FASTING For Weight Loss
Why I think fasting might be the weight loss solution that will finally work for me.
It was the summer of ’79 … I had just graduated high school and was headed out of town to college in the fall. I was scared to death. I wanted things to be different. I didn’t want to be fat Mari anymore.
I was working as a motel maid so I was busy and active much of the day. Come to think of it, what I did back then was kind of like intermittent fasting. I believe I only ate one meal a day in the evening. I lost 70 lbs that summer.
Fast forward a lot of years and while I’ve managed to keep the majority of the weight off, I have taken the same 15–25 lbs off at least 5 times.
This most recent time I was up almost 18 lbs. I had just returned from vacation in early March. I particularly noticed myself in the pictures.
So when a friend of mine suggested we put together a little diet challenge I knew it was time to take the weight off (AGAIN!).
It started out for me about the same as always. I tried to eat better/less but it was a struggle to try and moderate my consumption.
A few weeks pass. I lost a couple of pounds early on but have since plateaued for about 3 weeks and am frustrated with my progress.
We are on our ritual Monday morning hike and my friend mentions the idea of intermittent fasting.
She has heard something about eating only 500 calories a day for 2 non-consecutive days each week.
I’m intrigued. Fasting has come on my radar over the last year or so but I’ve never really thought seriously about it.
But, being fully aware of the definition of insanity, I decide maybe it’s time to try a different weight loss strategy. I started learning a lot more about fasting.
As I learned about the benefits of fasting — particularly about giving our bodies a break from digestion — and began to understand the science behind it, I became much more interested.
One day — about mid-March — I decided to see if I could do a full day fast going the whole day with just water and herbal tea.
That day was a Tuesday. I remember because for a while now I have been doing longer workouts on Tuesday and Friday each week. Tuesday and Friday are the days I’ve picked to try my extraordinary pursuits.
That same week I added Friday as a second full day of fasting. I am now in my 10th consecutive week of fasting each Tuesday and Friday. I have lost the 18 lbs as of this week and actually weighed in just under my goal weight.
I’m continuing my weekly fasting and am interested to see at what point I stop losing and can just plan on fasting to maintain my weight.
So am I super strict about my diet the 5 days a week I do eat?
Here’s the thing. I like to eat. I like to eat food that tastes good. A lot of the food that tastes good (to me) is not exactly what health professionals recommend.
I do pretty well at eating the right things. I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years. My downfall is that I also really like to eat things with sugar, salt, and the wrong fats. And I’m not great about portion control either. If it’s put in front of me I will generally eat all of it.
However, it would seem as long as I commit to going without food just 2 days a week, I don’t have to be as careful about what I eat on the other 5. All signs would seem to point to this finally being a sustainable way for me to manage my weight successfully.
You’d probably like to know if it’s gotten any easier going about 36 hours without food twice a week …
Well, at first I really thought it was going to be a breeze. And it kind of was in the beginning. It’s actually easier for me to never start eating than to have to try and ration myself.
But the last few weeks it’s like some part of me is trying to get me to give up on fasting. I have felt noticeably more hungry and experienced a lot more pressure from myself to eat. I have not given in.
In fact, I kind of look forward to my fasting days because I know things are going to be cleared out and cleaned up. It’s kind of like a body reset. Most days I have plenty of energy throughout the day. I try to do my physical activities in the morning and then take it fairly easy physically for the remainder of the day.
And boy do I have a new appreciation for being able to eat — and drink — when I get to break-fast!
Recently I decided to try my first two day fast. I did a Monday and Tuesday so I’d still have two days of eating between all my fasting days. I really don’t know if a longer fast would work for me unless I was at some type of a retreat.
I felt hungry the first day and actually had more energy and less hunger on day two. The morning of what would have been day three I got up feeling a bit weak and kind of dizzy. Of course, as soon as I allowed myself coffee with creamer I felt fine again.
I think one day I’ll be ready to try a three day fast but I don’t think it will be for a while. I may do a two day every month or every other month.
I’m an advocate of maintaining my health by natural means and I now believe more than ever that what we put into our bodies and how frequently it goes in is of key importance for optimum health and longevity.
Weight loss is just one (great) benefit of fasting. There are a number of additional health-promoting benefits that can be realized when we take a break from the almost constant use of our digestive systems. Turns out we might benefit more from eating less often than eating less.
