In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, host Gin speaks to personal trainer Samantha Lief, who lives in Washington DC. She also owns a fitness business with her husband. Samantha has struggled with her weight her entire life, consistently being 30lbs overweight. At 12 years-old, she decided to become vegetarian. She would not eat meat again until 29, while living overseas.
Once she and her husband returned from their tour in Iraq, they went to school to become fitness trainers. In school, they were taught a mathematical equation for weight loss. Samantha, in order to be taken seriously as a trainer, was determined to lose weight. She followed this “weight loss equation,” began Crossfit, followed a Paleo diet, and saw some weight loss success. She was in the best shape of her life, and felt she’d finally found what worked! After they moved back to DC, she went back to her full-time government job, and was now a full-time mom. Since she was no longer training clients, Samantha says she “let herself go.” She was eating all the time, and gradually regained 50lbs. It was around this time that she and her husband watched a documentary on a “whole foods plant-based” lifestyle. She decided to go back to being vegetarian.
Samantha found IF through a Facebook group, and heard about it again through a Podcast. After listening to the Podcast, she began her IF journey in June 2017. As she began researching her new lifestyle choice, she read “Delay Don’t Deny.” She started with 16:8 for the first thirty days, and increased her fasting hours over time. Her husband also joined her in IF. Samantha’s current window is 8am-noon. She has decreased body fat, and increased lean muscle.
Her advice for new IFers: Ease into this way of life, it’s not a contest; if you took years to gain, you won’t lose weight fast. It’s not an NSV (Non Scale Victory) but instead a VICTORY. Enjoy each day you are IF.
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