What to eat for intermittent fasting for weight loss, you might ask? Well look no further. Here you will find 16 8 diet power foods and intermittent fasting for weight loss schedule.
Recently there has been much scientific research on fasting and what 16 hour fast benefits will do to not only improve your health but also help you to burn fat and keep it off!
Right here, in this post, I will give you a step-by-step plan. So be sure to bookmark this post because you’ll want to reference it again and share it on your facebook page for your family and friends to get healthy too!
I named this weight loss plan Burn The Fat And Keep It Off because that’s exactly what I’m going to teach you using Intermittent Fasting.
In the picture below I’m holding a five pound fat model and so far, I’ve lost eight of these babies. Yay!
Since I hit midlife, I tried EVERYTHING! Being hormonal and older, there is only so much you can do,…so I thought.
I did some research and found a plan that finally works for me. I paid a small fortune for that weight loss plan but I’m telling you, it’s worth every penny! With what I’ve learned, experienced and implementing extensive research to this plan, I can now share it with you.
I don’t feel anyone should have to pay as much as I did to make healthy changes in their life.
Intermittent Fasting Benefits
As you’ll see in the video below, Intermittent Fasting is not only beneficial for losing weight but also will help with your overall health and life span.
When you eat food, the liver will store glycogen, about 60 to 90 grams, which really isn’t much. When you are fasting for about 10 to 12 hours, the glycogen in your liver is extremely low, therefore, when that runs out, your body will release it’s stored fat cells into your bloodstream, directly to your liver for energy. That means you’re burning fat!
The video also shows that fasting puts you in a state of ketosis, which you can also achieve with a ketogenic diet. However, Intermittent Fasting has a much more powerful effect on achieving the benefits we desire, up to 20 fold more than those on an average diet, and much more than a ketogenic diet, which is only fourfold.
Intermittent Fasting with Keto
From my research, I’ve found that there are different ways people implement intermittent fasting. Some will say to fast for a certain amount of time then eat whatever you want. This is not an effective way if you want to get healthier or lose weight.
If you are filling up your body with carbohydrates or huge amounts of protein, this will only damage your body further and fuel your cravings. It will fill your body cells with glucose and glucose will stay in your bloodstream with the help of insulin, sent out by the pancreas as it detects the huge amount of sugar.
Insulin will not only keep glucose in your bloodstream but it will also tell your body not to burn stored fat as there is plenty of glucose to use as fuel.
The glucose in your bloodstream can also clog your arteries and bind to proteins causing inflammation. Glucose will also cause your triglycerides to go up, which will then increase your chance of coronary heart disease.
The capacity to hold glycogen in the liver is very limited and only lasts for ten to twelve hours, so it must be properly maintained. As mentioned above the liver can only hold 60 to 90 grams of glycogen and the muscles can store 300 to 400 grams.
Once our liver and muscles are at their capacity and what insulin cannot keep in the bloodstream will be stored as fat in fat cells, which have no capacity. That’s how you get bigger and fatter. And, since insulin tells your body to use the glucose in your bloodstream to use as fuel, it will take more and more expanded energy to start utilizing stored fat as fuel.
So in order to start burning stored fat immediately, we must decrease the need for insulin by limiting the amounts of carbohydrates in our diet.
Another thing to note about stored glycogen, your brain cannot use glycogen that is stored in the muscles, it can only utilize it from the liver that is sent to the brain through the bloodstream for it to function optimally.
The best way our brain functions is with ketones. Ketones are created by burning fat. The ketogenic diet is very beneficial for those with Alzheimer’s. It’s also great to prevent it!
If you choose to eat whatever you want during intermittent fasting, you’re negating all your efforts. It’s a waste of time and you’re not getting any healthier.
There are two effective ways to intermittent fasting for weight loss and better health, and that is a low fat, low carb plan or you can follow a ketogenic diet.
The idea is to be a fat burner and not a sugar burner. When you’re on a low carb diet and you fast, the glycogen will be depleted in your liver and your body will start burning fat stored in your body for energy immediately. This will help you to lose weight quicker.
In this plan we will be implementing the low carb, low-fat diet as that is what worked for me and all the other participants. Remember, this is only temporary until you hit your goal weight and the fasting stage is for only 40 days at a time. You will be taking breaks from this.
If this becomes too hard for you, then I suggest you use the ketogenic diet with your intermittent fasting. This will work in what you are trying to achieve but it will be slower in the results of losing weight, compared to the low fat, low carb diet.
Here is a very good Recipe For Low Carb Bread With Yeast For The Keto Diet that is a game-changer.
I suggest that you get a good grasp on the ketogenic diet. The ideal plan is one that consumes mostly vegan fat, like nuts or avocados, and not so much from animal fats.
This post contains affiliate links. Please see fulldisclosure for details
This is the one I recommend.
Before Starting This Meal Plan
See your doctor first. I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. This plan was developed based on my research and personal experience. If you are under 18, this is not for you. If you are pregnant or nursing, this plan is not for you.
If you have medical issues, I’ll say it again, SEE YOUR DOCTOR FIRST. In fact, even if you don’t have medical issues, you need to see your doctor first.
Disclaimer
Before you move forward, here is my disclaimer for this weight loss plan. Please read it first before implementing it.
The information provided in this course should not be considered medical advice to diagnose, cure or treat any medical condition. Please consult your Medical Professional before going on any weight loss program. Linda Edwards, or Blossomingwidow.com, in no event, shall be held liable for any damages, directly or indirectly resulting from the use of the information contained. Any person relying on any of the information contained in this publication or making any use of the information contained here shall do so at their own risk. The author cannot guarantee results or be held liable for any outcomes you may or may not receive from implementing what you read in this publication.
The information in this plan is based on personal experience. The author of this publication has made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content. The author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
The websites recommended in this publication are intended as resources for the reader, the author cannot guarantee their content for the life of this publication.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get started.
Intermittent Fasting Guide
In order to make this work, there are some important things to implement in order to be successful with intermittent fasting.
This weight loss guide is a 3 stage plan. The Intermittent Fasting Stage, the Maintenance Stage and then the Lifestyle Stage. Each stage is designed to work together for maximum results.
Items you’ll need
Here are a few items you’ll need on hand. You may already have some of these but I’ve included links as to where you can purchase them.
A Whole Food Multi-Vitamin – I use Catalyn, by Standard Process.
A whole-food multi-vitamin is a must to support you through the whole plan, especially during the Intermittent Fasting Stage.
Lypo–Spheric B Complex Plus
On your first IF stage, you’re going to go through detox. Usually, this can be headaches and flu-like symptoms. This is because your body is going through a cleanse from sugar. Not only that, but you will start eating a lot fewer calories than you’re used to. You will be needing energy support and that is where this Vitamin B complex comes in.
You will only take this during the 40 day IF stage and then, while in other stages, use occasionally for a boost in energy.
Click on the picture below and I want you to read how great this product is.
Turmeric – Curcumin Supplement
My husband has stopped taking the Turmeric capsules I give him in the morning and waits to take them at bedtime. He complains that it suppresses his appetite too much and he then can’t finish his meals. He continues to take them because it helps keep his joints from aching. (we’re getting older!…LOL) My husband is fit and does not need to lose weight.
As for us, we need an appetite Appetite Suppressant, Anti-inflammatory & Metabolism Booster to help along the way. While this whole plan and the food you eat is anti-inflammatory in itself, you’ll find that taking a Tumeric supplement will not only suppress your appetite but help you get results quickly. And that’s just top of the list of what this supplement can do for you. Here is an article you can read about how it helps.
I love this particular brand because I know it works. Not only does it suppress my appetite but I originally took it for arthritis. I used to wake up in the middle of the night because of my aching hands but after five days of taking this, my aches and pain were gone. Just love it!
Body weight digital scale, that reads in pounds plus tenths of a pound, example 175.5
This is a fancy one that will give great information on not only your weight but also things that matter like Body Composition like your body fat, water and muscle and bone mass. This can be really helpful as sometimes the scale may not be showing your weight loss due to water retention and other factors.
Food scale, to weigh your protein.
For other items that will be very helpful in your weight loss journey see my post “Amazing Products Essential To Reaching Health And Weight Loss Goals”
Keep your mind busy
One of the major issues I’ve had is I think of food…a lot! I think about what I’m going to eat next or I’ll get a craving and I can’t keep my mind from thinking about food. Before I started this plan, I knew that I would have a battle in my mind, so I prepared ahead of time.
I’ve always wanted to start a blog to help other Widows push through the pain of loss but what kept me from doing it is I’m not tech savvy and I thought this would be a good time to learn and implement to keep my mind busy. And it worked! Now I don’t know what I got myself into as that’s all I think about!
So, you need to start on that business or that hobby you’ve been dreaming about. Start something you’re passionate about.
Here are some ideas to keep your mind busy:
LEARN HOW TO BLOG – There are many tutorials on how to do this. I either got information from Pinterest, You-tube or just Googled it. To get some ideas, here is my Blogging Pinterest board.
LEARN HAND-LETTERING – Learn how to write letters that are beautiful to look at. If you get good enough at it you can make invitations, take on jobs on Fivver, the possibilities are endless.
LEARN ZENTANGLE – An easy to learn, relaxing and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patters. Go to Zentangle.com to see more. They even have an app for your mobile device.
TAKE A COURSE ON PHOTOGRAPHY – Learn how to edit pictures and use them in different and fun ways.
WRITE A COURSE – Brainstorm one of the things you know how to do and write a course on it. There are many resources that will tell you how to do this. Just Google it. This will keep your mind very busy!
MAKE JEWELRY – This will not only keep your mind busy, but your hands as well.
LEARN HOW TO CODE – There are many tutorials online that you can learn from. Envato Elements is a great place to access all kinds of tutorials. PowerPoint Slides, WordPress premium themes, fonts, graphics, the list is endless. Once you learn how to do this, you can start using it to help people build websites, and that means extra income.
LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE – There are free mobile apps for this like Duolingo, Memrise, Busuu, 24/7 Tutor Apps, Rosetta Stone Travel App, to name a few.
INVEST YOUR MONEY – Nothing like making a little money while also occupying your mind…or losing some…LOL… Here are some mobile apps you can download to help you with this: Acorn, Stock Market Simulator, SigFig, Motif Explorer, YahooFinance, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity Investments, CNBC, Benzinga, Bloomberg, Betterment, Robinhood, Wealthfront, etc.
CONVERT A SHED INTO A SHE-SHED – This one is so much fun and will keep your mind so busy that you won’t want to think of anything else. Read my post
How To Convert A Shed Into An Off Grid Cottage
What makes this plan different from others?
Many weight loss plans are for certain ages. What will work for a 20yr. old will not work for a 50yr. old. There are many factors that play into whether a weight loss program will work or not. Some of those factors are, hormones, metabolism, age, strength, and even the time you have to devote to it. This weight loss program will work for almost anyone.
I have participants in their 20’s all the way thru their 70’s. They have different strengths, health issues and life situations, following the same plan and are all equally losing the weight. Fast!
This plan is non-exercise dependent. You can stop the gym torture and forking over the cash you’re paying that trainer. I know a lot of people who have spent hundreds of dollars a month for a gym membership and trainers, only to cancel out all their efforts by eating a donut or having a Frappuccino.
In this plan you’ll lose the weight first and then exercise. Exercises you can sustain, not torture. We’ll talk more about exercise later.
Not only will you lose weight fast, but you will get healthier as well. Most of the participants have gotten a boost in their metabolism and immune system. They are sleeping better, intestinal problems relieved and in less pain from inflammation.
This is a step by step plan that is easy to follow.
This plan is a form of training for the mind and body. When you go to the gym, you train your body, but if you don’t change your habits or mindset on food, you cannot sustain the weight loss. How many people do you know who have lost a lot of weight on a fad diet only to gain it right back once they go back to their old habits? I know plenty! By following this plan, you will train your mind and body to know how to live a healthier lifestyle, therefore sustaining your weight loss.
No continued purchases of shakes or supplements. You will be buying whole, natural, foods from your local grocery store.
Drink a lot of water
We’ve all heard this before and I know it’s easier said than done. The amount you need to drink depends on your weight. Let’s say you weigh 200 pounds, then you’ll need to drink 100 oz of water. It’s half your body weight in ounces.
Here are the benefits of drinking a lot of water:
• Helps you to produce new blood cells. Water makes up to 83% of your blood cells.
• Helps to cushion your joints.
• Purifies the colon, helping you to absorb nutrients.
• Banishes headaches
• Suppresses hunger
• Prevents kidney stones
• Regulates body temperature
• Water provides energy by delivering oxygen to our muscles
• Prevents memory loss as we age
• Flushes out toxins
• Boosts your immune system
• Balances bodily fluids and the lymph system to help fight infections
• Improves skins elasticity and prevents wrinkles
• Promotes weight loss
• Improves your mood
How to motivate yourself:
• Get a pretty water bottle
• Get a friend to do a water challenge with you
• Set an alarm every hour to remind you to drink
• Drink 10 oz prior to each meal
• Make fruit infused water
• Get a gallon jug of water and mark on it levels with times to remind you when to drink
Feasting day
You will start with a feasting day. You will do this the day before you start the Intermittent fasting Stage (IF). Eat whatever you want. This day is very important, do not skip it. Choose high calorie, high fat foods. Have some cake!
This is one day I look forward to, and I plan for it.
The Feasting Day will precede any of your Intermittent Fasting stages.
Just so you get a glimpse of how this plan works, you’ll do a Feasting Day then you’ll start the Intermittent Fasting (IF) Stage for 40 days then you’ll be on the Maintenance Stage for at least 3 weeks. Feasting Day comes again. Then the IF Stage, then the Maintenance Stage. Repeat each stage in sequence until you hit your goal weight. You’ll then go on to the Lifestyle Stage.
Intermittent Fasting 16/8
Intermittent fasting is a planned, periodic time to go without food. In this stage you will go without eating for 16 hours then eat for 8 hours each day.
As we have seen earlier, it has been scientifically shown that IF will help your body readily break down fat and increase your metabolic rate. Also, Intermittent Fasting causes less muscle loss as opposed to continuing low calorie diets.
Intermittent fasting also has many other health benefits like reducing insulin resistance, aids in cellular repair by waste
removal called autophagy, reduces inflammation, helps in preventing cancer, Alzheimer’s, and extends lifespan.
The IF Stage is for 40 days. The first IF stage you go through will be the hardest. Stick with it. Set your mind to it. Get your mind busy. By the end of this stage, you’ll find that your appetite has decreased significantly, and you’ll be so encouraged by how much weight you’ve lost.
Some people will tell you shouldn’t be on a diet. That you should just live a healthy lifestyle. I beg to differ with that. This diet plan will train your body and mind for that healthy lifestyle. It’s just like training at the gym. At first it won’t be easy. You’ll be sore. You’ll want to quit but you just have to stick with it.
After a few days with this plan, you’ll be detoxing from sugar. You may get flu like symptoms, a headache or just feel tired. Then after a while it’ll get easier and easier.
I assure you, once you’ve completed just one IF stage and one Maintenance stage, you will have so much energy, confidence and the knowledge to keep the weight off.
Intermittent Fasting Stage Rules
• No alcohol – This was tough for me, as I like to have at least one glass of wine or a Margarita in the afternoons while I sit outside on the patio to relax and unwind. I abstained, knowing this was important to reach my goal.
• No sugar – The only sweetener you can have are natural zero calorie sweeteners like Stevia, Monkfruit, or Lakanto. No artificial sweeteners at all. My favorite is Lakanto as it tastes just like sugar with no aftertaste and measures like sugar.
• No oils – You’ll have to cook by boiling, grilling, baking or with broth on stove top. I’ve personally had to learn to cook this way, but it was easy to get used to. To this day I don’t use any oils to cook with. You may use cooking sprays like Avocado Oil spray. It has zero calories and it is air pressured only, no propellants.
• No grains or starches – like rice, wheat, flour, pasta, etc.
• No beans or nuts – These have a high fat content.
• I’m also sorry to say that you cannot have avocados. They are too high in fat. It’s good fat but fat nonetheless.
• No fruit juice – Too much sugar.
Some of these are hard to get used to but our goal is to burn the fat stored in our body and not fat from the food we eat.
Don’t be disheartened though, we can incorporate these back in our diet later in the Lifestyle Stage. You’ll learn what you can and cannot have. This will become automatic for you once you have your mind and body trained, even in the Maintenance Stage.
Exercise during Intermittent Fasting
On this plan not only will you be skipping breakfast but you will also be consuming fewer calories than normal. Therefore, it’s important to be cautious when exercising. When I did my first IF stage, I didn’t exercise and I lost 20 pounds. However, I really missed exercising and the mood boosts it gives me.
Today, I still practice Intermittent Fasting every now and then, especially after the Holidays. There’s a lot of temptation out there and sometimes I succumb to it and put on a few pounds. I don’t worry about it though, as I know how to get rid of the excess weight now.
Every day I’m learning something new and that’s why I decided to convert this weight loss plan from a pdf download to a post. That way as I learn something new, I can just edit it here.
I now exercise while on the IF stage. I make sure to do it in the morning during my fasting hours to burn more fat.
Here are some benefits to exercising during the IF stage:
- Exercise reduces cravings. This helps a lot. There are times during my fasting hours that I’m hungry. To fix this, I go for a 4-mile walk or go for a hike. Not only does it suppress my appetite, it also give me a boost in my mood.
- Exercising on an empty stomach will burn 300 percent more body fat than exercising any other time of the day.
- Exercise will get your lymphatic system flowing and draining. See my post Lymph Node Locations And The Importance Of Lymphatic Drainage.
Please be cautious with exercise though, as I mentioned above, during this stage you are consuming less so if you feel you shouldn’t exercise there are ways to burn more fat like just keeping track of your steps per day. Get a pedometer to record your steps and set a goal. This way you will be motivated to move and walk more.
Start off small at a minimum of 2,000 steps daily then every few days add 500 more to that, until you reach 10,000 steps per day.
Yoga is also a great way to get your exercise in. It doesn’t burn as much calories as walking or hiking but it’s just enough to burn some fat and also to get in touch with your mind and body.
Don’t get carried away with exercise. I know it can be tempting to do more exercise and think you’ll burn more body fat, but, this can have the opposite effect. If you stress your body out with too much exercise, it will stimulate cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that sends a message to your body to hold on to body fat. So just do enough to burn some fat and make you feel good.
Intermittent Fasting Schedule
This is your daily routine for your meals for the next 40 days.
Morning routine
When you wake up in the morning go to the bathroom and urinate. Then use your Lypo–Spheric B Complex. Be sure to follow the directions. I just empty out the packet in an ounce of water then gulp it down. Don’t drink anything else or eat before doing this.
A note on the Lypo–Spheric B Complex. I mainly use this for this stage (Intermittent Fasting). This is very potent and will give you energy when you need it most. I’ll only use this for an extra boost in energy outside of the IF Stage.
Wait for 15 minutes then you can start drinking your water, and take your other supplements with your appetite suppressant.
You may need to wait until you eat lunch to take some supplements that need to be taken with food. I usually take them all at once in the morning. I take a multivitamin, Vitamin D3, Lypo-Sphyric Vitamin C ( https://amzn.to/2YAgHZa) and Turmeric supplement for arthritis and then, magnesium.
Have coffee or tea. Sorry…no flavored creamers that you buy at the store. I just sweeten my coffee with Lakanto and a few drops of flavored Stevia , with Coffe-Mate Original powder. Sweet Leaf Stevia drops come in all kinds of flavors, so click on the picture below and if you scroll down on Amazon, they will show you the other flavors available.
You can drink coffee and tea throughout the day depending on your caffeine tolerance. Also, broth is good to drink as well if you get hungry. Just watch your sodium intake.
NO BREAKFAST
This is where the Intermittent Fasting comes in. You will be fasting for 16 hours daily. It starts from 8 PM the night before and you won’t eat lunch until noon. This is the power house of this plan and may be the hardest for you especially if you get hunger pangs. I’ll usually have coffee or tea, and light exercise to help me though this.
Intermittent Fasting Meal Plan
You will eat lunch and dinner only. This is your meal plan and the amounts to eat. You will do this everyday for 40 days.
LUNCH
Have lunch at noon.
• 1 cup of vegetables
• 1 cup of fruit
• 4 0z of lean protein – Weigh it. After a while you’ll be able to ‘eyeball’ the portions but it’s important to use your food scale for the first IF Phase.
DINNER
Have dinner at 6 pm or at least be done eating by 8 pm.
Same as lunch:
• 1 cup vegetables
• 1 cup fruit
• 4 oz of lean protein
After awhile you will feel full on just your veggies and protein. You can save your fruit for a snack.
What you can eat
TYPES OF VEGETABLES
• Greens like spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, cabbage, chard, bok choy, collards, etc.
• Brussel sprouts, asparagus, mushrooms, green beans, onions, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, celery, cucumber, etc. If it’s a vegetable, it’s probably okay to eat.
• These are fresh or frozen vegetables. Stay away from canned vegetables.
Eat the following vegetables sparingly as they are higher on the glycemic index.
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Squash
• Sweet Potatoes
• Pumpkin
For salad dressing I use flavored balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt and pepper. I love to get them at the farmers market as they have some delicious ones like Cilantro Garlic!
You cannot use regular salad dressing as they are high in fat, sugar and artificial ingredients. I have found a great salad dressings that are delicious.
TYPES OF FRUITS
• Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, etc. If it’s a berry, you can eat it.
• Watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe
• Apples, pears, plumbs, nectarines
• Grapefruit, lemons, limes
• Pineapple
Eat these fruits sparingly
• Bananas
• Mangoes
• Grapes
Basically, tropical fruits are higher on the glycemic index, therefore should be eaten sparingly. I’ll confess though that I eat a lot of pineapple and mangoes, and still lost weight.
You may find that after a couple of weeks once you’ve eaten your protein and vegetables, you’re too full for the fruit. You can then have the fruit for a snack.
LEAN PROTEIN
• Lean beef
• Chicken, no skin and remove the fat. Breast is the best.
• White fish like Tilapia, tuna, cod, etc.
• Any shellfish like shrimp and lobster
• Turkey
• Eggs
• Non-fat Greek Yogurt
• Non-fat Cottage Cheese
Protein to avoid
• Bacon
• Salmon, due to its high fat content
• Cheese
• Cold Cuts
• Hot dogs
• Any kind of processed meat
• Most pork cuts like ribs, tenderloin, etc.
Remember if it’s high in fat, it’s not okay to eat. Again, you can incorporate some of these in the Lifestyle stage. You want your body to burn the fat in your body, not the fat in your food.
SPICE IT UP!
You can use all kinds of spices in your food. You’ll be amazed how different spices can flavor up your food. Just remember, you cannot use it if it’s in sugar or oil.
FREE FOODS
These are foods you can eat anytime. You can prepare these however way you like just make sure there’s no oil, fat or sugar. Spice them up, dip them in soy sauce, drizzle balsamic vinegar, etc.
CABBAGE
SPINACH
CUCUMBER
CELERY
KEYS FOR SUCCESS
One element that is often ignored is Electrical Energy and I want to bring this to your attention at this time.
When people talk about energy, the first thing we think about is our caloric needs. How much carbohydrates, fat and protein we need to consume in order to get the energy we need to live day to day. The one very important element that is never talked about, but is most important, isElectrical energy.
Electrical energybrings life to every cell of our body and it is crucial to us being alive. The way to increase your electrical energy is to consume raw vegetables and fruit as much as possible. To find out more about the raw vegan diet, read my post
RAW VEGAN -THE ANTICANCER DIET SIMPLIFIED
Prepare, prepare, prepare – Have a plan on what you’re going to eat, and prepare the meals ahead of time. I’ll warn you though, that you’ll be bringing a bigger lunch bag to work. I bought one of those reusable grocery bags and that’s what I bring. My co-workers laugh at me, but then when they see what I’m eating, they’re envious!
Ask your co-workers to hide their snacks or ask them to put them where you can’t see them.
Keep it simple. When I first started, I bought all kinds of spices and weird vegetables. Some of the concoctions I made were gross. I’ve since learned to keep it simple. You know what they say, “Less is more!”
Keep your mind busy.
The scale is a good gauge for how much you are losing, however, many different factors can affect what the scale says. There will be days that you will be a little heavier than the day before because of these factors, like water retention. The best way to know that you are losing weight is the fit of your clothes. You will start needing new clothes soon!
Another way is get two bowls and 200 marbles. Sit them side by side. One marble equals to a tenth of a pound. So let’s say you lost half a pound, you will then move 5 marbles to the bowl to the right. Posting pictures or videos of your progress and bowls. This way you can really see your progress. But of course, more importantly, you’ll see it on your new body!
Maintenance Stage
Congratulations! You made it past the Intermittent Fasting Stage. How do you feel? I bet you feel empowered and so proud of yourself. I’m proud of you!
This is your breather stage. The breaking of the fast, if you will. You may be tempted to skip this stage and continue with the IF stage but… No. You must take this break for at least three weeks.
All the stages work together to help you to lose fat and to bring up your metabolism. I have been through several of the IF and Maintenance stages so far, and I’m telling you, my metabolism has improved significantly. I’ve gone on several vacations, ate what I wanted (you gotta live life!), and have gained little to no weight back.
WHAT TO ADD TO THIS STAGE
Breakfast – You will eat the same things as in the IF stage, but you’ll add breakfast. Eating 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of fruit and 4 oz of lean protein. I eat eggs for my protein. I love eggs!
Many of you will rejoice, at first, that you can finally eat breakfast. In reality, you’re so used to not having breakfast that you will forget and by the time you remember, it’s late in the morning. I understand, here is what I do:
I’ll exercise first thing in the morning, then at about 9am, I’ll have a LRW Meal Replacement Shake. This makes it so easy for me, I’m still sticking to the plan, and getting my nutrients.
It’s delicious and satisfying and keeps me full for a few hours. I mix it with unsweetened almond milk.
When you order, use the the discount code, BLOSSOM, at checkout to get 5% off.
Click on the picture to buy
Exercise – If you have chosen not to exercise during the Intermittent Fasting stage, you will exercise with this one. Like I mentioned above, I didn’t exercise my first IF stage and after the 40 days , I was happy about this. I love to go for long walks, short uphill hikes and Body Pump, which is a great way to get easy weight lifting exercises that has so many healthy benefits, like building lean muscles and bone density.
The weight bar and weights below are a bit expensive but comparable to quality weight sets and they are so worth the investment. For classes I just use an Amazon Fire TV Stick and YouTube Body Pump. I love Body Pump and you will too!
If you like to swim then swim for about 30 minutes, three to four times a week. Do what you love to do, no need to torture yourself. At this point you know that your diet is key to your weight loss.
Exercise is good for your overall health. If you feel you need to up your calorie intake, you can. Just be sure to eat foods that are low in carbohydrates and continue to stay away from sugar.
Nuts and plant-based fats are good additions but be sure to continue to monitor your weight to stay within range of what you’ve set yourself to be okay with. I fluctuate between 2 to 4 pounds during this phase.
WEIGHT FLUCTUATION
During all stages of this plan your weight will fluctuate and that’s normal. Some of the reasons are:
Too much salt – If you get on the scale and see that you gained a few pounds when you were expecting to have lost weight, think about what you had to eat the day before. Did you have too much salt? Salt will cause you to retain water and therefore, you’ll weigh more. Just lay off the salt and drink plenty more water.
Monthly cycle – This will cause you to bloat and retain water.
Exercise – After a good exercise your muscle tissues may become inflamed and will retain water. Don’t worry, they will repair themselves.
Here’s a recent post on water retention and how to get rid and prevent it from happening.
Lifestyle Stage
This is a time to rejoice! By this time, you will feel so good about yourself. You’re wearing prettier clothes, people are complementing you left and right. Most of all, you feel so good!
On this stage you will be counting Macronutrients. Macros is short for Macronutrients and is the type of food in a human diet. It consists of fat, protein and carbohydrates. These are all important to the human body.
Fat
Fat is an energy source. First your body will burn carbohydrates, then when that’s depleted, it’ll start burning your fat storage.
Fat can be found in foods such as nuts, seeds, meat, oil, fish, butter and some really yummy avocado!
There are two types of fat, the healthy kind called monounsaturated fatty acids found in oils, polyunsaturated fatty acids found in plantbased foods and Omega-3’s found in fatty fish like Salmon.
Then there are the unhealthy ones called saturated fats found in animal products, and trans fats that come from processed oils.
Carbohydrates
Carbs are almost everywhere, in your dairy, vegetables, fruits, and grains!
There are the good kind called Complex Carbohydrates found in beans, vegetables and whole grains. But these too are turned into glucose, which is stored into body fat if we eat too much.
Then there are the bad ones called Simple Carbohydrates found in candy, white sugar, white flour, white rice to name a few. Your body uses this first for an energy source and if it can’t use it all, it will store it and make you fat, as I mentioned above.
PROTEIN
Protein is what makes up your muscles, hair, nails and skin.
Protein can be found in meat, eggs, fish, plant-based foods like nuts, seeds, grains, beans, soy, broccoli, etc.
We can’t live without protein.
How to count macros
When you look at nutritional information, it states calories per serving, how big the serving is, with the fat, carbohydrates and protein all measured in grams.
How many calories to a gram?
Proteins have 4 calories per gram
Carbs have 4 calories per gram
Fats have 9 calories per gram
Why counting macros is more important than just counting calories
Although Macronutrients and calories can’t exist without the other. Macronutrients make up calories, so they go hand in hand.
It’s not a good idea to just count calories, eat whatever you want, so long as it doesn’t go over the number of calories you’re allowed to eat.
You need to pay attention to the nutrient density of your food and that’s where counting macros comes in.
Counting calories can leave you hungry and often lead to over eating.
Calorie dense foods are not always filling.
Knowing what your ideal macros percentages are, will guide you to the proper foods to eat.
200 calories of broccoli, has better nutrition density than a 200 calories slice of cake.
You need to make the most of what you put in your mouth and into your body by choosing nutrient dense foods.
Your macro ratio
First you need to find out what your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is to maintain your weight. There are numerous TDEE calculators you can go to online.
Your Macros ratio is an individual thing. It depends on what you’re wanting to achieve. By now you have met your goal weight and you’ll decide if you want to maintain your weight or tone up and gain muscle.
Macros for maintaining weight ratio:
FAT – 25 to 40%
PROTEIN – 25 to 40%
CARBOHYDRATES – 35 to 55%
You will choose your ratios based on this to make up to 100%. If you have or had diabetes, a tendency to become diabetic, then keep your Carb percentage down to a minimum. Maybe even lower, at 25%, and increase your fat ratio.
Macros for gaining muscle ratio:
FAT – 20%
PROTEIN – 35%
CARBOHYDRATES – 45%
This ratio is high protein and high carb because you will be working out to gain muscle.
Example for calculating macros for weight maintenance
Let’s say you’re 50 years old, 5’5″ tall, weigh 155 pounds and are moderately active.
Your TDEE is 1721 calories. This is the number of calories you need to maintain your weight.
The ratio of macronutrient recommended for weight maintenance is:
FAT 25-40%
CARBOHYDRATES 35-55%
PROTEIN 25-40%
Carbohydrates has a bad rap, so let’s keep it to a minimum at 35%
Fat is tasty, so let’s set this at 35%
Protein at 30% because you’re moderately active.
If you’re allowed 1721 calories
35% Fat is: 1721 x .35 = 602 calories of fat per day.
30% Protein is: 1721 x .30 = 516 calories of protein per day.
35% Carbs is: 1721 x .35 = 602 calories of carbs per day.
Breaking it down into grams:
Fat has 9 calories per gram. 602 ÷ 9 = 67 grams of fat each day.
Protein has 4 calories per gram. 516 ÷ 4 = 129 grams of protein per day.
Carbs has 4 calories per gram. 602 ÷ 4 = 151 grams of carbs per day
Summary
The Feasting Day, Intermittent Fasting Stage, Maintenance Stage, and Lifestyle Stage, all work together. There are benefits to all for your overall health.
It is very important, that you follow all stages as they are written.
There is a lot of scientific research of the benefits of Intermittent Fasting, short term. Do not go over 40 days.
The Maintenance stage must be at least three weeks.
Remember, you MUST check with your physician before going on any diet.
You will lose a bit of muscle mass during the IF stage, but the benefits outweigh the loss. You will see that you will gain back the muscle mass pretty quickly as you go along with the plan.
If you have a different work schedule, you can customize the meal times. Just make sure you’re fasting for 14 to 16 hours during the IF Stage.
If you are hungry, don’t forget you can have your free foods. Cucumber, spinach, celery, and cabbage.
As you go along, your weight loss may plateau. This is perfectly normal. Give it a few days and if it’s not changing, then add a bit of plant-based fat in your diet for one day. Remember, your weight loss may slow down, but your body continues to improve.
Remember, life is to be lived and enjoyed. If you gain a few pounds or more, don’t worry. You know how to lose it now.
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