How I lost weight with 2 weeks of intermittent fasting
THE intermittent fasting diet plan has a person cycling between periods of fasting and eating, and it first interested me because there was no limit on what you could eat, just when you ate. So late last year when I decided to make a change and lose some weight, as I was just feeling bloated and unhappy with myself, it was the diet plan that I chose.
The starting point
I started at 155 pounds, at 5’6”. My ideal weight for height is between 118 and 148 pounds, based on the BMI scale, but I’d always been lanky, so I had never really gone past 128 in the past. But two pregnancies back to back meant that I was unable to lose the weight, and at 38 years old, this is where I started.
The end goal
My end goal is to be back between 128 and 135 pounds — that’s where I would be comfortable.
Diet plan
I started on December 26, 2021, one day after Christmas. I went to bed at 10:00 pm the night before, after having my last meal at 7:00 pm. To break my fast I had a green juice detox blend of aloe vera, lemon juice, unsweetened orange juice for taste, and a turmeric/ginger concentrate mix. The plan was to break my fast each morning for a week with this mixture, then have lunch at noon, dinner at 6:00 pm, and repeat.
I managed to stick to the plan — lunch comprised a protein, raw vegetables and one starch per day, eg: a spoonful of rice or two slices of yam, potatoes or two green bananas.
Dinner would be similar — sautéed cooked vegetables with a protein, and maybe some wheat pasta.
Week two
By week two I had ditched the detox juice, as I already felt lighter, and was passing stool better. I didn’t have that bloated feeling one gets when they have too much rice or white bread, and so I entered this second week with the same schedule, except to break my fast, I had a bottle of water, and nothing else until noon.
Exercise…
I didn’t do much exercise as I didn’t want to push myself too hard. Waiting to eat had me light headed at times, and I didn’t want to add exercise and possibly feel worse.
The results
At the end of the two weeks I had lost eight pounds, which was amazing. I have continued the fasting, but some mornings I will have a cup of tea and some Tea biscuits, and when I do that, I will wait until about 2:00 pm for lunch. Most days I don’t have carbs — just occasionally I will have a spoon of rice or mashed potatoes. I feel more energised and healthy, and I’m sure that with a little tweaking, I will get to my goal weight in another three months or so.
Gabrielle is a mental health professional, who is interested in making the mind-body connection work in her own life.
Have you managed to transform your body through weight gain or weight loss? Want to share your story with us? E-mail allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com
