I Quit.
Intermittent fasting, that is.
So let me be honest here, as I hope this review is helpful to someone else.
I did enjoy IF initially, I think I did work for a while. As you may have noticed, my blogging on the topic ended after 5 weeks. I did continue the method for another 3 weeks then I stopped. I tried again a few weeks later and then stopped again. It was not a good method for me.
I believe that it was unsuccessful due to my personal schedule. I wake up at 6am. I work from 7am-1pm. I go to the gym from 1:30-2:30. Then I go to bed around 10 pm. The way that I set up my fasting would require me to eat between 11-7. I chose this time frame because I personally do not think it is healthy to eat and then lay down for bed on a full stomach. I also cannot eat earlier than 8am, (its just a mental thing. I am not awake enough lol)
This scheduling was a struggle to begin with. I had to try to eat a light meal while at work, which I am not really supposed to do, at 11am. I tried to solve this by making sure I had something that was not disruptive, like a meal replacement shake.
By 1 pm I was starving but I wanted to get to the gym. I could have made the extra stop home to eat and go to the gym later, but it would be a waste of gas to backtrack to my gym from my home. To solve this, I packed a lunch that I would eat in the car before I went into the gym, but this caused another issue of trying to get a hard workout in right after eating.
By the time I got home from the gym I didn’t want to eat too early, otherwise, I would be hungry for most of the evening before bed. This would then cause me to want to over-snack. I tried to solve this by having a heavy meals around 6pm so I could go to bed satisfied. The next issue after that was that by time I woke up….I was starving and couldn’t eat until my planned time of 11am.
So this just didn’t work for me. I tried to make adjustments but the planning and meticulousness of the entire program was very deterring. Overall, I think it is a great way to lose a few pounds but not sufficient for long term, or for someone with an irregular schedule like mine.
My mood over the course of the few weeks was variable. I was pretty miserable for the first few days. My mood improved greatly after a little while, but then the lack of food seemed to cause me to be lightheaded and tired. I did not want to resort to energy drinks. I tried coffee but to much coffee made me jittery but still tired. I found the meal shakes to be a fantastic new way to get full. The shakes are from a store called “GNC” and the shakes are called Total Lean Advanced: Lean. Shake. Burn. They come in a variety of flavors and are lactose and glucose free. (So no gas 🙂 )
I would not say “DON’T” every try IF. I encourage people to find the best way for them.
I hope this is a valuable review for someone.
College and Life After 