Intermittent Fasting has continued to gain popularity over the last few years as more studies have shown it's health benefits. I decided to give it a try this week to see what would happen. This blog/vlog is meant to give you some information on what intermittent fasting is, and to share my initial experience.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
There is not a black and white answer to this question because there are so many different forms of intermittent fasting (IF). All styles of IF are based around the idea of giving your body a break from processing food - whether that be through calorie reduction or shortened eating windows.
Probably the two most popular forms of IF are time restrictions and calorie restrictions. Time restrictions limit what windows of time you can eat throughout the day and calorie restrictions limit how much food you take in on certain days of the week.
Disclaimer: Intermittent Fasting may not be a healthy choice for everyone. I am not a medical professional and am simply sharing my personal experience and some of the research I have found. Please consult with a medical professional if you are unsure if Intermittent Fasting would be a good idea for you.
Windows of Eating
A time restriction means that you have a certain window of time in which you can eat - some go as loose as 8 hours, while other plans suggest only eating within a 4 or 5 hour window. If someone has a 5 hour window, they may decide to eat from 3-8pm. They do not say what you can eat or how much, just that you can only eat during a small window.
The problem I had with this style, is that you are supposed to do this every day. What about weekend brunch? What about going out to lunch with a co-worker? What about that late night bowl of ice cream? Ok... that's probably not a good idea anyway.
Anyway, the idea of restricting myself like that on a daily basis just felt too confining. I hate having rules over my head... it almost makes me feel claustrophobic and I will almost certainly rebel against the rules, just because they are there. This is why it's good to know your personality type before entering into something like this!
The 5:2 Plan
The other major form of IF is calorie restriction - also known as the 5:2 diet. I hate the word diet... but that is what it is called in mainstream media, and so I wanted to use the proper terminology for this post. You can see from the heading that I prefer to call it the 5:2 plan, because it feels more like a lifestyle change rather than a fad diet. This plan basically means that you can eat whatever you want five days of the week, but you restrict yourself to only 500 calories two days a week.
I should point out that "Eat whatever you want" is not a free pass to have a heaping pile of fast food the next day and 20 cookies to chase it down. You will NOT see health benefits from taking this approach. This plan works best if you eat sensibly most of the time, take a break from eating sometimes, and indulge every once in a while.
These 500 calorie days should not be on consecutive days. You need to give your body a re-charge before fasting again. I have decided to try Monday and Thursday for my fasting days. I usually don't have much going on after work these days (ie... fewer temptations) and they spaced apart by a few days so I am getting the maximum benefits.
It was also important to me that this not feel restrictive to my lifestyle. That is why I have chosen two weekdays, and kept the weekends (including Friday) free and clear! On Friday nights i'm more likely to spend time cooking a good meal because I don't have to get up for work the next morning and I love going out for brunch on the weekends as well.
The Science Behind Intermittent Fasting
Before giving this a try, I did a lot of research to make sure it would be a healthy choice for me. Please read my disclaimer at the top of the post if you have not already. I am not a medical professional - I am simply sharing the research I have found and my personal experience.
This article is not intended to dig into all the many research articles that have been done on the topic, but more to share about my experience. I will include a few resources below that you you can read and look into yourself to decide what you think. As always, do what is right for your body. My experience may be totally different than yours and so it is important to be informed and listen to your body.
Here is a peer-reviewed article by the Journal of Canadian Medicine that I thought did a great job of showing the science on both sides and offering a viewpoint that is based on caution instead of hype.
Heathline published an article that is a bit more "consumable" than a peer reviewed article that some of you my find helpful. They provide some higher level information on the benefits of intermittent fasting and provide a source reference for the study that the information was taken on. Here is the article - 10 Evidence Based Benefits of Intermittent Fasting.
I would also recommend watching the BBC Documentary - Eat, Fast and Live Longer. This documentary follows a man on his journey of fasting. He interviews many leading health professionals and gets regular blood-work/tests done throughout the journey to monitor his health.
Why Am I Trying This?
To be honest, this isn't my first rodeo with Intermittent Fasting. I actually tried the 5:2 Plan a few years ago and was floored by the results. I didn't end up lasting very long with it though because i'm not good with rules and it started to feel too restrictive. I'm at a place right now though, where my body has been feeling regularly bloated, and certain foods such as gluten and (too much) dairy have not been sitting well in my stomach.
I have been so discouraged to see these changes as it has affected my energy and the way I look and feel in my body. Even when I started exercising regularly again, I was continuing to gain weight - without changing my food. Now before anyone jumps on me ... no I do not have body image issues, I am just sick of feeling bloated and gross after eating and know that something needs to change.
Also, the health benefits of longevity I discovered in my research was really appealing to me. Generally speaking, i'm pretty healthy and everything comes back "normal" on my blood-work - but that doesn't mean I have to wait until I have health issues to take preventative measures.
What Did I Eat?
This is always what people want to know right away! What can you possible eat for only 500 calories? Well, if you blow all 500 of them on a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk... you probably won't fare well the rest of the day. By eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and some lean protein - it really wasn't too difficult to stay energized throughout the day. Sure, I felt hungry at times - but I never felt desperate to eat.
Here was one of my fasting days this week:
Breakfast
Honestly, I just had a cup of coffee with a tiny splash of cream and a few nuts. This maybe equated to 45 calories. I often skip breakfast in my regular routine though because I just don't get hungry in the morning. I know most people need breakfast though - and so there are plenty of breakfast options under 100 calories that you could choose from. My favorite is probably a one egg scramble with spinach and peppers.
Lunch
I made a berry, lemon and kale smoothie. This equated to about 90 calories. Be careful about the fruit you use, because some have a much higher calorie content than others. For example, I would usually put a banana in my smoothie to help make it creamier - but those suckers are about 75 calories a pop! Alternatively, most berries pack a strong nutritional punch without the high calorie load. Not to mention they taste delicious...
Dinner
This was the fun part! I made a super tasty cauliflower rice bowl with garlic prawns and cilantro. I cooked down some onions, garlic, and jalapeño with chicken stock and then threw in the cauliflower rice and simmered until it was cooked all the way through. I added some salt and pepper and seasonings to help enhance the flavor. In a separate saucepan, I cooked the prawns in a combination of fresh lemon juice, chicken stock and minced garlic. I topped the cauliflower bowl with prawns and tons of fresh cilantro. This whole meal only cost me about 175 calories and packed a good protein punch thanks to the prawns.
Snacks
I ate quite a few snacks throughout the day! My first snack was just a handful of carrots. These crunchy and sweet vegetables sure helped me fill up a bit without using many calories.
I also sipped on some bone broth. This is a great way to add some extra protein to your day. I had a whole cup of broth for only 50 calories and it gave me 9 grams of protein. I should mention that I didn't think it tasted very good at first so I added some salt, pepper and hot sauce to flavor it.
After dinner, I still had a few calories left and so I made ham and pickle pinwheels. They were SO good! I simply laid out a slice of ham, spread some mustard on it, put a pickle in the middle, rolled and sliced it.
Beverages
I ended up drinking a lot of beverages throughout the day. When I started feeling hungry, I would either munch on a snack or drink a tasty beverage. My go-to was Good Earth's Sweet and Spicy tea. This tea has such a rich flavor, that it felt satiating even though I wasn't consuming any calories.
I also had a LaCroix when I was cooking. I generally love to pour a glass of wine while i'm cooking in the kitchen - but I obviously wasn't going to waste any of my precious calories on alcohol! Sipping on a cold and bubbly LaCroix was the perfect thing.
How Did my Body React to the Fast?
Ummm... really well. You guys, I haven’t felt this good in ages. Here are the main areas that I noticed a difference.
Increased Energy
I literally could not believe how much energy I had. I felt so vibrant and light all day, even though I had less coffee than usual! I didn't want to chance having too much coffee on an empty stomach, so I kept it to one cup on my fasting days.
Felt More Creative
Perhaps not surprisingly, with more energy came more creativity. I felt inspired to play more music, write and work on some projects I've been putting off.
Yes... I Did Feel Hungry at Times
I would be lying if I said that 500 calories worth of food kept me 100% happy all day! The interesting thing though, was that I didn't really mind the hunger pangs. Because my body felt so good and my energy levels were high - it just kind of felt like part of the process.
I Felt Like I Lost 10 Pounds in 1 Day
Did I really? No of course not, that would be crazy. What DID happen though is that I seemed to shed some of the water weight and bloat I have been carrying around forever. I think this is part of why my energy levels were so high... I literally felt lighter.
The funny thing is, after my first day of fasting my friend actually said "Did you lose weight overnight... you look different". So I guess it wasn't all in my head, losing some of the bloat was a noticeable change.
I should note though - if I had gone crazy and eaten 10 cheeseburgers the day after my fast... I don't think I would have seen any real benefits. I've been able to eat pretty healthy the rest of the week - which is part of why i'm still feeling really good right now.
It Felt Like a Re-set
I really thought I would binge and eat like crazy the days after my fast... but I didn't. I often struggle with cutting sugar because I LOVE desserts...but I already noticed I was craving them less. Letting your body feel hungry and being okay with it, makes it easier to say no to other cravings on non-fasting days.
My Tips for Success
There are few things I realized the hard way that would have made my fasting days easier. I plan to implement them moving forward, but thought i'd share them here.
Plan Ahead
The last thing you want to do is go into a fasting day without any idea of what you will eat. Only eating 500 calories in a day takes some careful planning and strategy. You don't want to blow all of your calories on breakfast because you were desperate and grabbed something without thinking about the calories first. Really research what you are going to eat to have a well-balanced meal plan heading into the day. There are TONS of recipes and sample 500 calorie day ideas online.
Avoid the Grocery Store
This kind of goes in hand with the last point. Even if you have a great idea for a 500 calorie meal and you want to swing by the store on your way home - i'd recommend sticking with what you have planned and trying your new recipe on a different day. Maybe you guys have more self-control than I do, but I just think walking past all of that yummy food and saying no to free samples would be way too hard. I mean what if they are sampling chips and guacamole?? I wasn't about to put myself in that situation.
Fast on Days that you Don't have Plans
You can't always predict last minute plans coming up - but try to fast when you don't have a social engagement that day. Let's face it, most social activities revolve around food. If you are invited out for a drink after work and everyone is getting appetizers ... it's going to be hard not to join in. Or if you are having a game night with friends, chances are there will be snacks out.
Be Gentle with Yourself
One thing I always do is give myself an "out" if I feel miserable. If you have already eaten your 500 calories and it is just way too damn hard... maybe it's just not your day and you can try it another time. For me, the temptation more lies in last minuet social plans. I am a social creature and the idea of turning down a a fun social outing simply because i'm "fasting" doesn't really work for me. If it's something I really want to go to and it involves food - i'll cancel my fast that day. Even if I started the day fasting - I'll look at the rest of my week and see if I can fast a different day instead.
This comes back to the whole "know your personality" conversation. Many of you probably do better with strict rules, but I do better when I have the flexibility to bend the rules.
Conclusion
Wow... I really didn't think I had this much to say about my first week of Intermittent Fasting! I hope that you guys found some of this information helpful or at least thought provoking. I want to re-emphasize that I am trying this out solely on how my body feels and reacts to the fast. So far, I have only had a positive response, but will stay in tune with my body each week.
I also want to note that I'm not saying this is for everyone. I am simply providing my experience in hopes that maybe others will find it helpful or inspiring.
Would there be any interest in a weekly post detailing how the week felt, what I ate on my fasting days and how my body is reacting? If there seems to be enough interest, I may continue posting on the subject.
So I'm curious... have any of you ever tried some form of intermittent fasting? How did it go? If not, do you know anyone that has tried it? What was their experience.
I'd love to get others perspectives and experiences on the subject.
Thanks so much for reading and/or watching my vlog. Much love! <3
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