Tag: intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting – 12 weeks in

Four days into lockdown in South Africa but as importantly… 12 weeks of Intermittent Fasting done and dusted! I am so excited to have made it this far and even more excited at the results that I am now seeing. Guys, this lifestyle change is worth considering! Don’t believe me? Read on…

Photo by Iina Luoto on Pexels.com

The Benefits

Where shall I start…ok, lets start with the one benefit that everyone wants to know about…the weight loss. Yes it is happening and not very fast at all but the I have lost approximately 6kg’s thus far. I seem to have stagnated at this point on the scale or I just need a new scale. (It’s been very inconsistent lately.) I doesn’t really phase me though. What does excite me is that I have lost the weight and I have dropped 2 dress sizes! Yes you read that right! ok, lets call it a dress size and a half because I would hover between and 18 and a 20 and now I fit back into a 16!!! How times change…the first time I ever bought a size 16, I was mortified at how fat I had gotten and now I am thrilled to be wearing that size.

My energy levels are definitely up. I have started running up my stairs now that we are in lockdown and it feels good. I definitely need to exercise more to get my fitness levels going . I have been working from home for 2 weeks now and I suspect that the lack of movement around the office, which is where I would normally get 5000+ steps in, is also slowing down my weight loss. My head is still clear as well which is brilliant. I never want to go back to that foggy head feeling again.

Lastly, and most importantly, I have seen a reduction in my blood glucose levels. I was so excited by today’s reading in particular. I had my lowest reading this morning since 2016 and I was shocked to have my lowest readings after 2 helpings of dessert this evening. I know I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t help myself, my son had made the must delicious apple cake which we had with cream. Besides I had my morning reading to celebrate. 😉 The reading was almost normal. My doctor is going to be pleasantly surprised when I tell him.

The secret?

I am religious about fasting for a minimum of 16 hours every day. I usually start eating at around 11:30 am or 12 am and have my last meal by 7 pm at the latest. I am not as good about watching what I eat but I try not to snack during my eating period and I stick to black coffee these days. I do need to increase my water intake again as well. i have slackened off on that. I don’t really miss eating during that fasting period and, even when I feel hungry, I don’t stress about it because I know that those pangs will subside as quickly as they rose up whether I drink something or not. The real secret is to commit to making the change and to always remember why you made that commitment in the first place. What is that benefit, that life changing benefit, that you are committed to achieving? That is what will make you keep your commitment to yourself. As Simon Sinek says; “Start with Why”. Here’s the other thing to remember, you will only be committed to the change when you are ready to make it. You will know when is that time for you. For me, I have a sense of “it’s now or never” and then I know that it’s time to make the change, I commit to it, the universe sends me who and what I need and then it is a done deal and there is no turning back. I do my part and God does the rest. I don’t believe He is done with me yet! What’s your “commitment” moment?

I hope you are all staying at home and keeping yourselves and your families safe. Let’s do our part to #flattenthecurve

Until next time…#staysafe

“What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state that it delivers”

“What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state that it delivers”

James Clear (Atomic Habits)

I’ve just started reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I came across this line in chapter 3 and I stopped dead in my tracks. That understanding for me is what enabled me to give up smoking and to begin and sustain an intermittent fasting lifestyle. This week it has been 7 years since I gave up smoking and I have officially lost 5kg’s and dropped a dress size in less than 2 months. Both achievements required a change in mindset in order to effect a change in habits and achieve a desired change in state.

In order to change my mindset, I asked myself: “what did I do before I developed the habit?”. The reality is that I didn’t always smoke and I wasn’t always fat. I realised that I had started smoking for a particular reason but the habit embedded itself for very different reasons. Reasons and beliefs that I created that actually were not true. I just used them to justify my behavior. The same is true for why I have remained fat for the last 6-7 years. The fact of the matter was that I wasn’t always this way and I didn’t have to be this way any more. Once I acknowledged and accepted that, I was well on my way to kicking my bad habits to the curb!

Let me not lie, I still find losing weight harder than giving up smoking. That desire to snack is way harder to kick than the desire to smoke. I thought I loved smoking but my love for smoking was nothing compared to my love for snacking. The truth of the matter is that I was never a snacker when I was thin. I became a snacker because I wanted to emulate the behaviors I read about in magazines. I wanted to be able to say that chocolate and wine was my “fix” in times of stress for example. Reading a book used to be my fix and it worked perfectly for me but noooo, I had to fix what wasn’t broken because I wanted to be someone I wasn’t, and it got me fat and unhealthy.

I am happy to report that I have gone back to reading as my fix. I am in my happy place when I have a book open in front of me. I am in my happy place when I am learning and “exploring” through books. I don’t need anyone in that space and I don’t need snacks or cigarettes there either. I am blissfully me. Now if only I can remember how I used to occupy myself while thinking and working before I developed the habit of snacking. Maybe I just chewed on a pencil 🤷🏽‍♀️. What is that change in state that snacking delivers that I crave? I’m sure I will crack it soon enough. Maybe the rest of the book “Atomic Habits” will help.

At the end of the dusty day, I guess it’s quite clear that I developed bad habits trying to be someone that I am not. Why? It never occurred to me that I was perfect as I was. I didn’t appreciate those moments when I was happy and kept trying to create a cooler version of myself that I thought people would love more. Well that hasn’t worked😜. So I am going back to being me. To doing the things I have always loved and tough noogies for those who think it’s uncool. I love me! In the words of Susan Cain:

“The key to everything: give yourself permission to be who you really are.”

Well there you have it. I started writing about changing habits and ended with a declaration of love for myself. Lol! In all serious though, how many habits have you developed trying to be someone that you are not just because society made you feel like the “original“ you was uncool? Give yourself permission to be who you really are. Who knows, some of those bad habits might just fall away of their own accord. Besides, you are cool as you are.

Let me get back to my book. Thanks for meandering down this lane with me. I hope it helped you unpack some things about yourself and why you do the things you do like it did for me. Stay grounded. TTFN

January was a great month!

Can you believe that January is finally over! While it was definitely a long month, it was a great month for me (and I hope for you too). I started and maintained Intermittent Fasting in an effort to get this diabetes into remission and, hopefully, I will lose major weight along the way. I have also started being more disciplined and focussed on my goals and desires.

a greek salad
Photo by Iina Luoto on Pexels.com

Intermittent fasting…an update

My routine

It’s almost one month since I started. I started strong and expected a wobble when I got back to work halfway through the month. I must admit that I do miss breakfast. Much like smoking, I miss the ritual of it and not the actual eating of food. It was also something I did with my son in the morning and I could see that was he was getting a bit lonely in the mornings so now I make sure I have my coffee while he is eating so that he doesn’t eat alone. I am also up earlier during the week because of work so I feel hungrier sooner than I did when I was on leave. I usually end my fast at 12 and start between 6 and 7pm. I try not to eat after 7pm if I can avoid it. On those days when the hunger pangs are too great to bear and not even coffee or water is keeping them at bay, I eat at 11am. I just make sure that I have my last meal no later than 6pm. Snacking is still my challenge over weekends. During the week I have the meals and almost never snack in between.

The benefits thus far

So far so good. I think my body is starting to heal but we will have to have my doctor check that in July when I have my check-up. I am thrilled that my blood glucose levels have a lower average through the day. This week I saw my lowest morning readings in about 2 years. They still need to drop further so that I can stop my medication but that will take time and this is a war I will win. I have to admit, every time I am tempted to snack often, I just remind myself of the goal and I pick up a glass of water instead. They say that you have to have a clear purpose to give you the best chance at succeeding at a goal. Beating diabetes will not only benefit me but my son in the long run and so far. this is the main reason I have been able to stay on track. The other reason is the dream of walking into a clothing store and just picking stuff up off the rack that I know I will look good in. Putting on weight completely threw for a loop when it came to clothes shopping. Suddenly all my favourite styles and cuts just looked wrong on me. I can’t wait to go back to buying my favourite clothes again. As of this morning, I am 2.9kg lighter (Whoop whoop!) so the weight loss dream is still alive. I am most excited about my lower blood glucose levels though. My head is still clearer than it used to be. The inflammation is largely gone but as I mentioned in my last post, it still pops in if I eat too many carbs. I also have more energy. Not vast amounts but I have noticed that I am not as tired at the end of the day on the most days which is great. I hated being tired more often than not.

So what have I been eating????

In all honestly, I haven’t made too many drastic changes to my diet. I have cut out fried chips but will steal 2 or 3 from Alex when he has so as not to feel deprived. He doesn’t bother getting upset anymore and now just offers them to me…lol. I try to keep fast food down to twice a week and and when I do have it, I make sure I am done eating by 6pm. I just feel less guilty about it if I eat it early for some reason. My dinners tend to be a protein plus veggies or a salad. I try to keep carbs to the barest minimum. My lunches are similar. I will have a chicken wrap most often at work for lunch. It keeps me full for the rest of the day and my blood glucose levels are pretty good after 2 hours. My aim is to avoid spikes in my blood glucose levels after meals. I stay away from fruit as a general rule (I was never a fan anyway so this is not hard for me) and eggs are my saving grace when I don’t know what else to eat. A boiled egg salad always hits the spot and the taste buds are always happy with it as well. What changes did you make when you started IF?

Exercising Greater focus

The one thing I have decided to start up again, although I can’t possibly tell you why I stopped, is meditating. I suck at it but I feel good about trying to do it anyway. My brain is all over the place! I accidentally bought the Oprah and Deepak 21-day meditation entitled “The Energy of Attraction” almost 2 years ago. I was mortified as it was not cheap but I kept it as I figured it had a message I needed to hear. Listening to it now, with the last 18 months worth of life experience behind me, has helped me see things differently. By the way, the free 21-day meditation on health starts on the 3rd so go and sign up if you are interested. There is a link on my facebook page. (Lawd please don’t make me make the same mistake again cos my credit card cannot take the pressure!)

candle
Photo by George Becker on Pexels.com

Other tips and tricks that are helping me stay focussed on my various goals

  • I have my vision board on my bedroom wall and on my phone. Alex is most fascinated by it and keeps asking why I this or that included. He says I believe in “a lot of things that most people don’t”. It used to bother him but he is starting to see the benefits in his own life so he is slowly coming around.
  • I set reminders on my phone with positive messages and affirmations to keep me focussed on what I want so that I don’t drift off into zeroing in on the things that I don’t want. It is just way to easy for me to get upset about the things around me that I don’t want instead of focussing on where my vision is. As Steve Harvey says” You simply cannot drive forward if you’re focussed on what’s happening in the rear view mirror.”
  • A lot of the non-fiction books I read are on my kindle app on my phone. I highlight the passages that resonate with me so that I can easily go back to them when I feel like I am drifting off course.
Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Of course I have made all these changes with my the intention of changing my inner word so that my outer world will change. How long it will take for the outward changes to show will probably depend on the consistent implementation of those inner changes and how big my dreams are. I don’t expect to be a billionnaire overnight but it is not impossible to be one 15-20 years from now. The changes required to make it happen have to happen now as an example. I am so excited anyway because I know in my heart that everything I have ever prayed for and will still pray for in the future is on it’s way to me. Watch this space! It’s gonna be a “God’s gone and done it again” decade!

Lastly, welcome February, the month of Love 🙂 I can’t wait to see what miracles you bring me. Of course love is definitely welcome and a lot of spoiling. 😜 Hope you all get to celebrate love with someone special to you this month.

Bye for now.