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Happy #KingFriday. Some Friday motivation for you: At the beginning of 2020, I committed to losing weight. Every picture is 4 months, roughly. Went from 235 to 180 with intermittent fasting. I'll explain more below. I hope this helps inspire you to join me!
On January 17th, I started my project to drop the weight. I started slow, intermittent fasting (IF) began slowly at 12 hours/ day. When Lent happened, Feb 26th, I fasted from sun up to sun down (maybe 14-16 hours). I got a blood test in April, just to make sure everything...
... was okay, it was. My diet was careful, but not particular. I didn't over indulge, during my non-fasting hours I would eat simple, never more than 2 meals a day. By the second photo, which was around May, I was down to 215 pounds.
The most intense period of fasting began after that, when it became very difficult to go under 210 lbs. I took a break for a few weeks and got back up to 218 lbs (this is called refeeding, it is necessary to do to restart your metabolism) and...
...went back into a 20 hour a day fast, gradually (took about a week). That was still 2 full meals a day. This lasted until about July, when the 3rd picture was taken. In August I got a blood test. Down to 195, stayed at that weight FOREVER because I went back down to 16 hours.
By November, I was annoyed my progress had stopped, so I kicked it back up to 20 hours, sometimes going to 24 hours. By late December, when pic 4 was taken, I was sitting at 187.
As I write this I am 183, but I suspect I should be about 185 if I drink more water.
As I write this I am 183, but I suspect I should be about 185 if I drink more water.
My cautions: Fasting makes you sick, sometimes puts you in ketosis. It burns fast, but feels very alarming. I made sure to get blood tests and eat a very balanced meal. The sickness from fasting went away in 3 months and has not really returned unless I do a 30 hour fast...
...of which I have done 2. Another caution, this bares repeating, DO NOT cut out sugar entirely. There were days when I took in no sugar and my fingers would start to buzz. Not good, even if my blood sugar levels were fine. Make sure to have a fruit or something.
Another caution, do NOT dehydrate yourself. You are losing fake weight. Make sure your pee is always a nice, healthy yellow. I can't tell you how ridiculously focused I was on pee color because you'd be amazed how much your weight fluctuates just from a single glass of water.
Another caution, you need to figure out what is best for you as far as tracking your weight goes. Everyone told me "DONT weigh yourself every day", well they were wrong. I weighed myself every day before meals and immediately after. Every day. I stopped focusing on the...
...number and started focusing on the weekly trend, which was ALWAYS going downwards (losing weight). I am not recommending you do that, but think you should explore the best way to track weight for you.
Another note, I did NOT exercise during this entire period. Not beyond my usual walks, which I do every other day, for about an hour or so. If you can exercise during this, amazing. Just want it to be noted that I did not. I am 24, not sure if thats relevant but it might be.
I think that is about everything that I did/can recommend for you to do. You will feel sick, fasting is not pleasant on purpose. Also, I will not neglect to mention that prayer was an absolutely necessary aspect of MY fast, and my spiritual growth during this...
...vastly outweighs the weight loss. That may not be relevant for you, but I would be remiss not to mention it. For me, fasting has provided physical benefits, psychological benefits, and spiritual benefits.
Psychologically, my mood has changed. My confidence, as much as I like to joke, has vastly improved. My security in my identity has as well. I want to thank everyone who ever fat-shamed me, because those assholes saved my life. How?
The physical benefits. On January 9th, my blood pressure was 140 over 92. Thats called hypertension. By August, it was 120 over 79. At my last check in, its 118 over 80.
I was pre-diabetic in January. I am NOT anywhere near that, as I was told in my last check-up.
I was pre-diabetic in January. I am NOT anywhere near that, as I was told in my last check-up.
In January, I had an x-ray that showed I was developing a fatty liver. Thats gone now, too.
This isn't just aesthetic, not that I am denying the aesthetic benefits. This added years to my life. It also taught me about discipline and sacrifice in a way that my very...
This isn't just aesthetic, not that I am denying the aesthetic benefits. This added years to my life. It also taught me about discipline and sacrifice in a way that my very...
... comfortable and sedentary life had not. I cannot recommend fasting more highly, and the method has completely changed my life for the better.
I was too callous when I said I did this "with no effort", this was a huge effort. It would be dishonest to say anything otherwise.
I was too callous when I said I did this "with no effort", this was a huge effort. It would be dishonest to say anything otherwise.
It will be a struggle. I used a notebook to track my feelings and thoughts, I still do, and it was an immeasurable help in grounding myself. IF can make you think strangely, or at least it did with me, because it feels so unnatural. The truth is, I was MASSIVELY overfed.
I currently eat just one meal a day, and you ALL know (if you follow me with any regularity) how good I eat now. That one meal a day is a King's Feast every single time. Not indulgent, I don't engorge myself, but I damn well make sure my one meal is satisfying.
I will occasionally snack, never binge. I know that this fast is something I will be doing for the rest of my life. Its just integrated into my lifestyle now and I am very happy with it. I ate a triple cheeseburger the other day and felt NOTHING BUT SATISFACTION. No guilt; joy.
I appreciate food now more than I ever have. It is truly a joy to cook, to smell the food, to eat it. My appreciation for teas, soups, etc all went up, which is amazing for a foodie like me.
Maybe none of that appeals to you! In any case, fasting has had huge benefits for me. I walk with more confidence, I went from nearly a XXL to an M. Size 42 pants to 32. Remained 5'6", but lets just say there was a place that *benefitted strongly* from weight loss (gents...)
The benefits for me are almost innumerable. The damn shame is that during this lockdown I can't even show myself off, but I was lucky enough to be able to just hunker down and change into a new person in privacy, which I always wanted to do.
In conclusion, I hope this inspires you to consider IF in your weight loss. Please be mindful, vigilant of your health, consult your doctor if need be. I love you all and want to see you live long lives. Happy #KingFriday. You are a King (or Queen!) and you can do ANYTHING. 
P.S. Yes, theres a little nipple action in the 4th photo. I know. Its for the TLE Ladies. Everybody loves a little nipple action.
P.S.S. I have already seen 179, but it was totally unnatural and related to me being sick with bronchitis and only eating soups. Don't do that, didn't like it. My heads too big.
