Episode 65: IF After Weight Loss Meds, The Power of Accepting Our Aging Bodies, 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
<v Speaker 1>Feast Repeat.
<v Speaker 2>And I'm Sherry Bullock, longtime intermittent faster and health and
<v Speaker 2>wellness advocate. Please keep in mind that this podcast is
<v Speaker 2>for educational and motivational purposes only, and it's not intended
<v Speaker 2>to provide medical or diagnostic advice. Jen and I are
<v Speaker 2>not doctors, so make sure to check with your trusted
<v Speaker 2>healthcare professionals before making changes, especially when it comes to
<v Speaker 2>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 1>How are you doing today? Sherry?
<v Speaker 2>I am doing well.
<v Speaker 1>And I need you because we just recorded an episide
<v Speaker 1>recording to today. But for everybody else, it's been a week.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, when we travel and we can't record while we're traveling,
<v Speaker 2>we get a little behind and then we have to
<v Speaker 2>catchat and record back to back episodes.
<v Speaker 1>Well, it's very efficient that way.
<v Speaker 2>It is very efficient that way, I get longer time
<v Speaker 2>to chat.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, we do.
<v Speaker 2>Anyway, So do you have anything that you'd like to share.
<v Speaker 1>Well, I am really excited about working on the Delayed
<v Speaker 1>on Deny Life Journal and the Delayed on Deny Digging
<v Speaker 1>Deeper work Book, which I've probably never even talked about
<v Speaker 1>on this podcast because I made them in twenty eighteen,
<v Speaker 1>and then when Fast Feast Repeat came out in twenty twenty,
<v Speaker 1>I stopped recommending Delayed on Deny and so I didn't
<v Speaker 1>recommend the books that went along with it. But now
<v Speaker 1>that I've revived Delayed on Deny, it's worth mentioning again.
<v Speaker 1>And anyway, I'm super excited. So they're beat that I thought, like.
<v Speaker 2>I always liked the life Journal and I've still continued
<v Speaker 2>to share it. Well, you're making some tweaks did as well.
<v Speaker 1>They're not major tweaks, like I took out joining the
<v Speaker 1>Facebook groups right, and I took you know, I clarified
<v Speaker 1>the clean Fast specifically, and just some very minor things.
<v Speaker 1>It's not really like I thought it needed a major
<v Speaker 1>overhaul until I started looking at it, I'm like, oh,
<v Speaker 1>this really does not need much of a change, so
<v Speaker 1>it's still going to be the same life journal, but
<v Speaker 1>it matches Delayed on Tonight and the Delayed on Tonight
<v Speaker 1>Digging Deeper. I really wasn't even going to revise that.
<v Speaker 1>I was just gonna kind of let that disappear. But
<v Speaker 1>then somebody in the community bought it without me mentioning.
<v Speaker 1>They just found that it was on Amazon and bought it,
<v Speaker 1>and she started showing have you been seeing her posts
<v Speaker 1>in the community She is using the Delayed on Tonight
<v Speaker 1>Digging Deeper. And it's a book study, so it's designed
<v Speaker 1>for you to either do as a group or to
<v Speaker 1>do on your own as an end depth book study
<v Speaker 1>of each chapter. And it's very much full of reflections
<v Speaker 1>like what was your diet history? Write it down, and
<v Speaker 1>here's a chart that you can make. I mean, it's
<v Speaker 1>really really very teachery. It looks like a school teacher
<v Speaker 1>wrote it, but kind of work book. It's a workbook
<v Speaker 1>and it helps you really process your thoughts but also
<v Speaker 1>understand the content better. So it's got the emotional component,
<v Speaker 1>the physical component, all of that in there. But I
<v Speaker 1>was just so excited to see she was sharing her
<v Speaker 1>results and I'm like, oh, no, it doesn't match the
<v Speaker 1>new book. I got to fix that. I'm actually going
<v Speaker 1>to send her a free copy as a thank you
<v Speaker 1>once I have it up and published. But it needed
<v Speaker 1>a lot more extensive updating because it needed to match
<v Speaker 1>the second edition of Delayed On Tonight, which the chapters
<v Speaker 1>have different numbers, and the clean fast is in there,
<v Speaker 1>so it now matches the new Delay Do Tonight. And
<v Speaker 1>you know, when I really made it, you remember, people
<v Speaker 1>were wanting to have local support groups to remember that, yes,
<v Speaker 1>and part of it was use this as a book
<v Speaker 1>study with your local support group. And you know, like
<v Speaker 1>if you have a book club, for example, you get
<v Speaker 1>together and you know, do like maybe a chapter every week.
<v Speaker 1>So even if you just have one, you know, friend
<v Speaker 1>that you're doing it with, use it as a book
<v Speaker 1>study together. It'd be great support.
<v Speaker 2>And I've only said a lot of people jump into
<v Speaker 2>fasting and they're like, I just need to know how
<v Speaker 2>to start right. And you know, that's why Jen wrote
<v Speaker 2>the fast art chapter. I mean, it's not why she
<v Speaker 2>wrote the chapter, but that's the fact. She often staid, Well, no,
<v Speaker 2>I was thinking about when you first wrote fast feees
<v Speaker 2>repeat and you had the fast art chapter and you're like, Okay,
<v Speaker 2>if you don't want to read anything else right now
<v Speaker 2>other than how to get started, go to this chapter
<v Speaker 2>and start here, right And some people really start that way.
<v Speaker 2>But I think the people who find the most success
<v Speaker 2>and are able to create a lifestyle are the ones
<v Speaker 2>who truly understand why you're fasting and what's happening in
<v Speaker 2>your body and why do you feel this way or
<v Speaker 2>what's the benefit of this or that, and you know,
<v Speaker 2>how does this help me? And so I think like
<v Speaker 2>doing like that digging deeper, that really helps you get
<v Speaker 2>into the nitty gritty and it starts helping you process
<v Speaker 2>like your history. And the thing that I like about
<v Speaker 2>the journal, it's six months, yeah, and it's a lot
<v Speaker 2>of self reflection. And you know, we have all told
<v Speaker 2>ourselves stories through our whole life. We have we believe
<v Speaker 2>these stories in our head that may or may not
<v Speaker 2>be true. And when you are able to like write
<v Speaker 2>out your thoughts and reflections and look at your days
<v Speaker 2>and you know what went right, what do you want
<v Speaker 2>to work on, and when you're able to really like
<v Speaker 2>put some thought into it, because we just go through
<v Speaker 2>life coasting from one day to the other. But when
<v Speaker 2>you're able to be really intentional, that's where you really
<v Speaker 2>are able to change the way you talk to yourself,
<v Speaker 2>the thoughts in your head, how you view yourself, how
<v Speaker 2>you view food, how you view you fasting. And it
<v Speaker 2>requires a little work on your part, but at the
<v Speaker 2>end of six months, you're going to be a different person.
<v Speaker 1>And I just want to shout out to Courtney Kay.
<v Speaker 1>She's the community member who was using the Digging Deeper
<v Speaker 1>and she wrote down so much great stuff. If you're
<v Speaker 1>someone who likes to journal and you like to really
<v Speaker 1>process your thoughts delayed on tonight, Digging Deeper great for
<v Speaker 1>one on one, just you or if you're in a group. Anyway,
<v Speaker 1>it made me so excited to see her pull that
<v Speaker 1>out and I was like, you know, this really is
<v Speaker 1>a useful tool. It's time for me to start talking
<v Speaker 1>about it again, because it's not for everybody. Not everybody
<v Speaker 1>wants to write a bunch of stuff down. But if
<v Speaker 1>you know that's you.
<v Speaker 2>I'm not a journaler. I try. I believe in journaling,
<v Speaker 2>it's just not me. I'm way more inclined to do
<v Speaker 2>it on my phone in a digital format. Than writing.
<v Speaker 2>I don't like to write. I actually said to her,
<v Speaker 2>I said, wow, you have written a lot, and she
<v Speaker 2>said she is a journaler, she's done it for years.
<v Speaker 2>But the great thing about the way Jen has the
<v Speaker 2>book lined out is that even if you're not a journaler,
<v Speaker 2>it's prompted, so you're not having to figure out what
<v Speaker 2>to write. Everything's prompted. It's kind of a fill in
<v Speaker 2>the blank type thing it is.
<v Speaker 1>And it has sections and questions and like I said,
<v Speaker 1>it's very school teacher. It's a great book. I love it.
<v Speaker 1>It's it's not a curriculum right, very very school teacher.
<v Speaker 1>A curriculum driven. You will definitely learn things about yourself
<v Speaker 1>that you didn't know. As you're writing it down, you'll
<v Speaker 1>realize things.
<v Speaker 2>Maybe all right, Well, this week we have a celebration
<v Speaker 2>from Happy with Joy from north Hamptonshire in the UK. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>I yes, I think that's one. Sure, Northampton, Hampshire, Hamptonshire.
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, is it Shire? Sure? I've never known.
<v Speaker 1>By the way, Can I pop something in that I
<v Speaker 1>just thought of? Sherry. Yes, I am not calling either
<v Speaker 1>The Life Journal or The Digging Deeper a second edition
<v Speaker 1>because it's not changed, like the page count is still
<v Speaker 1>the same and it's still got the same So all
<v Speaker 1>I have to do is pop it in because it's
<v Speaker 1>self popped.
<v Speaker 2>Just updated.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, all I have to do is update the interior file,
<v Speaker 1>so you're not gonna have to look for another version.
<v Speaker 1>By the time this episode comes out, it will be
<v Speaker 1>available now and it'll just be you just go to
<v Speaker 1>the original listing and that's the one. Because I'm just
<v Speaker 1>replacing the contents of it. The cover is going to
<v Speaker 1>look the same. Everything's going to look the same except
<v Speaker 1>for what's inside of it. Eat of it anyway, Sorry
<v Speaker 1>about that. I didn't want people to be confused trying
<v Speaker 1>to find it looking for a second edition that isn't there. Okay,
<v Speaker 1>all right, back to Happy with Joy, she said.
<v Speaker 2>I want to share how happy I feel laying here
<v Speaker 2>right now in hospital the day after my second hip replacement.
<v Speaker 2>The first was in March of this year. I'm forty
<v Speaker 2>nine and I have hip displasia, which has resulted in
<v Speaker 2>early onset osteo arthritis. I decided in the twenty two
<v Speaker 2>weeks between hip replacements that I would commit to twenty
<v Speaker 2>hours of fasting each day in a year. That felt
<v Speaker 2>very tough for me. Focusing on the one daily goal
<v Speaker 2>slash commitment to myself helped my mental health so much.
<v Speaker 2>I rite for the second surgery twenty pounds lighter than
<v Speaker 2>I was for the first in just twenty two weeks.
<v Speaker 2>I feel amazing, and I know how much that weight
<v Speaker 2>loss will make my recovery easier. The inflammation and scar
<v Speaker 2>from the first surgery has gotten better and better each day.
<v Speaker 2>Thank you both for your wonderful podcast. In the UK,
<v Speaker 2>it comes out on a Wednesday, so I am listening
<v Speaker 2>in my hospital a bed as I type this to
<v Speaker 2>today's episode. Keep doing what you're doing, and thank you.
<v Speaker 1>Well, hooray, happy with joy.
<v Speaker 2>That's just great. I mean the fact that she was
<v Speaker 2>in recovery from a major surgery, I mean that can
<v Speaker 2>be really hard on your mental health. And so the
<v Speaker 2>fact that she decided to focus on fasting and not
<v Speaker 2>only lost weight but was able to keep her spirits
<v Speaker 2>up and go into her second surgery feeling good is
<v Speaker 2>just that's priceless.
<v Speaker 1>So and I also want to congratulate her from making
<v Speaker 1>that decision to start fasting, because you know, we can
<v Speaker 1>sometimes use recovery or poor health. I don't want to
<v Speaker 1>use the word excuse, but I'm going to use it
<v Speaker 1>as like an excuse to will I'm recovering so I
<v Speaker 1>have to eat all day, or I'm recovering so I
<v Speaker 1>deserve the comfort food, or I'm going through this pain,
<v Speaker 1>so I'm going to have long eating periods. And she said, no,
<v Speaker 1>I'm making this commitment to fast twenty hours. And I'm
<v Speaker 1>sure she had plenty of pain as she recovered and probably,
<v Speaker 1>you know, you've had hip replacement. You probably you're immobile
<v Speaker 1>for a while, and a lot of stress related to
<v Speaker 1>that and a lot of emotions. But instead of you know, saying, well,
<v Speaker 1>I just can't right now, she said, I am. I'm
<v Speaker 1>doing it. I'm going to fast every day, and I
<v Speaker 1>bet it helped her heal so much faster. We hear
<v Speaker 1>that all the time from members of the community.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you know, you said the word excuse, But
<v Speaker 2>in my mind I was thinking justification.
<v Speaker 1>Well, yeah, that might be a better word. People like
<v Speaker 1>they have the justification they justify.
<v Speaker 2>Like, oh, well, I'm sick, so I need to, you know,
<v Speaker 2>give my body comforting food all day long, which you
<v Speaker 2>know isn't always what your body needs to heal from illness.
<v Speaker 1>And I think justification is better than excuse. That's a
<v Speaker 1>much better word. I knew excuse didn't feel right. Yeah,
<v Speaker 1>all right, now, I also want to say we had
<v Speaker 1>a cat that was fasting itself. Well, that cat was sick.
<v Speaker 1>It didn't eat for day Jackson. No, this was Pepper,
<v Speaker 1>Will's cat, Pepper, back when we lived in Augusta and
<v Speaker 1>Will was living with us for a bree period of time.
<v Speaker 1>His cat was there too, Pepper. So I don't know
<v Speaker 1>what Pepper did. But Pepper just laid around looking real
<v Speaker 1>like for like a couple of days, and he would
<v Speaker 1>not eat. He fasted his way through and his instincts
<v Speaker 1>told him not to eat. He didn't eat. He got
<v Speaker 1>better then he was back to his old self and
<v Speaker 1>he's a healthy kiddy. Anyway, I just wanted to pop
<v Speaker 1>that in there. All right, now, we have a question
<v Speaker 1>from a listener. This question is from Leslie in Virginia.
<v Speaker 1>She said, I've been intermittent fasting since February and I'm
<v Speaker 1>assuming she means, well, I don't really know. She said
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five, So Leslie is probably.
<v Speaker 2>Not from the future.
<v Speaker 1>Let Leslie did not come from the future prior to today.
<v Speaker 1>Maybe it was twenty twenty four. Maybe it was twenty
<v Speaker 1>twenty three, but she's lost thirty pounds, so either way,
<v Speaker 1>that's excellent, she said, I have pcos. I was three
<v Speaker 1>hundred pounds in my early thirties, and my abgy n
<v Speaker 1>put me on met Foreman and with the South Beach diet,
<v Speaker 1>I lost over one hundred and thirty pounds. Eighteen years ago.
<v Speaker 1>I wanted to do intermittent fasting for my postmenopausal belly
<v Speaker 1>fat and feel healthy. I am fifty five five seven
<v Speaker 1>and one hundred and forty pounds. I do yoga and
<v Speaker 1>pilates four to five days a week, and I eat
<v Speaker 1>pretty much what I want, although I have good eating
<v Speaker 1>habits already. I fast clean with coffee, I drink tons
<v Speaker 1>of water, and I will add an electrolyte stream my
<v Speaker 1>window about one time a month if I feel groggy.
<v Speaker 1>I started right out of the gate with eighteen six,
<v Speaker 1>and I eat from one to seven. I will splurge
<v Speaker 1>every couple of weeks with ice cream for two to
<v Speaker 1>three days. But I'm very happy with my transformation and
<v Speaker 1>I feel amazing. I will be a lifelong intermittent faster.
<v Speaker 1>About two and a half months ago, I began to
<v Speaker 1>get constipated. I eat lots of veggies, salads, chicken, fish. Yes,
<v Speaker 1>I will have chips and salsa and occasional ice cream.
<v Speaker 1>But I eat beans and fiber rich veggies and fruits.
<v Speaker 1>I have no clue why this began, but I have
<v Speaker 1>to eat half a block so doucal lax to go
<v Speaker 1>is I won't have a bowel movement for ten days
<v Speaker 1>or more. This cannot be healthy, and I know it's
<v Speaker 1>not normal. I don't think it's my diet as I
<v Speaker 1>eat well. I take magnesium citrate at night, I use
<v Speaker 1>miur relax and beverages. Question is why, and is it's
<v Speaker 1>a phase? And when will I be back to normal?
<v Speaker 1>I have an annual physical in September, but I wanted
<v Speaker 1>to get your experienced advice. Thanks for all you do.
<v Speaker 1>And by the way, I have never had constipation like this,
<v Speaker 1>So I'm going to let Sherry take it away because
<v Speaker 1>you have more experience with this than me.
<v Speaker 2>Right, Yes, So first of all, I want to say,
<v Speaker 2>if you've always been regular and you're just now all
<v Speaker 2>of a sudden, having a problem with not being regular,
<v Speaker 2>and you're going ten days without using the bathroom, I
<v Speaker 2>am going to highly encourage you to talk to your doctor.
<v Speaker 2>That's not something you want to ignore. You could potentially have,
<v Speaker 2>you know, something going on in your colon that's, you know,
<v Speaker 2>prevent you from having a bowel movement, and that's something
<v Speaker 2>that you're gonna want to find out sooner than later.
<v Speaker 1>Can I pop down with this? She said that the
<v Speaker 1>constipation began two and a half months ago, which is
<v Speaker 1>not the same time when she started fasting. Right, so
<v Speaker 1>even if she started fasting in February of twenty twenty four,
<v Speaker 1>she had been fasting for a few months before the
<v Speaker 1>constipation started, Which makes me think this is like, if
<v Speaker 1>it immediately started the minute you started fasting, that would
<v Speaker 1>be more of a sign that maybe it's the fasting.
<v Speaker 1>But since it didn't, well, that's more of a sign
<v Speaker 1>at something else.
<v Speaker 2>I actually and then I have another thought to this too. Okay, okay, So,
<v Speaker 2>barring any physical reason why you aren't having bowel movements
<v Speaker 2>like a mass, God forbid, you say you drink tons
<v Speaker 2>of water. Now, anytime you look up what do I
<v Speaker 2>need for constipation? They say make sure that you're drinking
<v Speaker 2>plenty of water and stay hydrated. However, drinking tons of
<v Speaker 2>water can have the op effect in that you are
<v Speaker 2>depleting electrolytes, and your body needs those electrolytes to have
<v Speaker 2>a vowel movement. Without sodium, magnesium, and potassium, your colon
<v Speaker 2>is not stimulated to work properly. Without enough potassium, your
<v Speaker 2>body cannot maintain fluid balance well. And so the fact
<v Speaker 2>that you say tons of water and you capitalize tons
<v Speaker 2>is to me kind of maybe a clue that you
<v Speaker 2>need to cut back on hydration during your fast. Now,
<v Speaker 2>if you're very, very thirsty and that's why you're drinking,
<v Speaker 2>you know, a ton of water, that's also a sign
<v Speaker 2>that your electrolytes can be out of whack. So I
<v Speaker 2>would actually scale back your water. And you say you
<v Speaker 2>use them electrolytes during your window about one month, one
<v Speaker 2>time a month, consider taking them every day for a
<v Speaker 2>week and see how things change. I was a chronic
<v Speaker 2>constellation girl until I really started working on my electrolyte
<v Speaker 2>balance and found out that I was deficient in magnesium, sodium,
<v Speaker 2>and potassium. I do not process minerals like genders, for instance.
<v Speaker 2>And what I can tell you is that when I
<v Speaker 2>started taking a prescription potassium, I was no longer thirsty constantly.
<v Speaker 2>I used to drink so much because I had chronic
<v Speaker 2>dry mouth. I was so thirsty, and that went away
<v Speaker 2>when we beefed up my potassium and I really started
<v Speaker 2>working on my potassium intake in my window and eating
<v Speaker 2>really potassium rich foods. So yeah, take a look at that.
<v Speaker 2>And I also want to say I would not use
<v Speaker 2>your mirrlax while fasting. You also should not be taking
<v Speaker 2>it for more than seven days. So I actually put
<v Speaker 2>a little link about potassium in show notes that you
<v Speaker 2>might find interesting. So take a look at that. Anything
<v Speaker 2>else you want to add in.
<v Speaker 1>No, I'm glad you know all that about about the topic,
<v Speaker 1>because I do not. I've just and blessed to be
<v Speaker 1>pretty regular, Thank goodness, I am blessed. Yeah, all right,
<v Speaker 1>So we have another question from sus. She says, I'll
<v Speaker 1>try to make the short. I started clean IF between
<v Speaker 1>March and May with no weight loss. So I started well,
<v Speaker 1>govy a weight loss shot in May through August, and
<v Speaker 1>I lost twenty five pounds. I am happy, but I
<v Speaker 1>still have fifteen pounds to get my goal weight of
<v Speaker 1>one twenty five to one thirty. I'm five foot two
<v Speaker 1>and a half. I went off with gov a week ago,
<v Speaker 1>as it made me so tired all day. Anyway, I
<v Speaker 1>don't want to gain back, and I'm hoping that if
<v Speaker 1>played into the weight loss. But I'm struggling with hunger.
<v Speaker 1>I haven't given in yet. I'm limited with food since
<v Speaker 1>I have a gluten sensitivity. My problem is is I'm
<v Speaker 1>starving two hours after I close my window. I go
<v Speaker 1>to bed between ten and eleven PM. I sleep better
<v Speaker 1>the later I go to bed, but I wake up
<v Speaker 1>several times a night starving. I never was a good sleeper.
<v Speaker 1>I'm up at four and have black coffee. I fast
<v Speaker 1>from seven p t eleven A. This is the best
<v Speaker 1>time for me due to work in life. I mostly
<v Speaker 1>eat meat and vegetables anything with protein.
<v Speaker 2>I eat sweets, but I don't overdo it and I
<v Speaker 2>have limited that as well. I'm fifty five and started
<v Speaker 2>HRT a few months ago because of menopausal hot flashes,
<v Speaker 2>and I had gained a lot of weight. I exercise often,
<v Speaker 2>doing walking five days a week, GEM and strength training
<v Speaker 2>two times a week. I can't say I was ever
<v Speaker 2>really overweight. Looking back now, I'd gain, but I would
<v Speaker 2>lose rather quickly until menopause entered my life. What can
<v Speaker 2>I do to help with the hunger pains. I think
<v Speaker 2>about my next meal as soon as I wake up.
<v Speaker 2>Any advice could.
<v Speaker 1>Help, all right, I do have some advice for you.
<v Speaker 1>Here's what I want you to do, Sues. First of all,
<v Speaker 1>I have some homework for you. I would like you
<v Speaker 1>to find episode four hundred and thirty of Intermittent Fasting
<v Speaker 1>Stories and listen to the story of Chelsea and Roz.
<v Speaker 1>Roz has a similar experience where she used weight loss shots,
<v Speaker 1>she had a shortage in her country and was unable
<v Speaker 1>to get it. That was when she pivoted to intermittent
<v Speaker 1>fasting and found great success with intermittent fasting. She was
<v Speaker 1>the first person I had actually spoken to who had
<v Speaker 1>come to intermittent fasting after using the weight loss medications.
<v Speaker 1>The thing that I think is really important here is
<v Speaker 1>that you just got off the Wagovi a week ago.
<v Speaker 1>I don't really know how long it takes your body
<v Speaker 1>to transition off of that, but you've been using a
<v Speaker 1>medication and now you're not. The good news is Roz
<v Speaker 1>shares that when she chooses real food and has a
<v Speaker 1>clean fast, she has a very similar kind of appetite
<v Speaker 1>correction that she had when she was doing the shots,
<v Speaker 1>she actually said that it's a similar thing clean fast
<v Speaker 1>plus real food. But it sounds to me like you
<v Speaker 1>might need to give yourself a little time for now,
<v Speaker 1>you know, I would focus on nourishing your body well
<v Speaker 1>in your eating window. I don't know. You mean, you've
<v Speaker 1>been used to eating these tiny, little amounts of food,
<v Speaker 1>so it's possible you're not nourishing your body sufficiently. Maybe
<v Speaker 1>you're hungry because you need more food and you know
<v Speaker 1>you're starving two hours after you close your window. That's
<v Speaker 1>a sign maybe you didn't eat enough. And I understand
<v Speaker 1>you probably have a lot of fear that you're going
<v Speaker 1>to regain the weight that you lost, and you may
<v Speaker 1>regain some of it, especially at first, as your body adapts.
<v Speaker 1>But I want you to just really know that fasting
<v Speaker 1>cleanlus plus nourishing your body well will help your satiety
<v Speaker 1>hormones get back into balance the way nature intended, and
<v Speaker 1>it could take a little time, but with confidence that
<v Speaker 1>could happen. I would also focus on the length of
<v Speaker 1>your eating window. Maybe give yourself a five hour eating
<v Speaker 1>window right now. You notice that you're fasting from seven
<v Speaker 1>pm to eleven am, so it sounds like you're giving
<v Speaker 1>yourself an eight hour eating window. I don't think that
<v Speaker 1>is going to be your eating windows sweet spot, honestly.
<v Speaker 1>And if you were doing that, if you were having
<v Speaker 1>an eight hour window from March to May when you
<v Speaker 1>didn't any weight, that might explain why you didn't lose
<v Speaker 1>any weight. Most of us do not lose weight with
<v Speaker 1>an eight hour eating window, especially postmenopause, especially women, especially
<v Speaker 1>if we have a complicated diet history. I would instead
<v Speaker 1>of having your window be from eleven am to seven pm,
<v Speaker 1>I would try two pm to seven pm. I've decided
<v Speaker 1>to sherry the words hardy, snack or confusing to people
<v Speaker 1>because when people think of we talked about this yesterday
<v Speaker 1>behind the scenes and like our chat. When I say
<v Speaker 1>the word snack, sometimes people think, oh, snack foods, that's chips,
<v Speaker 1>that's you know, snacky things, cheese and crackers. Instead think
<v Speaker 1>of it as like a small meal, you know, maybe
<v Speaker 1>open with a sandwich and some vegetables, something hearty, not
<v Speaker 1>snack snacky foods, right and then later have something else.
<v Speaker 1>You should not be starving two hours after you close
<v Speaker 1>your window. As a rule, that's a sign you didn't
<v Speaker 1>eat enough, especially if you're closing your window at seven pm,
<v Speaker 1>and you should not be waking up all night hungry either,
<v Speaker 1>if you had a sufficient eating window, So first shorten
<v Speaker 1>your window. I would try two to seven and delay
<v Speaker 1>till eleven. I know you're used to eating at eleven.
<v Speaker 1>You're just going to have to make it happen. Say okay,
<v Speaker 1>I'm delaying. I'm trying to flip into fat burning. I
<v Speaker 1>can do this and then just do it. Open your
<v Speaker 1>window around, close it at seven, nourish your body well,
<v Speaker 1>eat until you're satisfied.
<v Speaker 2>I do believe that. You know, when she was on
<v Speaker 2>the weight loss medications, she may have needed an eight
<v Speaker 2>hour window.
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, you're eating tiny amounts.
<v Speaker 2>But now that you're not on the medication, you want
<v Speaker 2>to achieve appetite correction, and that's going to come from
<v Speaker 2>a shorter eating window. Just as if you're hungry two
<v Speaker 2>hours after close your window, you'd eat enough. I personally
<v Speaker 2>do have pangs of hunger about two hours after I
<v Speaker 2>close my window, and I think it's just a blood
<v Speaker 2>sugar fluctuation of see, I don't, it's not. I know
<v Speaker 2>the difference between. It's kind of I call it rebound hunger.
<v Speaker 2>And true hunger because with the rebound hunger, I get
<v Speaker 2>a little hungry feeling or whatever. But if I drink
<v Speaker 2>some water or whatever, and I just keep continuing on
<v Speaker 2>about my night, that hunger goes away. It's not like
<v Speaker 2>real persistent hunger. It sounds like you're having real persistent hunger.
<v Speaker 2>And especially if you're waking up, you know, hungry and stuff.
<v Speaker 2>You know, you may want to play around with your
<v Speaker 2>meal composition too, because I think that can really affect satiety.
<v Speaker 2>And you know, for me, I've found that I really
<v Speaker 2>need fiber. Fiber keeps me full longer, and it keeps
<v Speaker 2>my blood sugars more level. And you say you eat
<v Speaker 2>some vegetables, but I don't know, you know, are you
<v Speaker 2>eating high fiber vegetables And so you might just really
<v Speaker 2>kind of tweak your meal composition and then, like Jen said,
<v Speaker 2>shorten your window.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, food quality makes such a difference for me.
<v Speaker 2>Beans.
<v Speaker 1>The more beans I eat, the more satisfied I feel.
<v Speaker 1>They actually have a name for that, and the literature
<v Speaker 1>about beans and they call it like the second meal effect,
<v Speaker 1>Like the beans stick around and they help you out
<v Speaker 1>the next time you need as well. They actually help
<v Speaker 1>control your blood sugar and your second meal anyway, add
<v Speaker 1>some beans. See how that goes? All right, it's time
<v Speaker 1>for our segment called what's your Why. Most of us
<v Speaker 1>begin intermittent fasting with weight loss in mind. I certainly did,
<v Speaker 1>Schery did. It's fine for that to be part of
<v Speaker 1>your why. There is so much more to what intermittent
<v Speaker 1>fasting can do for us beyond weight loss. In twenty
<v Speaker 1>eight day fast Start, day by day, I ask readers
<v Speaker 1>to craft their why statement before beginning. Oh, by the way,
<v Speaker 1>sheary in what's delayed on tonight, digging deeper, and I
<v Speaker 1>think in the life drawal, maybe one or that I
<v Speaker 1>can't remember, but I was revising both of them yesterday.
<v Speaker 1>Like I said, I have people crafting their why statements
<v Speaker 1>in there. This is not something new for me, but
<v Speaker 1>in twenty eight day fast Start, I made it a
<v Speaker 1>real focus. When you have a why that's 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 2>So this week's why is from Liz. She said, I
<v Speaker 2>experimented with IF and twenty, but I started in earnest
<v Speaker 2>in January twenty twenty three. During the early pandemic. I
<v Speaker 2>was successful in losing about ten pounds with calorie restriction
<v Speaker 2>and exercise, and some six to eight hour windows helped
<v Speaker 2>me to maintain that loss for about a year, but
<v Speaker 2>the weight came back on. Then in late twenty twenty two,
<v Speaker 2>I tried cutting back on calories to lose a few pounds,
<v Speaker 2>and I was absolutely alarmed by how ineffective it was.
<v Speaker 2>I decided to go read the OBCD code in full
<v Speaker 2>and realized that I was insolent resistant. I knew I
<v Speaker 2>needed to tackle that problem, so after reading Fast Feast Repeat,
<v Speaker 2>I did the twenty eight day fast start in January
<v Speaker 2>and I have fasted ever since. When I began, I
<v Speaker 2>was utterly frustrated by how hard it had become to
<v Speaker 2>lose weight. That was my why. After a year of IF,
<v Speaker 2>I have gathered so many new reasons to keep going.
<v Speaker 2>Without the option of emotional eating, I had to face
<v Speaker 2>things I usually would bury. As a result, my mental
<v Speaker 2>health has improved. I am more able to notice my
<v Speaker 2>feelings and sit with them. This has enabled me to
<v Speaker 2>be more present the people in my life who need me.
<v Speaker 2>I've struggled with depression and anxiety for much of my life,
<v Speaker 2>so this is an unforeseen non scale victory, and it
<v Speaker 2>is now a huge part of my why. Many other physical,
<v Speaker 2>non scale victories have helped me to see the health
<v Speaker 2>benefits of IF. My skin is smoother, my gums are healthier,
<v Speaker 2>I no longer have frequent heartburn and acid reflux, my
<v Speaker 2>migraines have become much less frequent. And above all, I
<v Speaker 2>feel like I have the ability to help myself be
<v Speaker 2>a healthier person, and that is so powerful beyond my
<v Speaker 2>own mental and physical health. I feel that continuing IF
<v Speaker 2>will benefit those around me. If I keep it up
<v Speaker 2>and stay healthy, I know that people in my life
<v Speaker 2>who need a solution will ask me about what I'm doing.
<v Speaker 2>My husband has already lost fifty pounds with IF. My
<v Speaker 2>why now is much more broad than it was before.
<v Speaker 2>I want to be more present in my life. This
<v Speaker 2>is not just about longevity, but also about making each
<v Speaker 2>day count. If I am a more mentally healthy person,
<v Speaker 2>I don't waste time planning, preparing and eating meals. I
<v Speaker 2>don't need or fretting about calories. If I feel my best,
<v Speaker 2>I can live my life more fully. I've recently become
<v Speaker 2>ready to stop worrying about the scale and to concentrate
<v Speaker 2>on each day's fast as it comes.
<v Speaker 1>I love that so much, Liz.
<v Speaker 2>I'm so good too.
<v Speaker 1>You know, you start, you don't even expect all the
<v Speaker 1>wonderful benefits. That's the thing. You're like, I just need
<v Speaker 1>to lose some weight, and then as you go along,
<v Speaker 1>the benefits stack up that you never once thought of,
<v Speaker 1>the emotional ones.
<v Speaker 2>You know.
<v Speaker 1>I love what Liz said in there about the emotional eating.
<v Speaker 1>And you know, for anyone who is an emotional eater,
<v Speaker 1>you may have started in childhood with your mother giving
<v Speaker 1>you a cookie when you were sad, and you started
<v Speaker 1>to associate feelings with soothing the food. There are really
<v Speaker 1>two ways you can go with it with intermittent fasting.
<v Speaker 1>One is to continue to struggle with that and going
<v Speaker 1>back to those old coping mechanisms and then really struggling
<v Speaker 1>to fast. But Liz is not doing that. She has said, Okay,
<v Speaker 1>I am fasting now, so I am not eating emotionally. Instead,
<v Speaker 1>you have to feel those feelings, and I think that's
<v Speaker 1>really the goal of what we want, because you know,
<v Speaker 1>I've not been an emotional eater, so I know the
<v Speaker 1>struggle is, you know, not something I have faced, but
<v Speaker 1>I've seen enough people who have struggled with it to
<v Speaker 1>realize that the emotional eating never really solves the problem,
<v Speaker 1>and then later you've end up feeling worse I think
<v Speaker 1>because of the emotional eating. So like really just spiraled
<v Speaker 1>into now you have two problems, the original problem plus
<v Speaker 1>you ate too much. And so I love that Liz,
<v Speaker 1>you know, leaned into the fasting and said, well, I've
<v Speaker 1>got these emotions, I'm going to feel them, I'm going
<v Speaker 1>to deal with them. I'm going to face them head on,
<v Speaker 1>because the emotional eating is a trap that you get
<v Speaker 1>yourself into. And again, like I said, now you have
<v Speaker 1>two problems instead of the one that you started with.
<v Speaker 1>So I mean, it might be easier for me to
<v Speaker 1>say it because I haven't been through it, But if
<v Speaker 1>you think about it that way, maybe that could help
<v Speaker 1>you when you're struggling in the moment. There are a
<v Speaker 1>lot of people who do struggle with emotional eating.
<v Speaker 2>And then when you turn to food to cope with
<v Speaker 2>your emotions, then the next day you feel worse because
<v Speaker 2>you feel like you failed. You get on the scale
<v Speaker 2>and you don't like what the skill says, and you're
<v Speaker 2>unhappy with your weight, and it just becomes this kind
<v Speaker 2>of cycle that never comes to an end. So I mean,
<v Speaker 2>I do love that when we intermittent fast there's this
<v Speaker 2>hard start and stop of when your window is right
<v Speaker 2>and everything outside of that now eating is just off
<v Speaker 2>the table, right, So that is one of the I
<v Speaker 2>think one of the greatest things about intermittent fasting is
<v Speaker 2>that you suddenly have all this time where you now
<v Speaker 2>have to feel things and not bury them under food
<v Speaker 2>or a creamy coffee or whatever. And and when you're
<v Speaker 2>ready to do the work, I believe it just makes
<v Speaker 2>it so much easier to really start working on your
<v Speaker 2>emotional help, your healing past traumas and that sort of thing,
<v Speaker 2>because you're clear headed, you're not foggy brained, you have
<v Speaker 2>more energy to tackle these things. And I know this
<v Speaker 2>was true for me, and I was no longer worried
<v Speaker 2>about what diet am I going to be on? And
<v Speaker 2>am I gonna be able to lose ten pounds by
<v Speaker 2>this event? Because what I did every day for my food,
<v Speaker 2>for my eating, that was a given. I was gonna
<v Speaker 2>wake up, I was a fast, I was gonna eat
<v Speaker 2>in a window. So now that hole, like, what should
<v Speaker 2>I do? What's the next best diet that's no longer
<v Speaker 2>taking up brain space, and that just gives you time
<v Speaker 2>to really focus on your own healing outside of.
<v Speaker 1>Weight well fed.
<v Speaker 2>So all right, Well, so we have a question from
<v Speaker 2>Robin in Pennsylvania. She says, I'm fifty three years old.
<v Speaker 2>I'm five four and one hundred and thirty seven pounds.
<v Speaker 2>I would love to get back down to at least
<v Speaker 2>one twenty five. I am considered a Yodo dieter. In
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and nine, I did weight Watchers and lost
<v Speaker 2>eleven pounds, but then I got tired of having to
<v Speaker 2>keep track of points. Throughout the years, I tried many diets,
<v Speaker 2>lost weight, gained weight, and it does get frustrating. About
<v Speaker 2>five years ago, I started menopause and I have not
<v Speaker 2>been the same since. And now I am postmenopause. I
<v Speaker 2>literally hate it. I've gained weight that I'm struggling to lose.
<v Speaker 2>I've always had very fine, thin hair, but I still
<v Speaker 2>managed to always look nice and be healthy. Now it's
<v Speaker 2>awfully thin, and every time I wash it and style it,
<v Speaker 2>my hair is everywhere from falling out, and I'm so
<v Speaker 2>irritable all the time. But I'm also in pain all
<v Speaker 2>the time too. About two months ago, I tried intermittent fasting,
<v Speaker 2>and I was so angry what menopause did that I
<v Speaker 2>needed to try something well. I did not succeed in it.
<v Speaker 2>I wasn't doing it right, of course. And then a
<v Speaker 2>month ago I saw a friend of mine had posted
<v Speaker 2>a picture of herself and commented how good she looks,
<v Speaker 2>and asked what her secret was, and she said she
<v Speaker 2>swears by intermittent fasting. So right away I messaged her
<v Speaker 2>and I asked her about it and how does she
<v Speaker 2>stick with it because she says she's been doing it
<v Speaker 2>for five years. She told me that I needed to
<v Speaker 2>get Jen Stevens' Fast Fees Repeat book. That was her
<v Speaker 2>best advice, and to listen to your podcasts. So I
<v Speaker 2>immediately looked you up and I looked for your books.
<v Speaker 2>I didn't know which one to get first, and I
<v Speaker 2>decided to get the twenty eight day Fast Start, and
<v Speaker 2>I'm so thankful I did. I started on July thirty first,
<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty four, and I'm actually surprised that I'm still
<v Speaker 2>doing it. I'm usually one who gets frustrated if I
<v Speaker 2>don't see results yesterday, but I kept reading the book
<v Speaker 2>and listening to your podcast, and it's not only about
<v Speaker 2>losing weight. I mean, yeah, it'll be amazing when I do,
<v Speaker 2>but I'm also sticking with it because of my menopause,
<v Speaker 2>my pain, and just my overall health. Right now, I'm
<v Speaker 2>doing physical therapy for collapsed disk in my lower back
<v Speaker 2>and severe degenerative dis disease. I do not want to
<v Speaker 2>give up on IF because because after reading many other
<v Speaker 2>eye FRST stories, I'm amazed at how many say that
<v Speaker 2>their health has gotten so much better and that their
<v Speaker 2>pain is gone. And I want to be one of
<v Speaker 2>those people now. Of course, my biggest struggle was that
<v Speaker 2>black coffee. I'm still trying to get used to it.
<v Speaker 2>I used to be a six pack of sugar and
<v Speaker 2>lots of creamer coffee drinker, and I could not believe
<v Speaker 2>after drinking black coffee and when I put one packet
<v Speaker 2>of sugar in it, how sweet it tasted. I do
<v Speaker 2>have a couple of questions. Is there a coffee out
<v Speaker 2>there that doesn't taste so bitter black? And what kind
<v Speaker 2>do you drink? Is it hurting anything?
<v Speaker 1>If?
<v Speaker 2>During my eating window, I will treat myself to a
<v Speaker 2>cup of coffee with one or two packets of sugar.
<v Speaker 2>I'm still struggling with that sweet tooth and thinking I
<v Speaker 2>need a sweet treat before I close my window, like
<v Speaker 2>yogurt with cool web and chocolate chips. Even though it's
<v Speaker 2>in my eating window, I'm sure it's still not a
<v Speaker 2>good choice. I believe this is my last question. When
<v Speaker 2>I'm at work, we are not allowed to eat anything
<v Speaker 2>which is kind of good, and I will take a
<v Speaker 2>drink to work and leave it in my locker and
<v Speaker 2>grab a few gulps here and there. It is now water.
<v Speaker 2>But my issue is I get dry mouth really bad,
<v Speaker 2>and I used to have mints to help with that,
<v Speaker 2>but I can't have mints during my fasting period. So
<v Speaker 2>is there anything else you suggest that would help with that?
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much, Jen. I did forget to tell
<v Speaker 2>you that I recently got the fast feece Reebeet book
<v Speaker 2>and I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing and
<v Speaker 2>changing my life for the better with if all right.
<v Speaker 1>Well, it is great to hear from you, Robin, and
<v Speaker 1>I'm so glad that you've found us. And gosh, I
<v Speaker 1>think so many of us can relate to your struggles,
<v Speaker 1>you know, being placemento pausal and our bodies change over menopause,
<v Speaker 1>and my body is different now than it was premenopause.
<v Speaker 1>Even though I was fasting before menopause, I went through
<v Speaker 1>menopause as an intermittent faster And here I am on
<v Speaker 1>the other side. I am fluffier around the middle. My
<v Speaker 1>waist measurement went up after menopause, and I'm just a
<v Speaker 1>little squishier.
<v Speaker 2>You know.
<v Speaker 1>I don't weait myself, so I don't know what my
<v Speaker 1>weight might have done. But you know, my clothes all
<v Speaker 1>still fit, but I just have more squishiness than I
<v Speaker 1>used to. And you know, Sherry saw me post this
<v Speaker 1>in the community the other day. But you know, I
<v Speaker 1>was in Florida for eight days and at the pool
<v Speaker 1>and on the beach with people, and where we were
<v Speaker 1>Marco and Florida, a lot of people there were a
<v Speaker 1>good bit older than me. Let's just say, you know,
<v Speaker 1>you know a lot of women in their retirement age. Yeah,
<v Speaker 1>and so wearing bathing suits. And I very lovingly you
<v Speaker 1>looked at my body and looked at their bodies and
<v Speaker 1>just compared. And these women were so inspiring because here
<v Speaker 1>they are in their seventies or whatever age they were,
<v Speaker 1>and they are rocking the bathing suits, but they do
<v Speaker 1>not have the same abs that they had when they
<v Speaker 1>were pre menopause. You know, I'm noticing myself. I've talked
<v Speaker 1>about this before. My thighs are different than they used
<v Speaker 1>to be. They're getting saggyer. They're sagger now than they
<v Speaker 1>were in twenty eighteen. I'm getting that creepiness. But I
<v Speaker 1>looked around, like I said, just with loving curiosity, and
<v Speaker 1>noticed every single one of the older women had saggy,
<v Speaker 1>creepy legs without exception. There was not a single seventy
<v Speaker 1>something year old woman at the pool or the beach
<v Speaker 1>who had the same legs she had when she was younger.
<v Speaker 1>There was this beautiful young mother there, she had her
<v Speaker 1>two little boys that she like. She was probably in
<v Speaker 1>her thirties, and she had the rock hard abs, and
<v Speaker 1>the rest of us, we're all just older. We didn't
<v Speaker 1>have that anymore. So why am I telling y' all
<v Speaker 1>that story, Robin, And what does that have to do
<v Speaker 1>with you? I want you to give yourself grace. I
<v Speaker 1>want everybody who's listening to this to give themselves grace
<v Speaker 1>as we age, as we get older, and we're holding
<v Speaker 1>ourselves to the standards of what we used to look like.
<v Speaker 1>And that beautiful mother with her two young sons, she
<v Speaker 1>was there with her parents. She'd been coming to the
<v Speaker 1>resorts since she was a kid. She's got a beautiful body.
<v Speaker 1>Well so did the seventy year old women. They have
<v Speaker 1>beautiful bodies too, It's just it's different because postmenopause, we're
<v Speaker 1>going to be saggyer, we're going to have the crape,
<v Speaker 1>we're going to have the legs that look really different
<v Speaker 1>than they did when we were in our thirties. And
<v Speaker 1>I want us to stop feeling like we should like
<v Speaker 1>look like we used to look because we shouldn't. We
<v Speaker 1>should not look like that. As we're in our fifties,
<v Speaker 1>we don't look like we did in our thirties. When
<v Speaker 1>when in our seventies, we're not going to look like
<v Speaker 1>we did in our fifties. And so we can either
<v Speaker 1>feel really bad or we can rocket like those seventy
<v Speaker 1>year old women did in their bathing suits. So I
<v Speaker 1>looked up your stats, Robin using the smart BMI and
<v Speaker 1>where you are right this very minute at five four,
<v Speaker 1>one hundred and thirty seven pounds at fifty three years old.
<v Speaker 1>You are smack dab exactly in the middle of the
<v Speaker 1>healthy weight range for your age and height. Now, I
<v Speaker 1>get it. You felt great when you weighed one twenty
<v Speaker 1>five in the past. I felt great when I was
<v Speaker 1>at my thirties. Actually I didn't because I didn't realize
<v Speaker 1>I should appreciate it at the time. You know, we're
<v Speaker 1>all picking ourselves apart in our thirties, and if we
<v Speaker 1>could go back to that, we would all snap our
<v Speaker 1>fingers and do it right. I want you to appreciate
<v Speaker 1>the body you have right now, and if you never
<v Speaker 1>lost another pound, be okay with that and recognize that
<v Speaker 1>you're at a healthy weight. Maybe you'll get down to
<v Speaker 1>one twenty five again. Maybe you won't. But what if
<v Speaker 1>you stop the menopausal weight gain and you can live
<v Speaker 1>with freedom and happiness and enjoy your life at the
<v Speaker 1>weight you are now forever without the stress. That's just
<v Speaker 1>something to keep in mind. Did you want to add
<v Speaker 1>anything to that? Before I get to the rest of there.
<v Speaker 2>There's a piece that comes from accepting what is okay.
<v Speaker 2>We all would love to have our dream body at
<v Speaker 2>fifty years old. Our bodies are different, yep. It's just
<v Speaker 2>it's biological and we can't change that. And you know,
<v Speaker 2>hormone request with therapy can help some. It's not going
<v Speaker 2>to reverse aging. We cannot stop aging. We wouldn't want to. Well,
<v Speaker 2>I mean you can stop aging. You know you're gonna
<v Speaker 2>be in a coffin, so I mean, hey, to be morbid,
<v Speaker 2>But aging happens. The fact that you're aging means that
<v Speaker 2>you are here today living life, and you get to
<v Speaker 2>it as fully as you choose to live it.
<v Speaker 1>You buy a.
<v Speaker 2>Car in it's right, brand new, it's shiny, the paint's immaculate.
<v Speaker 2>There's no dnse, there's no dings. Show me a car
<v Speaker 2>that's fifty years old that looks as perfect as it
<v Speaker 2>did when it was new. It's not out there. There's
<v Speaker 2>gonna be dentse. There's gonna be dings. The paint's gonna
<v Speaker 2>be a little faded. If you take care of it,
<v Speaker 2>it's still gonna run. And that's your body. Yep, we're
<v Speaker 2>gonna be a little dinged up. We're gonna be a
<v Speaker 2>little stretched out. Yeah, we're gonna be a little faded.
<v Speaker 2>Our hair gets lighter, you know, it gets gray or whatever.
<v Speaker 2>But if you take care of your body, it's still
<v Speaker 2>gonna run. Great.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I love that, and honestly, that's one message I
<v Speaker 1>really want to get out there is just we can't
<v Speaker 1>stop the aging that's gonna happen in our bodies. And
<v Speaker 1>maybe some people are genetically gifted in a way that
<v Speaker 1>their legs are not gonna look saggy like mine. I'm
<v Speaker 1>not one of those people. And down to the people
<v Speaker 1>like that, we're at the pool with me. So, you know,
<v Speaker 1>just loved yourself and accept that your body is changing.
<v Speaker 1>You use the words that you were angry with what
<v Speaker 1>menopause did, and I think that is common. You know,
<v Speaker 1>I'm not faulting you for saying that, because you know,
<v Speaker 1>our body changes and we could be angry, almost like
<v Speaker 1>our body has betrayed us. But then when we realize, hey,
<v Speaker 1>this is biology. It's not your body didn't do it
<v Speaker 1>to you. It happens, and you didn't do anything wrong,
<v Speaker 1>you didn't mess up. It's just our bodies changed, and say, okay,
<v Speaker 1>all right, this is what it is, and I got it.
<v Speaker 2>Just against my new body. Accept it.
<v Speaker 1>So you talked about coffee and are there any coffees
<v Speaker 1>that don't taste so bit or black? Now? Coffee quality
<v Speaker 1>makes a big difference. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, you know I
<v Speaker 1>went to my sisters that like about a year ago,
<v Speaker 1>and she hates that I tell this story, but she
<v Speaker 1>had the worst coffee I've ever had in my life.
<v Speaker 1>I'm like, oh my god, what is this coffee? I mean,
<v Speaker 1>it was disgusting. And I'm someone who drinks black coffee
<v Speaker 1>every day. If I thought that was all that black
<v Speaker 1>coffee was going to taste like, I would not be
<v Speaker 1>drinking coffee. So you know you wanted to know what
<v Speaker 1>I drink. I drink. Mayorga is the brand. It's organic,
<v Speaker 1>Cuban roast, whole bean. I buy it at Costco. This
<v Speaker 1>is not a commercial for them. They don't know I exist.
<v Speaker 1>It's just the coffee I've been buying for literally for years.
<v Speaker 1>And Chad, bless his heart, he keeps me stocked. I
<v Speaker 1>went out in my little garage fridge yesterday's year and
<v Speaker 1>there's like five bags in there. He just went to Costco.
<v Speaker 1>So I don't even have to go anymore. But I
<v Speaker 1>just grind it fresh every morning, and it is so
<v Speaker 1>much better. When I was in Florida, obviously I didn't
<v Speaker 1>have a coffee grinder, so I bought like Starbucks, arna
<v Speaker 1>I think is what I had. It was already ground
<v Speaker 1>and it was pretty good, but like the coffee they
<v Speaker 1>had at the front desk of the hotel was disgusting.
<v Speaker 1>So it's a matter of figuring out what is not
<v Speaker 1>disgusting to your taste buds. And there's certain there's like
<v Speaker 1>two different varieties of coffee beans. I'm not sure what
<v Speaker 1>they are, but one kind of hate them. They're like
<v Speaker 1>floral and something that just tastes disgusting, and the other
<v Speaker 1>kind of like I don't know which is which, but
<v Speaker 1>you need to figure that out for yourself and see
<v Speaker 1>what you can tolerate. Back from the Facebook group days,
<v Speaker 1>when we had Facebook group members sharing how they got
<v Speaker 1>used to the coffee, I remember one trick that a
<v Speaker 1>lot of people would do is they would pour themselves
<v Speaker 1>just to help you know, your taste buds get used
<v Speaker 1>to it. They would pour themselves a mug of coffee
<v Speaker 1>like the way they used to when they were putting
<v Speaker 1>cream or creamer in it. They would fill it up
<v Speaker 1>to the same level that they would fill it up
<v Speaker 1>to prior to when they would normally then add cream,
<v Speaker 1>and then they would add water, so the same amount
<v Speaker 1>of water as the amount of cream or creamer you
<v Speaker 1>would have put it in so dilute it to the
<v Speaker 1>same degree that you would have, and that helped them
<v Speaker 1>get through the hump of adjusting to it. That's just,
<v Speaker 1>you know, one thing that you can do. Did you
<v Speaker 1>have anything to add about the coffee.
<v Speaker 2>Coffee quality absolutely does matter. I am a coffee girl.
<v Speaker 2>I gotta have it. My day can't start without it.
<v Speaker 2>But funny story, Jen Christy, I know you're now a
<v Speaker 2>friend of ours, actually listens to each episode as we
<v Speaker 2>record and get it back from our producers or from
<v Speaker 2>the editors. I stayed at her house in August for
<v Speaker 2>a night and she told me the night before like, oh, yeah,
<v Speaker 2>by the way, I only have folders. I hope that's okay.
<v Speaker 2>And I said, well, I don't know. I guess I'll
<v Speaker 2>give it a try. Well, I'm going to tell you
<v Speaker 2>right now it was not okay. She very lovingly took
<v Speaker 2>me to a local coffee shop where I got a
<v Speaker 2>really delicious cup of coffee. But if you're drinking coffee
<v Speaker 2>and you put it in your mouth and you immediately
<v Speaker 2>say no, try a different kind of coffee because it
<v Speaker 2>depends on where it's grown. Ethiopian coffees, there's Mexican coffees.
<v Speaker 2>There's Cuban coffees. There's so many different varieties of coffees,
<v Speaker 2>and they're all going to have a different flavor profile
<v Speaker 2>based off of the altitude, the temperature. I mean, like
<v Speaker 2>so much affects flavor of coffee, how it's roasted. So
<v Speaker 2>just keep trying till you find a good, smooth black
<v Speaker 2>coffee that you like. I will say, if you're just
<v Speaker 2>really trying to adapt to black coffee, I really am
<v Speaker 2>going to suggest cold brew. It's smooth, it's not bitter,
<v Speaker 2>and you can add water to it to get it
<v Speaker 2>to the strength that you like.
<v Speaker 1>Just be careful if you're buying already prepared cold brew.
<v Speaker 1>You don't want to buy any that has anything in
<v Speaker 1>it other than just coffee.
<v Speaker 2>And coffee and water that's the.
<v Speaker 1>Other ingredient in it, other than coffee or water. Don't
<v Speaker 1>buy it. Like the Costco brand of cold brew coffee
<v Speaker 1>has something in there called coffee extract.
<v Speaker 2>My dad drinks those little cans, and yeah, he's always
<v Speaker 2>off ready to me. I'm like, no, you can't have
<v Speaker 2>any of that.
<v Speaker 1>So you talked about your sweet tooth. I have a
<v Speaker 1>sweet tooth, and it's just a matter of choosing what
<v Speaker 1>you want, Like, I don't know that I would have
<v Speaker 1>cool will for example, as part of that, I would
<v Speaker 1>stick to maybe some real food. Like what I'm loving
<v Speaker 1>right now that I'm really obsessed with cottage cheese frozen
<v Speaker 1>cherries on top that is so good to me. I
<v Speaker 1>just I love, Oh my gosh, I love them so
<v Speaker 1>much on top of cottage cheese. It is amazing.
<v Speaker 2>I've never ad sugar.
<v Speaker 1>It is like I was using like cherry preserves that
<v Speaker 1>I had in the fridge, and you know, I just
<v Speaker 1>don't need that much sugar because it gives me rustles
<v Speaker 1>legs if I have too much sugar. But the frozen
<v Speaker 1>cherries on top of the cottage cheese no added sugar
<v Speaker 1>at all. It is so delicious and I just love it.
<v Speaker 2>And I love adding it to just plain Greek yogurt, yeah,
<v Speaker 2>because it kind of sweetens it up, and.
<v Speaker 1>Get the unsweetened kind and add the fruit in there.
<v Speaker 1>And I've also rediscovered my love of frozen grapes. O,
<v Speaker 1>frozen grapes are so good and they are absolutely delicious.
<v Speaker 1>It's like you're eating candy. So make yourself some frozen
<v Speaker 1>grapes and try that and just see you know, because
<v Speaker 1>I do think that quality matters and real fruit can
<v Speaker 1>really meet that sweet tooth. And I was not somebody
<v Speaker 1>who ever had a lot of fruit, but now I'm
<v Speaker 1>like embracing it and I'm really enjoying it. What do
<v Speaker 1>you have to say about the dry mouth? Do you
<v Speaker 1>have any suggestions for that?
<v Speaker 2>So electrolyte balance can affect whether or not you have
<v Speaker 2>dry mouth all the time. Go to your doctor and
<v Speaker 2>have your potassium checked, and then you can always keep
<v Speaker 2>like a little spray bottle. Amazon has some little tiny
<v Speaker 2>glass spray bottles. Then you could just put some water
<v Speaker 2>in it spray your tongue when you need to wet
<v Speaker 2>your mouth.
<v Speaker 1>It's a great idea, and I wonder if they would
<v Speaker 1>allow you to have that. They said you can't have
<v Speaker 1>drinks with you, but maybe you could have a spray
<v Speaker 1>bottle with you.
<v Speaker 2>I would assume if she could have used mints before
<v Speaker 2>she could spray some water in there. Probably say before
<v Speaker 2>we get to the tweak of the week, I want
<v Speaker 2>to take a minute to talk to you for a
<v Speaker 2>minute about hormonal health. You hear us talk about a
<v Speaker 2>lot and if you are over the age of forty,
<v Speaker 2>then this is for you so hormones. Our hormones start
<v Speaker 2>tanking somewhere in the forties. A lot of people think
<v Speaker 2>that if they are not on the other side of menopause,
<v Speaker 2>that their hormones are fine. However, probably not, and some
<v Speaker 2>signs of that they're not where they need to be
<v Speaker 2>are hot flashes, swings, stubborn weight gain, anxiety this is
<v Speaker 2>a big one. Tossing and turning through the night. Those
<v Speaker 2>are all symptoms of perimenopause that most women complain about.
<v Speaker 2>But did you know that there are other serious health
<v Speaker 2>problems that can be caused by this decline in your hormones,
<v Speaker 2>such as osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer's Those
<v Speaker 2>are all linked to perimenopause. Did you know that seven
<v Speaker 2>out of ten women who divorced during perimenopause said that
<v Speaker 2>their hormones played a significant part in the divorce. Perimenopause
<v Speaker 2>is a big deal. When your hormones are out of balance,
<v Speaker 2>you cannot live your best life. Your hormone drama can
<v Speaker 2>end today. Our friend, a colleague, doctor Tabatha Barber, is
<v Speaker 2>the most trusted expert in safe bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
<v Speaker 2>She is a triple Board certified OBGYN who is a
<v Speaker 2>big believer in intermittent fasting for women. She is the
<v Speaker 2>go to hormone expert for women over forty and she
<v Speaker 2>was our guest on episode one twenty of the Life
<v Speaker 2>Lessons podcast and episode twenty eight of this podcas If
<v Speaker 2>you have not heard those I really urge you to
<v Speaker 2>go back and listen to them both. If you are
<v Speaker 2>ready to get your hormones tested and see if hormone
<v Speaker 2>replacement therapy is right for you, book a discovery call
<v Speaker 2>with doctor Tabatha today. There's a special link for our
<v Speaker 2>listeners in today's show notes, or you can find it
<v Speaker 2>at fast Feastrepeat dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Slash Sherry And now it's time for our tweak of
<v Speaker 1>the week. You know, I always say tweak it till
<v Speaker 1>it's easy, But the tweak that works for me might
<v Speaker 1>not be the one that works for you. And that's
<v Speaker 1>why it is so helpful to hear how other intermittent
<v Speaker 1>fasters are making intermittent fasting work for them. This is
<v Speaker 1>from Katie in Kent. Katie says this is more of
<v Speaker 1>a mindset than a physical tweak. But I have found
<v Speaker 1>that shifting the way I think about fasting has been
<v Speaker 1>a game changer in ensuring that this is a lifestyle
<v Speaker 1>for life and not something I quit two months in.
<v Speaker 1>I am now thinking of a fast as merely a
<v Speaker 1>period of not eating. If one day that happens to
<v Speaker 1>be ten or twelve hours, and that's okay. It's still
<v Speaker 1>a fast. Even if it was just the seven to
<v Speaker 1>eight hours I was asleep, it would still be a fast,
<v Speaker 1>just a shorter one. This way, I can never fail,
<v Speaker 1>and I just carry on day after day living the
<v Speaker 1>IF life.
<v Speaker 2>You know, we hear a lot of people that say, oh,
<v Speaker 2>I had to set fasting aside because of X y
<v Speaker 2>Z vacation, big family event, or whatever. And I just
<v Speaker 2>really want to encourage you to take Katie's mindset. Don't
<v Speaker 2>put fasting aside. You don't ever have to put aside.
<v Speaker 2>You can fast every single day. You may have longer windows,
<v Speaker 2>but you can still fast. There's no reason to ever
<v Speaker 2>set it aside.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I fasted when I was in Florida. There was
<v Speaker 1>one day I opened at eleven, but I still fasted
<v Speaker 1>till eleven, and most days I waited till two, but
<v Speaker 1>then we were eating really late into the night. But
<v Speaker 1>I still fasted every day. There was not a day
<v Speaker 1>that I didn't.
<v Speaker 2>Yep. I think mentally it's just way easier to stay
<v Speaker 2>in that fasting mindset. I think so too, take time
<v Speaker 2>off and then have to like get it all back again.
<v Speaker 1>And I don't say to yourself today I'm taking the
<v Speaker 1>day off. You're not. You're just saying today I'm having
<v Speaker 1>a longer window. That's what you're doing. You're not taking
<v Speaker 1>the day off. You woke up after fasting all night.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, words matter, they do, all right. Well, we'd love
<v Speaker 2>to leave our listeners with inspiration, our motivational quotes, and
<v Speaker 2>this week we have a poem shared by Ann. It's
<v Speaker 2>written by Cleo Wade. The poem is titled own by
<v Speaker 2>You Alone. Your piece belongs to you alone. Only you
<v Speaker 2>can give it to yourself, and only you can take
<v Speaker 2>it away. Anne wrote, I heard a quote the other
<v Speaker 2>day from another faster, Laurie Lewis, that fasting is not
<v Speaker 2>a diet, it's a quiet. I would agree one hundred percent.
<v Speaker 2>I own my piece and I protect my piece.
<v Speaker 1>I love that so much. Thanks so much for listening today.
<v Speaker 1>We would love to have you join us in the delay.
<v Speaker 1>Don't tonight community where you can interact with both me
<v Speaker 1>and Sherry, plus the most supportive bunch of interni and
<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
<v Speaker 2>show 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,