. When a diet is referred to as “ketogenic,” it only uses a particular combination of foods that puts your body into ketosis using a process called ketogenesis. This food combination is:
- Fat 70 %
- Protein 20 %
- Non-starchy vegetable carbs 5 %
- Other carbs 5 %
The goal of the ketogenic diet is to get your body into ketosis and keep it there. When you’re in ketosis, your body creates better fuel for itself and for your brain.
As you can guess, the foods that throw you out of ketosis are excessive carbs and sugar and high protein. So too will frequent eating.
Getting your body into ketosis is like flipping a switch from using energy from carbs to using energy from fat. The result is that you start burning fat automatically as you go through your day.”
Click here to learn more about a Healthy Keto Diet For Beginners from Dr. Berg.
What foods should I not eat when I am not intermittent fasting?
You should not eat any type of sugar or anything that turns quickly into sugar like wheat, corn, rice, cereal, and most fruits. The reason for being on the keto diet is for you body to burn it’s own fat. If you consume sugar your body will burn it first as fuel for you body instead of the stored fat already in your body.
Makes sure to read all nutrition labels and if you see any of the ingredients listed below, stay away from it because all those ingredients turn into sugar.
- Table sugar
- Fructose
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Agave nectar
- Dextrose
- Maltodextrin
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Maple syrup
- Rice syrup
- Juice
- Alcohol
What is the Best Intermittent Fasting Tracker?
I have found that the Zero Fasting App works the best to keep me on my intermittent fasting schedule.
Most of my research has come from reading Dr. Berg’s blog post and YouTube videos.
Day 1 of My Intermittent Fasting Journey
My first week of My Intermittent Fasting Journey Update and What I Ate
My second week of My Intermittent Journey and What Tools I use
I hope you have found all this information to be helpful. I’ve learned so much while doing research for this blog post on Intermittent Fasting.
If you are looking for some The Best Grass Fed and Grass Finished Meat, Click Here to learn more.
