I’ve been intermittent fasting (loosely) for the last number of years, primarily to keep my weight down. I’d ballooned to the heaviest I’ve ever been (except when pregnant) during Covid. I wasn’t going to the gym, I was drinking and eating more.
I know that I am lucky, I am naturally slim. I have always been able to eat and drink as much as I wanted. I could consume whatever I’ve wanted. When I was young, I was even at one point under weight. When I worked in a brewery for the summer, I would drink Porter beer to try to gain weight. Hard to imagine ever doing that. Even in my 40s, if I over indulged, I would just get back to the gym. I would work it all off in no time.
But age and genetics are catching up to me. Both my parents developed diabetes when they got older. My mom had complications a couple of years ago. Her diabetes was uncontrolled, and she developed a serious kidney infection. She was hospitalized for almost a month. It was scary for a while, but she finally started on insulin injections. With ongoing monitoring of her sugar levels, she is doing great now.
I’d like to stave off diabetes.
I drink only black coffee at breakfast time, and do not to eat anything until after noon. My window of not eating is between 8 PM and 12 noon. It was easy to stick with that while I was working full time. My mornings would be easily tied up with back to back meetings. The toughest part for me now is avoiding carbs. It’s just not easy to do, especially with Asian cuisine (rice! noodles! sushi!) and my love of bread, pasta, pizza – carbs are everywhere. I love carbs.
In the last year, I have been even more conscious of the sugar content in my food. I read food labels carefully. I even check wine labels for extra dry wine. I try to find those with 2g/L. By doing this, I have cut down on alcohol consumption too. But the biggest change is cutting out the late-night snacking. Munchies at around 9 pm – they would get me every time.
I have added strength training to my activity at the gym. With this change in diet and eating patterns, I am the lightest I have been since before I had kids. The hardest part will be keeping it that way! So it really is about diet.
Next. up, I think I need to start drinking more water.
Have you ever changed your diet?
At a time 
When do you exercise? I have heard that you should eat soon after exercise, but I don’t know if that’s true or not.
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I usually try to eat at least a little something before I go to my weights class – figure it’s better not to pass out just in case! I end up having some sort of a bite after a workout, truth be told.
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I have changed my diet over the years for certain health conditions. I used to fast but now that I take medications I can’t do that anymore.
Strength training is a good choice. I have lifted light weights for over 20 years as my exercise routine.
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20 years of weights is amazing! I feel I should have started earlier, but better later than never I suppose.
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Kudos to you for making such significant changes and working to incorporate more in your efforts to stay healthy.
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Thanks Deborah, it is hard to be “good” sometimes LOL!
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A friend has been trying to get me on the Paleo diet – high protein, high fat, no carbs but I have to admit I like my rice and pasta! Diets are difficult, sometimes when you’re not in a good mood, you just want to turn to your comfort food. Happy A to Z!
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I’ve tried a version of the Paleo, but then the high fat may start getting into the high cholesterol zone! My cholesterol is on the high side, but it’s the total cholesterol count, and I have more of the good cholesterol (HDL) so that is helpful. It seems hard to win!
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Naturally, there’s always pros and cons to every diet, and one size doesn’t fit all.
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