A doctor says that an intermittent fasting helped him lose 55 pounds

Cecily Anne Clark-Ganheart's weight has fluctuated for most of her adult life. But when she hit a record 264 pounds after the birth of her second son in 2014, she knew she had to win the battle with the scales once and for all. The traditional calorie count helped her lose about 20 kg (35 pounds), but her efforts stabilized, so she decided to try intermittent fasting.

Clark-Ganheart knew that the IF was a fashionable way to lose weight, but as a doctor (she is an OB / GYN), the physiological mechanisms of fasting made sense. "Insulin plays a role in weight regulation, but frequent feeding or grazing can lead to insulin dysfunction. This can lead to insulin resistance, making it difficult to burn stored fat, "she says. "When you do not eat, insulin levels go down. This can restore insulin sensitivity and encourage the body to access the stored fat for fuel. "

Hoping that limiting his meal times would allow him to control his blood sugar levels and burn his body, Clark-Ganheart began fasting 18 hours a day. Most of the time, she starts eating around 10 or 11 am and aims to finish before 5 pm. Eighteen months later, she had lost 55 pounds and managed to maintain her since. She has also managed to reverse her prediabetes and lower her high blood pressure – not to mention finding more energy to keep pace with her active sons.

Here's how she did it and her advice for intermittent fasting to work for you.

She eats meals, not snacks

Clark-Ganheart has a six-hour feeding window almost every day, but she does not take this period to be allowed to eat nonstop. "During this time, I will have two separate meals and I will try not to let myself graze," she says. It will be enjoyed more often with a spinach omelet, cheese with berries, salmon, chicken or meat (from a local farm) fed on the grass with vegetables.

She eats real food and keeps sugar to a minimum

Eating a few hours in the day does not mean that Clark-Ganheart does what she wants. "You still need this nutrient, so focus on the quality of your food," she says. "One hundred calories from broccoli is a healthier choice than 100 calories from a donut, even if it's a gluten-free donut."

Before attempting to fast, Clark-Ganheart prepared sweetened bottled sweeties for breakfast and sipped two or three diet sodas throughout the workday. "My real meals were not horrible, but all the added drinks and sugars, real or artificial, add up," she says. These days, she avoids sugary drinks (and snacks) and makes the most of her food at home. If she wants a sweet treat, she will enjoy her favorite pineapple-based Christmas juice bubble tea just once or twice a month.

She keeps her flexible fasting window

"I try to vary things during the week because I think if you do the same thing all the time your body starts to get used to it and adjust it" says Clark-Ganheart. Most weekdays, she fastens for 18 hours and eats for six hours, but on weekends. she could simply fast for 16 hours and eat for eight hours, following the intermittent fasting method 16: 8. And if she needs to break her fasting window earlier for a special occasion or social event, she will begin fasting earlier the next day to make a difference – or even do a 24-hour fast. "What's great about IF is that you can adapt to the real treat times," she says.

She finds non-food means to connect

A limited window of restoration means that Clark-Ganheart often fasts when his family sits down for dinner. But she does not let her diet prevent her from missing. "I sit at the table and like to chat with them," she says. "We spend more time with family, but I focus on interaction rather than food."

She receives support from equal consumers

Clark-Ganheart uses LIFE Fasting Tracker to monitor his meal windows and fasting times. But she really love it because it's a social app that keeps him in touch with other fasters. "It's nice to have a group of like-minded people," she says. When some members of his family decided to try IF, they created their own social circle on the app to be able to share their progress and stay motivated. And she blogs about her fasting experience to share what she has learned with others.

She ignores the defeatists

Clark-Ganheart never imagined that others would notice when she ate (or did not eat). "But I was skipping lunch at work and people were commenting that I do not eat," she says. Eventually she got tired of trying to explain her dietary choices, especially to colleagues who did not agree with them. Now, she bypasses the uncomfortable conversations using her lunch hour to do something else. "If I'm going to fast during lunch, I'll have a 30-minute jog," she says.

It aims at coherence

Not everyone can start fasting for 16 or 18 hours at a time, and that's fine. Instead of asking if your fast window is long enough, choose a length of time with which you know you can stick to it. "It's about doing something you can do 360 days a year," says Clark-Ganheart. "You get the benefits even if your window is not that long." She recommends starting with a 12-hour fast and choosing one or two days a week to challenge yourself with a 16-hour fast. "Finally, you can tie them together," she says.

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