Intermittent Fasting Self Challenge

A while back a friend told me I should try intermittent fasting because I can occasionally eat so much, it can be too much. Surely, all the food I eat is healthy, but during that time in my life I felt like I was over-doing it. When she told me to eat everything I can in an 8 hour window and then fast for the remainder of the time, I thought that was crazy. I don't wan to stuff my face, I'll get so sick. She said that was the point and that I would learn to not over eat.

A year or so past and I have found myself looking for more information on what my friend had told me. I am finally starting to consider trying this fast. I have been meeting a lot of people who have been doing intermittent fasting, and they are loving it. Not only can hearing people's personal experiences be a motivator, doing research on the internal health benefits is the ultimate HUGE motivator! Especially for someone like me who loves improving optimal health.

I have started my first week of intermittent fasting and it is going great. I must say, it is very tough breaking my normal morning routine (tea and breakfast). I no longer have to wake up early to cook in the morning, which leaves me feeling a little confused on what I am supposed to do with all this extra time. Also, I don't have to pack as much food to bring to work. Due to my nature of work though, I still have to bring some food occasionally, as some days I don't go home at the exact time I want to break my fast, but it changes ever so often.

My weeks progress so far:

Day 1: Fasted 16 hours, went for morning glycogen walk (45 minutes), ate within an 8 hour window, no weights.
Day 2: Fasted 16/17 hours, went for morning glycogen walk (30 minutes), ate within an 8 hour window, did weight session.
Day 3: Fasted 16 hours, didn't go for a morning glycogen walk, ate within an 8 hour window, did weight session.
Day 4: Fasted 16/hours, didn't go for a morning glycogen walk, ate within an 11 hour window, did weight session.
Day 5: Fasted for 14 hours... eish, (baked the night before and ended up sampling my baked goods *sigh* side affect of baking!), didn't go for a morning glycogen walk, ate within 11 hour window, didn't do weights.
Day 6: Fasted for 12 hours, did core training instead of a morning walk, pretty horrible diet for the rest of day. I was feeling bloated from an avocado, combined with my pms, which resulted in me overdosing on chocolate. Emotions, ugh!
Day 7: Fasted for 16 hours, did my first weight session during fast (was great!), ate very well!

Most people that I have met that started intermittent fasting they were all on a heavy caffein supply, some took BCA's, other pills, etc. If that works for them and they're happy with their personal outcomes, then good for them. However, in my personal opinion, I don't want to be a 'walking pharmacy' thank you very much! I figure if the human body was designed to fast efficiently, we don't need to overdose on caffein for optimal fat loss results. I also care about my adrenal glands and I don't want to stress my internal organs out. I believe small amounts of caffein (like a coffee/day or a few cups of light tea is fine) but supplementing with mass amounts shouldn't be something we depend on doing if we're going to do a fast properly. I feel as if it is cheating.

I had a black tea on Day 3 and a coffee on day 4. I feel that when doing the fast, having a little cozy drink can be very comforting at times, and this is a positive action. However, to go in excess, would not be positive. Also the more days completed caffein free, the better. My personal experience explaining why is that not only do you cause less stress on your cells, but you most importantly sleep better.