Either Intermittent Fasting or I’m Not Vegan grabbed your attention and led you to clicking on this post.

DISCLAIMER: Everyone is allowed to live their life how THEY please and makes them happy. If you are Vegan, this is in no way meant to be a sad post or disrespectful to your lifestyle whatsoever. Just like everything else, keep an open mind. Good vibes and much love sent your way. ♥

OKAY PEOPLE… I guess I should break the ice by sharing some important news with you all. Some news that most of you could have probably easily guessed if you pay attention to my post on IG. (@_getfitforyou #shameless plug)

I’m not Vegan anymore. I was Vegan for about 8 months or so and loved it but I felt like a hypocrite. The first few months I was super strict with it all but as the weeks went by, I would bend the rules every now and then and by that I mean I would be okay with certain products containing honey or the occasional eggs. Being Vegan is a difficult title to hold… something just as simple as grabbing a quick bite to eat was even more difficult than my first couple of years adjusting to just eating clean. I felt like I was lying to myself and taking a title that wasn’t mine to have. Props to all of my Vegan friends that are able to fully and completely devote themselves to no eggs or honey AT ALL. I try to stay away from sugar in general so using honey makes that easier and tastier, that’s just my personal feelings on it. As far as the eggs, I don’t mind too much either because my Husband and I tend to stick to cage-free and be cautious of the companies we buy from. Now, I know “cage-free” doesn’t necessarily mean “cruelty-free” but I’m working on it. Some things take longer than others and becoming fully Vegan definitely does not happen overnight for most.

“What the heck are you now?” Well, I  just say that I’m a Vegetarian that doesn’t consume dairy.

I may not owe anyone an apology but I do apologize if anyone looked up to me as inspiration to becoming Vegan, but I promise that I’ll keep sharing Vegan recipes, cool foodie finds, tips, and alternatives to real meat. You can all still come to me with any questions you may have and I’ll do my very best to give you an educated answer. Let’s move on to IF, shall we?

Here’s the “tea” on Intermittent Fasting…

As I scroll through social media, I realized that so many people were sharing that they were trying this new thing called Intermittent Fasting. 90% of what I would read and see are the amazing benefits along with the great mental and physical results. What I would not see were “influencers” not sharing the struggles of IF nor the actual journey of such a different change in diet/lifestyle. That wasn’t enough for me as I wanted to know the HONEST truth about it all, good bad and ugly. My apologies for not having as great of documentation for all days as I did for the first day. I’m sure you guys are good with having a less than 2500 worded blog post.

Here is my full experience with fasting, week numero uno here we go.

The First Day…

(no worries, this is the only day broken down by hour)

• 5:15am- 6am:
  Worked out my core and did 20mins on the stair master. Got home feeling pretty nauseous and beyond ready to chug my protein shake.

• 7am:
  Had some straight black coffee, no sugar/creamer

  SN: Felt better after a nice hot cuppa Joe, this is where I learned/realized that since caffeine is a natural hunger suppressant, drinking it could potentially help me make it to 12pm without passing out.

• 12:10pm:
  Ate a Spinach Egg White wrap from Starbucks along with some water

• 1:30pm:
  1/2 of a Lenny and Larry Chocolate Chip Protein cookie. I was pretty surprised at how much I was NOT in the mood for a L&L Protein cookie. I usually love this so much but not this day… I was craving a fresh pressed juice or something just not as sweet as a protein cookie. “Why didn’t you just choose something else?” Well because I have my soon to be one year old (I’m not crying, you are) in his carrier and a 5 year old anxious to get home from the grocery store. I needed to grab something that wasn’t too messy, quick and full of protein and fiber. I felt a little light headed and tired so I needed a boost and I needed it quick!

• 2:30pm:
  I had my protein shake that contained an individual pack of Wild Friends Coconut Chocolate PB with Tara’s Whey Protein in Bourbon Vanilla (nope, it in fact does NOT contain any alcohol). Oh, and I used unsweetened soy milk.

• 3:40pm:
  Late lunch, I know. It’s technically called “Linner”, right? Any who, I had a Southwestern Salad (they are in the “bagged” salad section at Sprouts) with 5 almonds (getting technical here) and two sweet potato wedges that I had roasted for dinner the night before. This meal was pretty satisfying considering it was my first homemade meal of the day.

• 4:40pm:
  I felt a little ‘snacks’ but not too terribly hungry, just needed a little pick me up and banana’s are perfect for just that. A snack packed with a little “oomph”

• 6:30pm:
  As you can tell, the banana held me over until dinner which was nice. For dinner, I had my Tofu Black Bean Chilli topped with shredded vegan cheddar cheese, sliced avocado and blue corn tortilla chips on the side. It was pretty delicious and I knew it would be a great meal to have for dinner considering all of the very filling ingredients it contains.

• 7:40pm:
  Although I was feeling super full and satisfied from my dinner, I knew this was my last chance to fit in a little something before what seemed like forever until my next meal. Whew, this was a hard realization. I had a small bowl of unsweetened vanilla coconut yogurt with almond butter and a few apple slices.

  SN/TIP: Try mixing in your nut butter with your yogurt and making a creamy dip for your fruit of choice. It is so delicious and feels like you are having a bit of a dessert.

Conclusion of the first day:

The first day didn’t go as bad as I thought it would. I started my IF journey on the Second of July not really knowing which meals I would eat or snacks I should keep on hand. Although my family and live a pretty “clean eating” lifestyle, it’s great to be prepared and have meals on hand. More on this in the following paragraph…

I did get a migraine around mid-day but I kind of expected that considering my last “meal” was popcorn… yes, I know (wicked smart Marlyn). I completely forgot that I planned on starting IF the following day and I didn’t want to wait any longer to start. Popcorn was my last meal and I had to just make it a lesson learned. I went into the first day of IF not as educated as I should have and that’s totally my fault. However, I did know to keep myself busy and OUT of the house with a snack in my bag just in case 12pm rolled around a lot quicker than expected.

Staying out of the house was a wise decision as time did creep past me and before I knew it, it was 12pm and I was still at Target. Now, no judging here because before I knew the proper way on how to break a fast (is this where the word “breakfast” come from?) I did it with a Spinach Egg White Wrap from Starbucks. Just in case you were interested in the nutritional facts on the wrap, click here to read more.

Can you believe that little wrap contains 50 g of Protein? Active women on average are recommended about 46 g – 50 g of Protein a DAY. Whoa! Also, check out the sodium… it is recommended that women consume no more than 2,300 mg of Sodium so if you plan to eat this wrap, just be aware of the rest of the meals you consume that day. Moderation people, its key for me as it should be for everyone who wants to live a flexible, non-restrictive healthy lifestyle.

Day 2:

• I started feeling pretty hungry by 7:30am. This really sucked considering that I had 4.5 hours left until my tastebuds got what they wanted. Along with starting IF this week, I also started working out at 5:15am instead of my usual night time routine of working out. I knew this would make it a bit more  challenging but my favorite way to start my day is with a workout so sacrifices had to be made.
  

  How I broke my fast on day 2: A shot of  2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp of water and 1 scoop of my powdered collagen. After that shot, I was ready to eat everything and anything in my sight. I settled for a veggie omelet with a everything bagel topped with cream “cheese” and fresh berries.

  Clarity, lets talk about clarity… there was NO SUCH THING as clarity for the first three days. At least their wasn’t for me. I felt like a complete mess in the brain and could not focus on just one thing at a time. Yes, my brain was going about 200 mph. Fasting wasn’t going to last too long for me if it weren’t for me regaining (and strengthening) my clarity by the fourth day. Spoiler alert.

Day 3:

• I did not feel hungry until right at 11:30am. Trust me when I say that those last 30 mins of my fast were the longest 30 mins of my life. Okay, maybe not longer than when I was in labor. Either way, I was so ready to eat my MIL’s pancakes although I knew that wasn’t the healthiest thing to eat right after breaking my fast. Give me a break, it was the 4th of July and we were out of town. Although I still ate in moderation and of course stuck to a vegetarian diet, I don’t want to talk about what the rest of my day looked like eating wise lol.

Day 4:

• This day was the best since starting this whole thing, the hunger didn’t kick in until about 11:50am. This gave me 10 mins to prepare my first meal of the day which worked out perfectly. I took my shot of APC/ Collagen and had an omelet stuffed with veggies, an everything bagel and a small bowl of fruit on the side. Don’t judge me, I was pretty hungry. This “breakfast” was super filling and I wasn’t hungry until about 3 or 4pm.

Day 5:

• On day 5, I wanted to change things up so I decided to start my fast earlier which meant I could eat earlier the next day. Whoo hoo!!! I started at 7:30pm instead of 8pm meaning I could eat at 11:30am the next day. This worked out much better and I didn’t feel as hungry the following morning. Thirty minutes does make a difference people.

Day 6:

• The 6th day felt like any regular day, to help time fly a little quicker I brewed myself a warm cup of black coffee and took the kids on a walk around the neighborhood. Like I mentioned before, caffeine naturally helps suppress hunger and who doesn’t enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning anyway? The walk to the duck pond took up about an hour and it was pretty pleasant. By the time we got home it was time to tidy up before a nap for both kiddos and then mommy could prepare her feast!

Day 7:

• Ah, the last day of this personal challenge. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to continue IF past this week but I didn’t plan to document more than just the week. Although I enjoy sharing this journey with you all, I definitely want to tune up and change certain things and make it my own. This day was pretty easy and I’m so glad that I made it!

As with anything, consistency is the key to making progress.

Now Let’s Do Some Comparison…

The first day of IF compared to the seventh day was a positive change for sure. Through the week, I did more research on the topic and became more educated on it all. I figured that if this is something that I plan to stick to, I might as well learn as much as possible. Also, how would I be able to give you all educated responses to your questions if I had no clue what I was getting myself into? Once I learned tips and tricks to this new lifestyle, it got easier for me. Now I won’t lie to you, some days I feel as if I might starve to death but that’s usually a result to me not eating a fiber and protein full meal the night before. As with everything, it truly is a learning process and I only hope to get better as time goes on.

I went from not knowing how to “properly” break my fast to finding what worked for me. I mentioned how I break my fast on the “Day 2” entry but here it is again. I take 2tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 2tbsp of water and one scoop of my powdered collagen. Shake it all up and take it was a shot.

Why are ACV and Collagen So Great For IF?

The following paragraph are notes that I took from this genius I found on YouTube named Thomas Deleur. What I loved about his channel is that he was different from most people that say “Hey, I’m IF and I love doing it because it’s just good for you. Try it!”. He goes into great depths of explaining Intermittent Fasting with analytics of the human body. It just made so much sense to me to hear and read about this lifestyle while knowing how my body would take to this new way of eating.

Apple Cider Vinegar:

Although very bitter and still not enjoyable for me, here are the facts as to why it is a great way to break a fast. It is a great way to give your metabolism a fiery kick start which leads to a bunch of other benefits. Weight loss, getting your digestion on track, lowers blood pressure, improves symptoms of diabetes’ and I’ve also found that it makes my skin just glow. Click here for more information on the benefits of apple cider vinegar.

Collagen:

Tasteless and can be added to black coffee as well (I might start taking it this way). Did you know that Collagen is a protein? It is a very important building block in your body that is absolutely needed. The Collagen that I take is a very simple form, just a fine white powder that you can mix in with your coffee or orange juice. Here are the perks I’ve found so far of breaking your fast with collagen or just taking it in general. Collagen is broken down to amino acids for absorption in the gut. Amino acids are then transported to the liver which then travels to where it is needed (muscles, enzymes etc.)

Breastfeeding going on strong…

Losing my milk supply were one of my worries when I decided to begin Intermittent Fasting but I was still willing to give it a try. However I knew that one week wouldn’t make that drastic of a drop in my milk supply and I would be able to pick it back up with a couple of lactation cookies and milk tea.
My son is now a year old and we are still going on strong with our breastfeeding journey. IF did not lessen my milk supply at all and I didn’t notice a change in my son either. Besides the natural fussiness that comes along with teething, no other change in mood due to fasting. Due to IF I am consuming less calories, but as long as I make sure to squeeze in those nutrition dense foods within my non-fasting hours; I know he’s getting the same nutritional milk.

The grand finale…

If you made it this far, thank you SO much for the support and sticking it out until the end. The fact that I have such a beautiful community of women and men that support me and especially trust my opinion is just indescribable. It only gets better from here! As always, if you have any question at all please feel free to comment below or email me. Have a lovely day or night, wherever you are!

 

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, see you on the next post.

Xoxo,

M.M.