Since moving to 3rd shift, which coincidentally coincides with the canceling of my cardio classes, I've put on weight. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I try to be healthy (with balance, I love ice cream and pancakes more than anything!) I've completed 7 Spartan races, and I teach dance fitness 4 times a week. I don't own a scale, I use my clothes and how I feel as the guide to where my weight is. And currently, I'm pretty displeased. My clothes all still fit, but, I'm not comfortable in them. I really dislike the way I look without them on. I tend to gain weight around the middle as my thighs are already pretty THICC. Nobody wants a chubby waist. No one.
I follow a functional medicine doctor, also a fellow cardio dance instructor, on IG and FB. Dr. Lauren Fitz if you want to look her up. I've been following her for years just to be clear, she's not someone I just found and decided to jump headfirst into following. Last week she did a series of posts on IF and its benefits to the body. I have a work kid (I somehow adopt the kids I work with) that I watched have amazing success with IF last year, but put on 25 pounds after finding a girlfriend and has now gone back to IF to try to rid his body of those pounds. So I had some experience with the concept, but I eat A LOT so I just couldn't really imagine myself diving in.
After listening to Dr. Fitz, I thought it is at least worth a try, right? It's only been a week. But, so far so good guys. I'm working up to a 16-8 fasting window. Currently at 14-10. I started at 12-12. I fast the entire time I'm at work overnight because normally I'd be sleeping anyway. It gets a little dicey around 2 am truthfully. Dr. Fitz told me though that feeling of hunger usually only lasts 20 minutes and I just chant that to myself when I start to get hangry. It passes. I'm proud of my resolve because as I stated earlier I eat a lot. I mean often. Every couple of hours normally at least.
IF has also caused me to be more aware of what I'm putting in because it occurred to me that I should probably be more mindful of what I'm eating first thing when I'm breaking a fast. Since I'm so used to eating every few hours, it didn't occur to me before because I was just always eating something. But after NOT consuming anything for 14 hours, I feel like I need to give my body more nutrient based things right from the jump. Here's a list I found and have been using to remind myself of what to eat first thing.
Foods to Eat When Breaking Your Fast
My main goal is to kick-start my metabolism again and hopefully burn some fat. However, this isn't the only thing I'm doing. I also realized the correlation with stopping my classes, so I've been determined to move more this week too. I am often exhausted after work, I walk 5 miles each night at work (I'm not even kidding) and my feet HURT. Hurt so much I've even purchased special toe-flexing socks to wear during my off time to help with the pain. Adding in dancing or running didn't seem like a lot of fun, and those are my main sources of exercise. Yesterday I danced. And it was only the 2nd time since my classes got canceled in the middle of March. So twice in a month, when I used to dance 4 times a week. I was DRENCHED at the end of just 30 minutes (my classes are usually an hour but I was dead at the 30-minute mark and decided to be kind to myself.) Today, I plan to dance--I'm working on my Return To Class After Quarantine Playlist--and hopefully at least walk, maybe a short run. Running is BY FAR the quickest way for me personally to lose weight. I can drop a few pounds in a week if I can get in a couple runs.
If you're interested in learning more, I suggest you follow Dr. Lauren Fitz on IG and FB and go back in her posts to look for all the information she shared last week. Here is a quick link to some of the benefits:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327398#how-to-do-it
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