(Two posts today. What?!)
Here is a summary of my intermittent fasting journey, as promised. I started intermittent fasting in August 2018. It’s been an amazing journey. I stumbled on it while on the Facebook page for Metabolic Renewal. Someone mentioned they were doing it in conjunction with the workout program. I thought, that’s crazy! She’s starving herself! Of course it works. Extreme calorie restriction. So I kept on working out hard and beating myself up about poor food choices, not doing enough, and on and on. Some of you recognize the cycle of self-flagellation.
I had fasted off and on, lunches mostly, seeking spiritual breakthrough. But then the Lord started whispering the words “fasted lifestyle” into my spirit. I had no idea what that meant. I knew Jehovah Sneaky was up to something.
Unable to put the idea down, I bought the book by Gin Stephens. It’s called Delay, Don’t Deny, and chronicles her journey to find a weight loss program that worked. Her testimony is amazing and the book, though she holds a doctorate in education, is very conversational and relatable. She loves science and she breaks it down into bite-sized chunks for us great unwashed. She advocates “clean fasting”, meaning no food and no flavored beverages during the fasting “window”: black coffee, plain black or green tea, water only.
I must say I loved the lack of diet plan or supplements to purchase. Intermittent fasting is free! No food is off-limits or “bad”. Pizza? Check. Chocolate cake? Check! I became convinced this was where the Lord was leading me. I started 16:8 (16 hours fasting, 8 hours eating) on a Saturday, with the idea that if I got “hangry” or sleepy, I could nap. I had a tiny fasting muscle built up already. I quickly found 18:6 more to my liking, eating lunch and dinner. I felt really great and my body liked it. The first few weeks were a bit tough as I made the transition from burning glycogen, or stored energy from food, to burning body fat. I had increased energy.
Gin’s Facebook group really helped me stay motivated and answered a lot of questions I had along the way. The thing is with intermittent fasting, or IF, is that weight loss often draws people to it. But the long-term effects are even more stellar: enter autophagy
It is: Autophagy (or autophagocytosis) (from the Ancient Greek αὐτόφαγος autóphagos, meaning “self-devouring” and κύτος kýtos, meaning “hollow”) is the natural, regulated mechanism of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. Although initially characterised as a primordial degradation pathway induced to protect against starvation, it has become increasingly clear that autophagy also plays a major role in the homeostasis of non-starved cells. Defects in autophagy have been linked to various human diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer, and interest in modulating autophagy as a potential treatment for these diseases has grown rapidly. (Wikipedia) (Whew! Science-y!)
This cell regeneration can reverse fatty liver, diabetes, PCOS, high cholesterol, inflammation, unbalanced hormones and much more. It can prevent Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and increases HgH. Studies continue to show that even a 12-hour window, like not eating after 6 p.m. and “breaking fast” at 6 a.m. provides a multitude of benefits for the human body.
Something funny that happens is that over time you learn to listen to your body. You might even experience appetite correction: you find fullness and have to stop eating. When your fasting window begins, you feast! You eat whatever your body craves, which if you’ve been restricting food groups, might be fast food for a while. But something strange also happens. You start to notice that maybe pizza and soda doesn’t satisfy your body. It wants more protein. Or maybe you find you lean towards a more carb-based diet and less meat. One eating style doesn’t fit all, and you get to discover yours along the way. Most people naturally move away from processed food and even start craving vegetables. It’s happened to me! What in the world?! The freedom still astounds me.
I have told a few family and close friends about this program. Mom started doing it before she died. Because I haven’t lost a ton of weight (maybe 8-10 lbs. overall), I’m perhaps not the most visible advocate for the lifestyle. I haven’t been particularly vocal, either, as confronting the juggernaut of decades of programming around eating and health was not a battle I wanted to wage. Additionally, fasting for Christianity and other major world religions has been primarily a spiritual practice. I understand the reluctance to alter/add to this focus, but have discovered it doesn’t have to be either-or. It can be both.
I’ve fasted, altering hours as needed/desired, through vacations, travel, holidays and illness. IF is infinitely flexible. I have dropped at least one size and all my clothes fit. Huzzah! That said, I know there’s no way I could have completed the master’s program, let alone started the doctorate, without the mental jumpstart of IF. And combining it with no sweets has proven rather amazing. The ledge on my stomach, my eternal pooch, is shrinking. Burn, baby, burn!
Recently, Gin Stephens wrote a more comprehensive book about IF.
It really outlines ways to embark on fasting based on your personality type, with more explanation about the process and how it works, mindset, tips and tricks, as well as tracking the often non-linear progress and providing inspiring IF testimonials. I have found intermittent fasting, even though I started doing it in order to finally, finally find the thing that will work forever, to be a spiritual journey as well as a mental and physical one. With less dependence on food I lean harder on God. And for me, that’s proven to be the best benefit.
Dancing in the Rain 