Sharing my experience with intermittent fasting
Remember, I am a nurse; I am not your nurse; I’m NOT a dietitian OR expert in nutrition.
I am just sharing what I do and what works for me. I get many questions asking how do I stay so fit. What do I eat? How do I still drink wine? How do I exercise? And many more!
For the past five years, I have been practicing an eating schedule called intermittent fasting.
Eating Window.
If you haven’t heard of intermittent fasting, intermittent fasting is defined as a specific eating pattern that cycles between fasting and eating. This pattern of eating does not determine certain foods you can eat or whether any foods are off-limits. The famous intermittent fasting rule is called the 16:8 rule. Meaning you eat within 8 hours in the day, and then you fast for 16 hours. For example, one would start eating at 11 am and have their last meal by 7 pm. Between 7 pm- and 11 am the next day, one would only have water, black coffee, or tea.
So here’s my story….
I really enjoy working out in the morning! During the last four years, I was doing more cardio running-based exercises, and I just realized I could not eat breakfast and go workout…. it just wasn’t settling with my stomach. My preference is to work out on an empty stomach.
On the days I wouldn’t work out or exercise, I would find myself more hungry and snacking! For example, I would wake up and have breakfast at 8:00 am, and then by 9:30 am, I was like, okay, now I want a snack, and then by 11:00 am, I was hungry again. I felt that the earlier I ate in the morning, my metabolism craved more food.
DOES this sound familiar?
Intermittent fasting for women
I was introduced to intermittent fasting as everyone is… through social media, influencers, etc., I decided to try it out. And to be honest, I started to get into it well because every female was doing it!
For example, the FAD diets, keto, paleo, no carbs, low carb, low fat, etc. I tried soo many different kinds of things! I’m sure we can all relate to trying anything to lose weight, lose some weight, or feel better about ourselves. OR FIT in with the new Female dieting trends.
But I started to become worried about how I could only eat in an 8-hour window. And not eat the rest of the 16 hours, it suggest. So I was anxious before I even started…
Well, for women and intermittent fasting, i wasn’t doing it correctly… let me explain…
Fasting Diet
I was drinking sugar-free coffee drinks to keep me full until lunch. I would drink sugar-free syrups and almond milk or stevia in my coffee… And I was chugging cups of coffee.. to stay “full” I also added the sugary coffee creamer vanilla flavor and seasonal options too…
Then I was introduced by social media to try inulin in your coffee, a supplement fiber that can be blended in your coffee without taste to help keep you full. AND WOW, this was a game-changer for me! I started adding it to my coffee, and in the beginning, it was a little of a transition, but it helped me keep somewhat complete… and I didn’t feel like I needed to go back and have three more cups of coffee to depress my appetite before lunch.
As I added inulin to my morning coffee and did more of my research, I started using only almond milk and SF syrups with my inulin, And I have been doing that for probably a year or so. So I can’t consider myself technically fasting when I add those sugary syrups.
Then I heard rumors that you were still considered in the fasting window if your coffee with a little milk is less than 35 calories. So that’s when I transition to cinnamon with almond milk. Over time, I started to add less and less almond milk to my morning cup of joe.
Not until this past spring, when the coronavirus hit, I was still drinking almond milk and cinnamon in my coffee. Now I drink it black. My current regimen is black coffee in the morning, and my second cup has inulin with some cinnamon. (yes I drink coffee on an empty stomach)
Now please remember it took me years to define what intermittent fasting was for me… I’m not saying it’s healthy, and drinking sugary coffee drinks every morning for the past few years is not the best. Intermittent fasting has helped me break the last 10 pounds I was looking to lose under a plateau. It has helped improve my digestion, and overall it’s my preference.
Benefits of Intermittent fasting
- Help improve digestion health
- Help improve concentration
- From a weight loss plateau
- Performance
- Preference.
Now, IF it is not for everyone, but this has worked for me and has helped me lose the last ten pounds I was looking to lose. And I really believe that not only did inulin help make me fuller…. I swear it made my stomach flatter… I’m not sure how to describe it. Inulin can be mixed in coffee, which I prefer, or it can be placed in your favorite drink or dish. It does not taste but needs to be stirred up, so it doesn’t get clumpy. When I drink this in my coffee, I do not consider this supplement as breaking my fast.
Disclaimer:
If you want to start taking inulin (fiber), start SMALL. When I first started taking it a few years ago, I had stomach issues the first week. This supplement is not for everyone. But after a week, I slowly started adding more into my coffee. I do about 2 scoops a day. Inulin is fiber important for good digestion, regular bowel movements, and can help with weight management. I will say this is the one supplement I have been taking for the last 3 years, and I won’t leave my house without it. I take it if I travel or am on the road mostly not to get constipated when I am out of my routine.
7 Comments
I love hearing other’s experiences with intermittent fasting. I did it for about a year myself and ended up stopping for awhile, but now I’ve fallen back into the habit of it more naturally and now I’m not as strict with it, and so much easier to manage. Like you, I usually have tea or coffee in the morning and it helps a lot!
Eileen | yesmissy.com
I’ve probably always had some undiagnosed ADD, but when I started IF, I found unbelievable concentration in the mornings. I do not eat from 8pm-12 noon which often goes to 1 or 2pm because I’m getting so much done and love the feeling of being able to concentrate. Thanks for your ideas here, I hadn’t considered inulin!
[…] thing I like to do is Intermittent Fasting.. I share all about it here. I realize if I do eat breakfast then I am starving again within the […]
Great post, thank you for sharing your experience with intermittent fasting. I just got some inulin powder, and am excited to start trying intermittent fasting. What do you do in the evening after 7pm? Do you ever find yourself hungry?
Yeah great to hear! Again if im really hungry in the evening I tend to eat more vegetables or fruit to fill up on more fiber! but typically I have a big dinner!
I know I could just do some research on Intermittent fasting myself but since I’m here, I thought I’d ask you, would eating a piece of fruit in the evening ruin the fasting phase?
eating fruit at night? I don’t think soo! I typically eat anything carbs, fruit or anything late, I just don’t eat breakfast right away!