I practiced intermittent
fasting and prayer for 14 months. I
loved every minute of it. I loved the
peace, the discipline, the spirituality, living in the moment, experiencing more
gratitude and more. It's been an honor giving money
to the poor through the fast offering. My family and I donated last year in
March to Rising Star International, an organization in India
Working on the cover for my next book, an historical fantasy called The Stolen Bible.
Another wonderful benefit of
intermittent fasting is weight loss.
I’ve lost 30 pounds and have been able to keep the weight off (something that is huge for me); however, my body has grown accustomed to daily 16 hour fasts and I’m no longer having weight loss results. To my disappointment, I’ve learned I can’t eat whatever I want during my 8-hour eating window. I am taking a break from fasting for now. This was difficult at first, but I’ve learned so much about myself and food, I’m applying what I learned while I’m on medifast for the next 90 days. My goal is to take off the next 20-30 pounds and then use IF to maintain my weight loss. Trust me, I’d rather be intermittent fasting then using medifast, but medifast is a form of fasting that works for me. At this point, losing the weight is something I’m ready to do. In 2013, I wrote about my experience losing weight with medifast. You can read about that here.
I’ve lost 30 pounds and have been able to keep the weight off (something that is huge for me); however, my body has grown accustomed to daily 16 hour fasts and I’m no longer having weight loss results. To my disappointment, I’ve learned I can’t eat whatever I want during my 8-hour eating window. I am taking a break from fasting for now. This was difficult at first, but I’ve learned so much about myself and food, I’m applying what I learned while I’m on medifast for the next 90 days. My goal is to take off the next 20-30 pounds and then use IF to maintain my weight loss. Trust me, I’d rather be intermittent fasting then using medifast, but medifast is a form of fasting that works for me. At this point, losing the weight is something I’m ready to do. In 2013, I wrote about my experience losing weight with medifast. You can read about that here.
So, how did all this idea transpire? About 6 weeks ago, I was at a Sunday dinner
with my extended family. We have so much
fun together and there was much laughter and interesting discussion. Somehow, we started talking about me and fasting. I told Derek, my brother Tadd, his wife Heather and
my sister Becky how for months I haven’t lost any weight, how I put
in such effort every day, but still struggle with healthy food choices, how I
want to exercise more, but struggle with the time commitment. Before I knew it,
I was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. I started crying and my husband and my
siblings rushed to my side. I didn’t
realize how much I was struggling, but it was at this point they all unconditionally
offered their support. As a team, we
decided it was time for me to try something else. Medifast is not an easy program, but I’ve lost
weight on it before. Tadd pointed out I have
incredible self-discipline and after intermittent fasting for over a year,
medifast would probably be easier then what I’d been doing. We all got a good laugh out of that. I never
considered myself somebody with lots of self-discipline, but I can see his
point.
Intermittent fasting has
changed my life. Without it, there is so much I would have never learned or
understood. Now, when I discuss intermittent fasting, please know I’m referring
to it in the past tense, to my 30-day or year-long fast. I wanted to share this latest update because I’ve
been so public about intermittent fasting. With prayer and intention, here’s to the next
phase of my journey.
I'm not promoting medifast, I'm just happy to know with a lot of self-discipline, I can see some weight loss results again.
I'm not promoting medifast, I'm just happy to know with a lot of self-discipline, I can see some weight loss results again.
Have you looked into the Low Carb High Fat way of eating? My weight loss struggles could fill a book! 9 weeks ago I started LCHF, and have lost 33 pounds to date. It literally has fallen off of me. Not to sound like I am bragging at all, I just think that this is a superior way to eat as we were intended to eat.
ReplyDeleteI am now intermittent fasting for 19 hours a day and am never ever hungry. Best of all, no cravings, starvation, weird drinks or food, or paying for food, beverages or weight loss plans.
Good luck with whatever path you choose. I understand all too well the struggle of being overweight.
This is a wonderful suggestion. I did try the KETO diet for 6 weeks while practicing intermittent fasting. I didn't lose a single pound. In another effort, I tried KETO again, more disciplined then before and after two weeks, did not lose any weight. I'm exhausted from all my efforts and am excited to do something I know works. 90 days! I can do this for 90 days! Love ya!
DeleteI should try doing it too
ReplyDelete