Hey everyone,
I started IF Monday - Friday, where I don’t eat until after work. (6 pm - 8 pm). I work at a desk and haven’t had any hunger issues. For the past five months, I have had elevated blood pressure that turned into high blood pressure where, at one point, I was hypertension Stage 2. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I started going for walks when I could (because I’m a little bitch & it’s too hot in Florida) and playing tennis sometimes on the weekends. However, it wasn’t good enough, and my blood pressure was still high af. I began IF at the end of September, and my blood pressure has gone down to NORMAL levels. I was shocked and so happy because I didn’t need to be afraid of my heart health as much anymore. I keep checking it 2x a week, and I still do IF, and I’ve noticed about 1” loss on my waist. I’m so happy about my successes, and I freaking love intermittent fasting… it’s changed my life.
Advice if you can, please on the following:
Do you all have any tips for IF when I’m doing more physical activities like hiking/going to the gym? I am so afraid to go to the gym and pass out on a treadmill because my ass didn’t eat, LOL.
Do I truly need to worry about putting creamer in my coffee? Right now, I use Natural Bliss Vanilla Creamer and I drink my coffee around 8:30 AM Mon.-Fri.
Great job! Skinny-fat here! My BP has normalized too, unless I have a very stressful event. Been doing IF for years. I don’t worry about fasting/workouts. I’ve gotten to where it feels good to workout fasted. The body adapts, or else our ancestors would have died out long ago ;) As for the creamer, I never made much progress until learning about the “clean fast”. That little snack or drink can potentially bump insulin enough to break the fast early. Check out Gin Stephen’s books Fast Feast Repeat and Delay Don’t Deny. She’s a proponent of the clean fast. There is debate on just how many ‘calories’ or what things break a fast. Some say bulletproof coffee with fat in it is ok, other say no way, the fat breaks the fast. There are a few studies proving that a sweet taste, or anything but bitter flavors register in the brain and prompts the body to expect a meal, raising insulin, OR dysregulating appetite. Also, if I have anything sweet outside my eating window, then I’m white-knuckling it before eating…A sure sign (for my body) that I’ve bumped insulin. I do a 5-6 hour eating window and save my flavored coffee until around 2:00pm. All you can do is experiment with your body, but honestly if you don’t already have blood sugar issues, you can safely workout fasted! Every BODY is different. I bet others will chime in with opposite views tho…Cheers!