Episode 78: Realistic Weight Loss, Set Points, Fasting While Sick, and More

<v Speaker 1>Welcome to 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 is 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 3>How are you doing today's Sherry, I'm doing great. And
<v Speaker 3>this episode comes out on Christmas Day. Oh it does,
<v Speaker 3>even though.
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure a lot of people might listen later later
<v Speaker 1>not on Christmas Day. So everybody's listening. If it is
<v Speaker 1>Christmas Day, hooray. And if it isn't. I hope you
<v Speaker 1>had a great Christmas Day.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, I hope you would join us on Christmas Day.
<v Speaker 1>Well, I will be honest, I'm not listening to podcasts
<v Speaker 1>on Christmas Day.
<v Speaker 3>I don't see.
<v Speaker 2>My Christmas is not like other people's though. It's so
<v Speaker 2>low key, and I don't like we don't really have
<v Speaker 2>family that we hang out with on holidays. It's just
<v Speaker 2>Eric and I. So my Christmas Day will be football
<v Speaker 2>all day and so I'll probably be looking for.
<v Speaker 3>An audiobook or a podcast to listen to.
<v Speaker 1>Well, it's just me and Chad and Will this year,
<v Speaker 1>and just like last year, and Will and I just
<v Speaker 1>spend the whole day together. Chad goes off, does this
<v Speaker 1>thing around the house whatever that is. But yeah, Will,
<v Speaker 1>bless his heart, he's twenty five now and he's very sentimental.
<v Speaker 3>About things, and he really cares about having a nice
<v Speaker 3>Christmas together. So well, that's good, it really is.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I would love if.
<v Speaker 2>I had, you know, one of the kids here on Christmas,
<v Speaker 2>but we just we just don't. We never have well
<v Speaker 2>we don't get call and kay, so kids are off
<v Speaker 2>with their moms. So anyway, it's good. Though I'm still
<v Speaker 2>excited this year about it and so it is what
<v Speaker 2>it is.
<v Speaker 1>We had always what it is of Christmases where like
<v Speaker 1>when we lived in the Atlanta area. We lived in
<v Speaker 1>the Atlanta area for seven years, and we always traveled
<v Speaker 1>back to Augusta for Christmas and we always spent Christmas Eve.
<v Speaker 3>We always spent in Augusta, so all the.
<v Speaker 1>Time the boys were little, because we moved when caw
<v Speaker 1>was four months old, so we always we never spent
<v Speaker 1>Christmas Eve in our own beds. Oh yeah, until we
<v Speaker 1>moved back to Augusta in two thousand and five, and
<v Speaker 1>so we were just always traveling.
<v Speaker 3>It was. It was weird.
<v Speaker 1>It's really nice not to have to run all around
<v Speaker 1>on Christmas Day and have it.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I was thinking back to my childhood and even
<v Speaker 2>until I moved away from Kansas City in two thousand
<v Speaker 2>and twenty ten was my last Christmas there. Wells had
<v Speaker 2>multiple Christmases because my grandparents were divorced, so we did
<v Speaker 2>one with my grandpa and one with my grandma and
<v Speaker 2>then we as you know, my kids were born. Then
<v Speaker 2>my mom way to always go to my mom's or
<v Speaker 2>my parents would come.
<v Speaker 3>To our house.
<v Speaker 2>So as always like we had three Christmases four if
<v Speaker 2>my mom's side of the family did something, and so
<v Speaker 2>it is kind of nice not to have that hectic
<v Speaker 2>stress and a holiday that drags on for weeks and weeks.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we are going to go to Augusta before Christmas
<v Speaker 1>and have you know, a family day, but it won't
<v Speaker 1>be on Christmas. So I hope everyone listening is either
<v Speaker 1>having or did have or will have, you know, because
<v Speaker 1>they might be celebrating with family on the twenty sixth
<v Speaker 1>or the twenty seventh.
<v Speaker 3>Or however your holiday looks.
<v Speaker 1>I hope it is everything that you wanted it to
<v Speaker 1>be and no guilt about food choices.
<v Speaker 2>I was just gonna say that as we record this,
<v Speaker 2>it's the week after Thanksgiving, and the first, oh, I
<v Speaker 2>don't know, four days or so after Thanksgiving in the
<v Speaker 2>community was a lot of oh my gosh, what did
<v Speaker 2>I do I over a Christmas or Thanksgiving Day turned
<v Speaker 2>into Thanksgiving week. As far as eating goes and stuff,
<v Speaker 2>it's one week, it's one day, it's one one holiday season.
<v Speaker 3>It's not forever.
<v Speaker 2>Just get back on track and you know, back into
<v Speaker 2>your pattern that you normally do, and everything will work.
<v Speaker 3>Absolutely.
<v Speaker 1>One of my favorite sayings around the holidays related to
<v Speaker 1>like our lifestyle is it's not what happens between Christmas
<v Speaker 1>and New Years that matters, it's what happens between New
<v Speaker 1>Year's and Christmas.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>I do feel like in the States that might be
<v Speaker 2>from Thanksgiving to New Years.
<v Speaker 1>You know, I've been thinking about that a lot, and
<v Speaker 1>we do have that whole it's the holiday season as
<v Speaker 1>soon as maybe even like as soon as Halloween goes by,
<v Speaker 1>and then we feel like we're supposed to be just
<v Speaker 1>having like cookies NonStop or baking the dessert because maybe
<v Speaker 1>that's what we remember from our childhood. But even if
<v Speaker 1>we were doing a lot of baking, I don't think
<v Speaker 1>we ate them non stop.
<v Speaker 3>I don't remember like every day eating them, no, do
<v Speaker 3>you know.
<v Speaker 1>I remember when I went to my grandmother's, she had
<v Speaker 1>been doing a lot of baking, but it was just
<v Speaker 1>like right around, you know, when we got there, we
<v Speaker 1>would have them and we would leave and that was it.
<v Speaker 1>So right, I really don't think it does any of
<v Speaker 1>us any favors to treat from Halloween through New Year's
<v Speaker 1>Day as like a holiday free for all.
<v Speaker 2>Right, Yeah, well, you know, I do think I wonder
<v Speaker 2>how much of just as a change in the times.
<v Speaker 2>You know, we talk about this a lot, just the
<v Speaker 2>way life has changed, and that we live in this
<v Speaker 2>kind of instance society and whatever you want you can have.
<v Speaker 2>And then if you really think back, sugar used to
<v Speaker 2>be very expensive, Yeah, and it was a luxury and
<v Speaker 2>so when.
<v Speaker 3>People had sweet treats, it was a special occasion. Right,
<v Speaker 3>you baked a cake for a birthday or a wedding.
<v Speaker 2>Or you know, or you had cookies when you were
<v Speaker 2>gonna have guests over or you know that sort of thing.
<v Speaker 2>But it's turned into you know, you can go to
<v Speaker 2>the grocery store and you can buy cookies and they
<v Speaker 2>can be in your house every single day of the year.
<v Speaker 1>Right.
<v Speaker 2>It doesn't mean they need to be or they should be.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>So I think if we could go back to you know,
<v Speaker 2>we get into this like, oh.
<v Speaker 3>Sugar's bad, Sugar's a drug. I'm addicted to sugar.
<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean, I do believe that is possible for
<v Speaker 2>some people, but I think it's more that it's prevalent
<v Speaker 2>in society. It's out there, it's readily available, and it
<v Speaker 2>is a feel good, like quote unquote drug. Right, you
<v Speaker 2>get that little sugar cack it tastes good, it tastes
<v Speaker 2>the delicious, It makes you happy until thirty minutes passes.
<v Speaker 2>And then if you want to keep that same feeling,
<v Speaker 2>that same high, then you.
<v Speaker 3>Have to eat more cookies.
<v Speaker 2>Right. So, just like if you don't keep them in
<v Speaker 2>the house, you don't get caught up in that.
<v Speaker 3>You don't it's not available.
<v Speaker 2>You can't get caught in that cycle of eating cookies
<v Speaker 2>till they're gone or whatever.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I do think that times have changed a lot,
<v Speaker 1>and does we put that pressure on ourselves like this
<v Speaker 1>is going to be the best holiday season ever? And
<v Speaker 1>then we connect it with remembering from our childhood the cookies,
<v Speaker 1>the cake our grandmother made.
<v Speaker 3>And I really do think that if we have it
<v Speaker 3>every day, it isn't special anymore, right, right, Let's keep
<v Speaker 3>it special.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, But I think too, you know a lot of
<v Speaker 2>people internalize that and make it so personal, like I
<v Speaker 2>am a failure. There's something right me, I can't eat
<v Speaker 2>one cookie and stuff. But I think it's really important
<v Speaker 2>to stop blaming ourselves for everything. I like so too
<v Speaker 2>when you can look at it from a bigger picture
<v Speaker 2>and be like, oh, this is what I was conditioned
<v Speaker 2>to do, This is what you know.
<v Speaker 3>Satiety or society.
<v Speaker 2>Society has has you know, kind of done to us,
<v Speaker 2>you know, with TV and advertising, and you know, you
<v Speaker 2>go to a restaurant and they always said, do you
<v Speaker 2>want dessert? We have normalized eating dessert every single day.
<v Speaker 2>So it's not you, it's the society we live in.
<v Speaker 2>But you have the power to be like, you know what,
<v Speaker 2>I don't want that to be my lifestyle anymore.
<v Speaker 3>And so you can choose different.
<v Speaker 2>And it may be hard, and you're going to have
<v Speaker 2>to decondition in yourself, but it's so possible, I believe.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, even I had that same push towards wanting to
<v Speaker 1>do those things. Like one of the meal kits that
<v Speaker 1>I love so very much, actually most of them probably
<v Speaker 1>around this time of the year, but one of them
<v Speaker 1>in particular has like a whole lot of dessert options
<v Speaker 1>that they put in around the holidays starting in November,
<v Speaker 1>and every week there's like all these different cookies you
<v Speaker 1>could get, like the meal kit for the cookies and
<v Speaker 1>the desserts and the cakes, and I look at them
<v Speaker 1>and I'm like, I want to buy a different dessert
<v Speaker 1>every week. But I'm like, no, that is not going
<v Speaker 1>to fit into my health and wellness goals, so I didn't.
<v Speaker 1>I got one for the week of Christmas. We're going
<v Speaker 1>to have a dessert on Christmas Day. And I'm like,
<v Speaker 1>I do not need to have desserts every single week
<v Speaker 1>all around the holidays.
<v Speaker 3>That I'm making it home. But I had to.
<v Speaker 1>Really like I wanted to, right, that's a fun and
<v Speaker 1>I wanted to And they're so good. I'm like, I
<v Speaker 1>am going to eat these and then I won't feel
<v Speaker 1>physically good and then I'll so I'm like, nope, not
<v Speaker 1>doing it all right.
<v Speaker 2>Well, let's share a weekly celebration. And this comes from
<v Speaker 2>Diane and Frederick Maryland. She wrote, the old, outdated tropes
<v Speaker 2>of eat less, move more, and such have been proven
<v Speaker 2>not helpful in the search for weight loss, and I
<v Speaker 2>remind myself that it does really not matter what your
<v Speaker 2>exact calorie intake is. Just focus on general health and
<v Speaker 2>what that means for you. Before intermittent fasting, I did
<v Speaker 2>try to eat less and move more, and I just
<v Speaker 2>got into a toxic mindset for me. I ran five ks,
<v Speaker 2>I sometimes would teach three step aerobic classes a day,
<v Speaker 2>and that never led to any sort of weight loss
<v Speaker 2>for me. But fasting aside from the eventual weight loss,
<v Speaker 2>got rid of any toxic mindsets, toxic thoughts, toxic everything.
<v Speaker 2>I no longer have hunger cravings anything like that. My
<v Speaker 2>life has changed in that way, and now my motivation
<v Speaker 2>is more about healing anything and everything in my body
<v Speaker 2>that is the most important to me Now Before if
<v Speaker 2>the most important thing used to be any type of
<v Speaker 2>weight loss for me, living in IF lifestyle stopped my
<v Speaker 2>obsessive thoughts and worries about calories in, calories out, I
<v Speaker 2>just seriously don't worry about it anymore at.
<v Speaker 3>All, right, And you know that's the thing.
<v Speaker 1>We want to have an intermittent fasting lifestyle that stops
<v Speaker 1>feeling obsessive and feels like we could do it forever.
<v Speaker 1>So now we have a question from a listener. This
<v Speaker 1>question is from Judy, who lives in Indiana. She says,
<v Speaker 1>I have been doing this on and off for about
<v Speaker 1>a year. I've lost about eighteen pounds and I want
<v Speaker 1>to lose forty more by April for my sixtieth birthday.
<v Speaker 1>Is losing forty pounds realistic? I do short fasts as
<v Speaker 1>well as long fasts. This past weekend I did a
<v Speaker 1>thirty six hour fast then ate and went back to
<v Speaker 1>a sixteen hour fast. Lost five pounds. I'm working on
<v Speaker 1>a twenty hour fast now till three pm. Is this
<v Speaker 1>a good way to switch it up? I want to
<v Speaker 1>be healthy again and to be able to wear normal
<v Speaker 1>clothes again.
<v Speaker 2>All right, So I think you said you've lost eighteen
<v Speaker 2>pounds in about a year. So what you don't really
<v Speaker 2>share a lot is like you know how you eat,
<v Speaker 2>and then I were just talking about food quality, and
<v Speaker 2>then you say you do short fast as well as
<v Speaker 2>long and then you went into from a thirty six
<v Speaker 2>hour fast, ate and went back into a sixteen hour fast.
<v Speaker 2>So a couple of things. I'm not sure when you
<v Speaker 2>say you ate after your thirty six hour fast, how
<v Speaker 2>long did you eat? Did you do a full up day?
<v Speaker 2>So that's really important if you're going to throw in
<v Speaker 2>those down days, to have complete and full up days
<v Speaker 2>to follow. And if you have any questions about that,
<v Speaker 2>get Jen's second edition of Delay Don't Deny. She goes
<v Speaker 2>into that pretty comprehensibly in that book. And then when
<v Speaker 2>you say short fasts again, I'm not really sure. It
<v Speaker 2>sounds like you're really kind of mixing it up. You've
<v Speaker 2>done a sixteen hour fast and then you say you're
<v Speaker 2>working on a twenty hour fast. So consistency is really key,
<v Speaker 2>and you know, mixing it up is great, but sometimes
<v Speaker 2>we can mix it up so much that we are
<v Speaker 2>missing that kind of target fat burning that we're looking for.
<v Speaker 2>So I would just encourage you to settle into a
<v Speaker 2>window length that supports weight loss for you and for me,
<v Speaker 2>that's right around four to five hours a day, and
<v Speaker 2>really settle in there, focus on your food quality, listen
<v Speaker 2>to satiety, and work on actionable goals rather than weight goals.
<v Speaker 2>So is it realistic for you to lose forty pounds
<v Speaker 2>by your sixtieth birthday when you've lost eighteen in the
<v Speaker 2>last year. Probably not. I don't think it's realistic for
<v Speaker 2>anybody to lose forty pounds by April, unless they might
<v Speaker 2>have two hundred pounds to lose. Definitely, you want realistic goals,
<v Speaker 2>and you cannot no matter what your goal is, you
<v Speaker 2>can't force your body to lose weight any faster than
<v Speaker 2>it's going to shed the weight. So what you can
<v Speaker 2>do is focus on your window length, focus on your
<v Speaker 2>food quality, get in some daily exercise, make sleep a priority,
<v Speaker 2>focus on feeling good nailing those daily goals and the
<v Speaker 2>weight loss is going to work itself out anything else.
<v Speaker 1>Jaid, Yeah, I actually just realized we're recording this at
<v Speaker 1>the beginning of December, but by the time this comes
<v Speaker 1>out it will be four months until Yeah, so from
<v Speaker 1>right now it's longer, but we're recording this earlier. But
<v Speaker 1>I love what you said there about the realistic expectations
<v Speaker 1>that if you've lost eighteen pounds in a year, then
<v Speaker 1>forty pounds by April is probably not realistic. And it's
<v Speaker 1>so important to have realistic expectations because when you have
<v Speaker 1>unrealistic goals, you're going to feel like a failure when
<v Speaker 1>you don't meet them. But you were never going to
<v Speaker 1>meet them because they weren't realistic. So being very realistic
<v Speaker 1>about what you can and can't do makes a difference.
<v Speaker 1>And I love that you said to focus on what
<v Speaker 1>you're doing instead of what happens.
<v Speaker 3>I do think one.
<v Speaker 1>Key in Judy's question comes in the very first sentence
<v Speaker 1>that she's been doing this on and.
<v Speaker 3>Off for about a year.
<v Speaker 1>The on and off part, I think is important because
<v Speaker 1>if you're on and off, then you're really not having
<v Speaker 1>that consistency that Sherry talked about as being so important
<v Speaker 1>and so instead of like frantically switching it up and
<v Speaker 1>trying to do longer fast and you mentioned then you
<v Speaker 1>did a longer fast than you lost five pounds. We
<v Speaker 1>do not lose or gain fat quickly. Now you might
<v Speaker 1>do a down day for thirty six hours, then get
<v Speaker 1>on the scale and your weight is down five pounds,
<v Speaker 1>and then you feel so good.
<v Speaker 3>You're like, I just lost five pounds.
<v Speaker 1>You really did not lose five pounds of fat, because
<v Speaker 1>we just can't lose weight that fast. And then you
<v Speaker 1>have your upday and you get back on the scale
<v Speaker 1>and maybe four point seventy five of those five pounds
<v Speaker 1>are gone or back, I mean they're back. And so
<v Speaker 1>then you're like, oh, no, I can't do updates. They
<v Speaker 1>make me gain four point seven five pounds, but they didn't.
<v Speaker 1>You're just seeing that fluctuation from no food in your
<v Speaker 1>system after a down day to more food in your
<v Speaker 1>system after an up day. So you really just need
<v Speaker 1>to focus on what is going to be sustainable for you.
<v Speaker 3>You know your sixtieth birthday is going to get here.
<v Speaker 1>And we've learned through our lives that when we crash
<v Speaker 1>diet for something, especially like an event.
<v Speaker 3>Does that ever work out really well on the long run? Noe?
<v Speaker 1>And so we need to think of slow and steady.
<v Speaker 1>What's going to get us to where we want to
<v Speaker 1>be in our help and feeling good with our lifestyle.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and even let's just say, let's just say you
<v Speaker 2>could crash diet to get forty pounds down by your
<v Speaker 2>sixtieth birthday, where are you going to be by your
<v Speaker 2>sixty first?
<v Speaker 3>Right?
<v Speaker 2>Because no crash diet is sustainable. And if you set
<v Speaker 2>yourself up for these unrealistic expectations and you get frustrated
<v Speaker 2>and you're like, well this isn't working and you quit fasting,
<v Speaker 2>you're also not going to be at your goal by
<v Speaker 2>your sixty first birthday. So play the long game. Think
<v Speaker 2>about how you want to feel in a year from now,
<v Speaker 2>five years from now, ten years from now, right, and
<v Speaker 2>let that be your goal, not you know, just a
<v Speaker 2>short term, one time event.
<v Speaker 1>And you know, we've been set up by society to
<v Speaker 1>believe that we should have these goals by a certain date.
<v Speaker 1>And every time you go to the checkout counter at
<v Speaker 1>the grocery store and see those women's magazines, they'll say,
<v Speaker 1>you know this is coming out Christmas Day, There'll be
<v Speaker 1>some crazy claim that'll say something like lose forty pounds
<v Speaker 1>by Valentine's Day.
<v Speaker 3>Right, you're not going to do it, and then you
<v Speaker 3>feel like a failure.
<v Speaker 2>I saw a quote the other day, and I don't
<v Speaker 2>remember where it came from. I do get James Clare,
<v Speaker 2>the Atomic Habits author. I do get his newsletter, so
<v Speaker 2>it might have been in there, and it sets something
<v Speaker 2>like create habits, not goals, create intentions not resolutions. Oh
<v Speaker 2>I love that, And it basically went on to say
<v Speaker 2>that nobody ever achieves a goal without having like positive
<v Speaker 2>intentions and creating a life that supports the habits that
<v Speaker 2>help you get to that goal. So it doesn't matter
<v Speaker 2>what the goal is, it doesn't matter what your resolution is,
<v Speaker 2>it's what are you doing to get to that end zone.
<v Speaker 2>So yeah, I just thought that was He says, yeah.
<v Speaker 2>So we have another question from wondering in South Carolina.
<v Speaker 2>She says, Hi, Jen and Sherry, I was wondering if
<v Speaker 2>either of you have any knowledge or opinions about a
<v Speaker 2>body set weight point. I started fasting about six months ago,
<v Speaker 2>and I've had great success with weight loss as well
<v Speaker 2>as other non scale victories. For the past six weeks,
<v Speaker 2>my weight has gone back and forth between the same
<v Speaker 2>three pound range. The weight is not coming off as
<v Speaker 2>fast as it had been the first few months, even
<v Speaker 2>though my routine and food choices have stayed the same,
<v Speaker 2>if not improved. This is a number I have not
<v Speaker 2>been lower than in the past twelve years or so.
<v Speaker 2>So my main question is can a body have a
<v Speaker 2>set weight that will take longer to get passed if
<v Speaker 2>it has been used to that size for some time.
<v Speaker 2>One of the things I've learned from fasting is the
<v Speaker 2>body's incredible ability to adapt and respond to behavioral and
<v Speaker 2>mental changes. I've wondered if it will just take time
<v Speaker 2>for my body to learn that it can be smaller
<v Speaker 2>than it has been in a long time. I have
<v Speaker 2>not thought of this as a plateau, but perhaps it
<v Speaker 2>is also Do you think true ADF could help with this?
<v Speaker 2>And just FYI? I follow a twenty four protocol with
<v Speaker 2>the occasional upday and down day. I'm five foot seven,
<v Speaker 2>my starting weight was two thirty one and I'm now
<v Speaker 2>at two o seven And yes, I weigh every day
<v Speaker 2>and I find my weekly average well.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, a big gold star for that wondering in South
<v Speaker 1>Carolina because I'm I really want everyone to hear me here.
<v Speaker 1>Weighing every day and finding your weekly average is so
<v Speaker 1>important to know what's happening. And if you know that
<v Speaker 1>for the past six weeks your weekly average is within
<v Speaker 1>the same three pound range, then that is a plateau.
<v Speaker 3>I would call that a plateau. And here's the thing
<v Speaker 3>about set points.
<v Speaker 1>You know, when I was writing Fast Feast Repeat in
<v Speaker 1>twenty nineteen, I did so much research into trying to
<v Speaker 1>find information about set points, and there just really wasn't
<v Speaker 1>anything that was scientifically research based that I could find.
<v Speaker 3>There are a lot of theories about.
<v Speaker 2>It, and I've recently seen some new theories about it.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, theories. There's a lot of theories like.
<v Speaker 2>Where they don't believe there is a set point.
<v Speaker 3>Like is that the new theory that they don't believe
<v Speaker 3>there is one.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it might have been Zoe or somebody My Fitness
<v Speaker 2>one of those podcasts that I get like weekly updates
<v Speaker 2>from where they went into the discussion about it, but
<v Speaker 2>I haven't listened to the episode to find out what
<v Speaker 2>they said about it.
<v Speaker 1>Well, like, we know for a fact that if you
<v Speaker 1>were in a famine like the kind we don't have
<v Speaker 1>anymore because the food is available everywhere. But if you
<v Speaker 1>were literally in a famine, you know, like back from
<v Speaker 1>when they are I mean, I guess there are famines
<v Speaker 1>in parts of the world, so I won't say there
<v Speaker 1>aren't famines, but like here in America, we're not going
<v Speaker 1>to have a famine, and we're not having famines. If
<v Speaker 1>you could not eat there was no food, your body
<v Speaker 1>would lose fat. You would eventually lose the weight because
<v Speaker 1>you just were starving.
<v Speaker 3>Your body would break down.
<v Speaker 1>Muscle, tissue, fat, whatever it could, and then you would
<v Speaker 1>die of starvation. So our body is going to lose
<v Speaker 1>weight if nothing is coming in, right, But we're not
<v Speaker 1>in that point. There's food, we're not having a famine,
<v Speaker 1>We're not in a starvation situation.
<v Speaker 3>So what about a set point. I do think that
<v Speaker 3>there's something to it. Like I said, I couldn't find
<v Speaker 3>any anything about it ever.
<v Speaker 1>But if you just look around, like if you look
<v Speaker 1>at generations of photos of the people in your family,
<v Speaker 1>you will find similar body styles going back, Like I said, generations,
<v Speaker 1>You'll say, oh gosh, I have my grandmother's exact face.
<v Speaker 3>I'm seeing it pop up.
<v Speaker 1>You know, and I could do all the you know,
<v Speaker 1>treatments in the world, and genetically my face is wanting
<v Speaker 1>to do what my Grandmama Calhoun's face did.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I see it around my cheeks.
<v Speaker 1>I had my grandmother's legs uh huh, uh huh and
<v Speaker 1>body shape.
<v Speaker 3>And I really think there are genetic components.
<v Speaker 1>You look at you look at our son, Will he
<v Speaker 1>looks so much like my grandfather on the train side,
<v Speaker 1>whereas you know, Chad looks exactly like his dad the
<v Speaker 1>way they're shaped.
<v Speaker 3>And so I do think we.
<v Speaker 1>Have genetic set points and you can look back and say, oh, yeah,
<v Speaker 1>I looked just like my you know, fill in the blank.
<v Speaker 1>And is it hard to fight against your what your
<v Speaker 1>body wants to do based on that?
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it really really is.
<v Speaker 1>You know, I'm always going to have cellul it on
<v Speaker 1>my thighs. Genetically my body is set to do that. Now,
<v Speaker 1>if I were in a femine back to that, which
<v Speaker 1>you know, we hope none of us ever have to
<v Speaker 1>experience that. Eventually, I guess my body would break all
<v Speaker 1>that fat down, but I would that would not be
<v Speaker 1>willingly right. I wouldn't be starving myself down to that
<v Speaker 1>unless I had, you know, an eating disorder. But if
<v Speaker 1>food is available and I'm eating it, you know, maybe
<v Speaker 1>my metabolism will slowed down to maintain me at whatever
<v Speaker 1>weight my body.
<v Speaker 3>Thinks it should be.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I don't know did I answer that question at
<v Speaker 1>all or did I ramble?
<v Speaker 2>A couple of things stand out to me though, that
<v Speaker 2>she says she has lost Okay, so her starting weight
<v Speaker 2>was two thirty one she said two oh seven. So
<v Speaker 2>that's twenty four pounds.
<v Speaker 3>In six months.
<v Speaker 2>And she said, very good, So let's call that twenty
<v Speaker 2>six weeks. So that means that she has been experiencing
<v Speaker 2>a weight loss of zero point ninety two pounds per
<v Speaker 2>week on average, which is an exceptional rate of weight loss.
<v Speaker 2>You know, we say point five to one over time average,
<v Speaker 2>and so she's really close to that one. And you know,
<v Speaker 2>I've talked about this before. We do see people lose
<v Speaker 2>a chunk of weight, their body tends to pause a
<v Speaker 2>little bit, and then it starts to release weight again.
<v Speaker 2>Right now. The other thing I think though that can
<v Speaker 2>happen is sometimes as our body, as we lose weight
<v Speaker 2>and we get smaller, sometimes we don't need as much
<v Speaker 2>energy as we needed when we were bigger.
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's just everything just not home time, it's
<v Speaker 1>just just biology.
<v Speaker 3>Right.
<v Speaker 2>Well, yeah, so you know, it could be that it's
<v Speaker 2>time to really settle in and start to focus on
<v Speaker 2>satiety in your window. Make sure that you are only
<v Speaker 2>eating as much as your body needs, because you know,
<v Speaker 2>you could have been eating X amount of food right
<v Speaker 2>and a facilitated weight loss, But now your body doesn't
<v Speaker 2>have as much energy needs because it's smaller, and so
<v Speaker 2>you're going to have to modify your eating a little
<v Speaker 2>bit and make sure that you're not overeating. It might
<v Speaker 2>be time just to do a little cleanup, make sure
<v Speaker 2>that you're not eating foods that don't support weight loss.
<v Speaker 2>You know, at first, your body's you know, ready to
<v Speaker 2>shed this inflammation and it's primed to let go of that.
<v Speaker 2>And then you know, we do have to tweak along
<v Speaker 2>the way. And you know, if you're kind of bouncing
<v Speaker 2>back and forth for six weeks, then it's definitely time
<v Speaker 2>to make some sort of tweak. Do I think ADF
<v Speaker 2>is like the straight jump to answer no, you know
<v Speaker 2>you say you follow a twenty four protocol. It could
<v Speaker 2>be something as simple as opening your window up a
<v Speaker 2>little bit more and focusing on food quality. We have
<v Speaker 2>a lot of people who open their window up a
<v Speaker 2>little bit wider, and they actually facilitate weight loss because
<v Speaker 2>that twenty four is a little too.
<v Speaker 3>Restrictive for their body.
<v Speaker 2>So there's there's some tweaks you can do. Whatever you do,
<v Speaker 2>just make sure you do it for like three to
<v Speaker 2>four weeks and give your body time to adjust to it.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I think that's really good advice. And also I
<v Speaker 1>do think switching it up a little bit is good.
<v Speaker 1>Like Sherry said, if you're too short and tight with
<v Speaker 1>your window, you're more likely to adapt. But you don't
<v Speaker 1>have to go straight to up and down. You could
<v Speaker 1>alternate a four hour window with a six hour window.
<v Speaker 1>Two meals one day, one meal the next day. Keep
<v Speaker 1>repeating that. I mean, that's a really easy protocol. One meal,
<v Speaker 1>two meals, one meal, two meals, and you know, just
<v Speaker 1>just something like that to get it going. Because I
<v Speaker 1>do think that if you if your weekly average hasn't
<v Speaker 1>moved in six weeks, that does sound like a plateau.
<v Speaker 1>And while bodies do regroup at set points, you know
<v Speaker 1>you're you're asking about set points. Yes, I do think
<v Speaker 1>bodies are more likely to regroup at a set point
<v Speaker 1>and you're going to have to do something to shake
<v Speaker 1>it up past that point. But that's also the nature
<v Speaker 1>of plateaus. We see people just kind of gather it
<v Speaker 1>up for a while, staying in the same place, and
<v Speaker 1>then bam, the body is ready to keep you know,
<v Speaker 1>or to start releasing more weight. So this is where
<v Speaker 1>your own study of one is really going to come
<v Speaker 1>into play. And I know it's frustrating because you just
<v Speaker 1>want here's what to do, or here's exactly what to do.
<v Speaker 3>And I wish it was as easy as that.
<v Speaker 1>But you've got the tools in your toolbox wandering in
<v Speaker 1>South Carolina. Just keep experimenting with them and see what happens.
<v Speaker 1>Now it's time for our segment called what's your Why.
<v Speaker 1>Most of us start out with weight loss as a
<v Speaker 1>big part of our why, which makes a lot of sense,
<v Speaker 1>but there's so much more to what intermittent fasting can
<v Speaker 1>do for us beyond weight loss. If you have a
<v Speaker 1>powerful why deeper than weight loss alone, I genuinely believe
<v Speaker 1>you're more likely to find long term success and view
<v Speaker 1>intermittent fasting as a lifestyle.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, so side note sort of pivot here. Somebody wrote
<v Speaker 2>in and asked why we do this segment because they
<v Speaker 2>don't find it helpful, And you'd be surprised that things
<v Speaker 2>people write in to say to us. And sometimes I'm like,
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I try to take whatever people say and
<v Speaker 2>their like consideration. But anyway, so somebody wrote that and
<v Speaker 2>I'm so I had to stop and think, and I
<v Speaker 2>was like, well, you know, does this.
<v Speaker 3>Provide value to the listeners?
<v Speaker 2>And I believe it does because we see so many
<v Speaker 2>people in the community who don't really know their why.
<v Speaker 2>Their why was weight loss and that was it, and
<v Speaker 2>maybe now they're in maintenance and they've lost the weight
<v Speaker 2>and they're having trouble being consistent and it's because they
<v Speaker 2>don't have a why anymore.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that's so true.
<v Speaker 2>I hope that when we share other people's whys that
<v Speaker 2>you're able to like hear that and it triggers some
<v Speaker 2>thoughts in you as to huh, well, what is my why?
<v Speaker 2>Why am I still continuing to do this? Why do
<v Speaker 2>I want this to be my lifestyle? Because I think,
<v Speaker 2>maure why it can evolve.
<v Speaker 3>Through the oh, and it should evolve.
<v Speaker 1>My why is completely different in twenty twenty four than
<v Speaker 1>it was in twenty fourteen, when I started with intermittent fasting.
<v Speaker 1>And I also want to emphasize something y'all know. I'm
<v Speaker 1>a teacher at heart. I taught for twenty eight years
<v Speaker 1>and one of the foundations of teaching is repetition. Right,
<v Speaker 1>you want to learn something, repetition is key. So maybe
<v Speaker 1>the person who doesn't find it to be helpful has
<v Speaker 1>a really strong why they always have. They don't need
<v Speaker 1>to hear about it anymore. They got it, they've mastered it.
<v Speaker 1>But think about the fact that there are other people.
<v Speaker 1>Today is their first day. They've never listened to this
<v Speaker 1>podcast until today, and they're still thinking.
<v Speaker 3>They're why is weight loss? And that's it.
<v Speaker 1>This is only a way for them, and they need
<v Speaker 1>to hear it because it's brand new information for them.
<v Speaker 3>But also there are the people who need the repetition.
<v Speaker 3>Like I just said, they might intellectually know that it's
<v Speaker 3>better to have a why the stuper than weight loss alone. Okay,
<v Speaker 3>they got it, but they still don't feel it yet.
<v Speaker 1>Hearing over and over and over again the messages from
<v Speaker 1>other people and their strong why statements, eventually they're gonna
<v Speaker 1>start getting it and it's gonna sink in.
<v Speaker 3>So that's why we have it. That's why we have
<v Speaker 3>this sgment. And you know, I bet there are people
<v Speaker 3>who this is their favorite segment.
<v Speaker 1>So that's the thing I've learned over my fifty five
<v Speaker 1>years of life that literally everything about me, what I do,
<v Speaker 1>what I write, what I say, somebody's gonna love it
<v Speaker 1>and somebody's gonna hate it. So I'm just going to
<v Speaker 1>give you, Sharon and I are going to give you
<v Speaker 1>what we think is helpful. Take what is helpful, discard
<v Speaker 1>what is not.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, and I was gonna say too. There are
<v Speaker 2>a lot of people who really do come for weight loss.
<v Speaker 3>That is their goal.
<v Speaker 2>They want to lose weight because they need to lose
<v Speaker 2>weight for health conditions or you know, to get their
<v Speaker 2>blood pressure down or whatever help their reflux, and so
<v Speaker 2>they may have this little why in mind, but then
<v Speaker 2>they're stuck and they're not losing weight right now for
<v Speaker 2>what a reason, and they can't get outside of their
<v Speaker 2>immediate why. But sometimes hearing other people's whys, which often
<v Speaker 2>come as some sort of later like, oh, I didn't
<v Speaker 2>go into fasting for this, but this has happened, and
<v Speaker 2>I feel so good that that's why I'm continuing.
<v Speaker 3>And so sometimes it gives.
<v Speaker 2>People hope, like, oh, well, if that has happened for
<v Speaker 2>them and that's what keeps them going, maybe that will
<v Speaker 2>help help me too, Right, So I'm all about trying
<v Speaker 2>to help people feel inspired and give them hope while
<v Speaker 2>learning something along the way. So anyway, this week we
<v Speaker 2>have a why from MC in South Carolina. South Carolina
<v Speaker 2>is popular today.
<v Speaker 3>Represented harrisk funny how we do that.
<v Speaker 2>I'll have a couple from Florida in the same episode
<v Speaker 2>or whatever. So MC said, my why is I want
<v Speaker 2>to be the healthiest version of myself, enjoying life to
<v Speaker 2>the fullest. Reduced inflammation and allergy relief are my two
<v Speaker 2>biggest whys apart from weight loss. IF has created a
<v Speaker 2>ripple of in my life to wake up and take
<v Speaker 2>care of my one and only body. My husband and
<v Speaker 2>I want to start trying to get pregnant later this year,
<v Speaker 2>and I feel like I am setting up my body
<v Speaker 2>well for when we start trying. Thank you so much
<v Speaker 2>for your support.
<v Speaker 1>I love that so much, And gosh, I wish I
<v Speaker 1>could go back before before I had kids and know
<v Speaker 1>about intermittent fasting and all the things I know now.
<v Speaker 3>So I love that MC is young and.
<v Speaker 1>Setting herself up for health for many, many decades to come.
<v Speaker 2>All right, so we have another question from Camilla in Mercyside, UK,
<v Speaker 2>And if I said that wrong, I'm sorry because I
<v Speaker 2>know that y'all pronounce your town's over there a little
<v Speaker 2>bit different than we would.
<v Speaker 1>So.
<v Speaker 3>We try anyway.
<v Speaker 2>She says, I have been doing intermittent fasting for about
<v Speaker 2>eighteen months now. It really helps me maintain my healthy
<v Speaker 2>weight and it just suits me perfectly. I have a
<v Speaker 2>six hour window and I've recently switched to clean fasting
<v Speaker 2>since hearing you talk about it. The only time I
<v Speaker 2>have a problem sticking to the fast is when I
<v Speaker 2>am ill with a cold slash sore throat et ceta,
<v Speaker 2>which happens a lot as I have three young children.
<v Speaker 2>Especially when I have a sore throat, I find I
<v Speaker 2>need to eat something to sue it. And also if
<v Speaker 2>I'm taking ibuprofen, it's meant to be taken with food.
<v Speaker 2>I would prefer to stick to the fast even during
<v Speaker 2>bouts of illness, but I just really struggle with it.
<v Speaker 2>Do you have any advice?
<v Speaker 1>We absolutely do, Camilla, and thank you for asking, because
<v Speaker 1>we get this question a good bit in the community.
<v Speaker 1>As well, especially with store throats and coughs and things
<v Speaker 1>like that. And you know, thinking back, I used to
<v Speaker 1>be that person that would go get cough drops lozenges
<v Speaker 1>anytime I had a tickle or something in my throat,
<v Speaker 1>because I was conditioned to believe that.
<v Speaker 3>I needed that.
<v Speaker 1>And do you know how many times I'll let you guess.
<v Speaker 1>Sure you might know because you might have seen me
<v Speaker 1>write this in the community. How many times have I
<v Speaker 1>used cough drops and lozenges since being an intermittent faster
<v Speaker 1>never zero? I haven't used them since, and amazing I
<v Speaker 1>find that. I mean, of course, I also get sick
<v Speaker 1>less often, so maybe it's not fair to compare the two.
<v Speaker 1>But I use hot salty water if my throat hurts,
<v Speaker 1>and I'll gargle with it. I really haven't been sick
<v Speaker 1>enough to really need vix Vapo rub, but when I
<v Speaker 1>had COVID in twenty twenty one, I was pretty sick
<v Speaker 1>and I did use vix Vapo rub at that time.
<v Speaker 2>I used it in September when I was sick with
<v Speaker 2>the respiratory illness.
<v Speaker 1>So vix Vapo rub, you're just breathing it in. And
<v Speaker 1>also what I would do it was when I was
<v Speaker 1>recording the audiobook for Cleanish and I had like really
<v Speaker 1>bad COVID is like I said, twenty twenty one, and
<v Speaker 1>I'd be recording and my voice would get a horse.
<v Speaker 1>And the director who was on a call we did
<v Speaker 1>at long distance, so she was on the call with
<v Speaker 1>me and we were recording it.
<v Speaker 3>She's like, your voice is getting horse, Go steam your throat.
<v Speaker 1>So I would get hot water in like a pot,
<v Speaker 1>really hot water and like a towel and put it
<v Speaker 1>over my head and I would breathe in the steamy
<v Speaker 1>hot water like this, maybe go get in the shower
<v Speaker 1>or something.
<v Speaker 2>I was just getting ready to suggest. You know, years
<v Speaker 2>ago we all had vaporized we dis right, yeah, and
<v Speaker 2>people just don't have them anymore. So I actually, when
<v Speaker 2>I had COVID several years ago, went and bought one,
<v Speaker 2>and they actually have them with the little vapor cool
<v Speaker 2>things you can put in them. But I also bought
<v Speaker 2>a vaporizer just for the face like vix makes it, and.
<v Speaker 3>That would have been really helpful for me.
<v Speaker 2>A lot of water in it, plug it in and
<v Speaker 2>it's got a little like silicone thing you put your
<v Speaker 2>face in and it works really well because a lot
<v Speaker 2>of that like dryness and that you feel like you
<v Speaker 2>want to ease up. It really is is just your
<v Speaker 2>throat is dry when you're sick, your mouth breathing, and
<v Speaker 2>you know, so if you can get some humidity in
<v Speaker 2>your air, that's really going to help you. And that's
<v Speaker 2>where you know, just drinking some hot water can really help,
<v Speaker 2>even hot salted water. I think the only time that
<v Speaker 2>I felt salty water gargle was some hot salt water.
<v Speaker 2>Or even just drink hot salt water.
<v Speaker 3>I think that helps a lot.
<v Speaker 1>Now let's talk about the ibupreferen You're exactly right, Camilla.
<v Speaker 1>You cannot take ibuprofen on an empty stomach. But tailanol
<v Speaker 1>is the one that promotes itself as safe on an
<v Speaker 1>empty stomach.
<v Speaker 3>So if you.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely must take ibuprofen, you need to eat with it
<v Speaker 1>and you should not keep fasting. But I go for
<v Speaker 1>the tail and all if I have a very rare
<v Speaker 1>headache and I'm fast on something else over there, oh
<v Speaker 1>a seed of benefit. Yeah, but I think they call
<v Speaker 1>it like paris cedamorle whatever.
<v Speaker 3>I don't know.
<v Speaker 1>But anyway, silin all ingredient, and yes that is, and
<v Speaker 1>get the one that's like that whatever it might be,
<v Speaker 1>but definitely you don't want to take ibupreferent when you're sick.
<v Speaker 3>It really is the time to listen to your body.
<v Speaker 1>And I know there's mixed recommendations when it comes to
<v Speaker 1>vitamin C, for example, does that really help?
<v Speaker 3>Does it not?
<v Speaker 1>But I swear to you, if I'm feeling sick, I
<v Speaker 1>that is the only time I crave orange juice. Like
<v Speaker 1>I literally crave it if I am sick, and like,
<v Speaker 1>for whatever reason, I don't know why, but I'll just
<v Speaker 1>drink the orange juice.
<v Speaker 3>I might open earlier if I need it.
<v Speaker 1>But my body tells me you gotta have some orange
<v Speaker 1>jeese right now, and it always sees my throat makes
<v Speaker 1>me feel better.
<v Speaker 3>But I really listen to my body.
<v Speaker 1>I feel like, if I can fast, it's gonna help
<v Speaker 1>me get better. But if my body's like, drink some
<v Speaker 1>orange juice, you gotta have it. It's gonna make you
<v Speaker 1>feel better, then that's what I do. I really listen
<v Speaker 1>to my body.
<v Speaker 2>Lower insulin levels, lower blood good cost levels, that's going
<v Speaker 2>to promote healing.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so somebody's out there cringing at the orange juice,
<v Speaker 1>but I don't know my body. I never want orange
<v Speaker 1>JUICESE literally never, except when I'm sick. I'm like, get
<v Speaker 1>the orange juice. So that would got to be still.
<v Speaker 3>Really, it makes my throat feel better. Really, that's so funny.
<v Speaker 3>And it could be psychological.
<v Speaker 2>I don't know, but I was gonna say too, I
<v Speaker 2>were talking about illness, A lot of people will be like, well,
<v Speaker 2>I couldn't fast because I have to take cough syrup. Literally,
<v Speaker 2>any cough syrup that's out there that's over the counter,
<v Speaker 2>you can get in a capsule pill form, so I
<v Speaker 2>like just keep it on hand. I don't know why
<v Speaker 2>everybody just turns to cough syrup. I guess that's what
<v Speaker 2>you did as kids. I mean there's even prescription cough
<v Speaker 2>medicine that is in like capsule gel cap form.
<v Speaker 1>So idea that out there coading your throat, right, you
<v Speaker 1>think that coding action is.
<v Speaker 2>Maybe people don't want to swallow a pill if their
<v Speaker 2>throat hurts. I don't know, but the little gel caps
<v Speaker 2>are smooth, they go down pretty easily, and I think
<v Speaker 2>any of that stuff I keep them on hand. Well
<v Speaker 2>you know my lungs.
<v Speaker 3>Oh, yes, see, I forget.
<v Speaker 2>I don't.
<v Speaker 3>I don't have that.
<v Speaker 2>Problem as an as my kid reactive airway disease. Okay,
<v Speaker 2>I've got to keep that cough under control, so I've
<v Speaker 2>got all the tricks for that. But yeah, I just
<v Speaker 2>keep it on hand so that if I'm sick, I
<v Speaker 2>have it and I'm not breaching for the bottle of
<v Speaker 2>cough syrup. But then I can keep fasting. It doesn't
<v Speaker 2>interrupt my fast at all.
<v Speaker 1>Very good point, all right. Our next question is from
<v Speaker 1>Angela and Spokane, Hi. I typically fast sixteen to eighteen hours.
<v Speaker 1>I seem to have low blood pressure, and even when
<v Speaker 1>not fasting, I get light headed off. Then if I
<v Speaker 1>bend down or squat then stand.
<v Speaker 3>It's the worst.
<v Speaker 1>When I'm working outside in the heat, I get very woozy.
<v Speaker 1>I drink lots of water, and I often get the
<v Speaker 1>urge to eat, thinking maybe my blood sugar is low.
<v Speaker 1>Eating never helps, though. I started drinking electrolytes, but can't
<v Speaker 1>do the flavored powder when fasting. I have some electrolyte pills,
<v Speaker 1>but they have some filler ingredients like rice flour and
<v Speaker 1>vegetable cellulos. Will these break my fast? Any recommendations, I'm
<v Speaker 1>worried tasting something salty will make me hungry. Thank you,
<v Speaker 1>And Sherry is the person to answer this.
<v Speaker 2>You just described my life for my entire life, and
<v Speaker 2>I didn't even realize that I could help this until
<v Speaker 2>a couple of years ago. I've always had very very
<v Speaker 2>low blood pressure. I can't tell you, manytimes I've stood
<v Speaker 2>up and almost passed out. It was very routine for
<v Speaker 2>me to stand up and hold on to something until
<v Speaker 2>the blackness went away. And what I found out was
<v Speaker 2>that I was just kind of chronically always dehydrated. Said,
<v Speaker 2>we think hydrated, we think you need a drink more,
<v Speaker 2>but it's not really what dehydration is. You know, there's
<v Speaker 2>like too much water causes dehydrate exactly exactly so, and
<v Speaker 2>then when you're dehydrated, you're thirsty, so you drink more.
<v Speaker 2>But if you're not replacing the electrolytes, you're just making
<v Speaker 2>the condition worse. So you're right, and that salt will help.
<v Speaker 2>It can help keep your blood pressure up if you're
<v Speaker 2>somebody who just has low blood pressure. But like for me,
<v Speaker 2>I found out that you know, I am potassium deficient.
<v Speaker 2>I have a whole hard time holding on to potassium
<v Speaker 2>for whatever reason, and not very many people eat the
<v Speaker 2>forty five hundred milligrams of potassium a day that people
<v Speaker 2>should be eating to maintain cellular health and you know,
<v Speaker 2>healthy blood pressure and all of that. So really look
<v Speaker 2>at your diet and really like start looking at your
<v Speaker 2>potassium that you're taking in. You can supplement some potassium,
<v Speaker 2>but if this is something that's been ongoing, and then
<v Speaker 2>you have access to your labs, go back and look
<v Speaker 2>at where you're potassium levels have been over the past
<v Speaker 2>few years. Because in hindsight, I realized that anytime I've
<v Speaker 2>ever been in the hospital for any reason, they always
<v Speaker 2>gave me potassium, but yet nobody ever talk to me
<v Speaker 2>about the fact that I'm always low on potassium. So
<v Speaker 2>once I started adding potassium to my daily routine and
<v Speaker 2>upping my salt. If you're salt sensitive, if you're somebody
<v Speaker 2>who swells, if you eat too much salt so you
<v Speaker 2>don't eat it, that's a pretty good sign that you
<v Speaker 2>don't have good electrolyte balance. You have to have the
<v Speaker 2>potassium to balance the salt, so you don't want to
<v Speaker 2>just add a bunch of salt. It's all got to
<v Speaker 2>be a balance. So I wouldn't have any problem taking
<v Speaker 2>an electrolyte pill if I found one that just simply
<v Speaker 2>had some rice flour in it, it's just a little
<v Speaker 2>whatever that they mix with the minerals. If it made
<v Speaker 2>you hungry, don't take it. I have taken some electrolyte pills.
<v Speaker 2>I choose to use either powder or liquid form myself.
<v Speaker 2>That's just my personal preference. It means I have to
<v Speaker 2>measure it out every day. I'm not worried about that.
<v Speaker 2>It's fine for me. I do have another fast safe
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna tell you right now it's fast safe.
<v Speaker 1>Today.
<v Speaker 2>I have found another fast safe liquid that is affordable,
<v Speaker 2>and I will go ahead and put a linked show
<v Speaker 2>notes because last time I talked about it, everybody wanted it.
<v Speaker 2>So I'm putting a note to myself right now to
<v Speaker 2>put that Lincoln Show note.
<v Speaker 3>We are not sponsored by them on an you know
<v Speaker 3>we're not.
<v Speaker 2>We just get asked all the time, and so I
<v Speaker 2>constantly am looking for fast safe alternatives for people to
<v Speaker 2>help support them in their fasting, because you don't want
<v Speaker 2>to be getting dizzy. Trust me, I've gotten out of
<v Speaker 2>bed and fallen down in the nights, and I cannot
<v Speaker 2>tell you how many people we see in the er
<v Speaker 2>who stand up get dizzy and pass out. We want
<v Speaker 2>to keep everybody upright. So your body's telling you it
<v Speaker 2>needs a little something, so definitely listen to it. Try
<v Speaker 2>those electro light pills.
<v Speaker 3>I'll put the.
<v Speaker 2>Liquid on show notes, and like I've said before, every
<v Speaker 2>time before you put anything in your body during your fast,
<v Speaker 2>just double check that the ingredients haven't changed. Right, So
<v Speaker 2>we have time for one last question from Amy and Wiscon.
<v Speaker 2>She says, I've been an IF for for about ten years.
<v Speaker 2>I've been gluten free due to intolerances for the past
<v Speaker 2>eleven years. I've always loved to exercise and was born
<v Speaker 2>with genetics that have led me to a life of
<v Speaker 2>living my body's healthiest weight. So IF was not something
<v Speaker 2>I started for the purpose of weight loss. But at forty,
<v Speaker 2>when female metabolism typically changes, I had to stop running
<v Speaker 2>due to knee pain. I chose IF in order to
<v Speaker 2>maintain my low cholesterol, low blood pressure, and healthy body weight.
<v Speaker 2>I admit in the last six months I've gotten more
<v Speaker 2>lax on my clean fasting, and I rejoice that I
<v Speaker 2>have noticed the difference quickly. What difference a distinct feeling
<v Speaker 2>of sloppiness, carelessness, general MIH. I also rejoice that I
<v Speaker 2>just found your podcast because it's a great restart, refreshed,
<v Speaker 2>and I have committed successfully to my steady eddy five
<v Speaker 2>hour daily window. I'm so happy, so empowered. My specific question, though,
<v Speaker 2>does taking probiotics with water break the fast or any
<v Speaker 2>oral itamin or supplement for that matter. I do best
<v Speaker 2>with routine, and I'd love to take these in the
<v Speaker 2>morning after my workout, but that's pretty much smack in
<v Speaker 2>the middle of my nineteen hour fast advice.
<v Speaker 3>Please all right?
<v Speaker 1>Well, Amy, I just love that you have come back
<v Speaker 1>to the Clean Fast because you noticed a difference, and
<v Speaker 1>for anybody who's listening, come back to.
<v Speaker 3>The Clean Fast. We promise it matters. So here's something
<v Speaker 3>about probiotics.
<v Speaker 1>I have actually read a study that shows that they
<v Speaker 1>are more effective when taken with food, So I would
<v Speaker 1>take them with food for that reason only.
<v Speaker 3>But do they break the fast?
<v Speaker 1>I always error on the side of caution, right, I'm
<v Speaker 1>not going to take something during my fast unless I
<v Speaker 1>absolutely have to take it during the fast.
<v Speaker 3>Instead, I'm going to keep it in my eating window.
<v Speaker 1>And I always ask myself this question when it comes
<v Speaker 1>to things, is this a thing that's meant to be
<v Speaker 1>nourishing my body, providing nutrients. If so, that sounds like
<v Speaker 1>eating window, right, So I would keep vitamins and things
<v Speaker 1>like that, probiotics, supplements in your eating window, and you
<v Speaker 1>could just develop a new routine. And I know you're
<v Speaker 1>used to doing it at this one time, but have
<v Speaker 1>a different times something that reminds you to do it.
<v Speaker 1>I'm a big fan, you know, Sheery mentioned James Clear
<v Speaker 1>of atomic habits. I'm a big fan of habit stacking.
<v Speaker 1>Put it somewhere you can't miss doing it. Like if
<v Speaker 1>there's something you need to take right before bed, put
<v Speaker 1>it by your toothbrush, and then when you're brushing your
<v Speaker 1>teeth before you go to bed, you'll see, oh, there
<v Speaker 1>it is.
<v Speaker 3>You know you're tripping over it. You can't help it.
<v Speaker 1>So find a way to remind yourself to have that
<v Speaker 1>when your window is open.
<v Speaker 2>And I was going to say too, to add to that,
<v Speaker 2>I take a probiotic, and a lot of probiotics these
<v Speaker 2>days contain a prebiotic and that is going to break
<v Speaker 2>your fast because they are usually like fruit sugars or
<v Speaker 2>something so fiber yeah, or some fiber. So because of
<v Speaker 2>that alone, a lot of people just don't know what
<v Speaker 2>the ingredients are, and so that alone, you wouldn't want
<v Speaker 2>to take that in your fast. Mine does have prebiotic
<v Speaker 2>in it, and it says to take on an empty stomach.
<v Speaker 2>So I simply open my window with it. And I'm
<v Speaker 2>usually drinking something that's going to break my fast when
<v Speaker 2>I open my window, so then I just take it
<v Speaker 2>with that, and then I go around and make my
<v Speaker 2>little snack or whatever I'm going to eat, and I
<v Speaker 2>figure it's got time to do whatever it needs to
<v Speaker 2>do before I eat. I've read two conflicting things. One,
<v Speaker 2>your stomach acid is higher when you don't have food
<v Speaker 2>in it, and it causes the probotic to break down
<v Speaker 2>before it leaves your stomach. And then I've read others
<v Speaker 2>that when you eat, it increases the stomach acid so
<v Speaker 2>that it won't be as effective. I don't understand how
<v Speaker 2>you can have two completely. That's like literally everything look up,
<v Speaker 2>I know, I know. So yeah, I just take it
<v Speaker 2>when I open my window and then I eat a
<v Speaker 2>few minutes later.
<v Speaker 3>It's just what I do. Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>So before we get to our tweak of the week,
<v Speaker 1>I want to take a minute to tell you about
<v Speaker 1>my books. Now. I am still a teacher at heart,
<v Speaker 1>and so it makes me really happy to have a
<v Speaker 1>wide variety of resources for you no matter where you
<v Speaker 1>are in your intermittent fasting journey. You want to start
<v Speaker 1>with Delay Don't Deny, which I think is the best
<v Speaker 1>quick introduction to intermittent fasting out there. And if you
<v Speaker 1>have a friend or family member who wants to start
<v Speaker 1>in intermittent fasting, send them to Delay Don't Deny as well.
<v Speaker 1>The updated second edition is available in paperback and hardback
<v Speaker 1>only on Amazon, and in ebook and audiobook format wherever
<v Speaker 1>you find your ebooks and your audio books. The new
<v Speaker 1>edition has been updated with a comprehensive ADF chapter. The
<v Speaker 1>wording clean fast has been added. You'll find updates throughout
<v Speaker 1>the whole book, and my favorite part, there are all
<v Speaker 1>new success stories, all from inspirational members of the Delay
<v Speaker 1>don Tonight community. Now, if you want to dig into
<v Speaker 1>the concepts from Delayed on Deny, either on your own
<v Speaker 1>or in a book study group with a friend or
<v Speaker 1>a group of friends, I created a book study companion
<v Speaker 1>workbook called Delay Don't Deny Digging Deeper. As I said,
<v Speaker 1>it's a companion book, so you can't use it by itself.
<v Speaker 1>It goes alongside the second edition of Delayed don Deny,
<v Speaker 1>and when you're using it, you will probably hear school
<v Speaker 1>teacher gin coming through on every page, and you'll enjoy
<v Speaker 1>reflecting on how to apply the concepts into your own life.
<v Speaker 1>You know, reading a book is one thing, but applying
<v Speaker 1>it is another, and Delay Don't Deny Digging Deeper was
<v Speaker 1>designed to help you apply the concepts from Delayed on
<v Speaker 1>Deny in a meaningful way. If you're looking for a
<v Speaker 1>way to keep track of things such as your daily fasts,
<v Speaker 1>you're eating windows, your daily weights, your weekly averaging goals,
<v Speaker 1>non scale victories, food and exercise journals, a daily reflection
<v Speaker 1>and more than what you'll enjoy is The Delay Don't
<v Speaker 1>Deny Life Journal. It's designed to last you six months
<v Speaker 1>and it'll be a great place to keep track of
<v Speaker 1>what you're doing, what's working, and your overall progress. Both
<v Speaker 1>Delay Don't Deny Digging Deeper and The Delay Don't Deny
<v Speaker 1>Life Journal are available in paperback only on Amazon, and
<v Speaker 1>Digging Deeper is also available as an ebook wherever you
<v Speaker 1>get your ebooks.
<v Speaker 3>So now it's time for our tweak of the Week.
<v Speaker 1>And you know I always say tweak it till it's easy.
<v Speaker 1>But the tweak that works for me might not be
<v Speaker 1>the one that works for you. And that's why it's
<v Speaker 1>super helpful to hear how other intermittent fasters are making
<v Speaker 1>intermittent fasting work for them. Today we have a tweak
<v Speaker 1>from Laurie in New York. She says, I am one
<v Speaker 1>day fourteen of the twenty eight day fast start. Yesterday,
<v Speaker 1>I had to open my window a few hours early
<v Speaker 1>due to some errands I had to run in which
<v Speaker 1>I would not be able to open my window at
<v Speaker 1>my normal time. I didn't have the confidence that I
<v Speaker 1>would be able to wait. I was worried that I
<v Speaker 1>would have to keep my seven hour window open longer.
<v Speaker 1>That was mistake number one one. I had a healthy breakfast,
<v Speaker 1>a healthy lunch, shut my window, and went about my day.
<v Speaker 1>I work in the evenings and usually bring my dinner,
<v Speaker 1>but I didn't since I closed my window. After work,
<v Speaker 1>I stopped at the grocery store. That was actually mistake
<v Speaker 1>number two. The slight hunger I felt grew to a
<v Speaker 1>ferocious snarling bear in the grocery store. The sights, the smells,
<v Speaker 1>all that food. I hate to say. I got home
<v Speaker 1>and reopened my window and had a meal, not a snack,
<v Speaker 1>a meal. So now I feel full and icky, like
<v Speaker 1>there's still food in my stomach. So here's my tweak.
<v Speaker 1>Do not go into the grocery store when your window
<v Speaker 1>is closed for the day. There's too much food there
<v Speaker 1>and a little hunger will grow into a big hunger.
<v Speaker 1>One more thing, Have confidence that you can do this.
<v Speaker 1>Looking back, I think I could have extended my window
<v Speaker 1>yesterday morning. Lesson learned, all right, And I want to
<v Speaker 1>dig in there just a little bit and say that
<v Speaker 1>I want to really know, Laurie, that you're on day
<v Speaker 1>fourteen here, and for anybody who's listening that may be
<v Speaker 1>starting off and early in your journey, it is really
<v Speaker 1>normal not to have it figured out this early on
<v Speaker 1>and to find that you're hungry again later and have
<v Speaker 1>days where things don't according to plan. And I'm gonna
<v Speaker 1>be honest, I am not somebody who could have breakfast
<v Speaker 1>and lunch and then close.
<v Speaker 3>Whether I do or don't go to the grocery store
<v Speaker 3>after that.
<v Speaker 1>Whenever I've tried, and I've been doing this for over
<v Speaker 1>ten years, if I try to have an early morning
<v Speaker 1>breakfast and then lunch in the middle of the day
<v Speaker 1>and then close my window. I always get hungry again
<v Speaker 1>before bed to the point.
<v Speaker 3>That I need to eat, and I eat.
<v Speaker 1>I mean, could I push through? Probably? Do I feel miserable? Yes,
<v Speaker 1>And I don't like to feel miserable. You know, we
<v Speaker 1>say tweak it till it's easy. If I feel miserable,
<v Speaker 1>that doesn't feel easy for me. It's really easy to
<v Speaker 1>wake up, push through the morning hunger, even if there's
<v Speaker 1>a little bit rumble here and there. I can push
<v Speaker 1>through that without feeling miserable. And so then I can delay.
<v Speaker 1>I delay my eating window. I am much better at
<v Speaker 1>the delay than the closing early.
<v Speaker 2>And then denying before bedtime.
<v Speaker 3>I just can't. I can't. I'm miserable.
<v Speaker 1>One thing about me is I don't do things that
<v Speaker 1>made me feel miserable and starving and feeling awful.
<v Speaker 3>I feel miserable.
<v Speaker 1>So I set up my intern and fasting lifestyle so
<v Speaker 1>I never have to feel miserable, and I genuinely don't.
<v Speaker 1>Now does that mean everything is easy every minute? No,
<v Speaker 1>But I can push through the morning hunger. I cannot
<v Speaker 1>close early right and feel miserable.
<v Speaker 3>I just can't do it. That's just me. Yeah, and
<v Speaker 3>I was gonna say too.
<v Speaker 2>She was like, well, I can't shop because my window
<v Speaker 2>was closed and it made me hungry, and I reopened
<v Speaker 2>or whatever. But there was a lot going on there
<v Speaker 2>because it's only day fourteen. She had an early window,
<v Speaker 2>which is difficult for a lot of people to then
<v Speaker 2>get it closed and keep it closed. And after you've
<v Speaker 2>been fasting for a while, I'll just tell you can
<v Speaker 2>absolutely grocery shop while hungry. But I couldn't if it
<v Speaker 2>was the aile fasting or hungry.
<v Speaker 1>Like I could grocery shop all day long during my
<v Speaker 1>fast if I'm delaying, But if I was in the
<v Speaker 1>same situation as Lorie, I wouldn't be good at the
<v Speaker 1>grocery store or at home.
<v Speaker 2>Alrighty hungry, everything would look good. You would buy it
<v Speaker 2>all and then you go home and have a snack.
<v Speaker 2>I would, and if I know Jen, it would be cheese.
<v Speaker 2>Probably all right.
<v Speaker 3>We'd love to.
<v Speaker 2>Leave you with inspirational our motivational quotes, and this week
<v Speaker 2>we have a quote from Betsy and Costablanca, Spain. The
<v Speaker 2>quote is life is hard when you expect a lot
<v Speaker 2>of the world and a little of yourself. Life is
<v Speaker 2>easier when you expect a lot of yourself and a
<v Speaker 2>little of the world.
<v Speaker 3>Oh I love that. 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
<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.