Hi everyone, I've posted odd things on here for a fair while now. I have struggled with my weight the majority of my life and also struggled with my mental health. Having chronic depression and anxiety really can cause weight issues for me, and I was put on Sertraline for both of these illnesses two months ago which has also meant an increased appetite. I've posted in the past about CICO and Slimming World (a UK slimming group), but my biggest issue has always been curbing my overeating at night, and on Slimming World I just couldn't say no to bread and cheese. I love CICO because it is so straightforward, but I have struggled with sticking to limits on a frequent basis, especially if my routine is interrupted. I have regularly found myself going over daily calorie limits if an unplanned visit to friends, family or day out occurs because I don't stop myself from overeating. I work in a school too, so holidays are a nightmare for me and CICO- I can't stop myself if I have no routine all day for weeks on end.
Last weekend I had a bit of an epiphany. I went on a staff do and ended up coming home much earlier and much sober than I intended, and realised when I got in I hadn't gone for fast food before coming home, and wasn't really hungry. The next day I woke up with no hangover and feeling really proud of myself for once. I had been reading about OMAD (One meal a day) and IF (intermittent fasting) for a few weeks and had been mulling it over- could I really only eat for a period of six hours a day and fast? So I gave it a go this week. Since Monday I have managed to eat only between the hours of 12-6pm (some days 1-7pm), having only black coffee with cinnamon for breakfast, then a very small lunch of soup and fruit or a small pasta and fruit, then having a decent size dinner at an earlier hour (around 5:30-6pm) and maybe a little bit of low cal ice cream or a bag of cheetos as a snack. I've actually found the hunger bearable in the morning because I have lots of hot, fresh coffee and because I am simply too damn busy teaching or doing another task to really pay attention to my hunger. I have also noticed my heartburn and indigestion have massively improved, and despite what I initially thought my IBS symptoms have also improved. I've been tracking my calories in MFP (My Fitness Pal) and I've averaged between 1300-1500 calories a day. Yesterday I went out with a friend who I would normally pig out with and ordered a carvery (like a roast dinner, but you select the items from a buffet line), I made sure I put a crap tonne of veg on the plate, avoided the extra yorkshire pudding and have only a little bit of gravy. I didn't have my usual binge on sweets afterwards and just tried a little piece of my SO's cake when I got home- I didn't even feel like eating a full piece myself! I clocked it all into MFP and over estimated everything, and it still came to around 1900 for the day, which I would've usually gone massively over on if I was eating throughout the whole day.
My energy levels don't appear to be affected, if anything I feel better for not being so stuffed all the time. I weighed myself two days ago and had shifted a few pounds too, and I'll weigh in again tomorrow. I don't feel like I am depriving myself and I've found I'm actually making better choices at dinnertime and looking forward to eating. I was worried with today being a Saturday I would slip and have a big breakfast, but I woke up and wasn't hungry, I simply wanted coffee. I started to feel hungry around 11am, but because I had some chores to do, I told myself I would sort the house first, then eat. When I looked at the clock again, it was nearly 1pm and time for dinner. It also didn't really bother me that I had to wait an hour or so before eating. I plan to buy a pizza from my local supermarket for tea, and with some Breyer's ice cream as a treat I will clock in around 1200 calories for the day.
I know this is a super long-winded post but this is a massive revelation for me. As a person who has struggled their whole life with mental health and yo-yoing weight I didn't think I could do this, and it be so simple. In the past I genuinely thought IF was nonsense or too hard because who can go without food for so long, but actually it is so straight forwarded and requires very little adjustment to your life. I've worried in the past about stuff like "what if I go out and want a drink?", when realistically I don't drink very often at all, and so when I do it isn't going to massively impact on my plan. Next week I plan to keep fine-tuning the time period I eat in and might try an OMAD day and just have one big meal, but the IF seems perfectly fine for me right now. If you're anything like me, and you doubt IF will help, give it a go maybe and hopefully you'll feel as hopeful as I do right now. I actually feel pride in myself.
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