2 months and 17 pounds

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Weight Gain during the Pandemic

I gained an extra 20 pounds during the pandemic. It happened within a month or two while I wasn't paying attention. I was blindsided. I woke up one day and didn't know how I got myself there.

I've never lost weight successfully. I can maintain, lose a little, and that's it. Which is all I needed to do until 2020.

Too Many Failures to Count

I've been struggling with this for two years. I started and stopped many diets. I found the calories in/calories out method doesn't work for me. If I eat 1200 calories, I gain weight. If I repeat that over and over, I gain weight. The low calories made me feel hungry and weak. Maybe it works for men.

I tried working out a lot. This just made me gain too. I could walk/run 20-30K steps and gain weight. I wasn't eating that bad either.

I ate whole food vegetables and fruits. It worked for the first 4 pounds and stopped. I'm already a vegan.

I tried intermittent fasting in Summer 2021 and got to the 130s again. I lost the willpower. An excuse was "I have important things to do, I don't want to be distracted by being sugar-hungry." I get shaky, agitated, and lose focus when I haven't had sugar for hours. Which probably indicates fasting is the best option for me.. I gained the weight back.

❌ Calories In/Calories Out
❌ Working out Alot
❌ Eating Whole-Food Plant Based
✅ Intermittent Fasting

Weight Loss Plan

I threw away my old favorite clothes. It made me angry. I thought back to intermittent fasting and how it worked. What if I just did it longer and didn't stop? I didn't want the pandemic to take anything away from me either.

The plan was to follow 16:8 (16 hours fasting, 8 hour eating window) for an entire month. I started late July. By mid-August I was moving states. The stress got to me. I didn't have anything healthy to eat.

When I messed up, I created a plan to protect my motivation. I wouldn't weigh myself for 10 days, and then on the 11th day see if the situation improved. I'll use a notecard to mark each day that passes. Weighing myself everyday can get demotivating too, so the (wait 10 days!), puts you in a different range for the next time you check.

While fasting I allow myself to have unsweetened cold brew, black coffee, green tea, spearmint tea, and peppermint tea. The tea is boring, but I find I do better when I have it.

There is "binge fasting" options too. These are technically allowed, but I find them to be concerning options during a fast. Zevia, Antioxidant Green Tea, and Cinnamon Spice Tea. All options mimic sugar. I feel like I could be breaking my fast. I lend myself a bit of grace here too. If I'm having a stressful day, I'll drink multiple Zevias or Cinnamon Spice Teas during my fast. Because its better to binge with risky and questionable fasting drinks vs actual food. This fixes my stress eating with healthier options. I'll keep the fasting timer on too. Crushing my motivation is riskier than having a 0 calorie cinnamon spice tea.

The benefit of IF is I lower my insulin levels. I don't get shaky or agitated anymore without sugar. I'm never hungry and get to eat what I want. The first five days are hard, but it gets easier after that.

Next Steps

I'm following 17:7 for the month of October. If you failed with multiple diets, give IF a try for a month.

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