Episode 64: Hormones and Health, Flexing vs. Consistency, Hair Loss, Our Merch Store is Open, and More

<v Speaker 1>Welcome the Fast Feast Repeat Intermittent Fasting for Life. I'm
<v Speaker 1>Jen Stevens, author of the New York Times bestseller Fast Feast.
<v Speaker 2>Repeat, and I'm Sherry Bullock, longtime intermittent faster and health
<v Speaker 2>and wellness advocate. Please keep in mind that this podcast
<v Speaker 2>is for educational and motivational purposes only and is not
<v Speaker 2>intended to provide medical or diagnostic advice. Jen and I
<v Speaker 2>are not doctors, so make sure to check with your
<v Speaker 2>trusted healthcare professionals before making changes, especially when it comes
<v Speaker 2>to any medical treatments or medications.
<v Speaker 1>Whether you're new to intermittent fasting or an experienced intermittent faster,
<v Speaker 1>tune in each week to get inspired, to learn, and
<v Speaker 1>to have some fun along the way. Hi, everybody, we
<v Speaker 1>are so glad you're here today. Welcome to this week's
<v Speaker 1>episode of the Fast Feast Repeat Intermittent Fasting for Life Podcast.
<v Speaker 3>How are you doing today's Sherry?
<v Speaker 4>I am hanging in there.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you've been through it.
<v Speaker 4>I have been through. The last few weeks have been rough.
<v Speaker 4>I was very sick last week. I don't know.
<v Speaker 2>I still have a lingering cough, so if you hear
<v Speaker 2>me coughing, I'm sorry. Unfortunately, anytime I get any type
<v Speaker 2>of respiratory illness, my lungs take a hit. Takes a
<v Speaker 2>while for them to come back. So anyway, but I'm
<v Speaker 2>really excited to share with everybody. By the time this
<v Speaker 2>episode comes out, it's give me September eighteenth, and earlier
<v Speaker 2>in the summer, I promised that I would have the
<v Speaker 2>merch store open by Labor Day, and despite a crazy
<v Speaker 2>summer and illness and travel, I had it open by
<v Speaker 2>Labor Day.
<v Speaker 3>Hooray.
<v Speaker 2>I am a down to the wire person. Apparently I
<v Speaker 2>worked best under pressure, but man, I got that together
<v Speaker 2>and got it open. People are loving that the merchandise
<v Speaker 2>sent it, and I'll be adding some more along the way.
<v Speaker 2>If there's something specific that you're wanting, send me an email.
<v Speaker 2>I might make it for you.
<v Speaker 3>I'm going to caution you not do all of the
<v Speaker 3>things people say.
<v Speaker 1>No, I'm necessarily because I'm not store. Back in the
<v Speaker 1>day and people it got overwhelming because like, for example,
<v Speaker 1>I made a coffee mug like about coffee and atopagy
<v Speaker 1>and someone's like, I don't drink coffee.
<v Speaker 3>I need one that says tea.
<v Speaker 1>So I'm like, all right now, I'm gonna make one
<v Speaker 1>about tea, and then then before you know it, you're like.
<v Speaker 3>Making five hundred things.
<v Speaker 2>I actually thought about that as making a few things.
<v Speaker 2>But I'm just gonna say, all you tea lovers, there's
<v Speaker 2>a whole lot more black coffee lovers.
<v Speaker 3>If I have a bunch of.
<v Speaker 2>Tea lovers who come up with something cute they want
<v Speaker 2>on a tea mug, YO, send me an email.
<v Speaker 4>I'm open to suggestions.
<v Speaker 3>I'm not gonna say not to do it at all.
<v Speaker 1>But it was just funny, like, well, I you're it
<v Speaker 1>says this. I wanted to say that, Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>Well I was actually gonna make a mug that said
<v Speaker 2>something about coffee. And then I was like, but then
<v Speaker 2>there's people who drink tea, and then there's could be
<v Speaker 2>the people who drink empty, which is hot water in
<v Speaker 2>hot water in a mug. Now you should make one
<v Speaker 2>for empty. And I see, now I'm putting in a
<v Speaker 2>re class. But I told Roxy this other day. I
<v Speaker 2>wanted to find like a fancy glass for everybody who
<v Speaker 2>loves their bubble. Yeah, and I was just going to
<v Speaker 2>put on it like for the love of bubbles or something,
<v Speaker 2>you know, and everybody likes their fancy fasting bubbly water glass,
<v Speaker 2>and I thought i'd make something cute for people like
<v Speaker 2>especially when they do down days and they like to
<v Speaker 2>show in community that they're drinking their fizzy water and
<v Speaker 2>a fancy glass and that's what they're doing instead of
<v Speaker 2>eating dinner during their normal window or whatever.
<v Speaker 4>So I thought'd be fun to have us, you.
<v Speaker 2>Know, a fancy glass. But I haven't found anything like
<v Speaker 2>that yet. I'm still looking and working. That's fun with it.
<v Speaker 2>I had a merch store. You remember this year. You
<v Speaker 2>were one of my customers.
<v Speaker 1>And I had a merch store back in twenty seventeen,
<v Speaker 1>twenty eighteen, and it was while I was teaching full
<v Speaker 1>time and podcasting and running communities.
<v Speaker 3>And it just got to be too much.
<v Speaker 1>So I love it go because I just couldn't keep
<v Speaker 1>up with everything. But the Lucy who's in the Delayed
<v Speaker 1>to the Night community, she posts her dinner frequently and
<v Speaker 1>she bought that fast Feast Repeat tumbler that I made.
<v Speaker 3>And this is before the book Fasteat Repeat came out.
<v Speaker 1>We were just using the phrase fast East Repeat and
<v Speaker 1>she'll show that fast Repeat Tumblr and I'm like, oh,
<v Speaker 1>there it is, so yes it's a lot of fun
<v Speaker 1>to do, but it like I remember, your sweatshirt came
<v Speaker 1>in dirty back in the day, and so I had
<v Speaker 1>to handle that.
<v Speaker 3>I'm like, I don't have time to deal with all
<v Speaker 3>the customer service.
<v Speaker 2>And it is worldwide, so anybody could access it. And
<v Speaker 2>I actually put the Lincoln Show notes, so if you
<v Speaker 2>want to check it out, feel free to do so.
<v Speaker 2>And like I said, feel free to email me if
<v Speaker 2>there's something that you would like to see in the
<v Speaker 2>store that's.
<v Speaker 1>Not there so exciting, Oh I want to share. I
<v Speaker 1>just experienced a very long vacation. I went to Florida
<v Speaker 1>eight nights, so it was nine days of travel.
<v Speaker 3>I went with college friends, and.
<v Speaker 1>Then part of them left, well, the three of my
<v Speaker 1>college friends left a few days in, and then more
<v Speaker 1>people came that I didn't know. They were friends with
<v Speaker 1>my college roommate who had the place, so we were
<v Speaker 1>all there together and oh my gosh, I had long
<v Speaker 1>windows for the entire time. I probably ate twice as
<v Speaker 1>much as I normally do. And when I got back home,
<v Speaker 1>first of all, my flight was crazy. It got delayed,
<v Speaker 1>so I didn't get home till like two am, which
<v Speaker 1>you know me, I go to bed at nine, So that.
<v Speaker 4>Was you were struggling. I'm sure I made it.
<v Speaker 1>I made it, but I had the full gligage in stores,
<v Speaker 1>I had to take naps.
<v Speaker 3>I had to push through.
<v Speaker 1>But I want everybody to hear me that I did
<v Speaker 1>push through, because you know, when I got home, first
<v Speaker 1>of all, I was really tired when I woke up,
<v Speaker 1>and you know, my body was like crying out for
<v Speaker 1>some quick fuel.
<v Speaker 2>Right.
<v Speaker 1>I could have so easily just said, well, just this once,
<v Speaker 1>I'll go ahead and eat at eight am because my
<v Speaker 1>body is hungry and everything's all out of whack.
<v Speaker 3>But I didn't. I pushed through. I kept going. I
<v Speaker 3>said it's going to get easier.
<v Speaker 1>It took me like three days, like this is the
<v Speaker 1>long I guess it's taken after a trip since like
<v Speaker 1>a cruise. Yeah, like after the delayed on to night
<v Speaker 1>cruise and we had really long windows, And this is
<v Speaker 1>the longest. I don't think I've ever gone anywhere for
<v Speaker 1>nine days like that ever without family.
<v Speaker 3>I never have.
<v Speaker 1>I mean I know I haven't, So I'm sure it
<v Speaker 1>was great. It was so much fun, you know, and
<v Speaker 1>I'm still not drinking. I sipped a few, like I
<v Speaker 1>tasted someone's cocktail just to say, well, that looks good
<v Speaker 1>like a key lumpie cocktails.
<v Speaker 3>I took a sip, But one sip that doesn't killt
<v Speaker 3>for me.
<v Speaker 1>I'm not an alcoholic. I just choose to not drink,
<v Speaker 1>so one sip did not make me feel terrible.
<v Speaker 3>I was just like, yeah, that's good.
<v Speaker 1>Now I'm gonna have my mocktail over here. So I
<v Speaker 1>fully enjoyed it. But it made me really appreciate that
<v Speaker 1>I no longer drink, because I would have felt terrible.
<v Speaker 1>There was a lot of drinking going on around me,
<v Speaker 1>a lot of prosecco, a lot of cocktails, a lot
<v Speaker 1>of friends drink.
<v Speaker 2>How much longer it would have taken for you to
<v Speaker 2>just get back into fat burning after your vacation it
<v Speaker 2>would have I mean, everyone around me was drinking for
<v Speaker 2>all those days.
<v Speaker 1>And I slept well on the trip. I woke up
<v Speaker 1>feeling good every day. My body was not used to
<v Speaker 1>having that much food. But I'm glad to be back home.
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm glad you brought that up, because, you know,
<v Speaker 2>at the beginning of summer, I sort of put a
<v Speaker 2>kind of a warning out there to all of our
<v Speaker 2>listeners that you know, summer can be a time where
<v Speaker 2>people kind of lose their path and they start having
<v Speaker 2>longer windows, and they start having you know, more alcohol,
<v Speaker 2>and they've got sports events through the evening with their
<v Speaker 2>kids and their windows start to run long. And then
<v Speaker 2>the weekends or you know, pool parties and for the
<v Speaker 2>July and vacation and this and that, and I really
<v Speaker 2>try to remind people to really keep an eye on
<v Speaker 2>that this summer. But just like every year, you know,
<v Speaker 2>people in the community, they're struggling and you know, they're
<v Speaker 2>wanting to know why when they took a two week
<v Speaker 2>vacation in June and another vacation in July and this and
<v Speaker 2>that that. Now fasting is so hard and they feel
<v Speaker 2>like they can't fast and that's why. And you can
<v Speaker 2>get back to where you were before summertime.
<v Speaker 3>You have to just force it, and I did.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's like you'd force it. Yeah, take yourself back
<v Speaker 2>to where you were as a brand new faster and
<v Speaker 2>remember you know how hard it was those first you know,
<v Speaker 2>several weeks and it's going to feel like that for
<v Speaker 2>several days again until you start, you know, getting that
<v Speaker 2>body back to where it can tap into your fat
<v Speaker 2>for energy. You're going to feel sluggish, You're gonna be tired,
<v Speaker 2>you're gonna feel run down. I felt after our first cruise.
<v Speaker 4>I almost kept thinking I.
<v Speaker 3>Had the flu.
<v Speaker 2>Right, it did feel like that, because I felt achy
<v Speaker 2>and just exhausted and not myself at all foggy headed.
<v Speaker 4>It took me. I think.
<v Speaker 2>We got back on a Sunday, and it wasn't till
<v Speaker 2>like Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock that I felt like,
<v Speaker 2>who oh my gosh, I feel like myself again. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>so you can get there. You have to want it
<v Speaker 2>and remember your why and you have to Yeah, and
<v Speaker 2>you can do it.
<v Speaker 1>You can't do it because the longer you don't do it,
<v Speaker 1>the harder it's going.
<v Speaker 4>To beat it exactly, you know.
<v Speaker 3>And well, I ever have a vacation like this again, maybe,
<v Speaker 3>but yeah, I was really glad when it was over.
<v Speaker 1>I love to see in my friends though, and making
<v Speaker 1>the new friends that I didn't know. So I will
<v Speaker 1>let me say this, the Gulf Coast of Florida not
<v Speaker 1>the same. Sorry to everybody who loves the Golf coast.
<v Speaker 1>It's not quiet. It's not like the Atlantic Ocean. Oh,
<v Speaker 1>it's so flat, so flat.
<v Speaker 3>I was like what what I feel like, I'm a
<v Speaker 3>sand It's different.
<v Speaker 1>The sand is different. Yea, it's real powderie. It was beautiful,
<v Speaker 1>don't get me wrong. We went to Marco Island. The
<v Speaker 1>food was amazing, it was quiet. I loved it. I
<v Speaker 1>got in the water, it was really nice and calm.
<v Speaker 1>But it just doesn't feel like the ocean really.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah. Have you been to the Gulf Coast?
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I've been to Orange Beach and golf shores
<v Speaker 2>in Alabama. I don't know what it's like there, and
<v Speaker 2>I guess Mexico is not really the Gulf Coast.
<v Speaker 1>How are the waves where you went training, bur Well,
<v Speaker 1>we went like the first week of October, so I
<v Speaker 1>don't know if that makes any difference.
<v Speaker 4>And I feel like it was not as No, it
<v Speaker 4>was not like.
<v Speaker 3>At your house where the waves.
<v Speaker 2>Just are constantly you know, rolling in, crashing into the shore. Yeah.
<v Speaker 3>I really like the sound of the waves. I realized that.
<v Speaker 4>You missed that, huh. I did.
<v Speaker 1>The trade off though, is that the shells are much
<v Speaker 1>better over there.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>Like I found some amazing shells because the waves here
<v Speaker 1>at the South Carolina Coast are so strong that they
<v Speaker 1>break them all up. It's really hard to find good shells.
<v Speaker 1>Here you find pieces of things, so there's a trade off.
<v Speaker 2>If you remember, like when we had that amazing island day.
<v Speaker 2>I think it was the first cruise and I don't
<v Speaker 2>remember which island we were on, but we sat on
<v Speaker 2>the beach that day and just.
<v Speaker 3>Tie an island for carnival. Yeah huh.
<v Speaker 2>And there weren't big waves there, no, because we went
<v Speaker 2>out and just kind of waited in the water. And
<v Speaker 2>same with Grand Turks. There weren't big waves. It was
<v Speaker 2>very still.
<v Speaker 3>It probably yeah, the shape of the way the water
<v Speaker 3>comes in.
<v Speaker 1>And then back from my elementary science teacher days, the
<v Speaker 1>waves have to do with imagine the wave traveling around
<v Speaker 1>across the ocean floor and then it falls down.
<v Speaker 4>It has to do with the ocean floor.
<v Speaker 3>Yes, it has to be the ocean floor.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so we've got just the right kind of ocean
<v Speaker 1>floor here for the waves to be the.
<v Speaker 3>Size that they are.
<v Speaker 1>Anyway, I'm so glad to feel like myself again. And
<v Speaker 1>we're recording on Thursday. We normally record on Tuesday, and
<v Speaker 1>I'm actually glad because I might have been a little
<v Speaker 1>foggy on Tuesday.
<v Speaker 4>Well good when you said.
<v Speaker 1>That, can we wait till Thursday. I was like, oh,
<v Speaker 1>thank god, anyway.
<v Speaker 4>It all worked out. It did well.
<v Speaker 2>We have a weekly celebration this week. Our celebration is
<v Speaker 2>from Anita, who is a member of the DDD online community,
<v Speaker 2>and Anita wrote, I really need to say this because
<v Speaker 2>I am committed to intermittent fasting. It is a forever
<v Speaker 2>thing with me.
<v Speaker 4>Period.
<v Speaker 2>Why when I consistently live by my intermittent fasting commitment,
<v Speaker 2>my brain fog lifts. When I consistently lived by my
<v Speaker 2>intermittent fasting commitment. My energy increases when I consistently lived
<v Speaker 2>by my intermittent fasting commitment. My sleep is better. When
<v Speaker 2>I consistently live by my intermittent fasting commitment, my emotions stabilize,
<v Speaker 2>my appetite corrects itself. This is truly a thing. For instance,
<v Speaker 2>it happened yesterday at my company's golf tournament where I
<v Speaker 2>only ate half my corn on the cob and half
<v Speaker 2>my baked potato because I simply didn't want to eat
<v Speaker 2>the rest of this. And this happened even after having
<v Speaker 2>Lucy Goosey eating windows over the past weekend. When I
<v Speaker 2>consistently lived by my intermittent fasting commitment, my joints don't ate.
<v Speaker 2>When I consistently live by my intermittent fasting commitment, my
<v Speaker 2>clothes fit. I could go on. Why would I stop fasting?
<v Speaker 2>Note all of these winds reverse when I do the opposite.
<v Speaker 2>I get to live through brain fog, low energy, tight clothing,
<v Speaker 2>low mood, bad sleep, sore joints, and a slippery slope
<v Speaker 2>of craving crappy food that I used to think was
<v Speaker 2>so delicious. The good thing is I now catch myself
<v Speaker 2>and get back on track. It's a journey, and the
<v Speaker 2>track keep going until my dying day. Maybe there's a
<v Speaker 2>setback here or there, but the general direction is moving ahead.
<v Speaker 3>That's so good. Yeah, I love that I did too.
<v Speaker 3>And yep, I had the.
<v Speaker 1>Brain fog and the low energy, and my clothes felt tighter.
<v Speaker 1>But you know, think about why, you know, did I
<v Speaker 1>gain a bunch of fat in nine days of traveling? No,
<v Speaker 1>we don't gain or lose fat quickly. But all the
<v Speaker 1>food that you're putting in has to be somewhere in
<v Speaker 1>there and to like you feel it in your digestive systems.
<v Speaker 1>I felt really bloated and like over stuffed because literally
<v Speaker 1>I was so Yeah, it feels so good to be
<v Speaker 1>back to normal.
<v Speaker 2>The thing I love about her celebration is I feel
<v Speaker 2>like a lot of times when people start fasting, they
<v Speaker 2>kind of have this I have to do this attitude,
<v Speaker 2>like I have to do this because I have to
<v Speaker 2>lose the weight. But I think it's really powerful when
<v Speaker 2>things shift and you want to do it. You want
<v Speaker 2>to do it because you feel great. You want to
<v Speaker 2>do it because you have appetite correction. You know, you
<v Speaker 2>want to do it because you sleep better and your
<v Speaker 2>moods are stable.
<v Speaker 4>So I think that's the biggest win.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think so too, wanting to do it, recognizing
<v Speaker 1>the power of the fast and appreciating the fast.
<v Speaker 3>I talked about this in Fast East. Repeat.
<v Speaker 1>When I used to struggle is because I thought the
<v Speaker 1>fast was something you had to get through so that
<v Speaker 1>you can get to the reward of your eating window.
<v Speaker 1>And once I realized that the fast is not something
<v Speaker 1>you have to get through, it's actually a very enjoyable
<v Speaker 1>part of the day.
<v Speaker 4>Uh huh.
<v Speaker 3>That changed everything for me.
<v Speaker 2>And you know, now that you say that, I think
<v Speaker 2>that's another thing that we see in people. You know,
<v Speaker 2>at the beginning, a lot of times people struggle to
<v Speaker 2>eat in a way that supports weight loss, because they
<v Speaker 2>kind of approach it as I have fasted for twenty hours,
<v Speaker 2>so I deserve to eat whatever I want because I'm
<v Speaker 2>doing this instead of dieting. So if I have to
<v Speaker 2>give up all the delicious foods that I love, then
<v Speaker 2>I might as well just diet. Right. But when you
<v Speaker 2>get some point, most fasters get to a point where
<v Speaker 2>they no longer feel like they have to reward themselves
<v Speaker 2>for getting through the fast, right because it's something that
<v Speaker 2>they enjoy and makes them feel great, and they wouldn't
<v Speaker 2>want to.
<v Speaker 3>Go back to eating all day every day, And that
<v Speaker 3>makes you whim.
<v Speaker 2>I was like, I kind of think once you appreciate
<v Speaker 2>the fast and you stop using food as like a
<v Speaker 2>reward for you know, succeeding, then that's when you can
<v Speaker 2>start to tune into your body more and start to
<v Speaker 2>choose better foods.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>I felt like that on my trip, Like I was
<v Speaker 1>tired of eating at restaurants, and I was like, I
<v Speaker 1>only want to go to restaurants now that I have
<v Speaker 1>really good food. We got to the point where I
<v Speaker 1>was like, I'm not eating another fried shrimp. I'm wanted
<v Speaker 1>It's not fraud, So like, what about this place? I'm like, no,
<v Speaker 1>I don't want to go there anyway. I was the
<v Speaker 1>friend searching for window worthy food.
<v Speaker 4>All right.
<v Speaker 1>Now we have a question from a listener. This question
<v Speaker 1>is from CJ and Boca Raton. I am a forty
<v Speaker 1>one year old woman who is a huge fan of
<v Speaker 1>the podcast Jen and Sherry You Rock.
<v Speaker 3>I've read Gens two fasting books as well.
<v Speaker 1>I've been on a health journey for a while now,
<v Speaker 1>after quitting smoking about eight years ago. I'm five six
<v Speaker 1>and was fairly thin most of my life, like one
<v Speaker 1>fifteen in high school, but the past few years my
<v Speaker 1>weight crept up to one sixty five. I started dabbling
<v Speaker 1>in intermittent fasting a couple of years ago, but due
<v Speaker 1>to not wanting to give up creamy coffees or pre
<v Speaker 1>workout supplements. I realize now I wasn't really fasting last year.
<v Speaker 1>In early May of twenty twenty three, I took my
<v Speaker 1>very first A one C test. I had to ask
<v Speaker 1>for it with my yearly testing and was horrified to
<v Speaker 1>discover I was pre diabetic. Lab core test result was
<v Speaker 1>six point zero. My fasting glucose was always in the
<v Speaker 1>high nineties which I know now wasn't great, but since
<v Speaker 1>it wasn't over one hundred, my doctor didn't comment on it.
<v Speaker 1>And I just want to pop in here. After wearing
<v Speaker 1>the c GM or understanding how much blood sugar fluctuates,
<v Speaker 1>I would put wayless stock in any fasting blood glucose
<v Speaker 1>measurement and really focus on A and C. If your
<v Speaker 1>doctor is not doing A and C and is only
<v Speaker 1>looking at fasting blood glucose, your doctor is missing the
<v Speaker 1>big picture.
<v Speaker 3>So I just wanted to pop that in there.
<v Speaker 1>And I think most doctors do look at A one C,
<v Speaker 1>but fasting glucose is just a snapshot in time and
<v Speaker 1>it goes up and down.
<v Speaker 2>My doctor hasn't tested my A and C in years.
<v Speaker 1>Really, Yeah, forget to ask for it, But that's so interesting.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's because I don't have high fasting glucose.
<v Speaker 1>But just because you don't have high fasting glucose doesn't
<v Speaker 1>mean your A and C is good, as CJ is showing.
<v Speaker 3>So yeah, everybody get your A and C ask for it.
<v Speaker 1>So CJ goes on to say I got sugar out
<v Speaker 1>of my life for the most part, as I wasn't
<v Speaker 1>given much other advice my doctor accidentally ordered another A
<v Speaker 1>one C test when I was being retested for something
<v Speaker 1>else and my A and C had already dropped to
<v Speaker 1>five point eight in late May of twenty twenty three.
<v Speaker 1>My doctor would not order me a CGM, but I
<v Speaker 1>was confident I was on the right path. So imagine
<v Speaker 1>my surprise when this year, in May of twenty twenty four,
<v Speaker 1>I retested and my A and C was up to
<v Speaker 1>six point one.
<v Speaker 3>I was so upset.
<v Speaker 1>My doctor wanted to put me on met Foreman, but
<v Speaker 1>I asked again for a CGM first, and made an
<v Speaker 1>appointment with an endochronologist. This time, I started fasting for real.
<v Speaker 1>I got off the pre workout supplement and started drinking
<v Speaker 1>black coffee. My lusekull is sixteen eight, though sometimes it
<v Speaker 1>is shorter than that and other times much longer. I
<v Speaker 1>just go by how hungry I am or what I've
<v Speaker 1>got going on. I lost five to ten pounds last year,
<v Speaker 1>but was able to lose another five, and now I'm
<v Speaker 1>hovering around one forty five to one point fifty. The
<v Speaker 1>CGM has been illuminating, and it turns out that eating
<v Speaker 1>lower carb is better for my blood sugar.
<v Speaker 3>I feel and look.
<v Speaker 1>Amazing and dropped to pants size. I'm happy with this
<v Speaker 1>weight and size. I've had PMDD for a very long
<v Speaker 1>time and started working with a Natural Path for the
<v Speaker 1>past couple of years, who test my hormones and prescribes BHRT.
<v Speaker 1>I'm still menstruating and ovulating, but most of my levels
<v Speaker 1>were very low. I was prescribed the BHRT, which helped
<v Speaker 1>my mood, energy, and sleep immensely. Even my husband commented
<v Speaker 1>on it. I retest every six months and my symptoms
<v Speaker 1>are levels indicate that I'm on the right path and
<v Speaker 1>doing well with it. The BHRT comes for the Nature Path,
<v Speaker 1>who makes it in an FDA approved lab. I had
<v Speaker 1>to make the endo chronology appointment months in advance. When
<v Speaker 1>I finally got in, this doctor told me that I
<v Speaker 1>should stop taking the BHRT because we don't know what's
<v Speaker 1>in them and that could be causing my blood sugar issues.
<v Speaker 1>I disagreed, since I just started testing A and C
<v Speaker 1>last year, so it may have been in the pre
<v Speaker 1>diabetic range for years, and my fasting glucose has been
<v Speaker 1>high for years even before starting BHRT. But I reluctantly
<v Speaker 1>stopped using the BHRT when I got my A and
<v Speaker 1>C results back from August. My A and C was
<v Speaker 1>five point seven, so the testing was before I stopped
<v Speaker 1>the BHRT, but this time it was a different lab.
<v Speaker 1>Not sure if that matters. It's been a couple of
<v Speaker 1>weeks now since I stopped the BHRT and I feel
<v Speaker 1>terrible nude wise, I'll be seeing this doctor again in November.
<v Speaker 1>So my question is what are your thoughts on BHRT
<v Speaker 1>and blood sugar. I've googled and keep getting different results.
<v Speaker 1>Some studies say it increases insolent sensitivity, some say it
<v Speaker 1>does not. Also, I read online that different lab results
<v Speaker 1>may vary greatly. Have you guys heard anything about that.
<v Speaker 1>Sorry for the long windedness, but figured TMI was better
<v Speaker 1>than not enough. Thank you in advance, Sherry, before you answer,
<v Speaker 1>can I pop in with my own sure? So? I
<v Speaker 1>know it can be really confusing, CJ when different doctors
<v Speaker 1>say different things. And one thing I've really learned from
<v Speaker 1>being a part of the functional medicine community that I'm
<v Speaker 1>not obviously a functional medicine practitioner, but I have a
<v Speaker 1>lot of friends who are, and they talk about how
<v Speaker 1>traditional medicine as it's been practiced for the past few
<v Speaker 1>decades has doctors more and more in silos of practice
<v Speaker 1>where they're only focusing on their level of expertise. For example,
<v Speaker 1>you've probably heard me talk about my friend doctor Tabitha Barber,
<v Speaker 1>who's a functional medicine obgyn. My friend a Vaughn Carney,
<v Speaker 1>she's a functional medicine obgyn, and we've had lots of
<v Speaker 1>conversations about this. When you are a functional medicine doctor,
<v Speaker 1>you're focusing on the whole body instead of just your
<v Speaker 1>little silo, like Tabitha taught me that obgyn's for example. Additionally,
<v Speaker 1>surgeons they don't even study hormones or know about them,
<v Speaker 1>so they're trying to do surgery and treat everything like
<v Speaker 1>a surgical issue, unless they go back and learn more
<v Speaker 1>on their own, like so many of them do because
<v Speaker 1>they've realized, hey, wait, this all works together. It's not
<v Speaker 1>just body parts in isolation. So actually, those amazing functional
<v Speaker 1>medicine doctors are the ones who taught me that our
<v Speaker 1>female hormones are not just that, you know, to give
<v Speaker 1>us our periods. Think about how you felt when you
<v Speaker 1>were doing the hormone replacement therapy. You felt better, you
<v Speaker 1>were sleeping, It improved your moods. It improves your blood
<v Speaker 1>sugar control. You know I had blood work from before
<v Speaker 1>I went through menopause. I know what my A and
<v Speaker 1>C level was. I was intermittent fasting. Then I went
<v Speaker 1>through menopause. Then I had my A and C tested
<v Speaker 1>and it was worse. This is before I did hormone
<v Speaker 1>replacement therapy. My cholesterol was high, my A and C
<v Speaker 1>was high, my fasting insulin was creeping up. My metabolic
<v Speaker 1>health even though I never stopped fasting, got worse than
<v Speaker 1>I started bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Three months later, I
<v Speaker 1>got everything retested.
<v Speaker 3>It was back to.
<v Speaker 1>Being in the ideal ranges again. The hormones helped with
<v Speaker 1>my blood sugar control. The hormones helped with my cholesterol control.
<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't have known that except for these wonderful ladies
<v Speaker 1>who are functional in medicine, OBJ myi NS who told
<v Speaker 1>me I needed to do it, and I did it.
<v Speaker 1>So it's just possible that you're into chronologists. Maybe you're
<v Speaker 1>indocrinologist is a diabetes expert but doesn't know anything about
<v Speaker 1>women's hormones. And that's not your doctor's fault, that's just
<v Speaker 1>the way your doctor was trained look forward your natural path.
<v Speaker 1>Obviously who put you on the hormone replacement therapy knows
<v Speaker 1>about that. We have to accept that some doctors have
<v Speaker 1>different training and they know what they know, and they
<v Speaker 1>may be very good at what they know, but then
<v Speaker 1>don't know a whole lot of other things, and it's
<v Speaker 1>not their fault. So I just wanted to pop that
<v Speaker 1>in there, all right, Sherry, over to you.
<v Speaker 2>It is a little disappointing to me that indo chronology.
<v Speaker 4>Is it's the study of the.
<v Speaker 2>Systems which is all fueled by hormones, all hormones. So
<v Speaker 2>in yourcinolo, just treat diabetes, thyroid diseases, and fertility growth issues,
<v Speaker 2>so you're dogging like growth hormone issues, metabolic disorders. So
<v Speaker 2>it is very disappointing to me that this doctor doesn't
<v Speaker 2>understand the effect of our sex hormones on other hormones
<v Speaker 2>in the body, I mean, including thyroids. So anyway, I
<v Speaker 2>was having severe blood sugar swings before I started HRT.
<v Speaker 2>You know, I would eat and I would crash. So
<v Speaker 2>when I it was actually when I was talking to
<v Speaker 2>doctor tab at the barber that she said, you need
<v Speaker 2>hormones and almost immediately when I started on my estrogen
<v Speaker 2>patch and my progesterone, my blood sugar control got much
<v Speaker 2>better and I could eat without falling asleep on the couch.
<v Speaker 2>So I I mean, as a study of one, I
<v Speaker 2>can tell you it absolutely made a difference for me. Now,
<v Speaker 2>there have been lots of research on this, and you
<v Speaker 2>know I have linked a couple of studies in show
<v Speaker 2>notes that you can look even show them to your
<v Speaker 2>doctor if you're so inclined. And one is called effects
<v Speaker 2>of hormone Replacement Therapy on glucose and limpid metabolism and
<v Speaker 2>Parry and postmenopausal women with a history of menstrual disorders,
<v Speaker 2>and they found the HRT significantly decreased fasting insulin and
<v Speaker 2>homa IR, which is a measure of insulin resistance in
<v Speaker 2>both perimidal pozzle users and fasting plasma glucose levels in
<v Speaker 2>postmenopazzle users who at prior menstrual disorders. Furthermore, it says
<v Speaker 2>HRT decreased low density lipoprotein cholesterol, so you'r LDL cholesterol,
<v Speaker 2>total cholesterol, fasting insulin, fasting plasma glucose, and homa IR
<v Speaker 2>in both perry and post menopausal CONTs when compared with baseline.
<v Speaker 1>And every one of those was part of my study
<v Speaker 1>of one too. My cholesterol, my fasting, influin, my blood
<v Speaker 1>sugar is as evidenced in my A one C.
<v Speaker 3>Everything got better after the HRT.
<v Speaker 2>I also linked an article in show notes from UT
<v Speaker 2>Southwestern Medical Center and it was titled study reveals how
<v Speaker 2>estrogen exerts its anti diabetic effects, and researchers reported that
<v Speaker 2>the female sex hormone estrogen stimulate cells that line blood
<v Speaker 2>vessels deliver into muscles, lowering blood sugar and protecting against
<v Speaker 2>type two diabetes. So I would just encourage you to
<v Speaker 2>become your own study of one. Since your intercrinologist is
<v Speaker 2>not well versed on female hormones and you know you
<v Speaker 2>feel better, I would just let him know that you
<v Speaker 2>want to continue to use them if that's what you
<v Speaker 2>want to do, and time will tell how that makes
<v Speaker 2>you feel. If you feel awful and your blood sugars
<v Speaker 2>are swinging, you're going to be hungry, You're going to
<v Speaker 2>struggle more. It affects so much, so just to do
<v Speaker 2>what works for you. And if you talk to this
<v Speaker 2>doctor again and he's still not open to this, I
<v Speaker 2>would just encourage you to find any doctor.
<v Speaker 1>Honestly, you want a doctor who supports your health goals.
<v Speaker 1>And you also it's coming from the same place that
<v Speaker 1>you are.
<v Speaker 2>And then I just wanted to touch to You talked
<v Speaker 2>about labs, and I actually did not know this until
<v Speaker 2>you posed this question. In my mind, labs are all
<v Speaker 2>you know.
<v Speaker 3>They have to be standardized.
<v Speaker 2>Standardized, certified, and so in my mind that means everything
<v Speaker 2>was done within tight controls. However, there have been some
<v Speaker 2>there's been some information out there. There was a research
<v Speaker 2>study done that showed that lab values vary from one
<v Speaker 2>lab to another. Even though the labs are under strict parameters,
<v Speaker 2>your lab values can vary, and they also can differ
<v Speaker 2>quite a bit just between labs, but also time of
<v Speaker 2>day when testing occurs.
<v Speaker 4>And they don't really go.
<v Speaker 2>Into why the time of day matters, but they say,
<v Speaker 2>like morning lab values the labs that are run in
<v Speaker 2>the morning versus labs that are run in the afternoon
<v Speaker 2>can vary the same blood sample. So yeah, if you've
<v Speaker 2>always had labs in at QUEST and now you're using
<v Speaker 2>a different lab or vice versa, whatever, now you have
<v Speaker 2>a baseline moving forward, so you know, just so you know,
<v Speaker 2>that I wouldn't swap back and forth from labs to
<v Speaker 2>lab within the same you know, time period. But if
<v Speaker 2>you're switching because of insurance or whatever, just keep moving
<v Speaker 2>forward with that new lab and now you have a
<v Speaker 2>baseline to gauge from. So we have another question from
<v Speaker 2>Olivia in Greenville. She says, Hello, Jen and Sherry. I'm
<v Speaker 2>a forty two year old female who started fasting March
<v Speaker 2>twenty fifth of twenty twenty four. I read fast Fees
<v Speaker 2>Repeat and I jumped right in because why not, nothing
<v Speaker 2>to buy, nothing to prepare.
<v Speaker 4>I was ready.
<v Speaker 2>I'm five foot five and weigh two hundred and twenty
<v Speaker 2>one at the onset. I believed I weighed more than
<v Speaker 2>that at one point, perhaps to thirty five, but I
<v Speaker 2>have been maintaining it two twenty one for a few years.
<v Speaker 4>For the first three weeks.
<v Speaker 2>Of fasting, I kept track of my fasting time, which
<v Speaker 2>was eighteen to twenty two hours, except twice when it
<v Speaker 2>was twelve hours. I didn't lose weight the first month,
<v Speaker 2>but after four months of consistently fasting, I am down
<v Speaker 2>eight pounds. I know that's not a lot of weight,
<v Speaker 2>but I did have some body recomposition, and I feel
<v Speaker 2>that my current clothes are slightly big, and I'm able
<v Speaker 2>to fit into some of my clothes I could not
<v Speaker 2>wear when I go shopping. I feel like I'm still
<v Speaker 2>in between sizes, but sometimes can size down one size.
<v Speaker 2>I am currently reading Gen's book Cleanish and hopes to
<v Speaker 2>take control of what I eat, because I still think
<v Speaker 2>that's a major factor of why I haven't lost much
<v Speaker 2>weight to date. I do believe I tend to overeat
<v Speaker 2>my eating window, and I can have long eating windows,
<v Speaker 2>though early on I felt appetite correction in a big way.
<v Speaker 2>I eat all of the things in my eating window,
<v Speaker 2>but I do clean fast, only having water during fasting.
<v Speaker 2>I don't really have a goal weight, but I remember
<v Speaker 2>weighing one thirty five in high school and I thought
<v Speaker 2>I was fat. Ha, Now I know better. Yes, we
<v Speaker 2>all do. I think we've all been there.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>You often talk about all the diets you tried over
<v Speaker 2>the years, and I can say that any diet I've
<v Speaker 2>tried has been a blip on my radar. Cabbage soup
<v Speaker 2>diet did help me fit into a bridesmud dress, but
<v Speaker 2>I was the weight watcher's girl that used six points
<v Speaker 2>on a McDonald's Hamburger and would starve the rest of
<v Speaker 2>the day rather than filling up on healthy, low point foods,
<v Speaker 2>so all diets I tried were very short lived. My
<v Speaker 2>mom always told me how bad diet soda and baked
<v Speaker 2>sugars are, so I've always drank regular soda, real sweet tea,
<v Speaker 2>and use real butter. As far as processed foods, I
<v Speaker 2>do consume them that I'm starting to pay attention to ingredients.
<v Speaker 2>I've been using essential oils for cleaning, diffusing, and relaxing
<v Speaker 2>for years, though on occasion I do take traditional medication.
<v Speaker 2>I haven't taken many vitamins over the years, but I
<v Speaker 2>have been taking neutrofol for hair growth and magnesium. At
<v Speaker 2>the end of twenty twenty to I started exercising at
<v Speaker 2>Orange Theory once a week, and I upped it to
<v Speaker 2>twice a week in twenty twenty four. I believe in chiropractic, needling, acupuncture, etc.
<v Speaker 2>So fasting fits into that line of thinking for me.
<v Speaker 2>Your podcast has motivated me so much ready, and I
<v Speaker 2>really appreciate your passion for helping others. Since I am
<v Speaker 2>new to the fasting lifestyle, I'd really like your thoughts
<v Speaker 2>to help keep me on tracks so that I don't
<v Speaker 2>waste a lot of time focused on the wrong thing.
<v Speaker 2>I am here for the weight loss for atophagy long
<v Speaker 2>term health benefits, as well as saving time and money.
<v Speaker 2>My first question is, I know that you only track
<v Speaker 2>your eating window, not your fasting. I do the opposite,
<v Speaker 2>and it's because I change the time I eat from
<v Speaker 2>day to day. When I first started fasting, I typically
<v Speaker 2>ate earlier in the day, so I would have breakfast
<v Speaker 2>and lunch. I found out that I missed having dinner
<v Speaker 2>with my husband, so sometimes I would switch things up.
<v Speaker 2>I got into the habit of counting my fasting hours
<v Speaker 2>to determine how long I could hold off my next meal. So,
<v Speaker 2>for example, if I finished dinner by eight I would
<v Speaker 2>try to hold off to eating until two the next
<v Speaker 2>day to achieve eighteen hours of fasting. If I then
<v Speaker 2>kept my eating window open for five hours, I would
<v Speaker 2>start fasting at seven pm. But it's convenient to eat
<v Speaker 2>breakfast around nine am, which would only put me fasted
<v Speaker 2>for fourteen hours, and I know that's not enough to
<v Speaker 2>put me in fat burning mode, which I would like
<v Speaker 2>to be in. Somehow, I've gotten into the routine of
<v Speaker 2>at least making sure that I fast a minimum of
<v Speaker 2>twelve hours on either side of my fast, because I
<v Speaker 2>don't think less than twelve hours is considered a fast,
<v Speaker 2>but I feel like I'm missing out on the benefits
<v Speaker 2>of longer fast. Don't get me wrong, It's common for
<v Speaker 2>me to fast eighteen to twenty two hours. However, because
<v Speaker 2>I vary my eating window. If I eat from eight
<v Speaker 2>am to one pm one day and I don't plan
<v Speaker 2>to eat dinner until six pm the following day, I
<v Speaker 2>would be fasting for twenty nine hours.
<v Speaker 4>I am contemplating.
<v Speaker 2>Eightf I know fasting is a flexible lifestyle, and I'm
<v Speaker 2>still figuring out how my body will go of the weight.
<v Speaker 2>I'm a person that loves consistency, so establishing your routine
<v Speaker 2>as appealing, but locking into a daily eating window seems
<v Speaker 2>restrictive to me, and I think it's because I have
<v Speaker 2>this idea I have to fast at least twelve hours.
<v Speaker 2>I'm not sure where this idea came from. So far,
<v Speaker 2>I like the flexibility that I've had with fasting, but
<v Speaker 2>I wonder if one of the reasons the weight may
<v Speaker 2>not be coming off as quickly is because of too
<v Speaker 2>much time variation of when I eat, which causes a
<v Speaker 2>lot of twelve hour fast.
<v Speaker 3>Yes, yes, that is it. It's so interesting.
<v Speaker 1>You know what we tell ourselves about what we're doing,
<v Speaker 1>and you have to me, it sounds like you've really
<v Speaker 1>embraced I can't do intermittent fasting unless it's flexible, and
<v Speaker 1>some days I can eat breakfast and some days I
<v Speaker 1>can eat dinner. And you also told yourself. It sounds
<v Speaker 1>to me like you told yourself early on that you
<v Speaker 1>want to track your fast because you want to change
<v Speaker 1>the time you eat from day to day. It's like
<v Speaker 1>you decided, this is what I'm going to do, and
<v Speaker 1>this is going to work because I'm going to make
<v Speaker 1>sure you know I have the flexibility that I'm looking for.
<v Speaker 1>It sounds to me that that is not working for you,
<v Speaker 1>and you know that it isn't, and so I would
<v Speaker 1>encourage you to do the opposite of what you've been
<v Speaker 1>doing and focus on your eating window.
<v Speaker 3>And I know you said you felt like.
<v Speaker 1>It would be restrictive to have a consistent eating window
<v Speaker 1>from day to day, but that is what you're thinking,
<v Speaker 1>it's gonna feel, you haven't actually done it. So once
<v Speaker 1>you really dial into having a consistent daily eating window, like,
<v Speaker 1>for example, you said you sometimes like to eat with
<v Speaker 1>your husband. Maybe set up an eating window that allows
<v Speaker 1>you to do that. I'm just going to tell you
<v Speaker 1>what I'm doing right now. That's two to seven, right,
<v Speaker 1>that's my typical most of the time, two to seven.
<v Speaker 1>Open it too close by seven most days, five hour
<v Speaker 1>eating window. Ish.
<v Speaker 3>I know that's what I'm gonna do. So I pushed through.
<v Speaker 3>Maybe in the morning.
<v Speaker 1>You know, it sounds good to eat, but I pushed
<v Speaker 1>through because that's not when my window is open. My
<v Speaker 1>body is ready when I open it, and then I
<v Speaker 1>have my consistent daily eating window. And it doesn't feel
<v Speaker 1>restrictive now that I'm used to it. Would it have
<v Speaker 1>felt restrictive at the beginning, maybe, But I really want
<v Speaker 1>you to give it a try. You know, I'm not
<v Speaker 1>sure you've tried it, and you might be thinking it
<v Speaker 1>would feel restrictive, and you might be thinking it would
<v Speaker 1>feel hard, but you might be pleasantly surprised, and maybe
<v Speaker 1>it is going to change the whole experience for you.
<v Speaker 1>And if you stick to a daily eating window that
<v Speaker 1>is a certain amount long, like five hours, Let's say
<v Speaker 1>you're like every day, I'm going to have an eating
<v Speaker 1>window of five.
<v Speaker 3>Hours or less.
<v Speaker 1>Your fasts will average out to nineteen hours or more mathematically.
<v Speaker 3>But when you're changing it up.
<v Speaker 1>From day to day and saying I can eat as
<v Speaker 1>long as it's been twelve hours whenever that might be,
<v Speaker 1>then you end up.
<v Speaker 3>With some longer windows.
<v Speaker 1>You're really not doing much fat burning and you're having
<v Speaker 1>too much flexibility, and so you're not settling into the
<v Speaker 1>consistency that makes it easier. So I know that your
<v Speaker 1>mind is telling you the consistency is going to make
<v Speaker 1>it hard and it's going to feel harder like a diet,
<v Speaker 1>because I you know, I am fixed into this pattern.
<v Speaker 1>But you might actually find there's more freedom there than
<v Speaker 1>you think that there will be. You might not be
<v Speaker 1>telling yourself the true story of what's really going to happen.
<v Speaker 1>Does that make sense, Sherry, Yes.
<v Speaker 4>I would say.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, like I agree with Jen, we can outflex
<v Speaker 2>the benefits of fasting. So yes, we like to be flexible.
<v Speaker 2>And you know you can move that five hours around
<v Speaker 2>a little bit in your day, but I don't think
<v Speaker 2>you want to be flip flopping it back and forth.
<v Speaker 2>And like you said, start changing your fat burning time.
<v Speaker 2>I would say give it a month settle in to
<v Speaker 2>a you know, very consistent five hour eating window, decide
<v Speaker 2>prioritize what's more important to you breakfast or eating dinner
<v Speaker 2>with your husband, and then pick whichever one is more
<v Speaker 2>important to you.
<v Speaker 1>And I would also want to add though, that for
<v Speaker 1>the people who decide, you know, what breakfast is more important,
<v Speaker 1>I love breakfast.
<v Speaker 3>I love my creamy coffee.
<v Speaker 1>So often people make the decision about I'm going to
<v Speaker 1>have a morning window so they can put in the
<v Speaker 1>coffee that they want. That might actually be harder than
<v Speaker 1>you think, because I'm not a good window closer, so
<v Speaker 1>I would not be able to close within five hours.
<v Speaker 3>I would be.
<v Speaker 1>Hungry again, legitimately hungry again later and it would be miserable.
<v Speaker 1>So I just wanted to pop that in there.
<v Speaker 4>Yep. Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>And then you know, if you do this for a
<v Speaker 2>month and you really just do not like it, you
<v Speaker 2>like having varied times throughout the day that you eat,
<v Speaker 2>then eightf might be for you. Right, you can do
<v Speaker 2>a down day dinner with your husband, which means you
<v Speaker 2>could eat dinner with your husband every day, and every
<v Speaker 2>other day you get to eat breakfast yep.
<v Speaker 1>As thirty six twelve, or you know, during that thirty
<v Speaker 1>six hour down day, you would actually have a five
<v Speaker 1>hundred calorie down day meal, so it wouldn't really be
<v Speaker 1>thirty six hours of fasting, but it would be a
<v Speaker 1>down day and then a twelve hour up day.
<v Speaker 2>And if you really like you know that flexibility, then
<v Speaker 2>you might actually really like ADF and that is likely
<v Speaker 2>going to get the weight shifting for you. So she
<v Speaker 2>says another question, just real quick, and she wants to
<v Speaker 2>know if there's any talk about fasting improving thyroid conditions.
<v Speaker 2>She's had one for twenty years and takes medication for it.
<v Speaker 2>And I just wanted to say, we do hear all
<v Speaker 2>the time that people are able to decrease their thyroid
<v Speaker 2>meds over time with fasting. Even people who don't have thyroids,
<v Speaker 2>who've had thyroid ablation or had it removed to cancer
<v Speaker 2>and take thyroid hormones and have to take thyroid hormones,
<v Speaker 2>they can decrease their dose because their body is able
<v Speaker 2>to use that hormone more efficiently after fasting.
<v Speaker 1>So now it's time for our segment called What's Your Why?
<v Speaker 1>I genuinely believe that when your why is deeper than
<v Speaker 1>weight loss alone, you're more likely to find long term
<v Speaker 1>success and view intermittent fasting as a lifestyle.
<v Speaker 4>So this week we have from Tanya.
<v Speaker 2>She says, I came to IF, of course, for weight loss,
<v Speaker 2>but ultimately the weight loss is for better health and longevity.
<v Speaker 2>As I'm approaching fifty, I find myself thinking about how
<v Speaker 2>to feel my best to enjoy the next fifty years
<v Speaker 2>with true health and self acceptance. I want to continue
<v Speaker 2>to break free from diet brain.
<v Speaker 4>I want to.
<v Speaker 2>Prevent diseases associated with insulin resistance. I want to prevent
<v Speaker 2>cancer and Alzheimer's. I want to be here for my
<v Speaker 2>son as long as possible. I want to be healthy
<v Speaker 2>and strong for my future grandkids. I want to be
<v Speaker 2>able to travel and to be active without my size
<v Speaker 2>or health holding me back. I just want to live
<v Speaker 2>life to the fullest, and I truly believe IF will
<v Speaker 2>help me do that. Following IF feels like something good
<v Speaker 2>I am doing for my body instead of feeling restrictive
<v Speaker 2>like a diet. I am so grateful that I found
<v Speaker 2>Jen's work, and I cannot wait to see what the
<v Speaker 2>future holds.
<v Speaker 3>Oh I love that powerful Why.
<v Speaker 2>So we have another question from Kirsten and Cedar Falls Iowa.
<v Speaker 2>She says, Hi Jen to Sherry, I'm so thankful for
<v Speaker 2>your work and encouraging podcast. I am thirty five years old,
<v Speaker 2>mom of four kids ten and under. I've never been overweight,
<v Speaker 2>but I desire some of the non weight loss benefits
<v Speaker 2>of fasting as I get older. I had very extreme
<v Speaker 2>hyperemesis during my first three pregnancies, and during my last pregnancy,
<v Speaker 2>I was following a Keto diet and I had a
<v Speaker 2>normal pregnancy. So my suspicion is that the sad diet,
<v Speaker 2>the standard American diet, is truly sad. I want to
<v Speaker 2>find a lifestyle that is healthy and will serve both
<v Speaker 2>me and my kids as we get older. I don't
<v Speaker 2>find Keto to be a satisfying and sustainable lifestyle for me.
<v Speaker 2>I am not diabetic, and I don't need it as
<v Speaker 2>medicine for that. So that led me to intermitt fasting,
<v Speaker 2>which could potentially help avoid some of the sad diet
<v Speaker 2>effects but have the benefits of Keto. I think question
<v Speaker 2>mark for contacts. I'm five foot six and about one
<v Speaker 2>hundred and forty five pounds, which is a touch higher
<v Speaker 2>than pre pregnancy, when I was usually around one thirty
<v Speaker 2>five I'm not too bothered by the number, as I
<v Speaker 2>still feel great. But my question is about hair loss.
<v Speaker 2>I've been doing sixteen eight or eighteen six since January
<v Speaker 2>of this year, and in June my hair started falling
<v Speaker 2>out and it's only been increasing, like yeh, hair everywhere.
<v Speaker 2>My doctor thinks this is related to if even though
<v Speaker 2>I don't think I'm doing a very extreme version and
<v Speaker 2>then it should stop in about a year. Have you
<v Speaker 2>ever experienced this. My hair is starting to look thin.
<v Speaker 2>I do not want to force myself to eat breakfast,
<v Speaker 2>as my hunger now matches an eleven AM to six
<v Speaker 2>pm window and it feels sustainable and enjoyable.
<v Speaker 3>Please help, all right, I am glad to help.
<v Speaker 1>First of all, I want to talk about intermittent fasting
<v Speaker 1>giving you some of the same benefits of katosis. So
<v Speaker 1>if you're fast and clean, and you're fasting sufficiently throughout
<v Speaker 1>the day and you're eating window is not too long,
<v Speaker 1>then we do have the benefits of katosis during our
<v Speaker 1>clean fast.
<v Speaker 3>Now let's talk about hair loss.
<v Speaker 1>I actually went through hair loss before I was doing
<v Speaker 1>intermittent fasting, and it was when I was doing the
<v Speaker 1>Keto diet in the summer before I started intermitting fasting,
<v Speaker 1>my hair started falling out.
<v Speaker 3>My body was not happy, So that freaked me out.
<v Speaker 4>Did you have it during the hCG day?
<v Speaker 1>That actually might have been the cause if you count back.
<v Speaker 1>Here's the thing about that type of stress related hair loss. Actually, no,
<v Speaker 1>I didn't have it prior to back in the day,
<v Speaker 1>like two thousand and nine, way back then, when I
<v Speaker 1>was first experimenting with.
<v Speaker 3>HDG, I had no hair loss then it wasn't that.
<v Speaker 1>Only time that I had it like that was in
<v Speaker 1>twenty fourteen, and it started in the fall of twenty fourteen.
<v Speaker 1>So hair loss that's caused by stress has a name.
<v Speaker 1>If your body perceives something stressful going on, it can
<v Speaker 1>start the hair fall process. And here's the thing. It's well,
<v Speaker 1>it's called telogin effluvium. Telogin affluvium is the name of
<v Speaker 1>it stress related hair.
<v Speaker 4>Loss, or maybe it's intelligen.
<v Speaker 1>That's what I would have said, but I don't know
<v Speaker 1>which it is. Anyway, it doesn't matter which it is.
<v Speaker 1>Whichever it is, it's stress related hair loss and you
<v Speaker 1>notice it beginning two to three months after the stressor
<v Speaker 1>so whenever you have the crazy hair loss count back
<v Speaker 1>two to three months. See for me, I did a
<v Speaker 1>little bit of hCG in June, end of May of
<v Speaker 1>twenty fourteen. I only did it for a few weeks
<v Speaker 1>and then I quit doing it, and then I switched
<v Speaker 1>over to keto. So I started doing keto, I guess
<v Speaker 1>in June. So I did that for June, July, August.
<v Speaker 1>If you count back two months, that's all un your keto.
<v Speaker 1>If you go back three months, could.
<v Speaker 3>Be the hCG.
<v Speaker 1>So it's really hard for me to say, whatever it was,
<v Speaker 1>you count back two to three months and see what
<v Speaker 1>could have stressed your body. By the way, I also
<v Speaker 1>had a little bit of hair loss after I went
<v Speaker 1>through COVID in twenty twenty one.
<v Speaker 4>That was very common, yeah, side effect, And.
<v Speaker 1>About q to three months later, I had noticed my
<v Speaker 1>hair was falling out more, and I'm like, huh.
<v Speaker 3>Counted back two to three months.
<v Speaker 1>I was like, oh, that's when I had COVID in
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty one and I had you know, I lost
<v Speaker 1>my taste and smell.
<v Speaker 3>I had a high fever.
<v Speaker 1>So count back two to three months and see what
<v Speaker 1>might have been happening.
<v Speaker 3>And actually, you've.
<v Speaker 1>Been doing intermittent fasting if I'm correct, for five months
<v Speaker 1>by the time the hair loss started January or six months.
<v Speaker 3>You started in January. Your hair loss began in.
<v Speaker 1>June June, so my guess would be probably not from
<v Speaker 1>the fasting. Now for anybody who does count back and hey,
<v Speaker 1>that is when you started intermittent fasting, your body perceived
<v Speaker 1>it as a stress.
<v Speaker 3>Here's the bad news and the good news. I'll say
<v Speaker 3>the good news first.
<v Speaker 1>The good news is that your hair will come back,
<v Speaker 1>because it's kind of like bam, your hair starts the process.
<v Speaker 1>Two to three months later you start seeing the hair loss,
<v Speaker 1>but it's over now. The bad news is the hair
<v Speaker 1>loss is going to keep happening until the process is
<v Speaker 1>complete because the thing that happened already started the process.
<v Speaker 1>So you know, whatever you're doing now, the process is
<v Speaker 1>going to follow through to the end and then your
<v Speaker 1>hair will have new growth. So I had all that
<v Speaker 1>new growth coming in to run its course. So the
<v Speaker 1>bad news is it has to run its course. The
<v Speaker 1>good news is it will run its course and then
<v Speaker 1>you will have your hair back.
<v Speaker 4>It's already happened. It's already happened.
<v Speaker 2>Stopping fasting right now is not going to have an
<v Speaker 2>effect on it because it's already happened. It's already and
<v Speaker 2>it's not just fasting. It's really any kind of diet
<v Speaker 2>can do this.
<v Speaker 1>Or it can be a stressed like somebody in your
<v Speaker 1>family passed away.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, it's any kind of stress, job stress, hormonal stress.
<v Speaker 2>A lot of women experience this after they've had their babies,
<v Speaker 2>like post pregnancy hair loss is very common as well
<v Speaker 2>as just hormonal shifts can cause it, and even something
<v Speaker 2>as simple as a simple outpatient surgery can cause this.
<v Speaker 2>So this happens to people throughout their lives from various causes.
<v Speaker 1>And I just plot a link about this in show notes,
<v Speaker 1>by the way, so people can look at that.
<v Speaker 4>Now.
<v Speaker 2>I do want to say, if this continues for you,
<v Speaker 2>I would see a dermatologist or start with your regular doctor.
<v Speaker 4>You may need some lab work.
<v Speaker 2>You know. This can be a sign of a thyroid issue,
<v Speaker 2>This can be a sign of other hormonal imbalances. So
<v Speaker 2>if it's from fasting, it's going to course correct. You're
<v Speaker 2>going to start seeing all kinds of crazy new hair growth.
<v Speaker 2>My hairdresser is always talking about my baby hairs that
<v Speaker 2>were growing in. Most people experience that their hair gets
<v Speaker 2>healthier and thicker than ever after they've been fasting for
<v Speaker 2>quite a while. So if this isn't something that changes,
<v Speaker 2>definitely speak to somebody about that.
<v Speaker 3>But it sure was scary.
<v Speaker 1>I feel you on that because I was like, oh
<v Speaker 1>my gosh, it's all my hair gonna faw.
<v Speaker 3>It did not.
<v Speaker 1>It did look thin for a while, but it all
<v Speaker 1>came back and now Sherry can tell you my hair
<v Speaker 1>is thick and fine.
<v Speaker 4>Yes, it is all right.
<v Speaker 1>Before we get to our tweak of the week, I
<v Speaker 1>want to take a minute to talk about my books.
<v Speaker 1>If you are new to intermittent fasting, or if you're
<v Speaker 1>sharing intermittent fasting with others, you will want to get
<v Speaker 1>a copy of Delayed. Don't deny. I'm so excited to
<v Speaker 1>be able to recommend this one again. The second edition
<v Speaker 1>is now available in paperback, hardback, and the kindle version
<v Speaker 1>through Amazon, and it should also be available through any
<v Speaker 1>other ebook retailer you prefer, such as Nook, Cobo, iBooks,
<v Speaker 1>all of the major ones. You can get the electronic
<v Speaker 1>version that way, but the paperback and the hardback are
<v Speaker 1>only available on Amazon, so.
<v Speaker 3>Just keep that in mind.
<v Speaker 1>So, how is the second edition different than the first edition,
<v Speaker 1>and also, how is it different than Fast Feast Repeat.
<v Speaker 1>First of all, it is a lot simpler, it's easier
<v Speaker 1>to understand than Fast Feast Repeat. It's a quicker read,
<v Speaker 1>and many people have told me it's their favorite book
<v Speaker 1>of mine, which is why I'm so excited it's finally updated.
<v Speaker 3>In the new Delight on Tonight.
<v Speaker 1>I have finally added the words clean fast, which we
<v Speaker 1>weren't using yet when I wrote the original in twenty sixteen.
<v Speaker 1>And I've really updated the ADF chapter, which I think
<v Speaker 1>is even better now than the one in Fast Feast Repeat.
<v Speaker 1>I've clarified all of the options, I explained everything in
<v Speaker 1>a way that is simple and easy to understand, especially
<v Speaker 1>how long the update needs to be. The success stories
<v Speaker 1>section is also all new and so inspirational. Once again,
<v Speaker 1>thank you to all the community members who shared their stories.
<v Speaker 1>So for anyone who is new to intermittent fasting, or
<v Speaker 1>if you're wanting to share intermitt and fasting with a
<v Speaker 1>friend or family member, you'll want to start with the
<v Speaker 1>second edition of Delay Don't Deny. And if you're an
<v Speaker 1>experienced intermittent faster, I think you'll also want to get
<v Speaker 1>a copy because it's a great refresher and you will love.
<v Speaker 3>The success stories.
<v Speaker 1>Now, Amazon can be confusing, so I have a few
<v Speaker 1>ordering tips. You do not want to accidentally end up
<v Speaker 1>with a used copy of the first edition, so stick
<v Speaker 1>to new. And the first edition is always in forever,
<v Speaker 1>going to still come up and searches because that's just
<v Speaker 1>how it works, and people are going to be selling
<v Speaker 1>used copies of it forever. But you'll know which one
<v Speaker 1>to order because it's the one that was published in
<v Speaker 1>August of twenty twenty four. In the description of talks
<v Speaker 1>about it being the second edition, and it's also identified
<v Speaker 1>as the second edition at the bottom of the cover
<v Speaker 1>if you zoom right in and look at it. If
<v Speaker 1>you go to the get the Books link in the
<v Speaker 1>show Now or at Jen Stevens dot com, you'll know
<v Speaker 1>you're getting the right edition. I've linked it to the
<v Speaker 1>second edition, and all of the ebook versions will be
<v Speaker 1>the right one. It's only the paperbag that you have
<v Speaker 1>to be careful with and make sure you don't accidentally
<v Speaker 1>get the first edition. And the hardback version is always
<v Speaker 1>going to be second edition because I didn't have a
<v Speaker 1>hardback of the first edition. And now it's time for
<v Speaker 1>the Tweak of the Week. This is from Kristen. She said, recently,
<v Speaker 1>I've been practicing being more present with my meals. I've
<v Speaker 1>been intentionally sitting down when I eat and practicing eating undistracted.
<v Speaker 1>I do like to watch TV while I eat, so
<v Speaker 1>I just practice focusing back and forth on my meal
<v Speaker 1>and what I'm watching. When I focus on my meal,
<v Speaker 1>I am paying attention to the taste and texture of
<v Speaker 1>my food and how I'm feeling. Am I getting full?
<v Speaker 1>Do I need more?
<v Speaker 3>Yeah? I think that's great practicing.
<v Speaker 1>You know, intentionally sitting down and eating undistracted can make
<v Speaker 1>such a difference. So some people would even suggest not
<v Speaker 1>to have the TV on, but I think that's a
<v Speaker 1>matter of personal preference for sure.
<v Speaker 2>Well, we'd love to leave you with inspiration or motivational
<v Speaker 2>quotes or messages, and today we have a poem from
<v Speaker 2>Robin in Pennsylvania. Robin shared, I wrote this poem in
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and two when my mom was going through cancer.
<v Speaker 2>She passed in two thousand and three. I wish she
<v Speaker 2>would have known by intermittent fasting and possibly wouldn't have
<v Speaker 2>had to deal with so much pain from it and
<v Speaker 2>had so much taken away from her. The poem is
<v Speaker 2>titled that's because when you wake up in the morning
<v Speaker 2>to the sound of your alarm, that's because no illness
<v Speaker 2>has brought you harm.
<v Speaker 4>When you clean.
<v Speaker 2>Your house after being a mess, that's because no illness
<v Speaker 2>has left you helpless. When you think out loud as
<v Speaker 2>that is your choice, that's because no illness took away
<v Speaker 2>your voice. When you are able to get yourself out
<v Speaker 2>of a bind, that's because no illness took away your mind.
<v Speaker 2>When your car has a flat and you need to
<v Speaker 2>fix the leak, that's because no illness has made you weak.
<v Speaker 2>When you're stuck in traffic and you patiently wait, that's
<v Speaker 2>because no illness has taken away your fate. When you
<v Speaker 2>lend a helping and at any given link, that's because
<v Speaker 2>no illness took away your strength. When you don't want
<v Speaker 2>to be somewhere but that's where you were led, that's
<v Speaker 2>because no illness has kept you in bed. When you
<v Speaker 2>look up to the sky and see the stars at night,
<v Speaker 2>that's because no illness took away your sight. When you
<v Speaker 2>lie down at night and begin to pray, that's because
<v Speaker 2>God wants you hear on earth another.
<v Speaker 1>Day well, and it sounds like Lulu has a little
<v Speaker 1>bit to say about.
<v Speaker 3>That Sherry's dog.
<v Speaker 1>She agrees when your dog is barking and enter and
<v Speaker 1>rupture podcast, that's because no illness has made you oh
<v Speaker 1>gosh in case of caring for I'm sure rhyming words.
<v Speaker 1>Oh no, Look, I love that, Robin. That is a
<v Speaker 1>great and it's such a powerful perspective. You know, you're
<v Speaker 1>stuck in traffic, for example, and you're complaining about and
<v Speaker 1>your upset. I always like to think about maybe this
<v Speaker 1>traffic jam is keeping me from having a fatal car
<v Speaker 1>wreck down the road like that, That's what I tell myself.
<v Speaker 1>But thinking about the blessings of our life even in
<v Speaker 1>the hard moments. Yep, thanks so much for listening today.
<v Speaker 1>We would love to have you join us in the
<v Speaker 1>Delayed on Tonight community, where you can interact with both
<v Speaker 1>me and Sherry, plus the most supportive bunch of intermittent
<v Speaker 1>fasters you'll find anywhere. Go to Jenstevens dot com slash
<v Speaker 1>community to join us.
<v Speaker 2>Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast to your favorite
<v Speaker 2>podcast app, and if you haven't already, please leave us
<v Speaker 2>a five star review that helps new listeners find the show.
<v Speaker 2>And we really appreciate it.
<v Speaker 1>We are a community driven podcast, so to submit your
<v Speaker 1>success stories, your questions, your favorite tweak it till It's Easy, moments,
<v Speaker 1>or anything else you want us to share on the podcast,
<v Speaker 1>go to Fast Feast Repeat dot com, slash submit and
<v Speaker 1>then listen each week to see if we share your
<v Speaker 1>submission or answer your question.
<v Speaker 2>Until next week. Thanks for listening, s