First Month(ish) of Intermittent Fasting

 According to my fasting app, I've reached 37 consecutive days of fasting.  Results have not been dramatic, which is fine - and according to the books I've read, pretty normal, actually.  Maybe it's a little disappointing when I read about people who lost 10 pounds in the first month, but I didn't start this for crazy fast weight loss.

My trending weight went down 3 pounds in 4 weeks, and is holding steady there after the 5th week.  If I lose any weight in my second month is yet to be seen (as a general rule, my weight stays steady for 1-2 weeks after my period no matter what I'm doing, then drops by a few pounds for 1-2 weeks right before my next period, and then rises again during/after my next period).  

I'm not a huge fan of taking measurements.  I can never tell if I'm actually measuring in the same place, and it's hard to see minor changes if you're not being exact about where you measure.  Nevertheless, I gave it a shot, as one benefit of IF is supposed to be that even if you aren't seeing scale changes, you may see measurement changes.  From Week 1 to Week 5, I lost 2 inches overall (combined from 5 places - chest, right and left arm, waist, hips).  

I am not thrilled about posting these, but I did take some photos in the same too-small outfit. Please disregard my dirty bathroom.

October vs. September

(I clearly was not wearing a decent bra in the September photo 😅)

September vs. October

I don't know how to get Google Photos to let me choose which photo comes first in collages, so apologies for mixing up the first and second photos in each set. I guess there is a difference?  I'm reserving judgement until next month.

One of the best things about fasting, I've found, is that it doesn't really feel like I've been doing anything all that different.  I could see myself doing this long-term.  I'm considering throwing in one "down" day a week, or trying to push my window later in the afternoon, but I'm not feeling rushed to do it.  I still enjoy having lunch around lunchtime, and an afternoon snack.  To be honest, I'm not hungry for that snack, but I still want to eat it.  Is that weird? I don't know.  Hopefully I eventually move to actually listening to hunger cues. 

Prior to this, I had been doing my morning walks or runs before breakfast, as I feel really gross if I eat beforehand.  So I've been continuing to get my walks in in the "fasted state" - it does make me hungrier earlier, but it doesn't affect my walk.  We climbed our local "mountain" a few weeks ago, and I did that fasted as well.  It was certainly more strenuous and longer than my usual walks, but I didn't have any problems not having eaten.  

Well, the kids and I are taking a little trip this week and I have a ton to do, so that's enough about fasting.  I'll let you know what happens in a month!  Off to fill out my ballot so I can drop it off first thing in the morning.