My life and schedule is crazy (in a good way). I don't have a routine, per say. I have things I do everyday, consistently and I have a schedule that I'm very good at planning and keeping, but it's rather all over the place. I get up and go to bed at different times every single day, although I'm usually up before 7. I often get less than 7 hours of sleep. Personally, I don't plan on changing that because there is a lot I want to accomplish. I exercise consistently, but when it's convenient (I am changing this though). I am in the car a lot. I have a lot of responsibilities (many are self imposed). Etc, etc. You get the idea, right!?Can you relate to any of this?
As such, my eating is all over the place. To be transparent, I've been struggling with knowing how much to eat, and when and how to plan my meals to keep myself healthy. Somedays I can tell that I haven't eaten enough, because I can tell my blood sugar gets low and I start saying weird things :) There are some days I am on the way to the gym, but haven't eaten enough to get a good workout in, so I have to go home, eat and then workout, which is kind of a waste of time. Other days I feel like I'm overeating, and it's frustrating.
That said, I'm not complaining, but merely telling you that, because there may be someone who reads this post who struggles with the same thing.
Let's talk about a solution (possibly).
Now, this is a solution that works for me. It may be good for you, it may not. You may read this and think, "YES!" this works for me too, or you may think it's silly.
I'm only on day 4, so I'm not considering myself an expert, obviously, and I haven't even been perfect in the last 4 days, I'm merely writing this post, because I am planning round 2 of a 30-Day Lifestyle Challenge, and for me, this is part of what I'm doing and want to explain why with 1 source!
Just like anything having to do with nutrition, there are a few methods of intermittent fasting. I'm so thankful for detail oriented people who can explain things and give solid advice.
A great resource: Three Methods of Intermittent Fasting. Nia uses her personal experiences with each method, plus the pros and cons for each, plus she refers you to other resources, which I love. She also has a beautiful philosophy: "No two people are the same, and therefore there’s not one universal approach to nutrition, or strength training, that will work for everyone" (totally agreed!)
Monica's "Method"
Eat between 10am and 6pm or 11am and 7pm (depending on my schedule for the day). Drink as much water, green tea, coffee or XS during the fasting time, as desired!
2 Reasons I'm doing this:
1. Simplicity!
I'm not organized and this is super simple! Tracking, counting calories, and planning what I'm going to eat a week in advance is not for me (although this works for some!)
For example, my good friend offered me a cookie at 11pm (we are actually both new to intermittent fasting and my conversation with her this week sparked me to take it seriously!). Anyway, I'm not a cookie girl, but it was a pumpkin cookie, and that's pretty hard to resist :-) But because it was 11pm, I said no (and so did she!) My expectation is that these types of decisiouns will snowball into positive health choices everyday, because who knows how often we say yes, we when we really shouldn't ;-)
2. Routine!
It's a way to regulate my routine and hopefully keep my body in a bit of a rythmn. If nothing else is consistent in my routine, this is. I don't want to have my brain focused on food for a significant part of the day (8 hours will do!)
It's easy for me to plan around time, because my routine is so different everyday. That may or may not work for you.
So there you go, hope this helps and provides a bit more detail, if you were wondering about this topic. Like I said, you can tell by reading this, I am not an expert in this area, but I will update you on my experience as I go along!
In health & prosperity,
Monica
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