Intermittent fasting results – My story

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I first learned about intermittent fasting in 2018, and since then, I have fully embraced it as a lifestyle choice. I did take a short break from it in 2021, but I have since returned to it and have continued to experience incredible benefits. I have no plans of stopping this lifestyle anytime soon and I hope that my experience can motivate others to try it out. Without further ado, let me share some of the amazing intermittent fasting results I have seen.

My health story – before intermittent fasting

General Health

I am a woman in my mid-forties, and I have always been generally healthy with no significant health issues. However, I do suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), both of which have been present for most of my life. There are times when these conditions become worse, but overall, my health is good.

I have had 2 healthy pregnancies that resulted in c-section deliveries. My recovery was easy with both.

I only take a few vitamins and supplements, and I don’t take any routine medications.

My activity level

I began exercising when I turned 18 years old. During my childhood, I did not have any issues with weight and was moderately active. Although I participated in multiple sports, I never dedicated myself to a specific one, nor was I good at any of them.

I gained some weight in my late teens and decided to hit the gym with a friend. The weight dropped off quickly and I continued to maintain my fitness by regularly going to the gym and doing home workouts throughout my adult life.

Starting from the early 2010s, I became a runner and adopted HIIT workouts. I was committed to them. I used to train 5-6 days every week, with each session lasting for about an hour. However, as I approached my forties in 2017, these workouts started becoming more challenging, and I started experiencing joint pain that made things more difficult for me.

My nutrition

I have always been a health-conscious eater. I prefer vegetables and avoid fried food.

In college, I briefly became a vegetarian, but since then, I have included meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and grains in my diet. I have never followed a low-carb diet or turned to high-fat or keto diets.

I did have long periods where I tracked my food and macros to reach what I believed to be ideal intakes to maintain my weight.

My weight

Throughout my adult life, I’ve maintained a healthy BMI, except during my pregnancies, and have never struggled with my weight.

However, I do attribute this to my workout dedication and focus on healthy nutrition. Without these, I believe my weight would have slowly crept up over the years.

My intermittent fasting results and story

My discovery

In late spring/early summer of 2018, one of my online HIIT trainers began advocating for intermittent fasting. He shared his personal experience, which included improved muscle definition and fat reduction.

I was immediately intrigued and started to research the topic. In July of 2018, my journey with intermittent fasting began.

There are various ways to practice intermittent fasting, but I was interested in the daily eating window method.

For more information about different intermittent fasting methods, check out my blog post titled “What to expect when starting intermittent fasting”.

I began my intermittent fasting journey with the 16:8 method, which involves fasting for 16 hours and eating within an 8-hour window. Typically, I started my eating period around noon and concluded it by 8 pm. This allowed me to have two complete meals and occasionally a snack or dessert.

After a few months of intermittent fasting, I didn’t lose any weight but my energy level improved and my joint pain was much improved.

After six months, I injured my wrist during a HIIT workout, and the injury persisted. My body struggles to heal itself. I researched how and if intermittent fasting should help me heal.

I discovered that my intense workouts, intermittent fasting, and age were causing too much stress on my body. Consequently, in the spring of 2019, I stopped running and doing HIIT workouts.

If you want to learn about intermittent fasting, I strongly recommend reading Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stephens and following her podcast “Intermittent Fasting Stories”.

I started to adopt gentler ways of training and moving my body. I began practicing yoga and Pilates. During this transition, I monitored my weight closely and was surprised to find that I didn’t gain any weight at all.

My wrist injury healed quickly and the remaining joint pain disappeared. Additionally, my body appeared more toned with less effort required.

My maintenance

For the following 2.5-3 years, intermittent fasting was simply my lifestyle. Each day, I enjoyed a long period of fasting followed by a short window of eating.

I stopped keeping track of my food intake and stopped weighing myself. Instead, I managed my weight by simply observing how my clothes looked and fit on me. Once a year, I would visit my doctor and consistently find my weight to be stable on the scale.

I loved how for the first time in my life, I was not questioning each piece of food I wanted to eat. If I wanted it and my eating window was open, I ate it.

I continued to practice yoga and pilates and walked outside most days.

My health biomarkers also remained great during this time.

In 2022, the body positivity movement gained strength along with the promotion of intuitive eating. This led me to question whether I could truly be intuitive while adhering to a strict eating window.

This concept got into my head and in April of 2022, I just stopped practicing intermittent fasting.

My decline

The first few months were unremarkable. I felt fine and because I wasn’t weighting, I did not notice the weight gain. This was until the Fall came.

I tried to get into my work pants one day and realized that none fit anymore. They were all too small. While I didn’t hate how I looked, this bothered me. I finally accepted it and purchased new clothes.

A few months later, I started to notice I was much less energized and my joint pain was returning in full force. I developed plantar fasciitis which fluctuated from mild to moderate. Because I love walking, this was quite frustrating. I started missing my intermittent fasting results.

When I went to my annual Doctor’s visit, for the first time I saw that I was 130 lbs. Furthermore, my blood test showed that my cholesterol had gone up by over 10 points during the last 12 months. I started questioning my decision to stop intermittent fasting but continued with my current lifestyle for a few more months.

My return

In May of 2023, after additional reading and research, I recommitted to the intermittent fasting lifestyle. I realized that although I controlled when I ate, I was 100% intuitive during the eating window.

Additionally, any experienced intermitted faster will tell you that the fast is quite easy once you become metabolically flexible. The concept of eating 3 meals a day with snacks was created by the modern world due to our easy access to food at all times.

Our bodies do not need to eat every few hours to function optimally. In fact, there are huge benefits to giving your body time without food to focus on healing.

The intermittent fasting results and benefits came FAST!

By the end of July 2023 (about 3 months after restarting IF), my weight had dropped from slightly about 130 lbs to about 122 lbs. My energy level had returned and my focus and concentration were once again incredible.

It is important to know that intermittent fasting can help you build lean muscle mass and that your weight should not be the only indicator. I have dropped 2 pants sizes since my return to IF and although I did not take measurements before restarting, I know I have lost significant inches. Since reaching my goal weight, I have lost an extra 6 inches!

After about 5 months, my joint pain and plantar fasciitis disappeared for good! I had been waiting for that moment for a long time, This is for sure the best non-scale victory!

In October, I had my annual Doctor’s visit and was thrilled to see that my cholesterol had dropped back to where it used to be when I fasted.

Now that my weight is where I believe it will stay, I stopped weighing myself about a month ago in November. Because I was writing this article today, I decided to check my weight and was surprised to see the scale was down to 120 lbs.

With that said, I am back to food freedom, no weighting and just enjoying a beautiful and healthy life.

My intermittent fasting results in numbers

Yearly weight evolution

Cholesterol evolution

My weight drop after starting Intermittent fasting

My current intermittent fasting lifestyle

I fast daily. Some days, I fast longer than others. I try to listen to my body as I know that many things can impact my hunger.

My preferred fasting protocol is 18:6. This means that I fast for 18 hours and eat all of my food in a 6-hour window. This works really well for me. I usually open my window with lunch around 1 PM. I eat a large filling and nutrient-dense lunch. If I get hungry in the afternoon I eat a snack, but if my lunch is filling, I usually don’t eat again until dinner. Around 5:30 or 6, we have dinner as a family. I usually have a dessert around 6:30 to close my window.

I practice a clean fast. This means that during my fasting window, I only have black coffee, black tea, or unflavored water.

I am extremely flexible with my approach. I have longer eating windows on vacation and holidays. I also shift my eating window to fit social events.

This article is written in December which is a month where our routine often goes out the window. We have several dinners and evening events coming up. On those days, I simply shift my eating window later in the day. For example, I might open it at 4 PM if I know I will keep it open until 10 PM or I may choose to keep it open for 8 hours that day.

This is the beauty of intermittent fasting. It is super easy to customize and make it fit with your lifestyle. You are never “falling off the wagon”, you simply have longer eating windows. The next day or week, all you have to do is return to your preferred protocol.

In conclusion

Intermittent fasting has changed my life. I will never not follow this lifestyle. The intermittent fasting results I have experienced (and continue to) are making this way of living the most freeing way for me. I highly encourage you to give it a try. After all, what do you have to lose?

Cat xx

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