It’s been a minute since I posted last. When I posted on September 5, I was stoked about my two week trip to Alaska, hopeful that I’d stick to intermittent fasting with no problem. I planned to maintain my five-hour eating windows and weight. So the question you’re wondering is – did I succeed?
The first few days of vacation, I succeeded by sticking to five-hour windows. Then my windows crept in length, and by the time I went on the cruise, where food was available all the time, I was back to three meals a day plus snacks. Morning mochas called my name. Since I was having that, I might as well have their version of an Egg McMuffin. Lunch? Might as well. Dinner? That’s my favorite meal, so sign me up. Dessert? Yes, please.
Plan of attack
I knew I’d get right back on track with IF as soon as I got home, so I wasn’t sweating it. I just hoped I didn’t gain TOO much weight. I was still down two sizes from my heaviest, so life was good. Except, I was starting to feel blah again. Too much food. A constant feeling of fullness.
I didn’t eat until I was sick or anything, but I never got a break from feeling full, it seemed. I was thinking about food A LOT again. In just a few days, I seemed to revert to most of my previous bad habits. Folks aren’t lying about slippery slopes.
The scale doesn’t lie
I got home on Sunday, September 21 and weighed myself the next morning. Prior to leaving, I was 225.0. The number that stared up at me Monday morning was 230.6. Okay. No beating myself up. I was getting right back to IF. I would lose the 5.6 pounds quickly.
Except it wasn’t that easy. While I did lose 3.6 pounds the first week I was back from vacation, it took my mind a full week to settle down. I struggled to stick to my eating windows with the hyperactive, undisciplined toddler inside screaming to eat constantly. I had to ignore her persistence.
Why had I given up the settled mind just to indulge in whatever foods I wanted whenever I wanted them for a little over a week? It wasn’t worth it. While eating whenever and whatever sounds like ultimate freedom, it’s quite the opposite. I actually felt much more in control and free while doing IF. Discipline brings freedom.
What God has given
There’s a verse in 2 Timothy that talks about God not giving his children a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Some translations show the sound mind as meaning self-discipline. So he’s given me self-discipline. I just have to use it.
When I fail at living out the freedom God has brought me to, it’s not his fault. It’s my own. I just need to exercise that muscle of self-discipline. I don’t like exercise. It takes effort, and in this day and age, I, like so many others, want the easy, comfortable and instant route.
Ignoring the inner toddler this week allowed me to exercise that self-discipline that God gave me. I hope and pray I continue to do so. I want to get to the healthy version of me. What does she look like?
At this point, I’d be happy to make it to a weight that starts with 1, even if it’s in the 190s. The ideal weight for my height is 107-140 pounds. 140 seems so skinny to me, and if I reach that, I will be ecstatic. For now, I’m just looking forward to the 210s. I’m 7.1 pounds away.
Stats
Heaviest weight December 2023: 272.2
Weight when starting GLP-1 shot on December 25, 2024: 264.0
Weight when starting IF on July 31, 2025: 232.0
Current weight: 227.0
Goals
People are supposed to make goals. They’re apparently good for us, especially if we write them down. And they have to be attainable and measurable. I’ve not been much of a goal-setting person for the most part. Maybe it shows, and I need to change that.
Right now, I like the slow and steady approach in losing weight with IF. I’m good with an average of one pound per week. It’s working. Realistically, I should be in the 210s in eight weeks or less. So by November 24, I hope to see 219-point-something. Who knows? Maybe I’ll surpass my goal.
Do you make goals? I pray that God helps you exercise self-discipline in reaching them.