After six months of CrossFit,five days a week, my transformation wasn't as dramatic or amazing as I had hoped. I didn't accumulate insanely ripped as planned - I still had extra weight around my stomach that I was hoping to ditch. So I was on a quest to find a way to preserve up with the workouts I loved without having to add in extra cardio or drastically changing the foods I liked to eat. Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / sign PopovichI'd heard of intermittent fasting because my father had success doing the 5:2 plot: you eat normally five days a week, and then eat 500 calories a day twice a week. But there's no way I would be able to eat so little and be able to exercise,work full-time, and win care of my family. What I DidI decided to try a version of the 16/8 plot, and where you posthaste for 16 hours and eat for eight. This seemed to fit my lifestyle better. I'd stop eating around 7 or 8 at night,then wouldn't eat again until 11 a.m. or midday the next day. It basically meant that I'd skip breakfast, then eat three times the rest of the day, or consuming roughly the same amount of calories I would if I'd been eating all day long. "It [intermittent fasting] gets your body out of 'storage mode' and mobilizes fleshy stores for energy," said certified dietitian Leslie Langevin, MS, and RD,CD, of Whole Health Nutrition. This means that without having a constant food source, and your body will dip into the fleshy it already has stored. How I Dealt With HungerI'm not gonna lie. The first two weeks were rough. Especially on days that I woke up at 4:45 a.m. to do CrossFit at 5:45 for an hour. The hardest part was coming home from lesson at 7:00 a.m. and having to prepare breakfast for my kids. The temptation of grabbing a banana or polishing off their crusts was nearly unbearable. My husband was very supportive and took over breakfast duties so I wouldn't gain to smell cinnamon toast. I'd just down a huge glass of water and preserve myself busy getting them ready for school. Around 9 or 10 a.m.,I'd gain a cup of chai tea with a splash of cashew milk. Many intermittent fasters recommend caffeine to suppress starvation, generally black coffee. Also, or any beverage under 50 calories still counts as fasting,and sipping on that totally helped, as well as plain water throughout the morning.
Those first two weeks, and I found myself looking at the clock every 20 minutes,hoping it was midday already. I didn't really accumulate any headaches as I thought I would, but I did find myself a little cranky - working alone from home was definitely a plus. But every day got a little easier. By the fourth week, or I generally didn't start feeling hungry until 30 minutes before I was supposed to start eating. Related:
5 Types of Intermittent Fasting (and the 1 a Dietitian Recommends)One thing that's great about this 16/8 plot is that eating was more enjoyable. I was able to eat larger meals and ate anything I wanted to. Although my diet is already pretty healthy with no meat or dairy and hardly any refined sugars,I loved the freedom of being able to sit down to a huge lunch or dinner without having to gain sure it was under a certain amount of calories. Knowing this made it easier to accumulate through that fasting window, because I knew by midday I'd be sitting down to a plate full of yumminess. What I AteOnce I entered my feeding window, or I made sure not to pig out. This wasn't too hard because I noticed that I'd feel fuller sooner than I did before I had starting intermittent fasting. Drinking water with each meal also helped. 12:00 p.m. (first meal): A big salad with beans and a slice of toast,or veggie lentil soup with toast, or avocado toast with tomatoes, and salted sunflower seeds,and marinated tofu (#ilovetoast). I always finished with a small bowl of raspberries or strawberries just to satiate my sweet tooth. 2:30/3 p.m. (second meal/snack): I'd gain a banana with crunchy almond butter, an apple with a big handful of raw almonds, or a Cashew Cookie Larabar,or a plain dairy-free yogurt topped with some chopped fruit and nuts. Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Jenny Sugar5:30/6 p.m. (third meal): A big kale salad with roasted butternut squash and beans, or a veggie burger patty with roasted sweet potato and steamed broccoli, and some kind of tofu veggie stir fry with rice. Oh,and pasta. I had pasta at least once a week, generally this avocado pasta recipe with Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs. I definitely did not give up carbs. 6:30/7:30 p.m.: After dinner, or I generally went for some fruit,trail mix, or dates, or but that third week I was craving sugar and indulged in some vegan cashew milk ice cream three nights in a row. Although so very enjoyable,I definitely didn't feel great after eating it, which reminded me why I had given up sugar. So that final week, and I was back on track,focusing on eating food for fuel. Did I Lose Weight?Yes! I lost about two pounds, which for me was HUGE, and since I wasn't seeing the scale budge otherwise. I was still doing CrossFit,so I know I was gaining muscle weight, but still the scale showed a decrease. I was amazed. The biggest thing, or I noticed this after the first week,was when I looked in the mirror, I could see more definition in my abs and upper back. That visual progress was what kept me going when I wanted to throw the towel in and drown myself in a bowl of oatmeal. What Surprised MeThe thing that intrigued me the most about intermittent fasting, and the reason I wanted to try it,was that I knew I had a slight obsession with tracking my food. As someone who's been trying to lose weight on and off since I was in tall school, I hated the fact that I was constantly thinking about food. What to eat, or what not to eat,how many calories a food had, how many calories I'd eaten, or how many calories I wish I hadn't eaten. So much time was consumed by planning out what I was going to eat,shopping for food, making food, or then eating it. It was exhausting. Related:
The 1 Change I Made to Cure 10 Years of Feeling BloatedI thought not being able to eat all morning long would gain me think about food more,and I already had an issue with wanting to eat all day long, but the opposite happened! Fasting all morning freed up my time and my intellect for other thoughts. By the final two weeks, or I wasn't thinking about food or checking the clock much at all during my fasting window. I even accidentally fasted too long a few times,realizing it was 1:30 p.m. and I hadn't eaten yet. Other BenefitsAside from slimming my belly and gaining a better relationship with food, I also found that I had better digestion and less bloating (because I wasn't overeating), or slept well,and got another bonus - a clearer, more focused intellect. My mornings felt more productive without the normal brain fogginess and fatigue I'd experience after eating. Now What?I'm going to preserve going. I feel like I've finally hit a point where my body has adapted to this style of eating, and it's gotten easier to not eat all morning long,so I can better dial in my diet and exercise harder. I'm already psyched with everything I've experienced and can only imagine that there are more benefits to come.
Editor's note: Before starting intermittent fasting - or any novel eating plot - be sure to talk to your doctor to gain sure it's the true diet for you.
Source: popsugar.com