In this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, host Gin Stephens speaks to Piper Brinkley of Mauldin, SC. Piper owns and runs an IT services company with her husband. She shares with Gin that while she was never obese, she has a couple of memorable experiences with a 10-15 lb. weight gain. The first occurred while studying in Italy many years ago, and the second was in 2014 when she met her husband and became what she calls “happy fat.” Following that weight gain, she found 140 pounds on her normally 125-pound frame and went searching for a diet, finding the famous “French Women Don’t Get Fat.” There were aspects of the diet she liked, but she felt so deprived on days of taking in nothing but cleansing broth.
She moved on to Dr. Mosley’s 5:2 plan but found the 500-calorie days equally uncomfortable. Finally, she found the “8-Hour Diet” and settled into a groove having a late afternoon eating window. Since she already took her coffee black, she reflects this was essentially a clean fasting plan, though she didn’t realize the importance at the time. Eating this way was effective for weight loss and she was back in her old clothes by Christmas of 2014.
In January 2015, she detected a dramatic difference as her body asked for breakfast each morning and she soon learned that she was pregnant. She marvels that her body gave her signs so early, but notes she is extremely body attuned. She put fasting aside for pregnancy and breastfeeding, but after weaning, found Delay, Don’t Deny on her Kindle and jumped back into the late afternoon eating window. Things were going fairly well when in May 2018, she decided to give up alcohol. This had the most dramatic impact on her health of all. She says that since eliminating alcohol, she feels better than she ever has, and finds ketosis to be a wonderful feeling that’s even better than drinking alcohol. She encourages others to consider a trial off alcohol to see if it does as much for their results.
After giving up alcohol, Piper actually regained a few pounds, leveling out around 132 for about an 8-pound net scale loss overall. However, she is smaller than she was when her weight was lower, and she attributes this to body recomposition. She had gone down to size 6 when she was in the 120s, and is now in a size 4. Her husband has joined her in the lifestyle and they plan to continue it long term. She notes that couples can fast alongside one another but should respect the other’s eating style. Piper also encourages newcomers to really listen to their bodies because paying close attention to her own has made all the difference.
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