I did it! I completed the first 28 days of intermittent fasting. What does that mean? I followed Gin Stephens’ book 28 Day Fast Start and chose her Rip-Off-the-BandAid approach, which meant the following:
Week 1: Each day fast for 18 hours and have a 6 hour eating window.
Week 2: Repeat week 1.
Week 3: Each day fast for 19 hours and have a 5 hour eating window.
Week 4: Each day fast for 20 hours and have a 4 hour eating window.
If you want me to tell you that I did all of that perfectly, then you’ll be disappointed. I did the intermittent fasting well, where I didn’t have anything besides water during the fasting periods. And I mostly stuck to the eating windows, but there were a handful of days that I went over for one reason or another. I had two 8 hour eating window days and one 7 hour eating window day. For the most part though, I stuck to the allotted time for the eating windows, and sometimes even closed the eating windows early. One day, I even had a 1 hour eating window. I actually overate during the one hour and then wasn’t hungry for the remaining part of my eating window.
Did I lose weight?
While Gin Stephens says the first 28 days are not the time to expect weight loss because the body is merely adapting to a new lifestyle, I did lose weight. I think this is because I was already on a trajectory of weight loss having transitioned off the GLP-1 shots. Some people overeat during all their eating windows because they’re afraid they’ll get hungry during their fasting windows. I only experienced this a couple times.
So how much did I lose? 5.6 pounds. I’m pretty excited about that. If you look at my chart, it’s actually on par with some of the best months on GLP-1 shots. IF, however, doesn’t cost $400/month. It’s FREE!
Weight loss doing nothing for a year: 8.2 pounds
Weight loss doing GLP-1 shots for seven months: 32 pounds
Weight loss doing IF for one month: 5.6 pounds
Total weight loss: 45.8 pounds
Is IF hard?
IF is not hard, though it’s not always easy. It’s mostly easy sprinkled with some tough spots. The food noise is mostly quiet, which was a huge benefit of GLP-1 shots. So for not paying $400/month and still getting that result is impressive.
I have the flexibility of determining my eating windows based on what’s going on any particular day. If I’m meeting a friend for dinner, then I can open my eating window later for that day. If it’s a much later dinner than I’m used to, then it’s tougher because I get hungry mid-afternoon and want something to eat. So on those days, I might have a longer window.
Do I still get tempted to turn to food during times of emotional stress? Yes. Sometimes I give in and other times, I ask for God’s strength to resist the temptation. The times of bingeing are much fewer and farther between now. I don’t like feeling stuffed anymore. I never liked it, but it bothers me more now than before.
What now?
So what do I do now that I’m done with my first 28 days? I keep going for the next year. Gin recommends settling in for 5 hour eating windows for the first few months before introducing any full day fasts. I can do that. I’ll let you know if I decide to sneak in any full day fasts ahead of schedule. It’s a little scary, but I’m more prepared now to do something like that than before. I used to do some full day fasting for spiritual purposes, but it’s been many years.
I plan to reread Delay, Don’t Deny and Fast, Feast, Repeat with a new perspective of having experienced the IF lifestyle now. I’ve also got a couple more books on my Kindle shelf to either finish or start: AC: The Power of Appetite Correction and Eat Fat, Get Thin.
I would like to get out for a hike in the fall. It’s my favorite time of year. I need to add more activity into my daily life.