Its Happening

I have lost 4 pounds in the past 5 days! I seem to have rebooted my metabolism with my return to fasting and focus on keeping my carbs low. Here are some of the things I think contributed at least to some extent. Water~ I only had the liquid stevia drops in my water during my eating window. When I was fasting I used either lemon or lime juice to flavor my water. Whether or not it matters, I have no clue, but it proves to me that I can drink water without the sweetness. I did notice I drank a lot less water when I didn't have the stevia in it, so I will have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't become a trend. Carbs~ I was in a phase of my cycle where carbs needed to be as low as I could. I kept them low with meals like chicken fajita bowls (no tortillas) with avocado on top. Packaged stuff~ Besides yogurt, I didn't eat anything packaged. I had been relying on low carb tortillas for a while because they are tasty and versatile but often wonder if they prevent me from losing. I felt satisfied with my food last week, especially the fajita bowl. Snacks~ The week leading up to the start of my cycle I always get extra hungry and I had low carb snacks of peanuts and cheese. I think by the time my cycle started I felt the habitual draw to have a snack mid-morning but I challenged myself to get back in the habit of not snacking between meals. I think it helped with the weight coming off but the big win is that it helped reset my brain to stop looking for food at 10 AM when I'm going to eat at noon anyway. Fasting~ I got back to fasting consistently. I am following a 30-day "reset" from the Fast Like a Girl book so the length of fasts are laid out for me. 5 days at 15 hours then I did a 24-hour fast starting yesterday afternoon. That's the longest fast I need to do this month and it wasn't stressful. The hardest part about fasting is planning it so I can eat at appropriate times. Weekend~I am really proud that I kept it pretty clean this weekend when eating out. One night I had a pizza bowl, all the toppings from a pizza inside a buttery bread bowl. It took a lot of willpower not to even taste that bread bowl, it smelled absolutely divine! The inside had sauce, sausage and lots of cheese. It was good! My other meal out was a bacon cheeseburger salad, lettuce, tomato,onion pickles, cheese and yummy char-grilled burger patty with crumbled bacon. I swapped the dressing for mayo and after adding some mustard that salad tasted just like eating a burger! I think those are the main factors. I know I need my weekends to work for me instead of against me, and this weekend I was so focused and hoping to get under 180 pounds for the first time since 2015. Today the scale said 178. I was not expecting that! I will only be eating one meal today because I am fasting 17 hours and I don't like eating after 4 PM. The goal is not really to reduce calories but to have longer periods of time where you are not spiking insulin. I typically eat 3 meals a day but always try to be done eating by 4PM because our bodies don't deal with insulin as well the later in the day. I watching a video that said people who ate later at night had fattier livers even if they ate relatively healthy food at night. The liver doesn't process and rid the food as well in the evening, especially while sleeping. Anyway, things have suddenly flipped and are going really well right now. This week, according to the reset, I will be upping my carbs via sweet potatoes and a little fruit in my salad, and will stick to 15 hour fasts to help support my hormones. I am going to focus on yoga for exercise because I need to keep cortisol low this week. I did get some zumba in this morning so I got a little work towards my goal of learning the videos. Its going to be a fun challenge for me! January is going fast and I can't imagine how quickly winter will pass then we can bask in the green things blooming and I can't wait to feel warm sunshine on my seemingly permanently frozen toes! I think this summer and year are going to be the best one yet!