Csy-Lux

Hi friends, Happy April!  If you’ve been keeping up with my Instagram stories, you’ve seen that for the past month I have been practicing intermittent fasting – I did take a one week break last week while on vacation from it but I am currently back at it. Personally, I had heard of intermittent fasting but never really showed much interest in it, mostly because I always thought it was just simply a diet. I didn’t know how many other amazing health benefits you could get out of it. That is, until I went to see a new primary doctor recently. At my visit, we went over the normal wellness check discussion; my everyday lifestyle, my past health history, and we went over my routine bloodwork. When I was telling my doctor about myself, I told her how I had made changes to my lifestyle over the past years with hopes to be my healthiest version in the long term. She brought up intermittent fasting and explained all the ways I could benefit from it, which I quickly did my own research on and wanted to start the very next day. 3 of my coworkers also practice intermittent fasting, and I was quick to pick their brains on it. I want to say that this is only my experience, and it could be different for everyone.

Who does it?.

If you know me, I’ve always loved celebrities and keeping up with how they stay in shape, what they do for anti-aging (fasting is great for that) and how they stay looking so youthful. I already knew that some of the celebrities who practiced fasting were Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Kardashian, Vanessa Hudgens and Halle Berry. Terry Crews has claimed it helped him look better now than he ever did in his 20’s. Vanessa Hudgens started doing it after she noticed her friend started aging like Benjamin Button because of practicing intermittent fasting. Cameron Diaz says 49 is her golden age thanks to intermittent fasting.  Hugh Jackman claims he sleeps like a baby because of intermittent fasting. I had to put this to the test.

What are the benefits to it?.

Intermittent fasting is great for weight loss. That, though, is not why I chose to want to try it. I chose to start intermittent fasting for an all-around healthier life. Intermittent fasting is a great full reset for your metabolism and your body. It resets your internal clock. It allows your body to take a much needed break from eating to help in having a  leaner body, help burn fat faster, and give you a sharper mind. It has been proven to help you live longer and reduce inflammation. It aides in cellular repair, which is your body starting processes to remove waste material from cells. Intermittent fasting has been shown to lower your risk for diabetes, lower your cholesterol, and it can help prevent cancers. It helps improve your brain health as well. Intermittent fasting can help prevent Alzheimers disease, help fight obesity and it helps slow down aging. It also helps improve your heart health, and I swear by it. My 78 year old grampa has been intermittent fasting for years. I go with him to all his cardiology appointments, and he passes his tests and bloodwork with flying colors. The list of benefits goes on and on.

The 16/8 method – The fasting I chose to follow 

There are definitely longer and more intense fasting periods, but I chose something closer to what I already did. I chose to follow the 16/8 method. The 16/8 method allows me to eat for a window of 8 hours and then voluntarily not eat for 16 hours other than water, unsweetened tea, or unsweetened coffee, although I cut it short by 30 minutes. I will stop eating at 7:30 pm and not eat until 11 am the next day. I already don’t regularly eat late dinners anyways so I knew that wouldn’t be hard, and I also didn’t want to keep my body hungry. You aren’t supposed to starve. You’re just telling your body when it can eat. From 11 am to 7:30 pm, I eat whatever I want, but of course it’s best to try to eat nutritious whole grain foods that will keep you full longer and content. You obviously don’t want to binge everything and anything you can during your eating hours because it will cancel out the whole purpose of why you are doing this. I personally thought it was easy to start off and continue doing. I don’t believe it is a diet. I believe it is a way of living and a way of training my body to be disciplined.  

Week 1,2,3 and 4

The first week, I definitely felt like my energy in the morning at work without eating breakfast was great. I was more focused, I still had the kick from my coffee even without creamer. Normally, I make my own coffee at home, and it is very simple, so I didn’t give up much. I can usually keep myself busy at work in the morning, so that made it easier for me to be distracted and not be sitting and waiting for food. I was not starving, and it was easy to train my body not to snack and just wait for my eating time to start. At 11 a.m, I would have my breakfast, and that would break my fasting and start my eating window, followed by lunch within an hour and some snacking throughout the workday. I would have dinner around 6 and some hot tea and water after and call it a day. I did not work out during the first weeks as I was so busy with our vacation preparations during work lunches and after work. I do hear, though, that if you work out daily, it makes for even faster results when also practicing intermittent fasting. I am excited to incorporate all my workouts into this week.  By the second and third week, I noticed I was sleeping better, I Wasn’t as bloated, and I was feeling leaner. I am usually averaging 130 to 132 pounds daily, and I did not care to weigh myself at the time because, like I said, I was not doing it for weight loss. However, I did notice by looking at myself that I had lost weight. It was also my family pointing it out, which I then had to explain how I wasn’t dieting but simply changing the times I was eating. I did notice more clarity in my mornings. I almost felt like I didn’t need coffee anymore. But that’s crazy, I wouldn’t ever give up my morning coffee.  My skin was glowing, and it looked fresh every morning.  Maybe only 2 times did I wish I could eat later than my ending time, but that is only because I didn’t eat enough throughout the day, which I knew I didn’t make time to eat all my meals. Other than that, I was really good at making sure I was full and that I had eaten from all food groups.

To end my blog, I want to say I really did love intermittent fasting. I saw more results than what I had thought I would. I want to add strength training during my fasting period as I didn’t get to do that the first month. Intermittent fasting fits my lifestyle and my vibe. Now that I will be running more and working out more, I plan on really focusing on making sure to eat foods that will give me the energy I need since running makes you burn calories like crazy. I will also add that I don’t always plan on intermittent fasting, and I do take weekends off. I plan on taking breaks from it if I need to or if a special occasion calls for it. Please do your own research and of course know that everyone does it for different reasons and please consult your doctor if you’re not sure if it’s right for you and obviously if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding or younger than 18 it’s a no.

Hope you enjoyed my blog and let me know if you have tried intermittent fasting or would ever want to try it.

-Csy