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WHY I AM TAKING THE CHALLENGE
My relationship with food is never healthy since I got into the middle school.Maybe I think too much as a child but my failure in getting into the best middle school really took toll on me. I had trouble fitting in as the students were really unimaginable. I got exposed to child prostitution, teenage pregnancy and all sort of things we don't normally see in our life. In order to cope for the next 3 years that time, I found sedentary lifestyle was the best. I turned into food and laptop as a comfort.
That kind of lifestyle turned me into a heavy teenage girl. Soon, I find myself was weighing about 83kg and lost my confidence with it. I started looking the world differently as I heard people start telling me I was too fat and I should lost weight. I am an over thinker and that moment, I thought the world will never accept a fat girl speaking out her voices.
My current environment was also harsh and verbal bullying was something normal. I knew that I had to change myself and the environment. I didn't want to go to the same school with those kid at school so I pushed myself a little.
Then, I landed into a nice high school where there are full of people who are just like myself in a way. They were all sophisticated and someone finally understand what HTML is.There I found students who felt just like I was. Soon we've become a high school best friend and we tried several experiments in order to be healthy.
We tried different kind of fasting and weight loss method. Most of them only worked temporarily since we still had a sedentary lifestyle and our parents were against extreme method that we sometimes did.
Then, I got into college.
I was only 17 years old clueless kid who was just leaving my parent's nest.There was nobody to cook for me, I have a very tight budget and that's when skipping meals is becoming a habit
We all heard the cliche of eating ramen as college kid, well that applied to me as well. My choice of food was very unhealthy yet at the same time, I have an active life. Back when I was at high school, I'd go to school by a car but in college, I have to walk. As a result within a year, I lost 13 kg. yet, I was still unsatisfied.I would want more to be skinnier but not healthier.
For another 2 years till today I am still struggle with it. I would not eat for the longest I can remember, was three days. If an average person eat 3 times a day, I would eat 5 to 6 meals a week. However, I often amaze the waiters since I would order a meal for the size of 3 person. Not only that, I also have an alarm for breakfast, lunch or dinner yet honestly I snooze them as eating feels like a chore. Which is why, I want to join the challenge held by my friend @guyfawkes4-20 to give myself a consistent eating habit.
How am I going to do it?
I will eat at 12-4 pm since this is the time I am completely awake and started feeling hungry. Then, I'd fast until my first meal again at 12pm the next day. I am also going to document my journey weekly. Also, my college life is starting again, so I expect to walk more instead of taking Uber or Grab for a fucking 2 km walk.
The thing I am excited about is that, it will also help me minimize my coffee consumption which often keeps me awake till late night. Besides, I mostly go to the coffee shop at around this time when I normally work these days. I don't see much of problem for now but I love hot mocha and macchiato! so we'll see about that.
I am marking today as my first day of doing it.
Do you want to join us in this challenge?
Well, I know this sounds to be difficult for most people but if you have a messed up eating schedule like myself this could be an alternative way to keep you alive. Check out the main source of this challenge through this Intermittent Fasting: Taking up the challenge.
Intermittent fasting is the way to go! Honestly I'm not sure of any other way of achieving high levels of fitness then IM. Best of luck on you journey and I wish you the best!
@brettcalloway Thank you for your best wishes It's my 4th days now :D and I am on the road( traveling) so this feels rather difficult.
very good job bray
Hi I think I should also try intermittent fasting someday.....thanks for the post.
@universalpro, You definitely should and use the tag #intermittenfasting
I definitely resonate with your story. I had a similar experience. Being a heavy girl in high school was not fun. Still battling today with food but intermittent fasting has helped so much. I realized my disordered eating had to do with my upbringing mainly how my parents spoke to me. Dealing with that has been painful.
@victorialloway, My upbringing had so much to do with it too. Dealing with that has been painful but I'll keep on moving forward for the better me.
Hey Macchiata. Fingers crossed. In my life I've experimented with many kinds of fasting, both on my own and with my naturopathic doctor. What works best for me is a combination of a complete water fast and a citrus lymphatic cleanse (I used to do it up to a week including the transition into the fast and out). I did IF in a less restrictive system for a couple of years - just by not eating between 6pm and 8am which is an idea I will always support but also I did IF for a month in a system where I ate between 8am and 2pm and although my digestive system felt amazing, it was killer for my blood sugar levels: my head was spinning in the mornings and I couldn't sleep at night. Hope your plan works for you, but watch out for such symptoms. Also, make sure what you eat nourishes your body well during the short period you're actually eating, because the last thing we want are deficiencies :) Good luck achieving your goals :)
@katayah I shared that feeling, My head is also spinning in the morning and it feels horrible on the road. My sleeping is not affected but yes thank you for the caution. I'll pay heed to those since I feel I am lack of sugar already. I am big on coffee and these days no sugared coffee :D
Have a great day!
Great! It is good that you are doing something about living healthily. However, skipping meals doesn't guarantee healthy living. I would suggest you get a supplement I usually prescribe for clients who are looking at losing weight and staying healthy. Google NEOLIFE SHAKE... IT comes in three different flavors. It replaced your diet... And gives you the necessary nutrient and strength
@andreyyte that's cool but I love my diets instead of some shakers :D I am random inconsistent human being. I get bored of things easily.
Hi @macchiata ,
I must confess that i really your courageous steps taken so far. It is quite amazing !
Waoooo..... You quest is really interesting. I would have love to join you but I am not that fat. Though I will share you thought with my friends and family if they can embark on such to control their weight.
Well done.
@unique18
@unique18 ha ha yes ! spread the word to your friends and family. If they're on steemit don't forget maybe to use #intermittentfasting so people in the same journey can check back each other.
have a great day!
Ok.
And you too
I do this all the time, I call it living paycheck to paycheck.
This cracked me up so bad :D
And you inspired to write about living paycheck to paycheck due bad financial management and other aspect as well !
thanks for the upvote. thats 6 cents worth of ramen noodles right there baby wooooooo :)
@doomsdaychassis you gotta rock the ramen :D
good luck bro i couldnt do it i need my 3 squares a day plus snacks haha
@cryptokemon, Well haha snacking is the snake it tempts me to eat but nope I can resist the temptation. haha
I have had a friend doing this to be more healthy and be more inspired to do more with music and stuff, I also just eat basicly once a day and juice and drink ☕️ in the morning been doing this for years and it works well for me and I feel much healthier then I did 5 years ago I lost alot of unnecessary weight also. Enjoy and do well with this and always be well. @macchiata
@krazypoet It's been tough as I am on the move traveling from city to city. Especially yesterday that I had to sit in the train for about 6 hours and it was so boring that I keep on having the thought of food!
Do well and be well, Have a great day!!
Oh yea, I can understand the struggle friend, have fun on your trip
Best of luck with your journey to better eating habits, a weight and physique that are you are happy with and ultimately a healthy lifestyle. For some people, this would seem to be true 1st World problems!
If you wana be fit nd smart..Intermittent fasting is the way to go!. Honestly I'm not sure of any other way of achieving high levels of fitness other than this methods because it involves less eating which engages you in dieting and conscious of ya well being mostly for those who has obesity
I have to admit that I've never engaged in a voluntary fast. It kinda shows. ;c)
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.
Also, keep in mind that a 'little' fat is actually a good thing. It is the energy reserve that the body feeds upon when there is a shortfall - especially useful for resisting and riding out periods of illness.
For both these reasons I would suggest that a long-term adjustment (and lifestyles require a degree of stability even if intermittent fasting has its weight-loss uses), is to incorporate eggs, dried fruits and nuts into your weekly, if not daily diet.
Eggs are a source for cholesterol - which semi-surprisingly is used by the body to repair the body's cells.
Nuts and dried fruits are sources for a wide range of minerals that can be stockpiled (and are not expensive if kept to small portions (little plastic containers help)).
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).
If you keep your macchiatas and hot chocs to the morning and early afternoon then you'll sleep better at night. ^_^
Well all this merely constitutes an alternative view. All the best with your program. :c)
@pathforger, Thank you for your early warning about the medical side of the body and I've been eating snack bar that's rich on dried fruits and nuts haha
Oh well, I miss my coffee already!
You are welcome :c)
A snack bar does sounds like a fair enough (and more convenient) substitute. ^_^
Such bars might have some added sugars but that can add to the boost factor.
Its hard to cut down on coffee. I personally couldn't remain awake without it at one point - and my energy levels initially dropped when cutting it. Then a few days passed (and a little more sleep was gotten per night) and I started to feel better. :cP
Good luck!
wow! good luck to u! I think its a great way to discipline yourself and take charge of ur eating more. I kinda started this, but not in a strict by the clock sense.. one big tip (especially for u since u luv the coffee) is to go ahead and drink a big cup of coffee (try as non-sugar added as u can.. coffee is actually considered a zero cal drink) in the morning until your feeding time starts. just in day though, don't indulge past 6pm. :)
@chinito, I ordered zero sugar tea and coffee. It was tough for the couple two days but manageable. I stopped eating at about 5 so there's that.
way to go! after a week or two, it'll be no prob.. the hunger is just ur body whining for its calories like some spoiled brat.. it's u who are in charge and u can decide what to do now.
@chinito, look I wrote a post about it and I had a cheat day lol
:P
You can do it. I start by a 21 days 1 meal per day challenge last year in October. I loved it so much, I continue till now. I now even experiment with 48 hour dry fast and I include feasting days for Saturday and Sunday. 1 hour eating windows is the most ideal because you are guaranteed not to over eat your matainance calorie.
@watermelonprince, that's great to hear your journey. I will be documenting my progress weekly :)
Interesting plan.
I took up intermittent fasting as part of my move to LCHF (low carb high fat) but not as extreme as yours. I generally fast for 14 hours a day. I have found that I require less food less often now that I'm fueling off of fat.
Good luck!
@dlew, thank you, I've just wrote my first week update on this journey and I still eat carbs quite a bit but less than I used to. How did the fasting go? did it make you feel better?
I hope this journey works out well for you. I personally love it. It saves so much time.
I am on this journey with you and keeping track of your progress. Check out my post on my Keto experience. https://steemit.com/healthy/@dhorsley/my-keto-experience
@dhorsley, I have checked your keto experince let's check back to each other.Perhaps use the tag #intermittentfasting so we can easily find each other.
I highly recommend this approach to eating and do it myself. I try to maintain a 14 hour gap between my last and first meal. Joe Rogan is a knowledgeable person on this subject.
I just started fasting a little over a week ago. No eating 8pm-12pm and only two meals a day. Food tastes better and I feel like I'm thinking clearer and sleeping better. I'm more motivated to exercise. So far so good. Good luck with your journey!
@dirtieharrie, thank you for your encouragement. Food will always taste the same for me and the only thing that control my bud taste is my mood haha
Hey, nice post. I'm not a big fan of intermittent fasting but I'm glad it's working for you! It is working, right? :-)
I do 3 squares a day, little/no snacking. Longest fast is about 14 or 15 hours (between dinner and breakfast).
I have plenty of posts on IF, though, if you're interested.
@caloriesproper, Well, I am seeing if that's going to work for me. Hopefully it will tho :D
Thank you for checking out !
Good luck! It seems that more and more people are curious for the benefits of this.
Question: do you drink water or something outside of your eating hours?
@sdl1987 yes, I drink water outside my eating hours but just plain water. Basically you can drink anything that has zero calorie :)
I have done this for about a month now. The main purpose for me has not been to lose weight, because I cannot claim I am overweight . I am a person who loves food, if I could I would eat all the time. I have don the fasting to be healthier, feel better and lighter (I have failed from time to time, which is important to kno is ok btw). I do feel a lot better already and It has made me look at food differently, and I look forward to the treats I allow my self on the weekend. So good luck, and have som fun with it!
@mnjb I have already seeing the food differently. My main goal is to keep alive which is by having a consistent meal time since I am on the move and I live by myself with eating disorder tendencies. Wish me luck with my journey and I am glad reading that it has made you feel better and lighter :)
Have a great day!
Yes, consitency is the key. I do three meals between 10am and 18pm. I can also recommend watching dr. Eric berg on YouTube. He has some really good advise and explanations!
@mjnb, I'll watch him for sure :D time to binge watch on youtube!
Yes, do that. Hope you'll find him helpful! I had a setback this weekend. With pizza AND ice cream outside my eating period. But today is a new day and a new week!
great photo's ! please visit my blog !
hehe kidding, but cool @macchiata on a mission. Your body will reward you for your effort.
Gooduck
@markush !!! hopefully I am staying strong with my journey.
Thank you for sharing your journey! It's hard to deal with such things especially at a young age.
I've found that eating 50-75% raw or steamed fresh fruits/veggies and lots of healthy carbs such as rice and ramen helps a great deal to maintain a healthy weight along with daily fasting in the form of not eating for the first 4-8 hours of the day.
Wishing you the best of luck!
Good luck @macchiata I am disabled and as such physical activity has always been a bit challenging for me. Exercise has always been a bit lacking and I cant use much of the equipment in the gym so I cant see the value in paying the price everyone else does when I can barely use anything there.
I have always had a pretty high metabolism so luckily never put on much weight. That was until I hit my very late 20's.. all started to go down hill then. I eventually went Vegan, mainly for environmental and animal cruelty reasons but soon began to look more and more into the health benefits of a cleaner plant based diet.
Not long after going vegan I actually lost quite a bit of weight and all seemed good. That didnt last long though as work started to get on top as did many other aspects of life. With my time being consumed, little spare for adventurous cooking and stress playing a big factor in me gaining weight and not sleeping well I have now decided to take charge of the issue. I am now going to revert back to clean eating and intermittent fasting.
I actually just put a plan together yesterday and WILL be sticking to it. I am starting off with a two day (today and tomoz) distilled water fast with zero food. Then from Monday onwards I am clean eating, cutting out processed foods, drastically reducing sugar intake and intermittent fasting several days per week. Two days of each week will be limited to 500calories.
I am thinking about documenting the experiment so feel free to stop by my page for updates if you wish. I have followed you and upvoted this post. Good luck :)
@juicyvegandwarf, please do and document your journey! I will look for your page and feel free to use #intermittentfasting tag so we can see each other progress
I will do, thank you for replying :) x
Wow! I hope you and the kids you went to school with are ok.
@mysearchisover, I never see them anymore. It's part of my past and I buried it.
I combined intermittent fasting with keto and lost about 15kg in 3 months. Would definitely recommend you to do a low carb or keto diet if you're gonna do intermittent fasting as it makes it you much less hungry throughout the day.
Anyways, good luck!
@longcat,I'll be looking forward to shed that much of fat :D in 3 months. I am not familiar with keto diet and was too lazy to search for it even though a friend mentioned to me a couple of times already. Let's see the result next week and how I feel about having to eat the normal menu and perhaps considering to change to low carb as an experiment.
Completely agree. Need to keep insulin in check.
I had a few friends who were like you, and I was on the other side of an extreme. My metabolism eats everything so if I am not careful, I can get extremely sick in a very short time.
I wish you luck with your challenge.
I exhausted myself lately, so now I have a different kind of a challenge. Stop working so much, try to enjoy and try to replenish.
That would be a thing to try....
@aschatria, It's day one and have been rough :D but I won't quit it gets better I hope. I have a slow metabolism or that's how I assume since I put on weight quite easily.
Get some rest and enjoy little things you do. Even better if you can have a visit to massage or spa place.
Have a great day!
@macmaniac. Thank you for directing to the youtube video about that :)
I have been doing IM for a few years now. On and off though however I have found every time I have started my IM again I have been able to lose some and hold my weight down a little bit. Although my eating window was a little bit bigger than yours, you will sell results fairly quickly compared to other diets.
Obviously eating healthier with the program helps but I did find that I was still able to enjoy the foods I liked during IM.
I wish you the best and don’t give up!! :)
@chickenfeet, I am looking forward for seeing the results!
I did intermittent fasting for more than 3 years after watching the Michael Mosely documentary about it. I found it was a really easy way for me to keep my weight down without having to worry about what I was eating.
Then we had a load of family weddings, parties, holidays etc and I was only able to do 1 day rather than 2 days a weeks. As a result I started putting on weight.
So I switched back to more healthy eating 7 days a week and haven't gone back to the intermittent fasting. I might do it again soon though because, according to the documentary, there are heart health benefits to it.
I found it easiest to eat nothing until I had a latte at 3.00 with an oak cake. Then I would have meal of around 350 in the evening.
I know a number of people who have done it though and everybody finds their own way. I also found it helped to have a big meal the night before the second fast of the week!
Good luck with the challenge!
@gilllianpearce, oh dear I've been there as well :D and once someone had a feast then I'd started putting on weight. I am going to see what's going to happen next week with this challenge. I will documented each day on my journal but I'd only do a weekly blockchain documentation since I don't want to be spammy. Maybe it's also best for me to include the meals that I eat during my fasting but for sure, I still be able to drink a lot of water which is okay.
I was big on coffee and with this, water is becoming my friend :D
Have a great day!
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Intermittent fasting is great, its harder for girls than men though. Eat plenty of fat is my advice, avocado and butter are my favourites and stay away from rice and noodles the insulin spike makes it harder. enjoy the trip:-)
@djh !!! oh no rice is my staple food :D but so far I am enjoying the trip. Would you like to join us in our journey :D?
i shall do, Im planning to do 5 days fasting mimicking diet, basically 5 days of 750 calories a day
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@djh and if you do don't forget maybe to add #intermittentfasting so we can always check each other
Hey @macchiata, I am also thinking of giving intermittent fasting a try. Are you planning on changing the food that you normally eat?
@irreverent-dan I don't change my menu at all since normally two pieces of croissant are already filling my stomach for the rest of the day. For this week, I'll try to have the same exact meal I use to have and perhaps I would change my menu the following week with more healthier options such as oatmeal or fruits. Let's get on this train together.
By the way is this your first time?
I remember reading somewhere that intermittent fasting would be even better if you combine with lots of good fats (avocado, walnuts etc.)
It will be my first time :)
@irreverent-dan I am so looking forward for your journey!
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And why would I do that @shahriarsajon?
I wish you good luck haha
The moment I am writing this, I crave for a cup of coffee!!! I didn't know it's going to be this difficult :D but it's just day 1, I think I'll have more challenges the following days.
It's great to see you taking on with intermittent fasting :D I myself have been doing fasting for years though usually with a wider eating window, by just not eating breakfast, eating twice or thrice a day, sometimes only once.
Good luck with the challenge!
@celestal, I had enough of pizza this week and I know @guyfawkes4-20 is having this healthy challenge so I am joining him on his journey in hope that I can have a consistent eating time whilst also getting myself a bit healthier.
This concept is not something new to me since I was introduced to it as a religious way of devotion. But I kinda forgot since I chose different path of life. Anyway let's see what will happen.
I'll be following your progress!
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Since you're a brand new user I won't flag you, but please, do NOT spam and beg for followers because that's a guaranteed strategy leading to the exact opposite result since nobody likes that kind of behavior.
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well i am going to read about this i am going to take it too the challange i can do it
good luck! make safe! :)
Great Posting This Article Keep it up
I clicked on this not knowing quite what to expect, but I actually really enjoyed this!
My current environment was also harsh and verbal bullying was something normal. I knew that I had to change myself and the environment.
Also intermitenfasting is a great way to have a healthier body as well.
i appreciate your work friend!
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Thank for sharing @macchiata
good luck guys.
incredible your story continues like this
Good post, I am a photographer, it passes for my blog and sees my content, I hope that it should be of your taste, you have my vote :D greetings
nice post
@khairolandini
Did it make you go fast !? 😜 nice blog
Love this!
More people need to practice IF! The benefits are endless.
A couple tips:
You can consider incorporating "Bulletproof" coffee (which is coffee with butter and MCT oil blended in). The MCT oil will help significantly with hunger!
Apple cider vinegar also helps promote lypolysis so great during a fast.
Good Luck!