How I survived and lost 7 lbs in 2 weeks of intermittent fasting — iron & twine (2024)

My Week 2 Fasting Window

For me, I stayed with a 16 hour fast from the hours of 5pm-9am. Which after just one week is working out amazingly for life with kids. I wake up, get kids fed, ready and off to school, then come home to eat anytime after 9am. It’s so peaceful, and gives me the breathing and mental space to make more intentional decisions about what I’m fueling my body with. I then eat normally throughout the day, then make dinner and eat with the kids around 4:30/5. By eating dinner before Brian gets home from work, it takes the added pressure and stress of having to cook a late night dinner (or let’s be real, the bad habit of late night takeout) off the table. This week our weeknights were way more peaceful and bedtime routines for the kids way less stressful!

Brian’s Week 2 Fasting Window

For those of you following along on Brian’s journey, he’s sticking to his 14 hour window, fasting from 5pm-7am. He gets up early, works a bit, gets ready, then eats breakfast at 7am. Heads to work, takes his lunch and snacks and drinks his dinner at 5pm at work. He’s wanted to try Ka’Chava for quite some time…essentially it’s a meal replacement shake that’s touted as a “blend of organic superfoods and plant based protein”. He says the taste is surprisingly good and so far is happy with it. He too is liking the switch timeline wise. He said by having his dinner at work, it gives him the needed energy to get through the rest of his work day, then get home for some quality time with the kids reading books before bed. And like me, this timeline takes out the option of those late night cravings, or un-healthy convenient take out dinners. During the weekends, he skips the shake and partakes in dinner with me and the kids around 4/5pm. Another hidden benefit of this timeline is that family meal time during the weekends is becoming a lot more enjoyable and fun!

COMING TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT I’M AN EMOTIONAL EATER

This week, it became completely obvious to me that I’m an emotional eater. Have a good day?… celebrate with a tasty late night desert. Super stressed?…indulge in a late night takeout dinner. And while I really thought I was eating healthy and in moderation, what my fasting windows have taught me, is that all my emotionally driven food choices are made after 7pm! So, by creating a window where my last meal at 4:30/5, it took the option of emotional and hormonally driven food choices right off the table! Who knew! Sounds silly, but truth be told, this week was very insightful. Here’s what else this week taught me:

stop eating when full…easy, right?! or is it?

After losing 5lbs in Week 1, which I completely attribute to the extreme amount of water weight and bloat my body can hold on to (hello PCOS), a funny and unexpected thing happened in Week 2. For the first time in a long time I was actually in tune to the cues my body gave me around food and hunger. Essentially saying that I could finally tell when I was actually hungry vs full. With my body’s version of PCOS, I’m hungry allllllllll the time….thank you hormones. And for those of you asking, “really? you’re hungry allllll the time? seriously? are you eating enough?”…for me hunger was a constant, daily battle. It didn’t matter if I ate a healthy meal, or an unhealthy one, a large meal or a snack…but 15-30 minutes after eating, I swore I was hungry…like feeling like I was starving…and let’s be real I was NEVER actually starving! My brain new this, yet my body didn’t feel like it. The truth is I never felt "satisfied” after a meal or snack regardless of what I ate. And for a long time, I knew I wasn’t able to tap into my own body’s ability to self regulate eating. Am I REALLY hungry? Or just hormonally / mentally hungry? With carrying around a constant amount of water weight and bloat around my mid-section, I could never actually feel what my stomach felt like. I always felt hungry and I always felt bloated and full. Well, with a drastic reduction in water weight and therefore that mid-section bloat, it was quite shocking that for the first time in a long time, I could tell when I was full…and you know what…another surprising thing happened. Week two allowed me to skip those unnecessary second portions at meal time. I ate when I wanted, I ate what I felt like and what sounded good, and I stopped when my body signaled I was full. Huh! A simple concept, stop eating when your full, and yet for me and probably for some of you who are also living with the real challenges of having health conditions, hormonal abnormalities and/or excess weight, is that those disadvantages can create an actual physical inability to tell the difference! Weird, righ?t! And amazing how in just one week, I found myself understanding this for myself. And with this new found understanding, I also was able to drastically cut back, if not cut out completely, some of those horribe bad cravings I typically have and give into.

I found myself craving healthy foods

Another surprising thing I learned quickly was that my body craved healthy alternatives to my typical hormonally-motivated food cravings. I started eating what felt good, rather what sounded good. Make sense? For example, when hormones are at the wheel of food decisions, I crave all the bad stuff…processed, salty, sugary..if it’s junk I crave it. But by taking just the simple step of being aware of my own hunger and body cues, it was amazing to see how naturally I began to choose healthier options over their sinful counterparts. Now did I cut out all the unhealthy stuff?…no. Remember, slow and steady is my plan and moderation more my game. If I wanted a cookie I ate it. And I enjoyed it. And I didn’t guilt over it. But, I also made intentionally good decisions and when I was full with said cookie half way through…I stopped eating it. And unlike before, didn’t overindulge in 3, or 4 of those said cookies. This same thing slowly started to happen with other food choices throughout the week and I was shocked to see how in just a few days, healthier and healthier decisions were being made on my part. And in a very natural, intentional yes, but natural, unforced way. So in week two, I found myself sincerely enjoying the food I ate, stopping when full, and feeling satisfied after meal time!

How a no-spend month gave me permission to say no to bad choices

In my last blog post I shared that we’re trying (for the first time ever) a …you can read that post here. The oddly surprising and satisfying side effect of pairing a no spend month with our intermittent fasting challenge has been that it means fast food and restaurants/ takeouts in general are completely off the table! Previously, typically week days have consisted of quick and convenient options to feed me and the kids…hello Chic-fil-a drive through! Even when I chose the “healthy” option of a salad, it’s still super heavy in salt (which only contributes to my bloating) and super high in calories. My typical Cobb Salad from Chic-fil-a with crispy bell peppers and ranch dressing weighs in at 900 calories! YEAH! 900! for what I thought was always the healthy choice. And YES, it is the healthier option. But for me, the habit of eating and spending money through convenience, has cost my wallet and my waistline a lot!! Especially for how frequently I made this part of our routine. So, by not even allowing myself to hit the drive through, I’m forced to make the better choice of eating at home. Want that cobb salad from Chic-fil-a? Great! I make it, at home, with yummy greens from our garden…and tomatoes and cucumber and roasted chicken and boiled eggs AND ranch dressing. It’s amazing!!!! And Satisfying!!! And it’s way lower in calories, and salt. The kid’s begging for that Chic-fil-a milkshake? Great! We make one at home. They love mixing ice cream and chocolate in the blender and I’m able to better control portion size for them, and we’re not wasting it (I typically throw away half those Chic-fil-a shakes…wasteful of food & money!!) So, if you too are considering Intermittent Fasting, I encourage you too also consider pairing it with a no-spend month, or at least take the option of eating out off the table.

In addition to all that, the other surprising side effect of pairing Intermittent Fasting with a NO Spend Month is that I have had a lot more free time. By taking out all retail shopping, I surprisingly have a lot more time to cook up healthy alternatives to the meals I’m craving. Wanting my favorite Mexican Restaurant dish? Great…I made our own Sheet Pan Fajitas! Buttery Salmon? Great…Sheet Pan Salmon! It’s so good for my health, my wallet and somehow, I’m once again finding the joy in cooking! Huh! Who knew? So, if you too are considering Intermittent Fasting, I encourage you too also consider pairing it with a no-spend month, or at least take the option of eating out off the table.

I Don’t have PCOS, what are some other Pros & Cons of Intermittent Fasting?

PROS

• It’s FREE!

I love that as a “diet” / lifestyle program, it’s free! NO memberships to pay for and ultimately feel guilty (mentally and financially) if you don’t follow through. Now, for those of you that do well with the added pressure and accountability of a paid program…Weight Watchers, Gym Memberships, etc…that’s great and well worth the investment if you’re motivated by it. Sometimes we all need that added motivation, but if you find yourself guilt-ridden, then frozen with the inability to commit one way or the other…this program may be a good option for you.

• It’s Flexible

The other huge plus to intermittent fasting is that it’s completely flexible! You can create your own windows (I talk more about that in this post), and adjust them accordingly. Do this program for a week, a month…every day or a couple days a week…skip a day here or there…push back or move forward your window to accommodate your schedule… it’s totally up to you. I encourage you to research other’s experience with it, then experiment yourself on what timelines’s work best for you. The other pro with flexibility is that you can be as extreme or not with your food choices. Pair intermittent fasting with the Keto Diet…great! Implement intermittent fasting into your life without making any food changes…great! It’s so flexible and it’s completely up to you at how many lifestyle changes you also pair with it.

• It has other amazing health benefits!

The science behind the research is very compelling. Fasting can reduce inflammation, improve digestion, reduce bloating, lower sugar cravings and result in better sleep. Fasting can also improve blood sugar control, decrease insulin resistance and tap into our bodies fat stores for energy, which in return fuels fat loss! Low insulin levels also improve mental clarity! And lastly, what I found most compelling, is that fasting promotes autophagy. Autophagy is an important process for cellular and tissue rejuvenation and prevention or delay of neurodegenerative diseases. After losing my mom to cancer, it was a no brainer for me to consider something that could possibly alter my genetic course.

CONS

• Accountability

Hands down I don’t think I would be successful right now if Brian and I weren’t doing this together! It helps to have the other adult in the household eating in similar windows and the teamwork and motivating of each other is paramount! If you’re not one to be an automatic self-motivator, I would hands down recommend finding a partner, group or community to join to help hold yourself accountable, cheer on your victories and support you in a non-judgmental way when things get challenging.

• It may not be a healthy or safe choice for everyone.

Again, before making any lifestyle or diet choices, partner with your doctor and do your own research. While fasting can be a positive for a lot of people, for some it may actually hurt more than help. And again, healthy, safe choices for mind, body and spirit is what it’s all about!

My WEEK 2 RESULTS

I’m pleased to say that Week 2 brought on 2 more lbs of weight loss. Bringing my total weight loss to 7 lbs in two weeks, and weighing in on the scale at 163! And while losing more than 1 lb a week is absolutely not advised for healthy weight loss, I’ll acknowledge that the majority of this stemmed from water weight and excessive bloat. Again, one of the many challenges that face those with PCOS. And like I shared last week and want to emphasize again, while I’m fully transparent with you about the pounds on my body and therefore the number on my scale, please be reminded that the number is not what it’s all about. Again, healthy is the new skinny! And positive change for mind, body and spirit is what the real goal is. Everyone’s body is different, and therefore results will vary. Have pride in your journey, celebrate the victories and give yourself grace during the challenges. Best of luck to you friends. For me, this week was another success and one that’s motivating me for week 3!