DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a certified health care professional and if you have questions or are planning to try this diet, please do it at your own risk and ASK YOUR DOCTOR FIRST about any health concerns. I am not responsible for any issues caused by trying dietary suggestions or restrictions mentioned on this blog that work for me, but may not work for you.
Okay, so this post is probably long overdue, but here I go.
I know that I've ranted about accepting your body. But the truth is this: Like most of the human species, I am a huge hypocrite. I know that I'm not "fat," but I also know that I would feel much better if I lost 10 pounds. I realize how eating disordered that last statement may have sounded, but please don't judge; I'm not doing this because I feel pressure to be thin, or because I don't like myself. I want to lose weight because I love my body and want it to be the best it can be, so that I can wear clothes and don't have to worry about bumps, and, yes, that I can feel more comfortable when I'm in China with all the uber tiny girls. You may think that I'm already "tiny" or "skinny," and I will agree that I am normal weight, but not skinny. In NE Asia, I would be a bit on the chubbier side of things; yes, I fit into a size S in China, but salesgirls still hand me sizes M and L.
I am not asking anybody to agree with my perceptions, and please do not judge my decision. I am aiming to lose weight for my own reasons while keeping a healthy mind and body.
I first heard about Intermittent Fasting, or IF, here. I'm not going to go into specifics, so just click on the link if you don't know what this is.
I've always done better on low calorie diets than nutrient-specific diets i.e Atkins or the "slow carb diet". This is due to the fact that if I can eat anything I want, I won't get any cravings. Of course, my diet still consists of mostly natural and unprocessed foods, but I generally follow an 80-20 approach; pretty much all my regular meals are white wheat/sugar free, but I get to eat dessert. I have absolutely no problem purely living on broccoli, oatmeal, eggs, fruit, and various other veggies, but I NEED chocolate. Going long-term without being able to eat as much chocolate as I want is just not plausible for me! And why the hell would I want to, if I could eat chocolate and still lose weight?
Pretty much everything is explained in the article, so if you start thinking "metabolism slowing," "stavation mode," or even (god forbid) "anorexic," please actually DO SOME RESEARCH before saying anything.
I find it much easier (just a personal thing, might not work for you) to fast throughout the day, as long as I know there's a nice meal waiting for me at the end of the day, than to have several small meals that actually fuel my appetite instead of dampening it. So my regular day consists of:
- 300 calorie breakfast, usually 3/4 cup of thick-cut oatmeal + 1 tbsp of honey + some cinnamon and vanilla
- fast until 4:30, sometimes I'll have a 200 calorie snack around 2:30 after I get home, but I try to wait until 4:30
- 1000 calorie dinner! Usually 500 cal clean and protein-rich dinner, then 500 cal dessert of a 200 cal cup of "frozen yogurt" (1 cup plain yogurt + 1 tbsp honey + 1 tsp cocoa powder, frozen overnight) and maybe some chocolate.
This makes for a 1300 calorie day- which is a 700 calorie deficit per day for me. I like to do this about 6 days per week, then have a 2000 calorie "cheat day" to boost my leptin levels. I'm exercising 5-6 days per week of either pilates or HIIT. The first week's gone great; no cravings, two reeses cups per day ;p, and lots of green veggies. I hardly feel hungry throughout the day, since my stomach's shrunk in the absence of eating, and I feel full much faster. Some nights I'll just have a 300-400 calorie dinner with a 400 calorie mostly healthy "dessert".
It's a revelation that is pretty amazing- I can literally eat large quantities of sweets and still lose weight while being healthy. Of course, this isn't for everyone, because some people are just hardwired to eat frequently throughout the day. But for me, IF is simple, much easier to stick to than regular diet plans, and allows me to consume my favorite foods without restriction. I am hoping to drop around 10 pounds within 6 months; I'm on a caloric deficit of about 1 lb per week, but due to the fact that I have so much muscle, it's very difficult for me to drop any weight at all. Plus some allowances for the holiday season, 10 pounds in 6 months should be achievable. Remember- I'm only 4'11, so this is about 10% of my entire body mass. Shorter people have a generally harder time losing weight once they're in a healthy BMI because they have more condensed bones and musclature.
This is just my take on the matter; if you have any thoughts or experience with IF, comment and let me know!
BTW I'll have the cardio kickboxing workout posted next week, plus maybe a "day of eats" post.
