Time restricted feeding

Hello, Dear reader!

I hope you are doing well today and Wishing you the best of luck in achieving your goals this year. Sending you positive vibes for a successful 2024!

Happy Lunar New Year! 🐉

Control what you can control

Have you heard of Intermittent fasting (IF)? I was a bit round when I moved back from Texas. My friend Jeff said I “should try this cool thing called IF”. Jeff is quite fit, and I thought,🤔 he might know a thing or two about fitness. So I gave it a try and it turned into something more than just weight loss.

You’ll find a ton of information on IF out there, but my version of IF was based on 3 rules.

1. Only eat 8 hours per day; Strictly fast for the other 16 hours.

2. Drink lots of liquids, water, coffee, or tea as water-based drinks are acceptable during the fast period. (no milk)

3. You can have up to 2 Treat days in a week. Friday and Saturday. (Eat anytime you want)

I started to notice interesting things happening in my body after the first 16-hour fast. My blood sugar levels became more stable. My sense of smell and taste was supercharged by the morning, but of course, this was compounded by the fact that I quit alcohol and nicotine too. so my body was adjusting to a significant decrease in my sugar levels, and an improved sense of smell and taste.

A few weeks into doing it, I remember laying in bed around 9:30 pm reading a book feeling very hungry. The hunger hit hard. It was way tougher than I expected, yet I pulled through. But here's the kicker: IF inadvertently helped me kick my cravings for alcohol and cigarettes when I was in my early days of sobriety. It was like, with my stomach growling, I didn't even think about anything else. I wasn't just fighting hunger; I was also overcoming the urges of smoking and drinking. Killing two birds with one stone.

The pain of hunger was stronger than the pain of urges to drink and smoke.

The Vivid flashes of food that I wanted to eat, triggered my saliva glands. The inner pull in my stomach from the hunger was painful, but in the same way as exercise is painful. I knew I’d be waking up to a rewarding breakfast with all the fixins’. I was also excited about looking down and seeing my flat stomach in the morning.

Hungry, I’d fall asleep, surprisingly quickly, and slept like a baby.

When I woke up, I was fasted, not hungry like the night before. I woke up at 6 and had 2 hours before the 8 am breakfast time. 😋 

I had a lot of energy, I would go for a run/walk first thing, and by the time I showered and got the kids off to school, it was time to start eating again! I kept this eating schedule for a few months and had incredible results.

Losing weight was just the start. My metabolism got a serious boost—like it was working with me now, not against me. I was absorbing nutrients like a champ and slept well through the night. I noticed my mood and cognition improved as well. They always say fasting does wonders, but feeling it firsthand? Totally a different game.

You know how I said my sense of smell was stronger? One day, before I broke my fast for that day, I was so hungry! I was speedwalking through NYC, the air crisp with fall, and I passed by this bakery. The sweet, warm smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies hit me in the face so hard and seemed to slow down time - it was such a vivid, euphoric moment—It was like I tasted that cookie. Hands down, one of the best experiences of my life.

My taste buds were hypersensitive and even the plain-tasting oatmeal I made, was like the best-tasting oatmeal I ever had! Of course, I did have some delicious blueberries in there, and some nuts. For the remainder of my 8-hour eating window, I eat a healthy balanced diet of carbs, fats, proteins, fruits, and veggies. And of course, lots and lots of water!

Anyway, I don’t do it all the time, but when I do, I enjoy the way it makes me feel. I’m doing IF this week to reboot and get ready for an upcoming beach vacation getaway. Wish me luck!

Have you tried IF? Does it work for you?

Links to Stuff this week:

• Quick YouTube Video on Intermittent Fasting

• Podcast: Effects of Fasting & Time Restricted Eating on Fat Loss & Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #41

• Fasting Book: Fast, Feast, Repeat.

• Benjamin Franklyn Biography Book I was reading when I was fasting.

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Keep thinking, my friends!

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