Back to normal

Well, the holiday season is over and I am back to my regular schedule. Fasting every day for 19 hours, Fasting once per week for 36-48 hours and Fasting once per month for 64-72 hours.

I have completed one of my longest fasts ever, doing a full 72 hours last week. I needed it to help me get back on track after the splurge of the holidays. I gained about 5 pounds over the holidays which isn't too bad considering that I essentially took a whole week off and ate generously during that time to say the least.

But the great part about intermittent fasting is that even when I splurge and eat too much, I never feel like I have failed and need to give up. I can always get back to normal and just pick up where I left off.

I feel like it was really good for me to eat so much during that week vacation. It reminded me how I felt when I ate like that...slow, tired and not happy, bloated and fat. I am more committed now to eating less during my window than I was before. I was eating too much, even before vacation and now I feel more able to control my portions. Even after my long 72 hour fast, I didn't over eat. I broke my fast with Indian food, something that any diet would not allow but with intermittent fasting is not an issue. I ate an enjoyable dinner of butter chicken, naan bread, and samosa. Afterwards I had a slice of apple torte that I had made from scratch which was delicious. But then I was done. I didn't snack or go overboard. I just enjoyed the rest of my evening and went to bed without another thought to food. That is an improvement for me.

This year, I want to take control of my eating window hours and limit my portions more. I have lost a great amount of weight, a few pounds shy of 50 pounds which is fantastic. I have never felt better. But my original goal was to lose 80. I have just over 30 more to go to get there. Eating less is the key. Intermittent fasting has helped me eat less enough to lose almost 50 pounds and keep it off for two years, now I need to take it to the next level and lower my intake enough to maintain losing 80 pounds...