Three years ago, I tried an intermittent fasting. It was a life changing situation. However, I was still complicating the process. I was not straight-forward with my approach and I was at school which hinder the fasting process. It was extremely difficult to sit in the class while not having anything to eat.I could not concentrate an felt terrible. That is why my intermittent fasting did not stick into my routine. Now, I have been desperate on shedding some pounds. During the quarantine, I have eaten so much and not caring about my health. I ate over 2500 calories a day more than I was eating. I was a glutton. On top of all, my mental health situation was worsening. I resorted to food, the only comfort I could think of that time. Then, I realized some of my pants didn't fit anymore. Even then, I was still snacking late night and picked the most oily and greasy food. Days go by and my other pants which used to fit, didn't fit anymore.Not only that, I also realized, I got frequently ill as in running out of breath and becoming more anxious. When my bio mother came to visit, she was suggesting that I should lose weight. I knew I should have but I just did not feel like doing it. But then, my self-esteem was thrown in the gutter. I felt bad for torturing my body and myself. So, I tried to find a way to change my current habit. I started asking myself questions. One of it was " why am I choosing food for comfort?" I noticed that I rarely speak out about my problem and choose to drawn myself in a savory meal. The first change I made was, I started opening up more and choose to resolve the problem by talking to someone then take actionable steps. Apart from mental health issue, my health was worsening.I was frequently sick and I hate being sick. When I started researching the kind of food I can eat or the kind of diet I can do, I was overwhelmed. Not only that, I was scared it would not stick as any diet I have tried in the past. I decided to do intermittent fasting because it is a timed-eating diet. It fits my currently life and it is simple to do. However, upon trying there are some challenges I met after shortening my calorie consumption.
The intermittent fasting I picked is the 16/8 which means 16 hours fast and 8 hours window eating. It is one of the most basic and common intermittent fasting window hour which are tried by many out there. I started eating at 1 PM to 8 PM. However, I normally stop eating before 8 PM. For someone who was eating randomly and a lot, this was a challenge. I got cravings of savory food the most. I wanted to eat a bag of chips, a bag of nuts, wings and even dumplings. But, I managed to overcome this too.
The food that I eat during fasting was almost the same. I break my fasting with 3 spoons of oatmeal, a banana and 3 digestive cookies. Actually, the digestive cookies were a new addition from the last 3 days of the 7 days. Then, I also make a cup of coffee with 8gr of sugar though I often switch with sugar palm. I can not have my coffee without sugar.
During the big meal, I would eat rice + fried egg + tempe + tofu + some eggplants + stir fried spinach or stir fried mushroom. Sometimes I change the protein to chicken or catfish. I try to keep the calorie in take lower than 1500 calorie/day. Then, I started to find a problem. As I was eating more than 2500calorie/day previous and now down to 1200 calorie or less, my acid reflux was acting up.
I got frequent acid reflux from the last 4 days due the diet change. However it was easier to find the culprit a.k.a the food triggers since I keep a food journal and that my food was almost the same everyday. As result, today, I finally get rid of rice and egg from my diet. I did not know when and how I suddenly was hooked with rice. I simply was a fiend of rice.Meanwhile previously, I would eat only bread and pasta.So now that I know what was causing my acid reflux, I decided if I were hungry during my big meal, I would eat 2 spoons of oatmeal instead of rice.
As someone who was snacking a lot, I found it hard to curb my craving. I still wanted that savory snacks. However, with some will power, I could manage my late night cravings with herb tea and no sugar. I normally make green tea, cinnamon tea, chamomile tea or whatever teas in my pantry.
In terms of feeling lighter, I did feel lighter as I lost 2 pounds in 7 days of doing it and without exercise. When it comes to bed time, I don't see any improvement at all. I am still up, being a night owl. But it made it easier because I would wake up about 2 hours before the break fasting. Another thing I noticed is that previously, I was thinking about food a lot. When I got down, I would swipe my phone and tried to find a quick fix, now when I am feeling down, I am just going to spam someone with my long ass message which helped me cleared my mind.
My aim with this intermittent fasting is to continue doing it for 3 months and lose about 40 pounds. I previously wouldn't stand a week but this time, I could do better. I also try to lower my carb next week and the sugar intake. Another thing that I want to integrate next week is to add an exercise regime. I will not do it for long but I will do 10 minutes for 7 days until I got more comfortable. I have about 40 pounds to lose which is a huge amount and I think will be difficult without an exercise regime. Previously, I have always wanted a quick and fast fix to my weight. However, I learned that it would only gain it all back. So, I am hoping with this intermittent fasting, I would create a healthier mindset to food and healthier habit.
I did a grocery today and I bought banana and oranges to add into my diet. I was suggested by my mother to eat more fruits so I picked the most cheapest fruit at the store. I also bought some fish and that I will be eating steamed or soup based meal this week since the menu is decided. Not only that, I also get some seeds and nuts (mix of chia, sunflower, pumpkin, coconut shred and cashew). So, I also will eat my dinner with oatmeal and mixture of those if I ran out of fishes. So yeah, I am really hoping next week will turn alright and I can continue this as long as I can. If you want to read my previous journey, you can find it from this story My Intermittent Fasting Journey. What I noticed from the previous trial was that I only eat for 4 hours which was not sustainable and that I would cram a lot of food at once so that was why I failed.
And three years ago, I was rather ignorant and very oblivious. 
That being said I would suggest that you be aware of the medical side of what goes on when the body goes on a fast. Things like eventually reducing the acid level within your stomach, and how the body prioritizes fat but will proceed to consume muscle should there be a shortage in fat.
He also added
Keep wheat grains to a minimum as the body loves to metabolize that into sugars and fat (and can play a big role in bringing about or worsening diabetes cases).
Which was something I ate a lot before but now I certainly would avoid those or try to lessen that. I will try to keep eating oatmeal and I am looking to replace the rice with brown rice which seems to have more health benefits and good in the long-term. I am really hoping this will stick longer than what I did. I actually made more improvement with this one given how desperate I am to shed pounds.
Let me know in the comment section if you are currently doing intermittent fasting or is on a weight loss journey.
