I’ve doing IF for many years to loose and maintain quite a bit of weight. 16:10 was my typical fast eat time.
I stopped IF when I was pregnant and I am now 7+ months postpartum and I’m trying to do it again - but with much failure. I’m about 30+ pounds overweight and I am desperately trying to loose it.
I’ve noticed with my fasting it seems near impossible to sometimes make it past the 12/13 hour fasting mark. I am dealing with a lot of PPA/PPD, exhaustion from taking care of the baby (I still get up 2/3 times at night) and the constant schedule of being a SAHM (we basically never leave the office haha) and a lot of personal relationship issues with my husband. So needless to say I am VERY stressed.
I really believe my cortisol levels are through the roof and my adrenals are probably just completely shot. I also have super heavy periods now when I never did before so days like today feel nearly impossible to make it to 14 hours, I am up at 6 am with my son after going to bed around 11:30 - I caved at three hours before my fasting window ended for a protein shake.
Is it a good time to put even more stress on my mental state and body to do IF right now? I worry that I am going to put more stress on my body and it’ll actually hold onto weight/fat more than I’m intending.
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Are you nursing? I couldn’t lose until I stopped (and hated my friends who fit super skinny nursing!). Maybe just give yourself a break for now and once sleep gets better you can ramp up. My first was up every two hours until 7 months plus colic and I was destroyed for a good 10 months but eventually things fell into place. (He’s 13 now and I can’t get him up!!! ) I also can’t believe spouse and indidn’t divorce or kill each other that first year. People say “enjoy every second, it goes so fast” and of course it was torture.
Answer
Obligatory ‘not that kind of doctor’, just some suggestions for a compromise that might be less pressure while making you feel good about what you can achieve:
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Would committing to a month or two of 12/12 potentially reduce snacking while giving you an achievable goal to be able to say ‘I did it’?
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Are there some diet habits you could improve without ‘going on a diet’? Replace empty calorie snacks/drinks with healthier alternatives?
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Would meal planning help, if you don’t already? I find it makes life so, so much easier and turns the healthy option into the easy option a lot of the time.