I want to be open with something I've struggled with for as long as I can remember... I'm always thinking about food! And not in a good way. It's more of an obsession about what I can eat and when I can eat again. It tends to go in cycles for me based on a few factors that I've pinned down (current nutrition habits, stress, and boredom). Needless to say, it's annoying, and usually, derails me from my nutrition goals since I'll eventually give in to my cravings.
I also want to share the ONE THING THAT HAS HELPED ME overcome these struggles: intermittent fasting. I know, you're probably thinking this sounds horrible, maybe even unhealthy. We've always heard that we should eat 5-6 times a day to "boost our metabolism' but the science has proven that theory wrong (just like other nutritional advice such as low-fat diets, etc.).
To sum it up for you, intermittent fasting is NOT starving yourself. It involves eating a healthy balanced diet but condensing your eating window to 10 or less hours per day.
I have been testing out intermittent fasting throughout the last year or so and I ALWAYS notice 3 things:
1) I feel great
2) I lose weight (more specifically FAT)
3) I do not struggle with the food obsession/cravings
I've also noticed a couple of more things...
It's a habit that takes adjusting to. When I re-start my intermittent fasting routine it always feels hard because I'm used to eating so frequently. But it gets easier day by day, and what makes it easiest for me is prolonging my eating for as long as possible. After testing out various fasting windows and eating patterns I've found my sweet spot with eating lunch for my first meal (between 12-1pm), having my Shakeology as a PM snack, and then having dinner. I'm still eating the recommended amount of food but I'm now eating 3 bigger meals in a 5-6 hour window, as opposed to 5-6 times per day throughout a 12-14 hour window.
After I began to notice my positive reactions and results with this eating pattern, I've begun to do a little research about intermittent fasting and I find it's incredible FASCINATING to see all of the proven benefits that it has to offer.
If you'd like to learn more about intermittent fasting, here are the two books that I've learned a lot from:
There's plenty more books and blogs out there... so you'll have no struggle finding information that will help you decided if this is right for you. Doing some research will also help your chances of success since you'll be better educated and prepared.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I'm happy to answer based on my own experiences! My email is fabfitfunjen@gmail.com