Today I take you “behind the scenes” to hear how Ray Baby and I began Intermittent Fasting two years ago–and the impact that this decision has had on us, including…
+balancing blood sugar and insulin to reduce cravings
+becoming fat adapted so hunger is almost non existent at least 18 hours a day
+hearing leptin signals telling us that we are full and should stop eating (and encouraging us to move!)
+changing our appetite for healthier foods
+much more!
Hear our two year journey in a quick 25 minute video!
I hope this inspires you that you can make changes at any age (we are nearing 60!)…and that your body can be on your side–rather than against you!
A. How We Began Intermittent Fasting
1. Donna
a. Two years ago this month; heard you could eat whatever you wanted and still lose weight
b. Had been doing plant-based supplements for two years and had turned around many health issues and went off several medications (med-free!)
c. Had been doing food changes and movement changes gradually over previous ten years and had lost 50 pounds with 65 pounds to go
d. Was tired of limiting carbs and trying to do keto with little success
2. Ray
a. Had been doing plant-based supplement for one year and had turned around many health issues and went off all medications and had lost 15 pounds with 120 to go
b. Two years ago December 5th
c. Couldn’t dance
d. Next day began fasting to dance with me!
B. First Year of IF
a. Enjoyed eating carbs again!
b. Began OMAD (one meal a day)
c. Two-three weeks in, could fast for 18 hours a day with little hunger
d. Discovered benefit of lowering insulin and making it easier to not eat as much junk food
e. Discovered that when insulin is lowered each day, your leptin (satiety hormone) goes up—and you can hear it better when you don’t eat six to twelve times a day
f. Discovered that when fasting, you can control the hormone grehlin and hear when you are full much sooner
g. The combination of lowering insulin, raising leptin, and lowering/hearing grehlin made many changes happen naturally
i. Less hunger
ii. Less willpower needed
iii. Fewer cravings
iv. Able to control total intake
v. Able to reduce processed foods (circular results—fasting made me eat fewer processed foods; eating fewer processed foods made me able to balance my hormones and fast better and eat more healthfully)
C. Second Year of IF
1. Changed our eating dramatically
a. Naturally happened
b. Few processed foods in the house
c. Sugar dramatically decreased (no sugar protocol except for planned occasions)
d. REAL, REAL, REAL
i. Stopped focusing on this macro being bad or this one being good and instead focused on real foods with all macro combinations
ii. 4 to 10 fruits and vegetables a day—starchy, non-starchy, low cal, higher cal….just real
2. Was able to implement a “decide ahead of time” eating approach
a. Deciding the day before what I would eat tomorrow
b. Simple since I only eat twice a day
c. Takes 1-3 minutes
d. Not numbers—just foods I will eat and when
3. Discovered “Hungry Brain” by Dr. Stephan Guyenet
a. My Trifecta
b. His teaching on dopamine spikes
c. Tested the “stretching out of treats” and it worked!
d. Now I know that if I reduce my treats, I will want fewer treats
D. Future Plans and Protocols
1. Keep tweaking until we reach our weight goals
a. Goals—15 pounds for Ray; 17 pounds for me
b. What does fasting look like for someone who weighs what I weigh and has the set point/genetic factors that I have?
c. What does eating look like for someone who weights what I weigh and has the set point/genetic factors that I have?
d. How will I think? What thoughts lead to weight management success at our ages and our history
2. Keep moving!
a. Muscle the number one factor in senior health
b. Muscle allows you to eat more food—which is a big factor for people in their 50’s and 60’s—they simply can’t eat much to weight their ideal weight
3. Continue helping others
a. https://intermittentfastingcourse.com
b. Two new books
i. Worth the Wait to Lose the Weight
ii. Weight Loss Lifestyle: How We Became the Minus 230 Pound Pair
c. Weight loss coaching donnareish.com
d. Free materials
i. IF start up charts https://donnareish.com
ii. Free sugar-free book, Sugar-Free Solutions at https://donnareish.com
iii. Free webinar https://intermittentfastingwebinar.com
iv. Free video training each week in FB group
