As many of you know, I’ve been on a health journey of sorts since September 2020. I’m so far down about 30 lbs and have been continuously working to improve my mindset around dieting and diet culture.

A huge part of what has made me successful is something called intermittent fasting. Essentially, it has to do with timing when you eat. More than a fat loss tool, it has many health benefits and is becoming more widely accepted as a healthy way to pursue fat loss. I’m not going to go much into the science of it here, I will however recommend the book “The Obesity Code.” This opened my eyes to all of the benefits of intermittent fasting. I’ll link to the audible book here:

Here is the audible link: https://amzn.to/2Yqt4Js

Here is the hard copy book link: https://amzn.to/3lhuQVR

Here are a few reasons I love intermittent fasting:

It’s totally free.

It requires no meal prep.

I feel AMAZING after a fast.

It decreases my bloating.

I feel fuller and more satisfied when I actually do eat.

It saves me money because I don’t eat at all when I’m working night shift or on the way home from work.

It helps increase insulin sensitivity also known as “improving metabolism” in simpler terms.

Here’s a very typical week for me while intermittent fasting.

Monday: I eat pretty casually, I don’t pay close attention to “good foods” or “bad foods.” My mom made some delicious biscuits and I helped myself to several of them totally “guilt” free. I nap before work, wake up and do some meal prepping. I head into work at about 5:30 and eat on the way.

Monday night: My fast begins at around 6:00 pm after I’ve finished my supper on the way to work. I don’t eat at all while I’m at work, I don’t even go to the break room to be tempted by the goodies/cookies/candy someone left on the counter. I take my break in the waiting room in a comfy recliner.

Tuesday morning: I drink a big huge water bottle of water on the way home from work. I don’t stop to grab a snack, I’m about 12 – 14 hours into fasting by now (which is a GREAT fast if you’re just getting started into fasting and building your way into a longer fast.) I get home around 9 and head to sleep.

Wake up around 4 pm: I have my first meal before I head out to pick up the kids from my mom’s house. I throw in a Fall breakfast burrito in the microwave (which tastes even better warmed up!) and drink another huge bottle of water while I’m waiting for it to cool down. Here’s the link to that recipe: The PERFECT Fall Burrito! When I’m at mom’s she tried a new applesauce/chocolate chip bread that tastes amazing! I slab some butter on it to get my fats in and enjoy two slices.

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Meal #2: I get home around 4:45 and start prepping my supper. I had some spaghetti squash that I meal prepped on Sunday. I love to use the famous tik tok recipe to make my spaghetti squash – you can find that recipe here: Feta Baked PASTA! I added some sausage to the recipe and some spinach. YUM! Please enjoy this picture of my supper and my extremely dirty stove. I thought about cleaning it before I took the picture but decided it would make me more relatable HA!

About to leave for work at 5:30 pm: I make sure I have another big waterbottle with to drink on my commute and I also prep a delicious green mango smoothie complete with protein powder, mango, spinach, coconut milk, almond milk – seriously better than a milkshake!

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Get to work at 7 pm: I’m pretty full at this point and didn’t even finish all of my smoothie/spaghetti squash. I’m ready to begin my next fasting period.

7:30 am: I’m already 12 hours into my fast and feeling great, drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. I get home around 9 again and hit the hay.

4:00 pm: I wake up and I’m home for the night and I eat whatever I want with no regards to timing, carbs, macros or anything as I’m breaking another 21 hour fast. I’ll have a drink tonight and eat “normally” and whatever I want.

I ended up breaking my fast with a handful of my guilty pleasure cereal and have leftover fajitas in a fajita bowl!

I’ll repeat this same cycle on Thursday and Friday when I head back to finish out my week and enjoy a weekend of food and festivities and fun!

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I’ve been super hesitant to share my love of intermittent fasting because some people would tell me I’m perpetuating “toxic diet culture” or I’m “skipping meals” or that I’m losing weight in an unsustainable way. This works for me. I love the way I feel after I come off of a fast, I sleep better, I’m less bloated, my digestion is more regulated, and as far as sustainability, I’ve been doing this for over a year now and I’ve not only continued to lose weight, I’ve kept it off with minimal effort. So if you’re not interested in dieting right now, thats cool. I’m just sharing what works for me.

Thanks for reading folks! Again, please check out that book linked at the top of the post if intermittent fasting peaks your interest!

Hungry for more? Check out my latest posts!

• Friedman Family Update – March 2023
• ONE MORE MONTH!
• PROUD MINI VAN OWNER!
• Gannon Update – Genetics 🧬
• Friedman Fam Update – January 2023

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