Isn’t this the season of eating, drinking, and having fun with food? The season we all get together to celebrate, and to eat, drink and be merry! So, why start a diet now???
November 15, 2021, is the first anniversary of my fasting lifestyle. I started my dieting journey 52 years ago. Then on November 15, 2020, I started a new adventure by accepting the challenge of a fasting lifestyle.
In Part 1. I talked about transforming my body into a crazy fat-burning machine and my weight loss from January 2021 through May 2021 for a loss of 12.6 pounds. In part 2. I will cover June 2021 to November 2021 for a total weight loss of 20.9 pounds.
June 2021 – In May, I fasted 18/6 for 7 days a week for the entire month. In doing more reading and research, I discovered that this could lead to problems. Your body is amazing. It is so good at adapting that it can become hardened to this new lifestyle and fight against you to keep you at your old weight level. For this reason, I started mixing up the fasting days by taking one day a week off. I fasted for 8 to 12 hours on my day off and enjoyed two meals and a treat in the evening. My average weight loss for June was 1.3 pounds.
July 2021 – I continued just like last month, taking a day off once a week. Depending on friends, family, and other occasions, I did not take the same day off each week but generally mixed it up from Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Weight loss 2.4 pounds.
August 2021 – In the last week of August, I went on vacation and gained 4 pounds. You can go to the website and read my post, HOW I WENT ON VACATION AND GAINED FOUR POUNDS, and then lost it all in 7 days. Weight loss for August was 0.5 pounds.
September 2021 – Two “problem months” in a row. In early September, I had a major operation that resulted in swelling and related water weight gain. I eliminated the water weight over a few weeks and got back to my fasting lifestyle. I was still able to drop 2.9 pounds.
October 2021 – I hit a plateau and did not lose weight as fast as hoped. I struggled a little and managed to lose 1.2 pounds for the month.
November 1 to November 15, 2021 – Fall came late this year. In the first part of November, we took a road trip to enjoy the fall colors. Restaurant food is always great, but rich, salty foods lead to temporary weight gain. It only took three days to drop the gain. I have lost 2.0 pounds for the first 15 days of November. The holidays approach, it will be interesting to see how things go.
The total weight loss for the year was 20.9 pounds, with a total weight loss of 24.4 pounds from my lifetime maximum.
Review of Phase 2. The weight loss phase.
The graph shows my weekly average weight loss from January 1, 2021, to November 15, 2021. The arrow indicates weight gain related to our August vacation and my surgery in September.
The benefits of IF (Intermittent Fasting.)
1. During the entire year, I had NO crushing food cravings. Food cravings have always been a problem in my past diets. NOT this time!!!
2. I continue to eat the foods I love but now pay more attention to the foods I eat. Changing from a processed food diet to fresh whole food has been a slow process. Today, I eat more whole foods, not because I have to, but because I want to. That said, I am no angel; I still eat processed foods from time to time but try to keep them to a minimum.
3. By March, my gastric reflux disorder had been reduced by 90%. I first noticed this problem when I was 19 years old and was diagnosed with a small ulcer. From then on, I have coped with stomach problems until I started Intermittent Fasting.
4. Due to the fasting lifestyle. I have less brain fog and feel mentally and physically healthier. It sounds crazy, but I am typing faster than ever before!
5. Sustainable weight loss: The bottom line is that I have remained on this diet for over 12 months. Fasting is the most sustainable diet I have ever tried. I can see no reason not to keep this lifestyle for many years to come.
6. My HDLs (healthy lipids) are way up, and my triglycerides and LDLs (the harmful lipids) are way down.
7. My BMI at the start of January was 34.7; my current BMI was 31.5. My A1C was 5.9%, where 5.7% or below is under the threshold for prediabetes. I do not have a recent A1C, but I plan to have one next month. Tune in then for an update.
8. My clothes are far looser than they were a year ago.
9. My maximum weight originally was 220 pounds. Today I weigh about 195 pounds!
10. All diets are hard, but of all the diets I have tried, this one is the easiest.
11. I am sure that this will be the most sustainable lifestyle I have ever experienced.
I am looking forward to the next 12 months and to many years of IF to come.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is rapidly gaining popularity as a weight-loss method, but its benefits are far greater than simple weight loss; IF can contribute to a longer, healthier, and happier life. Intermittent Fasting is an easy concept with sometimes tricky implantation. Many people have tried and failed. In other words, it is easy to get it wrong. I can help you get it right! Feel free to contact me with your diet and fasting questions.
