Here it is ladies and gentlemen! The most anticipated post for most of you in a long time! I can’t believe how many of you are so interested in what I have to say about IF (intermittent fasting) and how I started my journey! Truly means the world. Okay so let preface this with, I am NOT a nutritionist, trainer, health coach, etc. I am not part of an IF program with daily food and workout guides. And this is not a sponsored post at all. This post is all based off of MY two week experience with intermittent fasting, hence the title “Beginners Guide to IF.”
This is meant to be guide to get you started, motivated and out of your comfort zones! I’m not showing you a six week result, well because I don’t have one yet! I’ll be honest, I’ve been procrastinating this post for a couple of days because I don’t even know where to start to organize all my thoughts and all the information/knowledge I want to give you all without overwhelming anyone. So with that said, PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS POST OVERWHELM YOU! That is not what it is meant to do. I’m here to share with you how amazing I have felt these last two weeks and how I feel that this journey really is a new lifestyle for me. I want to give you what I have learned so that you can feel good too!
With that out of the way, let’s jump into the nitty gritty!
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting is pattern of eating where the body is in two cycles; fasting or eating. There are so many ways and hours of doing this, but I do the 16:8. What does that mean? I eat in an 8 hour window everyday and fast for 16 hours, which means I do NOT eat a single piece of food in those 16 hours. 2 days of the week, I try to do the 18:6. I usually do this on Wednesday and Saturday. Eat for 6 hours, fast for 18.
It sounds scary right!? I promise you it’s not as bad as it sounds. Im sleeping for most of those hours, I get up and workout, and then have to get ready for work and by the time I get to work and get some stuff done, it’s time to eat!
I did a lot of research, both professional and personal, about if Intermittent Fasting was healthy and let’s just say no one had a bad experience with it or bad things to say about it when it comes to health. I was shocked at all the amazing feedback I got from people. I’m not going into scientific terms with you guys about why it may be better to skip that morning meal because like I said before, I’m not a professional and just going off of experiences.
HOW TO GET STARTED?
Here’s the intimidating part for everyone starting something new, whether it be a new job, college, fitness class, or meal plan; WHERE DO I START!? Let me give you some tips for starting your journey of IF:
Tip #1: Start by cleaning out your fridge of all the junk food (if you have kids then there will likely be some junk food in the house) Cleaning out my fridge always gets me motivated to eat healthy.
Tip #2: Head to grocery store and buy some healthy options! Meal prep some healthy lunches/dinner/snacks for the week so that you don’t reach for the bag of chips when your fast is over. Fruits, veggies, proteins!
Tip #3: DIVE RIGHT IN. Don’t think so hard about how you won’t be eating for 16 hours. It’s a mind game. Keep your mind busy during those wake hours of fasting. If you need to, start the first 2 days with fasting for only 12-14 hours. Whatever you can handle to build up to your 16 hour fast. If you are a breakfast lover like I was, yeah it sucks for those first few days. But guys, Im only on week 2 and don’t think about waking up and eating a scoop of peanut butter anymore. If I can skip breakfast and be ok, I promise you can too!
So What The Heck Should You Eat?
This part may stress you out at first, because to be honest I was like, “What are the best foods for me to eat!?” “How do I know I’m eating right!?” “Am I screwing up my fast?” So take a deep breath and follow along with what I’m about to tell you.
I have been a healthy eater for the greater part of my life so although I know how to eat super healthy on the day to day, I kept reading where all these people doing programs were carb cycling, tracking all their macros, and all this other STUFF that I was feeling confused about. I’m not bashing any of these programs at all because they do work! BUT, because I didn’t want to spend the money on one and wanted do this on my own, I had to figure some stuff of for myself and through others experiences! I wanted this to be a lifestyle change for the better and not stress so hard about the food choices and how many carbs I’ll be cycling this week along with combining it with the exact amount of protein without eating too many calories. See what I’m saying? That sounds like A LOT to think about everyday.
So here’s what I suggest and what I do: ( a sample “What I East In a Day” will be at the bottom of this post)
Tip #1: You have to be mindful of how many calories you are taking in each day, at least to start off. Especially if you are someone coming off of eating whatever you want, whenever you want. Lifestyle changes are hard work, but ALWAYS worth it. So I suggest downloading the “My Fitness Pal” app to track the food you’re eating for a couple weeks.
**Please though, do not get overwhelmed by everything the my fitness pal app has to offer! It has a lot of confusing terms on there for beginners, however it is easy to use. Focus on tracking the food you eat day to day to start with focusing on controlling calories. The basis to any weight loss program starts with calorie control.
Tip #2: Come off of your fast with a healthy meal option! Smoothie, Hard-boiled eggs, almond butter and banana, etc. Pinterest is a great tool for finding some healthy meal options for every meal! LOTS OF SMALL MEALS will help you feel fuller, longer. But like I said, don’t focus so hard on all the macro tracking. I know scientifically it helps and if you want to join a program thats great too, but I’m trying to give you guys the least stressful way of doing this.
Tip#3: Don’t be nervous about this one. Okay, that may have made you nervous huh? Try to stay dairy free and gluten free as much as possible. This doesn’t mean you can’t go to dinner with the girls ever again or splurge on a Saturday for a meal at a birthday party! That’s the beauty of this program! You’re not screwing up all the work you have done with the piece of cheese you ate on your salad, or the piece of pizza that you couldn’t resist at a party! Do this in moderation though and try to keep 90% of your foods pretty wholesome and natural (eating too much sugar can make your insulin levels go crazy causing you to get hungry faster too!)
*I’m always sharing meal ideas in stories and will make a IF tips/meals highlight section for you! Also check out and follow my Pinterest board here! I’ll be adding lots of recipes and other’s ideas too!
Tip #4: THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF THE DAY! *DO NOT BREAK YOUR FAST!!!* breaking your fast early means breaking all the hard work you just put into all the other hours you didn’t eat. The end of your fast is when you’re burning baby! Keep that in mind and don’t let your mind take over. Reach out to me if you feeling so hungry and need some motivation! I love getting messages from you guys of encouragement or asking me questions! Lets keep each other accountable!
SO let me sum this section up for you: Don’t focus so much on tracking every little carb, gram of protein, saturated fat and all that jazz. Instead focus on eating wholesome healthy foods and watching your calorie intake to start. Tracking what you eat to start off keeps you mindful of what you put in your body everyday and teaches you that most of us overeat a lot of the time. Stay within your window of eating and DON’T break you’re fast. Many smaller meals will keep you feeling satisfied during your eating window and sustained during your fasting cycle.
Should I Work Out?
HECK YES! Every healthy lifestyle change will benefit more with some exercise! Okay so I know some of you are thinking, “Crap I never work out, where do I start and what do I do!?” My suggestion to you is to build yourself up! If you’re someone who never works out, start with some walking and light weights. Maybe get a gym membership to motivate you and get you out of your funk. But the best part about IF is that you don’t have to have a gym. You can do some kind of workout right in your home. If you’re someone who works out regularly then that’s great; keep going! You may already have a workout program you use so keep doing those routines!
The best time to workout while fasting it towards the end. I always get a workout in at 5am before work! This gets your metabolism and heart pumping for the day ahead! You will be burning calories all day long. I highly suggest trying morning workouts vs. night!
What do I do when I workout?
I just recently joined Orange Theory Fitness to switch up my routine a little and I love it! It’s an intense workout every time so I try to fit it in 2-3 mornings of the week! (Tuesdays, Thursdays and sometimes Saturdays) On the other days I do moderate workouts at the gym or in my living room! Sundays are usually my “rest day.” AKA clean the house, catch up on laundry, meal prep and most importantly get as many cuddles in with my son as possible!
On the days I do OTF, I try to eat a little more than on a regular day because my body worked so hard that it needs to refuel. For example, I add some protein powder to a smoothie or add some quinoa/carbs to my lunch or dinner.
On Moderate workout days and rest days, I try to eat less carbs and calories! Nope, I don’t go crazy figuring out what foods have the least amount of carbs and sugars and all that jazz. I’m just sensible!
Bottom line: the harder you work the more food you should eat that day (healthy food that is!). This doesn’t mean just because you worked out you should grab for all the sugary, high carb, junk foods. And the less you work, the less you eat. Pretty simple right?
SAMPLE MEAL PLAN DURING A MODERATE DAY
FAST from 7pm-11am. Not everyone’s fasting window will be the same. Make it work best with your schedule
5:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. black coffee (during your fast you can have water, black coffee, unsweetened tea, and natural flavored waters) I suggest stocking up on some flavored “Sparkling ICE Waters.”
11:00 a.m- Smoothie with frozen strawberries & bananas, 1 cup almond milk, 1-2 tbsp peanut/almond butter. If I do a HARD workout I add protein powder to my smoothie.
OR- 2 hard-boiled eggs with avocado spread
1:30 p.m.- Kale Salad: 2 cups Kale, 1/2 piece of chicken or 1 chicken sausage link, 1/4 cup walnuts and sometimes fat free feta cheese if I feel really hungry. I use the fat free kind because I like the taste better. Dressing: 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and McCormick lemon pepper. Shake it all up in a little container.
OR- a piece of chicken and roasted vegetables. prep a bunch of veggies on a big tray with olive oil salt and pepper and roast them in the oven to have for a few days of the week.
2:30- snack time! sometimes I skip this tiny meal if I’m still full from lunch. But if I do eat something I eat an orange, berries, or 1 square of Ghiradelli 86% dark chocolate with 1-2 tbsp of almond butter.
ALSO, I always make a black coffee at this time too. It gets me through the rest of my work day!
5:30/6:00 p.m.- Dinner is my favorite meal now! it used to be breakfast but now I love coming home and cooking healthy dinners for the fam. Here are some options.
Turkey Taco bowls: 1/2 c. cauliflower rice, 1/2 cup of ground turkey, spoonful of plain non fat greek yogurt, spoonful of avocado spread or 1/4 of an avocado, spoonful of salsas small scoop of mild green chiles. SO DELICIOUS.
OR
Grilled/ Bake chicken or steak with roasted veggies. I love to roast carrots, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli.
If I don’t have a piece of dark chocolate at 2:30, then I always have one right after dinner before 7 p.m.
And then I’m done for the day! I know it doesn’t seem like a lot but this is just for my moderate days. Ill add some healthy carbs or fats on the days I workout hard. Lots of small meals are better than 2 huge ones!
Alright guys, I know I just filled your brain with SO much information but just take it all in and take this journey one day at a time. After two full weeks of doing this, I can honestly say I feel the BEST I have felt in a very long time. I am crushing workouts because I have so much energy, I’m more alert at work and at home, and I’m WAY less stressed with the little things in life! As you complete each day you will get stronger both physically and mentally! Please, please let me know if you have ANY questions. Send me a message or leave me a comment and I will respond to them all! I’m always posting tips&tricks and recipes in my stories on my Instagram so make sure to stay tuned daily over there! Let’s do this!
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