Intermittent Fasting: My Thoughts So Far

Intermittent fasting: when I first heard this I thought it was just another one of those internet fads that is not actually beneficial to your body in any way. But, due to being easily swayed by fitness pages on instagram, I thought I would give it a try. The worst that could happen is I would be really hungry for a few hours and give up on the first day.

So, what is intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting involves cycling between a period of fasting and a period of non-fasting during a defined period of time. During your fasting period you can still have things like water, coffee, tea, and BCAAs. To clarify, this is not a diet. I still eat the same amount of calories and to the best of my ability hit my macros. Instead of a diet, it is just a different way of getting your meals in. The most common way to do it is with a 16 hour fasting period and an 8 hour eating period. This is also the way that I have been doing it.

While I have only been doing intermittent fasting for a little over a week, I already love it. I thought that I would be starving but so far I haven't been. There are a few days where I've been super hungry but usually a cup of coffee and my preworkout solves that. My strategy for intermittent fasting is this: I wake up and go to all my classes and then go to the gym. I finish my workout around 1pm and that is when I have my first meal and begin my eating period which goes until 9pm. I usually eat 2-3 bigger meals a day that stay under my caloric intake and hit my macro goals (40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat). I have the same thing every day after the gym: two pieces of avocado toast (I've been obsessed recently, I will post how I make it in a later post, but seriously go try it!) and a double protein shake. That pretty much fills me up for a few hours while I do school work and then I eat dinner and have another double protein shake right before bed. It has made meals so much simpler and I have stopped eating just because I am bored.

One of the biggest misconceptions about intermittent fasting is that you're starving yourself when you're doing it. While you can reduce caloric intake if you want, which is usually done anyways when trying to lose weight, but, I haven't. I am still eating the same amount, I am just doing it in fewer hours and with fewer meals Again, intermittent fasting is not a diet, its an eating habit.

Has it worked? I think it has. I feel like I have more energy during the day and it's nice to have an excuse not to late night snack when I'm bored. Since it has only been a week I obviously haven't seen any drastic changes in my body, but I have dropped a pound or two which is always exciting. The biggest thing I have noticed is that I'm not as bloated at the end of the week. For me, this is when my bloating is the worst because it is like it has all built up from everything I have put into my body. By Friday, I still feel like my muscles are staying tight and I'm not as nervous about wearing tighter clothing when I go out. So all in all, I think the biggest change I've seen from doing intermittent fasting is an increased self-confidence, which is better than any amount of weight loss.

Intermittent fasting is not something that will work for everyone. I naturally am not someone who eats a lot during the day. I tried eating 6-7 smaller meals a day and it just did not work for me. I'm too busy to be eating that frequently. So, if you are someone who eats this way, then intermittent fasting is not for you. But, if you're like me and 2-3 meals is perfect, then I suggest giving it a try!

#food #fasting #healthy #fitness