Intermittent Fasting Week 4 - I can't follow rules...

Rules. What are those again? DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CAN'T DO. Seriously. That's my behavior when someone tries to tell me what the 'rules' are. I hate it. I am a rebel. I like to go against the rules. However, that's not to say I won't follow a rule sometimes WHEN I WANT TO. I'm like that. It's the fire in me and my stubborn attitude.

So I'm doing the intermittent fasting diet and I get a whopping zero with regards to the 'rules'. My days go like this:

Monday fasted for 12 hours
Tuesday fasted for 16 hours
Wednesday fasted for 16 hours
Thursday fasted for 18 hours
Friday fasted for 11.5 hours
Saturday fasted for 11 hours
Sunday fasted for 8.5 hours

Why don't I do 16:8 everyday? Because I can't and maybe I don't really want to. My inner conscious says, "that's stupid, you should be eating right now," and I listen to it. Then I eat. Sometimes I am happy with that little voice in my head and other days I think "damn, why didn't you wait just a bit longer". But at the end of the day, it is what it is. I have to learn to live with my diet choices and make the most it. If my diet slips and I eat bad, I ask myself, what are you going to do tomorrow to make up for that, OR how will you use that extra energy with regards to training? EX: ate a lot of chocolate, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I'll say okay - great, that's an excess amount of sugar that is either being stored as glycogen or fat. So I'll make sure to do some HIIT and then later a long walk, this way I hit both my carb stores AND my fat stored. ADDITIONALLY, when I go for my walk and heal my soul, I'll give myself a therapy lesson. Let my mind and body have a chat and get them both to remind them about their goals (as if they are two different people - in a sense they are - but more like a love couple) and then learn from that experience.

Week 4 Progress:

I'm happy that I had a few consecutive days that were great. I think weeks that FLOW with this pattern are most ideal for my social and work life.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and feel free to share my experience with others!

CB xo

Intermittent Fasting Week 3 Update + Special Feature!

Here's my vlog of IF week 3:

If you're reading and watching these videos for the first time and curious about trying intermittent fasting feel free to comment below. It's great to chat with others who are always striving for improvement. I have much to thank from friends and other influences for helping me throughout this journey so far... and of course, it is still the beginning. Therefore, it's only right that I pay it forward and help you out like others have helped me.

Here's my fat loss story discovery that I accidentally did, which took me months to figure out:

Enjoy!

Thanks for watching and don't forget to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE!

CB xo

Intermittent Fasting WeeK 3 Update

WOW can't believe I am starting week 3. Okay wait, now let me not get too ahead of myself here. I haven't been 100% committed, I've had a few slips, and I've been adjusting a few things. What I can say though is, I am starting to find my balance. A true understanding as well as a new path for the future. I can't be perfect everyday, and some days I find myself only fasting for 12-13 hours and others 16-17. I believe now that as long as you have fasted for at least 12 hours, that's good enough. Some days if you want to fast for longer, that's okay too. But if your time schedule on the day only suits 12 hours, then so be it. In fact, I think the idea of mixing it up is even healthier then having a diligent schedule. Or so, that's just how I feel. What works for me so far is knowing I should fast for a period of time. Although, if some days I don't fast at all, due to certain events, then that's okay too. I am sure in ancient times when food wasn't available all the time, sometimes we ate all day and others we didn't. It varies on what's happening in your life. Also, as long as you eat REAL FOOD and not fake processed garbage, you will be fine.

So if it's okay to fast some days and then also okay to not fast on other days, what's the point of fasting at all? This may be a question going through your head and I would like to explain why I think it's good thing based on my experience so far, as well as the research I've done. The reason explaining why doing the intermittent fasting regularly a few times a week is something I'd recommend is because it's a real detox for your digestive system, meaning, a real relaxing - non stressful - peaceful time for your gut. It can take a break. It gets tired working 24/7. By doing this, you get to wake up in the morning with the feeling of a flat stomach, with no digestive or bloating issues, and you get to start fresh again. Additionally, in case you ever react to certain foods, you'll be more likely to find out what it is too, because you will have been able to start off on a clean slate.

This is what I have gathered from my intermittent fasting journey so far. I am having a much more positive experience then I ever thought. Not bad for week 3 eh? I think I will document my journey up until week 4-6 and if I continue to stick to it, or incorporate it into an often diet mix for myself, I will post on it occasionally.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and feel free to share!

CB xo

Intermittent Fasting - Week 2 Ending

Oulala what a week it has been! I started my week 2 of intermittent fasting and I expected to do so much better. I ended up breaking the rules or shall I say 'plan,' a few times. My work hours conflicted with my diet, I ate some food that wasn't necessarily bad for me - but it didn't sit well  and it through me off, and I had to end up eating certain foods in a messed up time schedule, in order to find my balance again, in order to restart properly the next day.

Aside from that, I had a great learning experience on what works for my body, regarding intermittent fasting.
Here is a very important lesson and tip from this weeks experience, for anyone that may be trying it and is worried about a struggle:

If you eat a bad meal the night before, you can't fast efficiently!
So basically in a nutshell, if I don't have a meal high in fat and protein and eat something naughty like chocolate, I will go hypoglycemic sick the next day. If and when I eat a real meal, I can fast without any sick feelings the next day. This is what I have gathered from my own experience. However, some people can have poor food choices one day and then be fine to fast the following day. I don't know how they do that, but for me, my body just starts screaming for nutrients. Perhaps it is because I eat so healthy on a regular basis, that when I eat something bad, I go into shock mode! Anyways, my lesson has been learned and I know how to plan for my fasts, and if I fail to eat the right food, I know I won't fast properly the next day.

Eat lots of vegetables! It's important to keep in mind that if you are going to fast, make sure you eat lots of vegetables at the beginning of your feast, and often throughout the duration of your feeding time. As important meat and fat is in your diet, especially for maintain blood sugar levels and protein requirements, your body needs vegetables AKA fiber! If the first meal you eat is low in fiber you may be stuck in the toilet a little longer than expected. OOPS! Don't want that to happen eh? I generally don't have trouble consuming enough fiber because I LOVE vegetables, but I did notice my pattern of vegetable eating times had changed one day and I noticed a difference. I like to consider myself the #2 queen, because I am proud about my regular bowl movements, but when you change your eating schedule, your #2 timing can change slightly, so it's important for EVERYONE to make sure you're getting enough vegetables and not just  eating anything you can get your hands on.

Here's just a quick video summary of my IF Week 2 Ending:

Intermittent Fasting Week 2 - Beginning the week!

I've started my second week of intermittent fasting. Sunday/Monday was the first day. Monday was really a great day, didn't eat for 17 hours and I could have potentially waited a little bit longer, but I was in the grocery store and decided to snack on my food before getting to check out counter. Oops. That was at about /close to 1:00pm and had my last nibble at around 8/8:30pm.

This morning (Tuesday) was very stressful. I went into work early and I was so fast paced, I think I burnt myself out too much. Luckily I had one of those chocolate goji berry muffins I made the other night and snacked on that (it had been 2 hours since I awoke, and all that work felt like a work out, so I suppose it was well deserved LOL). The muffin was very high in protein, low in calories, and low in fat, so it probably didn't affect my fast too much. However, since I was just going through an overwhelming and emotional time at work (we were getting audited - only happens once per year), and it was about 12 hours since my last meal, I just decided to feast after the audit was over, and chill out. It's Tuesday afternoon now, and I am tired from the morning, my tummy is full, and I feel like taking the afternoon off. I think I will have a work out later in the evening because I would be happy to do it after my mind and body has had a chance to re-cooperate. I know now, that for the rest of the day and the rest of the week, I will be able to be super hardcore with my intermittent fasting and I will have a few solid training days in a row now.

Why do I care so much and why do I want to be hardcore this week? Simple. My partner is due to arrive back home (he was away visiting family for 3 months) in about 3 weeks time. Additionally, it will be our 3rd year anniversary, and his birthday. WOW! So I think that's more than a reason to want to feel and be my optimal best!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you're training and eating well.

CB xo

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.