You're doing what?!

Intermittent Fasting.

Technically we all do this each and every day - we go for an extended period of time without eating (a fast). Because unless you're a sleep-eater (I don't doubt that some people are), you're not eating while you're getting shut-eye. So realistically, you're already fasting 8-9 hours a day! (or probably at least 6-7...)

I did a lot of research on the interwebz and read a lot of articles some by or about Dr. John Berardi, PhD; one by Dr. Andrew Weil of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, and a bunch of random peoples' blogs (Leangains, Mark's Daily Apple, the IF Life). 

This is the point in my explanation where I put on my Responsibility Hat and remind all of you that just because someone is a doctor, or has extra letters after their name, or has a website where they write anything they feel like writing for the universe to read, does NOT mean that person is qualified to tell you how to live a healthy life (myself included). So please take this blog of my life with a grain of salt and do your own research if you think this is something you're interested in undertaking.

The basic premise of Intermittent Fasting (IF from here on out - that's a mouthful to type!) is that our nomadic ancestors did not get to plan out three meals a day and were lucky to have one. So we benefitted from a metabolism that wouldn't shut down because we had to go a day or two without food. So we can manipulate our metabolisms into increased fat-burning, while consuming the same number of (quality) calories you would anyway.

You can intermittent fast almost any way you want. You can start with 12 hours of fasting followed by a 12 hour eating window. That's not so bad if you think about it - stop eating after 8pm, and don't eat again till 8am the next day. Easy? I thought so too. So I bumped myself up to a 14/10 pattern - fasting 14 hours and eating during the remaining ten. I did read a couple of websites that referenced studies showing that women could experience detrimental effects if they fast too many hours in a day (more than 16 hours/day) because of how their hormones react to this "famine" mode. I may go up to 16/8 but for now I'll stay at 14/10. 16 hours a day may seem like a lot, but you can go up to a 24 hour fast - just make sure to leave a non-fasting day in between.

One thing to note: during the fasting stage, you can have any non-caloric drink you like: water, tea, coffee (it's okay to put a splash of milk. I'm not sure who made up that rule but I can't drink mine black so I'll take it!). When you're in the feeding stage, your food should be quality food - this is *not* a time for feasting on Dunkin Donuts (though an occasional lapse in nutritional judgement will not be the death of you!). Don't force yourself to eat because you think you'll be hungry during the fast. You might be at first, but I promise it goes away quickly (especially if you're drinking water).

How do I do it? Does somebody have a case of the Hangries?

So far this life choice has been good for me. I stop eating at 8pm (last week it was 9pm due to dinner taking longer to make than I had planned for!). I get up at 4:30am three or four days a week (usually four) to go to the 5am workout at my gym. I make a cup of coffee (thank you, Keurig!) and leave it in the car until I get out of the gym, between 6:30-6:45am (depending on how long the workout takes and how long I take showering and getting ready!). I drink the coffee on the way to work, then nothing but water until 10am (or 11am if dinner ran late last night).

I pack my lunch the night before so I just have to throw ice packs in my lunch bag to keep it cool all morning. I pack a variety of things, but they're pretty simple foods: hummus with celery sticks or Ak-Mak crackers; grapes with cheese from Trader Joe's; organic apples with one-ingredient peanut butter; breakfast burritos I made over the weekend and froze individually; tomatoes and fresh mozzarella ciliegine with a little olive oil (and basil if I have it on hand). Or this past weekend I made a batch of whole wheat crepes to use up a gallon of whole milk I had on hand (I started to take pictures to post to the blog but only three crepes survived due to my bad flipping technique!) so tomorrow I have packed two of them, one with some peanut butter and cherry preserves I found in the fridge and the other with a drizzle of honey and cherry preserves.

Anyway, I'll eat a little before I go home over my lunch hour to let the dog out, then I'll have one of these snacks left for 2/2:30-ish (when that 2:30 feeling doesn't hit anymore). I leave work between 4:00 and 4:30 (as I get in around or just before 7:00). I either go for a run or run errands or play with the dog or start dinner (or all of those - ha!). We eat dinner, and soon after my fast begins again!

In all fairness, I've only been at this a week, but I have stopped drinking diet pop (I'm down to the one K-cup a day), and I don't feel like I'm dragging by 1:30 like I was before. I don't feel weak during my workouts or runs (right now I'm at 8-12 miles per week)

I don't feel grumpy, and I don't have food always in the back of my mind. I don't feel as stressed about food, because now that I'm technically skipping breakfast and my morning snack, I don't have to worry about how many calories I have left to eat for the day after I've only been at work for two and a half hours. In fact, I stopped counting calories completely last week. I eat until I'm not hungry anymore (not until I'm stuffed - but until the hunger is gone) and because I'm eating whole, quality foods, I don't feel hungry for hours.

I know this was only a week, but it makes me optimistic about the weeks to come. I spent the weekend baking breads and making waffles to freeze (again,  a gallon of whole milk to use up...) so I will have a new post or two, with pictures and recipes this time, coming soon! I think I'll have another glass of that milk before I start my fast in an hour...

And, oh. I still lost two pounds last week.