Before this lockdown, I would stop eating at 6:30 p.m. and wouldn't eat again until 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. the next day. This is how I would intermittently fast for around sixteen to eighteen hours. Fasting combined with a lower carb lifestyle, is what kick started my weight loss after Christmas. However, fasting and a few other good habits fell by the wayside since sheltering in place began.
I held strong, but my eye was on the clock all morning. When 11:00 hit, I jumped up and made myself some lunch. From what I remember, it originally only took me a couple of days to get in the swing of intermittent fasting. In fact, intermittent fasting was the easiest thing I did, that helped me lose weight. There were also other benefits I quickly noticed. For me personally, my energy soared, my blood pressure dropped, I was less tired, felt like eating less often, and no longer suffered from getting 'Hangry'. For now I'll stick with sixteen hour fasts, and then kick it up to eighteen hours in a few days.
Intermittent fasting is a great tool in helping with weight loss. When you stack it with exercise and eating less carbs, you see results even more quickly. The best thing about intermittent fasting, is that time spent sleeping counts! The 16:8 method of fasting is what people usually start off on. You basically have a 16-hour fast window, and an 8-hour window to eat.
Here are some examples of eating windows:
- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Noon to 8 p.m.
Breakfast became something I started getting dependent on during lockdown. Making a big breakfast for us everyday gave me something to do, and the types of comfort food I've been cooking were very enjoyable to eat. It put me in a much better state of mind to watch the morning news. I realize that I tend to eat my stress, and this was yet another way I was doing that without even realizing it. What am I going to do now though to face the world? All I can say about that, is Thank the Maker you can drink coffee while fasting! As long as there isn't any sugar in it, you will keep reaping the benefits of your fast.
I'm going to still eat breakfast on the weekends, but will simply shift my eating window from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. I will also still be eating snack cakes, but am limiting myself to only one a day. Honestly, I can eat an ungodly amount of snack cakes or donuts during my eating window, so the commitment to only one a day is something I need to stand firm on. The good news is, my current snack cake stash will last me about a month and a half, if I can truly stick to only one snack cake a day!