Intermittent Fasting (for the newbies)

I know there are a few newbies reading my blog and so I wanted to address the questions from them. Alice says that it is her first 3 days and she has noticed a weight gain of two pounds.

I understand that it can be very frustrating and scary to see weight gain, but don't be discouraged! Go to Dr. Herring's website, create a username and password and download his book, FOR FREE. It is a small 30 page book that will help you to understand the science behind intermittent fasting. It is helpful to determine if what you are doing is the absolutely correct way of fasting.

Dr. Herring does mention that you could see no weight loss for up to two weeks...and that it is normal to overeat or binge in the beginning until you are used to the schedule and your body adjusts. Don't worry, it is normal.

You could have a weight gain for an infinite number of reasons.

That time of the month

Water retention (too much salt, or not enough water)

Not enough bowel movements

Time of weigh in fluctuating

Food still in the stomach

Also, it is possible that during the fasting period, calories are getting in somehow. Milk in coffee for example. Sometimes, even artificial sweeteners will stop the fasting process. Dr. Herring's book explains so well how the fasting process works. We need to keep our bodies in the fat burning state for as long as possible. Artificial sweeteners can trick the body into thinking it has had food. Some diabetics can't even have sweeteners because it increases their insulin levels. Even chewing gum during the fasting time could hinder your progress at first.

The other thing you need to consider is how much you are eating now in comparison to how much you were eating before. That is the real key. We need to reduce the amount of calories we are eating. Fasting is a way to keep us in line, we can skip two meals and eat our one meal as we would have before which would actually reduce the amount of calories we consume.

However, if in your eating period, you are eating more than you ate before you started fasting and were having three meals a day, then yes, you would probably see weight gain. If you are finding that you binge a bit when your eating window opens, don't stress to much about it, eventually you will find that you calm down a bit and eat less. This is something that I have struggled with though and so may be a stumbling block. I suggest that you try to think of your eating time as a normal meal that you would regularly have when eating, not a licence to eat everything you ever wanted. Moderation is the key here. Have dessert but don't eat the whole cake.

Take all of the above into account and stick to it! You WILL see results.