Intermittent Fasting

Hello hello! I've been talking to so many people about my progress so far with intermittent fasting, so I just wanted to drop a line or two to update everyone on what's been going on for me! I first learned about intermittent fasting when I read this blog post at the end of last year: https://chanithompson.com/theblog/intermittent-fasting

If you're looking for the science behind IF, then that's one you want to read! I won't go into it too much here, but my two biggest takeaways from that blog are, intermittent fasting is not a one size fits all diet, and drink more water! If you're feeling hungry, you're probably dehydrated; drink some water, wait 15mins and see if you're still hungry before eating anything! I'd never really heard of IF as a lifestyle, and never could understand people who skipped breakfast! (I love food, especially breakfast food!!) So it was really eye opening to me to learn about the power of strategically skipping the so-called most important meal of the day. I've always been a big breakfast eater - I've always worked physical jobs and been a fairly active person so I believed I needed that fuel to start my day well! But for the past two years, my work situation has meant that I'm getting up earlier than I used to, so eating breakfast earlier, and eating the evening meal later, just because of when I get home from work and start cooking. So only about a 9hour overnight fast instead of 11-12hours... and recently I've realised that I'm eating in the mornings just for the sake of eating, not necessarily because I'm hungry or need to eat! On top of that, I was still finding myself hungry by 9:30am, no matter how much I ate for breakfast! (In hindsight, this probably had as much to do with how much water I was drinking as anything else!) So I thought why not give it a go; the worst that could happen was that I was starving by 9:30am, which was happening anyway. And that's pretty much what happened! The week I started intermittent fasting was when I had a week off work - I wanted that safety net so that I could eat at any time of the morning and not be committed to waiting until a meal break once I was busy at work! I would wake up, have a cup of tea, and then start my day... it felt super weird not structuring my morning around eating! Then I would feel a little hungry between 8-9, so I'd drink some water. Then I'd feel a little hungry between 9-10, so I'd drink some more water. Then sometime between 10-12, I'd drink water and still feel hungry so I'd eat! It's actually really refreshing to just listen to my body, instead of sticking to this bizzare routine where I shove food into my mouth at different times of day, simply because it's a "mealtime." Strictly speaking, the most common IF schedule is 16:8 (16 hours fast, eating in an 8 hour window); but I'm not doing this to be strict with myself! My routine is more of a fluid 13-15 hour fast, just going with what feels right each day, and hubby has since joined me - when I mentioned I had realised I wasn't really hungry first thing in the morning, he started to notice the same, and wasn't very enthusiastic about eating breakfast on his own anyway!! I think the most important thing is not to force it or make yourself go hungry! If you need to eat, eat! It's not a big deal, and everyday is different - your body schedule will change according to what time and what and how much you eat of a night! My routine now is usually to eat of a night at about 8pm (or earlier if I'm lucky!), then not eat again until morning tea break at work around 10:30, then lunch break at 1pm, and if I need it, an afternoon snack as soon as I get home from work! But the joys of living on the land, every day is different, so I just take it as it comes, and don't get too hung up on time frames and schedules. One of the biggest challenges has been making a packed breakfast for my work lunchbox! Since I'm out and about on the property by mid-morning, I can't just whip up a smoothie bowl for breakfast! My go to's have been yoghurt bowls, overnight oats bowls, or chia seed pudding bowls that I make up in my Tupperware. Keep an eye on my Pinterest @ruralhealthstyle, for all my recipe inspo! So if you're wanting to try intermittent fasting, first of all check your why; it's not some fad diet, although weight loss can be a benefit, it's more of a lifestyle than a diet! Secondly, think about how you can fit it into your daily schedule, when you're going to be able to eat if you're at work, and what kind of foods you will need to eat if you're not at home, etc. Thirdly, drink more water! Do this anyway, even if you don't try IF; if you feel unreasonably hungry at a weird time of day, drink more! It could be your bodies way of telling you you're dehydrated - and drinking more will cut down on snacking if you think about why you might be feeling hungry, instead of just reaching for that packet of chips or that chocolate! Well, that's me, that's why I started and what I've learned so far! No doubt I'll need to write an update down the track about long term benefits, but for now, keep an eye out for my simple and yummy breakfast inspo, and let me know if you decide to try intermittent fasting too!