But Why Intermittent Fasting??
I have been holding off on posting about this because I am not a person that ever recommends a diet or restraining your eating, BUT I have been intermittent fasting for a while now & I love it.
First of all, what IS intermittent fasting (IF for short)? Simply put, when doing IF, you only eat for a certain amount of hours during the day & don't eat during the other hours. For example, right now, I am on a 8:16 schedule where I can eat whatever I want for 8 hours, but when those are over, I just drink water or black coffee until the next 8 hour period starts.
The best way to think about intermittent fasting is not as a diet, but as a positive habit for overall better health. Eating 8 hours a day is not nearly as hard as I thought that it would be. I do not normally eat breakfast, so the schedule that I like to keep is eating around 11am everyday & being done eating by 7pm, but that is plenty of time!
This habit has helped me to understand my hunger and why I choose to eat. I am much more conscious about when I am eating because I am actually hungry and when I want to eat because I am just bored.
Another benefit is that I am sleeping much better at night as well! It is not great for your body to go to sleep with a full stomach. Your body is then more focused on digesting that food than refreshing your mind & body for the next day. But with intermittent fasting, that becomes less of an issue!
I will never tell someone that they have to intermittent fast, but I thought that it was about time that I shared my opinions of it! If you want to try it for yourself, here is how to get started...
1. Download an app
I love apps haha. Technically you can do IF without an app, but I think that it is more fun to keep track & see your progress on your phone (I just hit 800 all time hours fasting!!) I looked into a few different apps, but the one that I ultimately decided to use was called Simple. It is really easy to use & is super customizable to your needs. I do not personally record exactly what I am eating, when I workout, drink water, or am hungry, but those are all things that you can keep track of here as well to further understand your body.
2. Decide what works best for you
Your life is different than mine and different than the next person, so do what works for you! If you are a breakfast lover, eat your breakfast!! If you are a late night snack lover, eat your snacks!! No one is perfect & no one is the same, so plan your IF around what you love, cause let's be honest, food is great.
3. Tell friends and family what you are up to
Explaining to others can be difficult because not everyone understands whats up. People can see it as a diet which can make it awkward to talk about it, but just be comfortable & confident! You are doing this for you! Once you tell people about it, it is much easier to have a support system. Now that my friends know, they don't always ask me if I want snacks at night when we hang out. They know that I am fasting & they are super supportive of it!
4. Cheat... no I'm serious
Yeah, yeah technically if you are forming healthy habits, I shouldn't be encouraging cheats, but you know what? Life happens. Sometimes my friends & I want to buy a whole ice cream cake at Midnight (which is way past when I am supposed to be done eating) but if IF meant missing out on experiences, I wouldn't be doing it. Its my life & I control it, so heck yeah I'm going to eat some late night ice cream cake every once & a while.
IF isn't for everyone, because some lifestyles makes it hard, but I am just here to share my experiences. I love IF because it has made me feel like I am more in control of my eating & my body.
But to reiterate: I STILL EAT WHATEVER I WANT (& that might be the best part of IF)
