Tomorrow will mark three full weeks of intermittent fasting. Honestly, my experience has been pretty easy, and I’ll share more about this shortly. I do believe a few things contribute to that ease. First, I believe God changed my mindset and that I’ve made a choice to surrender (and stay surrendered) to his guidance. Second, I believe being on the GLP-1 (tirzepatide shot) helped prepare my body for intermittent fasting and eating fewer meals by skipping breakfast.
God’s intervention…once and then a second time
My husband pointed out that in January 2024, I prayed that God would deliver me from sugar addiction, and he did. I cried and begged God to deliver me from decades of being obsessed with food and addicted to sugar. I had seen him deliver family members from drugs and alcohol and asked him to do the same for me with food. It was instant. I wasn’t obsessed with food anymore. My mind was at rest. Yet, after a while, I slowly let sugar creep back in to excess and turned to food again for comfort.
I know without a doubt that God set me free that January, but I chose to reenter into bondage. That’s on me. This time, I pray I don’t mess up what God is doing in my heart and life. I pray he cultivates a faithfulness in me to follow his will for my health. I share my failures, so you can hopefully learn from them instead of having to learn lessons the hard way. Why do we sometimes choose to return to the things God has delivered us from? We think we can control the beast this time around. We’re foolish and sinful creatures. I thank God that he gives second, third, and one-hundredth chances.
I truly believe God gave me a second opportunity to find freedom from food addictions by answering my prayer a month ago and leading me to intermittent fasting. I believe he planted the seeds last year. I just wasn’t ready to receive them until last month when I humbled myself (again) and asked for his intervention.
IF – What’s going well?
So what is going well so far at three weeks into my IF journey?
- Food noise is nearly absent. I used to think about food often-slash-always. Not anymore. My mind is at rest. It’s clear.
- I’m content with my eating windows and simply delay eating until my window opens. The crazy thing is – it hasn’t been hard. Have I been absolutely, 100% perfect with this? Nope. On Saturday, I planned to open my window later because we were having a late dinner with family. Instead of opening later, I opened at my normal time and ended up having an extended window of 8 hours that day instead of the intended 5 hours. It’s okay though. I’m not, nor will I ever be, perfect at this. It’s the only day in the first three weeks that I’ve not done as planned. That’s pretty good.
- I’m sleeping better and feeling more rested. I’ve been on a CPAP for six years now for obstructive sleep apnea. I’m hoping to eventually retake the sleep study and cease the CPAP usage once I reach a much lower weight.
- I don’t feel deprived. No food is forbidden. I still eat sweet treats and drink sweet tea, just as long as it’s within my eating windows.
- I’m craving more healthy / nutritious foods. Instead of empty calories, I am finding myself desiring real foods. Not always but more often.
- I’m not feeling hungry, for the most part, during my fasting periods. If I do get hungry, it’s usually between 10-11 AM and passes shortly.
- My clothes are feeling roomier. I was able to pull off a pair of jeans the other day without unbuttoning and unzipping them. Progress.
- Shhh! Don’t tell Gin Stephens, but I am weighing during my first 28 days of IF. Today, I was at 227.4, down 4.6 pounds from 7/31. She instructs people not to weigh because some people actually gain during their first 28 days because they overeat during their windows. They are afraid of getting hungry during their fasting periods, so they overcompensate during their eating windows. So she just wants people to get used to the whole lifestyle before reintroducing the scale. This is the one thing I’m being a rebel about.
- I’m engaging in movement more and feeling more capable. I’m walking a few times a week and am able to walk farther and longer than previously. I love walking in the woods near my house. I feel like I’m able to get away from the world for a bit. I even went for a bicycle ride on Saturday for the first time in about two years. It felt wonderful!
Staying Focused
What helps keep me on track? Besides asking God for strength, having a plan helps. Each day, I have a goal for my eating window and I determine when that window will occur. Maybe 12-5 or 2-7. It depends on what I have going for that day. And I think about what foods I’ll include for that day. Some days are healthier than others, but as long as I stick to my eating window, which is my goal, then I’m considering it successful.
Reading books on the topic or watching YouTube videos is helpful. Right now, I’m reading Dr. Bert Herring’s book AC: The Power of Appetite Correction. Note: It’s “free” on Kindle Unlimited, if you subscribe to that service. He was a pioneer of the IF lifestyle and proposed 19:5 (19 hours of fasting and 5 hours of eating in a day) as a way of life and weight loss.
I stay connected in Gin Stephens’ Delay, Don’t Deny community on Circle. I’m in it almost daily, posting and responding to others’ posts. It helps to connect with others who are doing the same thing.
Prayer for YOU
God, today I pray for my readers that you will meet them where they’re at and let them see where you want to work in their lives. Let them know how much you love them and want what’s best for them, even if your plan doesn’t always make sense to us. Show them how you can bring good out of any situation they find themselves in, whether it was caused by others or their own choices. Let them know you more deeply today.