My Experience With Intermittent Fasting

I started Intermittent Fasting (IF) in end November 2020. Not because of health reasons but for the sheer boredom of staying alone in a house with restricted movements (thanks to Covid19). I was just so BORED that I wanted to do something different for a change.

I started with 16 hours fast and 8 hours feeding window (this is the most popular one and also known as 16:8 IF). Initially, it was a struggle because my body was not used to that long period of fasting (I was someone who snacks a lot in between meals). It was after a gruelling 2 weeks of punishment (that was how I felt then) that my body finally sank into the zone of 16 hours of fasted state. 

I do Intermittent Fasting only on weekdays and my routine is to skip breakfast and eat only lunch and dinner, supplemented with lots of water, and some green tea and black coffee. After dinner, my fasting starts around 8:00PM and ends around 12:00 PM. On weekends, I take breakfast, and allow myself to snack after dinner. I also cut down on added and natural sugar from my diet. After a year of no-sugar,  my body is very accustomed to that now that I do not have desire for sweetened foods. 

There are allegedly many health benefits of Intermittent Fasting according to some of the website like Healthline, John Hopkins Medicine, MedicalNewsToday etc. Despite the many benefits, Intermittent Fasting may not be for everyone.

Intermittent Fasting On My Health

The noticeable change was the loss of weight. Pre-Covid19, my weight was in the range of 72-73 kg. After  few months into Intermittent Fasting, my weight dropped down to 67-68 kg. It was a gradual one and I have managed to maintain that weight till date. Of course, this was also complimented with regular runs. Prior to starting Intermittent Fasting, I was running but there was no change in my weight. I would say that I am now leaner and can really feel it in my waistline.

Below are the screenshot of my lipid profile of health screening from  August 2019 and July 2021. Not sure, if it has anything to do with Intermittent Fasting or not but I noticed improvements in my lipid profile, especially with Triglycerides (it was in healthy range even in 2019 but it improved further). The rest are negligible variation. The health screening was done under Fullerton Executive Health Screening.