So today is day 3 of this Intermittent Fasting thing I’m trying out.

Let me tell you what I think so far.

First, let’s discuss what intermittent Fasting IS. It’s exactly what it sounds like. You fast intermittently. I’m doing the 16:8 method. After reading about the others, this one seems the best for me.

There are a few other methods that are popular. The eat-stop-eat method which has you eat then stop eating from dinner one day to dinner the next then eat till dinner the day after that, which seems ridiculous. I can’t go 24 hours without Food. I LOVE FOOD.

There’s the 5:2 method. This has you eat your normal cals 5 days out of the week then for 2 days you cut that down to 500-600 calories.

There’s the alternate day fasting. Which is fasting every other day. Meaning….eat normal cals one day then not eating the next. For beginners, it does seem they recommend you eat at least 500 cals. I also do not like this one.

The Warrior Diet (I’ve actually heard about this one). You “fast” during the day and eat a huge meal at night. The fasting is eating raw fruits and veggies throughout the day. Your dinner is whole, unprocessed foods that resemble what they looked like in nature. This one could be okay.

Then there is spontaneous meal skipping. You skip eating when it’s convenient. When is not eating convenient? I LOVE FOOD.

Then there’s the 16:8 method which is what I’m doing. What is the 16:8 method? You fast for 16 hours, eat for 8. It seems like a lot, right? It’s not really. I’m already getting used to it. So how this works. I start eating at noon and I stop eating at 8p. From 8p until noon the next day there is no snacking, no eating, just drinking water, tea, and coffee. Not regular tea either, I drink green tea. (It’s a great metabolism booster.)

The benefits? It’s supposed to help your body use the food you eat as fuel longer than if you eat and snack all day. Which by using the food as fuel, you’re not storing it as fat. Yay. Minimal fat storage. It’s supposed to jump start your metabolism. (Not entirely sure if this is true.) And I’m sure there are other things. But it’s worth trying since I’m not doing a crazy diet of only eating something like grapefruit or whatever.

Day 1.

I thought I was going to die within an hour of the no eating. I’m so used to munching and snacking from the time I wake up till I go to bed. I stopped eating at 8p. I WANTED TO EAT SO SO SO BAD! I didn’t though. My stomach hurt a bit by midnight, but I was at work and the only thing left to eat was vending machine shit. That’s a big no, no. NO processed food. At least not as much. I save that for special days.

Day 2.

It started off easyish. I did cheat a little and ate dinner when I got home at 930. So I adjusted my times and started eating at 1:30p rather than noon. I didn’t start eating today until 1p to counter all of that. I’ll stop eating today at 8p though to get back on track.

Day 3.

I started eating today at 1p. My stomach doesn’t hurt as much today. I feel hungry, but not starving. I have been drinking an insane amount of water over the past 3 days. I’m peeing ALL THE TIME! I thought I was drinking a lot before. Now…sheesh. I’m pretty sure I’m 90% water rather than 70%. But I did get a nice lunch packed for work. Rice, carrots, hummus, strawberries, bananas, low-fat Greek yogurt WITH granola, and a bottle of Market District Green Tea with honey.

Yum.

And I had scrambled eggs for “breakfast” this afternoon.

Have I lost weight though? That’s why I’m doing this right?

The answer to that? Yes. I have. 5 lbs.

Is it because of the intermittent fasting or the fact that I”m at the gym 5 days a week, 2 1/2 – 3 hours a day? Maybe a combination of things.

Remember that you can’t starve yourself. That’s not the point of this. It’s just switching up HOW and WHEN you eat. I’m still getting my 1200-1500 calories in a day, just in a shorter span of time rather than snacking ALLLLL day long.

You’re also maintaining your workouts. You don’t stop working out because you fast. Working out is kind of key to weight loss…as well as eating.

That’s my eats for today. At least part of it. That’s only 1035 calories. Need at least another 200-475 more calories.

DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!!! I can’t stress that enough. Intermittent fasting is NOT ABOUT STARVING YOURSELF!!! EAT YOUR CALORIES!!!! HEALTHY CALORIES!!!!

Of course, I’m going to Kennywood on Sunday. We know what that means? POTATO PATCH FRENCH FRIES!!! And corndogs…and ice cream…and lemonade. YUM!!! CHEAT DAY!