Welcome to my 20th month of intermittent fasting! If youâve been interested in the fasting lifestyle I hope that my experience here is useful to you. This post is part of a series, so if you want to start at the very beginning, click on over to Intermittent Fasting for Autophagy and Designer Denim, Month Zero â Iâll wait.
Turns out that I need a lot of time to get the results that I want, and that’s okay! Sorry about the long wait between updates, I wanted to reduce the update frequency anyway. My last update was about month eleven – here’s the link!
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Welcome back! My last update detailed 11 months fasting and I realized that stress and hormones were playing a greater role than I realized.
Since then I had nine months to reduce my stress levels, and get my hormones back on track – so let’s talk about those changes and current outcomes.
Month twenty was July 2021 for me.
I definitely prefer one meal a day (OMAD), but have a six-hour eating window that opens in the afternoon. It’s not one-plate-a-day, it’s not a single eating session. I nibble and taste, then have dinner each day.
Since last update – I have had some “window creep” this is when the eating window slowly gets longer (which obviously creates shorter fasts). I just like to nibble at night. Sure, I could go to bed at a reasonable hour, OR I can do computer stuff with chocolate chips and a glass of wine. I often chose the latter because it makes me happy.
But also I changed birth control in December 2020 when my Depo injection was due. I switched and it took my body a few months to start cycling normally again. By this time my stress levels were about the same, and my nighttime nibbling was still in effect. Changing birth control was the right move.
My intuitive eating ability kicked back in and my body found a set point that it liked. I don’t love it, but it’s not bad. My top half is between sizes four and six, my bottom half is between sizes six and eight. My goal is to be a four again – top and bottom, without bursting seams. I’m still physically larger than I prefer, but this set point means that I can eat pizza and beer for a week and not increase size. (What about weight? I don’t own a scale, so I’ve never cared for that number anyway. I’m on Team No Scale and it’s a peaceful life.)
- If “set point” is new to you, I recommend reading The Obesity Code. Dr. Fung explains set points and how hard they are to change.
What has been the same since month eleven – My body size has mostly been the same; it’s a tiny bit more lean, but I still have plenty of squish. I still don’t enjoy breakfast, and I avoid most lunches. Metabolic flexibility is back at work, so I’m easily eating my first meal in the afternoon or evening.
If you’re new here, you may think “no food until the afternoon?! She’s crazy!” I assure you, I am not. I love breakfast foods as a genre, but I don’t like eating when I wake up and I never have. Eating first thing in the morning makes me nauseous…so I avoid that.
I do miss the social ritual of lunch, but that’s it. Eating a midday meal makes me so drowsy that I can’t function for the rest of the day. Sometimes I can eat a tiny sushi lunch and remain awake, but it’s just a million times easier to simply eat when I get hungry, which is usually around 3pm. Fasting isn’t starving, it’s not eating all day long. I feel great when I listen to my body and only eat when I’m hungry – it’s really that simple.
My diet is the same. Mostly whole foods, mostly cooked at home. We eat a little bit of everything, and I try to get a different vegetable on the table each evening. We don’t follow any named dietary regimens because I’m too impulsive and I wouldn’t stick to any one anyway.
What has changed since month eleven – I’m actually down a ring size!! I chalk that up to positive hormonal changes despite the window creep.
I still can’t fit into my engagement ring, but I am closer than I was last year. Since last year I have also been focusing more on getting quality sleep, and improving my hydration. I’ve been moving more (biking when it’s not super hot or super cold), and loving my infrared sauna blanket.
Kid Jupiter had a new part-time nanny for a few months, and that really helped my stress levels because I could run simple errands again. Kid Jupiter has regular play dates out of the house now, and getting out of the house regularly has been positive for both of us.
††Goal Pants, two pairs
†ALLSAINTS, 30″ waist.
No photos, because my size is the same; see Intermittent Fasting, Month Eleven.
†Denizen by Levi’s, size 3.
No photos, because my size is the same; see Intermittent Fasting, Month Eleven.
If you want to see me shrink, check out my Outfits of the Day Index – I highlight one photo from each month each season.
- Outfits of the Day, Index (opens new tab)
Since last update I have been enjoying three different health & wellness audiobooks, and I highly recommend each one! Here’s a handy link list for the above books:
- The Fatburn Fix, Catherine Shanahan MD
- Fast. Feast. Repeat., Gin Stephens
- The Diabetes Code, Dr. Jason Fung
- The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson
Q. Any new plans for the immediate future?
A. Not really.
My size is slowly shrinking, but I don’t have the discipline right now to get back into all size fours this month. This slow shrinking is happening despite my evening nibbles and still enjoying wine or beer with dinner. I can only get in ADF days when Mister Jupiter is out of town because I like eating with him…so I do. I feel great when I have a few fiber-filled ADF up days, with early bedtimes, and bike rides in the morning…but arranging things in a way that best benefit ME is not the same as what benefits the FAMILY, so I’m just squeezing in the things for me when I can. Luckily it’s very easy for me to fast all morning every day, and with the help of magnesium supplements I am beginning to sleep better.
Getting off of Depo was the best choice. I kind of wish that I didn’t wreck my successful weightloss with it at all, but I had no idea that it wasn’t going to be a positive experience again. Oh well, c’est la vie. I have time to get back into size four pants, and when I do I will have a closet of options again.
Meanwhile I fit comfortably in medium leggings and jeggings. Some days I can fit into stretchy smalls, but not often. More than zero, so that’s progress!
I’ll be back for 30 months fasting! I need a lot of time for a little change, so I’ll be back when I have enough changes to write about.
â Ready for more? “Intermittent Fasting, Month 30” is here – enjoy!
Lady Jupiter 