Eat, Fast & Live Longer

Just heard about a BBC documentary on fasting called Eat, Fast & Live Longer. I haven't watched it yet but will put aside some time this weekend to check it out. It sounds like it will be really good. Here is a link to it on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM

Last week was my vacation and I definitely went off plan a bit. So hard with 4 people staying at our house and constantly eating to avoid eating an extra meal or two. So for about a week I ate 2 meals a day. I tried to get in as much fasting as possible but even with that effort I found myself feeling terrible.

I was really tired and felt sick. I was so bloated and uncomfortable. I don't know how I lived like that for so long. This week I am back on track with my 19 hours per day and what a difference. I feel so much lighter.

All that eating has made me want to reassess where I am with my fasting lifestyle right now. I have been way too flexible about it this past year and I think that is why I have been having trouble moving the scale.

When I began intermittent fasting I was super strict on my schedule. At 5pm on the dot I would eat no more...in fact it was usually earlier because I had my last snack around 3:30 or 4:00. But lately I have had a snack or two when I got home from work at around 6pm and I would occasionally break my fast early too.

The other thing that I have been doing which I think has been keeping the scale from moving is my random schedule. I used to have a specific routine. I ate between 12 and 5 Monday to Friday and had a dinner on Saturday with a long all day fast on Sunday. But I found that I missed having dinner with my husband and so I switched to dinners on Friday's too. Then when pottery class was out I would eat on Sunday as well and move my all day fast to Monday. This is a really different schedule. Tuesday to Thursday lunches...Friday to Sunday dinners...3 lunches and 3 dinners...I don't think this works as well with intermittent fasting as a consistent schedule does.

I think it is important to keep the fasting window as consistent as you can. Moving it for one day here or there with an extra long fasting window surrounding it doesn't seem to make a difference but switching back and forth between lunches and dinners too regularly seems to have a negative effect.

I realize that if I want to eventually reach my goal I need to re-focus and tighten the reins. So I have decided to start a new schedule for the fall and be a consistent as possible to try to re-gain my momentum. I also need to kick it up a notch in order to try to release the last 40 pounds of my excess weight and reach my goal.

Here is the plan:

Tuesday-Friday (4 days), Eat Lunch: 12-5pm window.
Saturday, Eat Dinner: 5-10pm window.
Sunday and Monday, Long fast: 62 hours.

I find that when I switch my schedule from a lunch to a dinner it helps to have a longer fast on either side of the switch to "re-set" the body so to speak. This helps to counteract the switch in schedule and throw the body off a little so it doesn't get stuck.

I also plan to add in an hour walk per day, minimum of 5 days per week but hope to achieve 7. I already do Pilates twice per week so I will continue with that too.

While my husband's family was visiting, his brother and his wife walked one hour every day. They have done this their whole marriage. They say it is not only good for their health but also good for their relationship. It will also be good for our dog too so looking forward to that.

I am scheduled to be in a bathing suit in December when we vacation to Jamaica...and I want to aim for a bikini by then! Gulp...Three months to get bathing suit ready...here we go!