Intermittent Fasting - DOES IT WORK



Hey ya!

I have been experimenting with Intermittent Fasting (IF) to lose some weight. I first saw this on an IG fitness/health account and thought I'll give it a try. It's a simple concept. Basically, you eat only during an 8 hour window, say from 10am to 6pm (you decide the time best for you).  Before and after that, no food for ya! Easy to remember right?

The convenient thing is that you are not limited to what you eat, but more of WHEN you eat. No need fancy organic ingredients, or meal prep. So you can still eat chips and ice cream if you want!

But of course, if you eat more healthily, the effects would probably be more apparent for you.

If you can relate to this Molang gif like I do:

Or this...


Then maybe intermittent fasting is the diet plan for you. It seems to be a lazy and easy way to lose some weight.


WHAT I DID
  • I ate from about 11am to 7pm. If I stopped eating at 8pm, I try to fast till 12pm to make it up.
  • I ate as usual, but in the IF window.
  • I drank lots of water to stave off hunger pangs.
  • BUT when I felt really faint and lightheaded, I ate immediately. IDW to die lol.
  • When I got hungry at night, I tried to sleep it off instead.
  • I also recorded all the food and I ate during the day. Food journals help you to be more conscious of what you're putting in your belly.
EXTRA (not part of IF)

  • I try to eat more vegetables and fruits. For example, 3/7 items in my YTF are now vegetables. Plus now I try to blend fruits into smoothies or juices so at least I'm taking some fruits rather than no fruits.
  • I tried to cut out the sweet desserts after meals. It's tough lol I have a real sweet tooth. 
  • BBT went from 70% to 30% sugar level, which made the drink taste so crap I just stop buying BBT lol.
  • My job is kind of sedentary so when I travel on the bus, I stand instead of sitting. I try to stand more often! 
  • I cycle and walk often, and try to run and swim occasionally. I have swam 4 times this year and ran 6 times this year. Kind of a sad statistic, but better than nothing lol.
  • I also use my friend's IG stories about them working out and eating healthy to motivate myself LOL. So friends, post more!
  • I  also sleep earlier (like 11pm?) to reap more sleep benefits and not eat at night.

HOW I FELT DURING INTERMITTENT FASTING

To be honest I felt miserable. Trying to diet is always a pain.
I mean, I love eating, and I think it shows on my blog too haha. Plus I freaking stopped eating ice cream for two months!!!

I started out pretty determined though. I weighed myself every day to see if anything was working.

DOES IT WORK?

Yeah, but only a little for me. I lost about 1-2kg. Gutted lol.


I did IF for about one, two months, but progress was pretty slow and my weight fluctuated. There didn't seem to be much real change in my weight. The kilograms I lost could well be just water weight. I actually wanted to blog about it before but since my results were abysmal I just abandoned the idea lol. 

I threw it all out of the window by the time CNY came around.

HOWEVER

Recently I found out my friend Ovidia was doing IF too. She had been doing it for about 3 weeks, and already reaped a 4kg weight loss result!!! Omg please teach me senpai.

I asked her for some tips on what she did. I was probably doing it wrong.

OVID'S INTERMITTENT FASTING

  • "You have to be very strict with yourself, maybe occasionally fasting more or skipping a meal." Stick to your IF plan for best results.
  • "The key is balance and moderation. There are days I ate little, but also days that I ate buffets." Balance out your diet each day! If you had a big meal, have a small one the next mealtime.
  • "I also swam 3-5 times a week." Combine with exercise for faster results!
After this, I felt more motivated to try again. To know that IF worked for somebody spurs me on - maybe it would work for me if I was more strict with myself! Guess I should persist for longer too.

On a side note, starting lots of self-improvement projects can feel awfully austere sometimes (sleeping earlier, money goals, exercise goals etc) so maybe I'll take it slow and do things bit by bit.

I think just by ATTEMPTING intermittent fasting, my attitude towards for health and food has already improved a little. I still eat junk but not so often as before.

BEFORE YOU TRY 

  • If you're just starting out, maybe start off with a bigger window, like a 10 hour eating window, instead of jumping right in. Your body might not be able to cope with the sudden change.
  • If you miss a day, don't beat yourself up. Just try again! We are not perfect. One step at a time! The goal is to do it consistently/
  • You know your body best, so don't gehkiang go do stuff you know that will make want to faint or etc. Do in moderation plx and don't sue me for this post haha. Your health is still number one!

AT YOUR OWN RISK OK! 

 I'm just gonna try IF again because I want to lose another 2 kg! Got fat after a holiday and the festive season ded. I don't want to buy new clothes so I better find a way to fit into my current ones.

Will update this space hopefully with good news :)

Ganbatte!

All the best,
Skye

0 Comments