My IF journey. Huh? I thought you gave that up out of execerbation because it ate your muscle and slowed your metabolism. It is true, that I decided to stop restricting myself and I began seriously with resistance training, but I accidentally missed a day and it became two and I felt like a failure because I had read that you cannot reset your metabolism, and somewhere deep down it nagged at me that I was building fat by eating so much when I wasn't even hungry anyhow. I needed to face it. It was the fact that even if I did increase my muscle and speed upp my metabolism, my balance is so poor that regular exercise is not even an option for me. Whereas fasting is. I just happened to decide to fast for 24 hours at the same time I was fasting 24 hours for church... ya da ya da, I realized fasting was approved, or reccommended by God much as avoiding pork had been, sure it had been used as a tool to measure faithfulness, but it had benefits, So, I decided to go a full 24 hours no food, no drink. It was also a long, holiday weekend, so I had decidded to go running on a track in Walnut on Monday morning, but my fast had not ended yet. I started to worry, but watched videos where those documenting their fasts performed regular exercise despite eating, so I knew that I would be fine, and knowing that, I was. only I did drink one cup on tea, thinking the water would be necessary, and it was Ashwaganda tea, as well, so it might make any resulting muscle soreness less severe. Well, I ran, with no problem, and am even more committed to fasting,
I have LONG time thought that eating one time a day seemed natural to me, and I found out many, many,many people achieve sustainable results doing a 20/4 fast, or only allowing a 4hour eating schedule, which fits perfectly with when my family eats together.
It is still hard to not eat, especially when I endure lows in bloodsugar, but, I honestly believe that somehow my body stores banks of Glycogen throughout my body and when it taps into them I feel better, and am able to continue on to what takes so long for my body to depeat it's sugar reserves, so that I can start to benefit and switch over to ketosis.\, or fat burning. It took me a very long time when I becan a few years ago, I felt like breaking the 150lbs barrier was going to be impossible, but then it happened one day when I went to the grocery store. I didn't crave anything. even if I had tons of money I had no desire to eat things that were bad for me, or good for me either. I ought to have been soooooooo dang hungry, but I felt nothing...well, as far as need to eat went. I also had a sort of epiphany where I understood that I had broken my food addiction. And that addiction was a POWERFUL thing, but although I had not done anything special as far as a dieting routine or protocol, When I weigh myself daily, I was loosing so much weight! I actually dropped to below 130lbs. In college I was very fit and my lowest was 140lbs. but, when we moved, though I had not gain alot of weigh I settled in at about 145, and decided it was from loosing muscle and I no longer wanted to fast. At first, I needed to force myself to eat, because not eating just became natural to me. but I am now at 165lbs and I decided that eating more isn't doing anything but storing sugar as fat, and my clothes are not fitting anymore. Though, my BMI is still not in the "Overweight" range some how I must change.
That is were I am now, I just listened to a really good podcast and I had noticed that many people who succeeded, as I had, with IF left and came back and were able to maintain and recapture their sucess. One time, it was said by a professional, actually, if a person fasted for 36 hours and then ate normally throughout the rest of the week, the results would bethe same as IF. Ah hah! the IF just works well for me, with my given circumstances. Plus, at my stage in life, just not eating is easier to maintain that a regular fitness routine.
I did notice that the things that seemed to cause my success were eating properly, and regular exercise. both are eay for me. I certainly can eat fatty, processed foods, but they are like smoking or drinking, just Why? when I am no longer addicted. It is similar to what my friend Rizki said about not eating bacon. It is very easy when it is just not available. what is hard is sitting down to a meal and not being able to eat like everyone else. I could not maintain that, though I can do it ( though my husband claims that I am trying to kill myself). but.... don't get me started on the things people believed would harm them, but it turns out that was just a misunderstanding, like looking at the Sun.....
