The benefits I have noticed after 5 weeks of Intermittent Fasting
Firstly, hello to everyone who takes the time to read my post - thank you ❤️
So I wanted to share my experiences of IF thus far … On the 1st March 2025 I decided to try out intermittent fasting. I started doing 12:12 for the first week, then on week 2, I changed it to 14:10, then on week 3, I started the 16:8 and that is what I will be doing for the foreseeable.
Up until yesterday (Sunday 30/03/2025), I haven't changed anything I was eating, only the schedule to fit in with the fasting timetable I was doing - I have been weighing myself on a Sunday morning, and I have lost 2.5kg in the 4 weeks since I started intermittent fasting, which I think is quite good, considering there have been no dietary changes, just scheduling changes.
For the last 20+ years, I have had to take Loperamide to handle IBS flare-ups that don't seem to have any specific triggers - it can be absolutely anything that sets a flare-up off, irrespective of whether the foods are considered safe for me to eat or not, my digestive system will take a disliking to something and it's generally impossible to figure out what was the actual trigger, so I pop a couple of Loperamides and get on with my day. However, since starting intermittent fasting, I have not taken a single Loperamide, and I know I've eaten a couple of foods that my digestive system doesn't generally like. To me that is a win!
As of today, I am now weighing, measuring and logging foods, I am also planning my meals ahead so that I can work on keeping myself within my daily calorie allowance. I will continue to weigh myself on Sunday mornings and I will be starting to introduce some formal exercise gradually over the coming weeks.
I am finding the intermittent fasting quite enjoyable - I was worried that I would struggle in a morning as I love my bowl of porridge and cup of tea, but my body has got used to being awake for a few hours before eating anything. Yesterday (Sunday 30/03/2025) was Mother's Day, so knowing I would be eating my Sunday lunch earlier than usualy I decided to break my fast at 10am so I could get my porridge in without it interrupting my roast dinner, but because I have become accustomed to eating after 12noon I felt heavy and sluggish eating 2 hours earlier - lesson learned - next time I will hold off until lunch time and extend my fasting instead.
Anyway, I wanted to share my experience with this new eating programme, so if anyone has read this far - I'm interested to see what experiences of IF you have had.
😉