How I Easily Lost 46 Pounds with Intermittent Fasting!

I love INTERMITTENT FASTING! After trying so many weight loss diets, I’ve finally found a lifestyle instead of a diet that really works!

After years and years of yo-yo dieting and experimenting with every new diet fad, I finally discovered intermittent fasting. As a woman, WAY over 40, In just 4 months, I lost 46 pounds and have been easily maintaining.

“That day was absolutely eye-opening. I cried for about two hours straight, curled up in the fetal position eating a box of Milk Duds and drinking a coke from McDonald’s! Then I DECIDED!!! It was time to end my pity party and get to work.” -JEN

My Weight as a Child, Teen & Young Adult

As a child and teenager, I was very active and fit and never really struggled with my weight until after I got married and had my two babies. I married my college sweetheart and the love of my life in 2000, I found a job teaching third grade, and we had our first baby in 2001.

My body bounced back fairly quickly after having our beautiful daughter, Cambria, and I maintained my weight between 140-145 pounds, which was still in the “normal” range (I am 5″7′) on all the charts. Life was pretty good! Then, we knew we really wanted another child, however, LIFE got really ROUGH for the next three years!

Health Scares & Weight Gain

 I suffered a few miscarriages, a molar pregnancy and a serious bout with severe kidney stones. Somehow through it all, after being told I wouldn’t be able to have another baby, and against all odds, I got pregnant and gave birth to our handsome son, Carson, in January of 2005.

Unfortunately, I gained 65 pounds with that pregnancy and DID NOT bounce back too well after giving birth. Soon after, I took a leave from teaching so that I could be home with my babies and for the next several years I seriously TRIED EVERY DIET under the sun. I tried low fat, juice cleanses, detox smoothie diets, calorie shifting, Slim Fast Shakes and many, many more.

I would severely reduce my calorie intake, and then lose 10-15 pounds fairly quickly. However, my results were short term. Due to the extreme calorie restriction, I often felt so deprived and unsatisfied that within a short amount of time the weight would always pile right back on.

 My weight went up & down like a roller coaster for almost two decades!

OH NO! CORONA

Fast forward to the NOT-SO-MAGICAL year, 2020! I had gone back to teaching and was in my fourth year of being a full-time kindergarten teacher when everybody’s lives were abruptly uprooted by the Coronavirus Pandemic! 

I, like so many others who were sent home to work remotely, became quite depressed and even more overweight. I was sitting at home all day struggling to teach kindergarten students how to read, write and do math remotely.

Furthermore, in an effort to help pay the family bills, I took on a second job teaching English to the kids in China from my basement computer! 

Needless to say, my stress level quickly reached an all-time high and my health, eating habits and self-care reached an all-time low! At the end of the 2020 school year I knew I needed to make some serious life changes, both professionally and personally. I applied and was granted a position teaching elementary physical education.

At the start of the 2020-2021 school year, as the new Elementary P.E. teacher, I was loving my job. However, I felt like a bit of a hypocrite. How could I be teaching young children about the importance of exercise and eating healthy foods and be so overweight and unhealthy myself? 

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

I will never forget the date: January 5, 2021. I was terrified to step on the scale for many months prior because I just knew. So, when I finally stepped on the scale that day,  I was blown away! 174.6 pounds!!!

What??? I had never in my life been in the 170’s. That day was absolutely eye-opening. I cried for about two hours straight, curled up in the fetal position eating a box of Milk Duds and gulping down a Coke from McDonald’s. Then, I DECIDED it was time to end my pity party and get to work.

I had heard a little about intermittent fasting and that it might be a good option for weight loss. For the first two weeks I easily started with an eight-hour window of eating. I learned that this form of intermittent fasting was often referred to as the 16:8 method of intermittent fasting.

With this eating plan, I simply skipped breakfast most days of the week. Additionally, I cut out all sugar, chucked my Dr. Pepper addiction and started following a low carb and lean protein diet. I honestly didn’t pay much attention to the number of calories I was eating and still managed to lose about 8 pounds those first two weeks. This kept me encouraged and in the fasting game.

A LIFE-CHANGING EVENT

Then it happened!!! I went to work on a Wednesday and passed a co-worker in the hall that I hadn’t seen in several months. She looked AMAZING! Of course I asked her what she was doing and she told me about an incredible book by Gin Stephens titled Delay, Don’t Deny. 

Well, instead of eating lunch at work that day, I raced back to my office, Googled “all things Gin” and ordered the book off Amazon Prime so I could get my hands on it as quickly as possible. This type of diet truly seemed too good to be true! But, I had to find out for myself.

The Book that CHANGED MY LIFE!

I received DELAY, DON’T DENY (I loved the title) on Friday and stayed up until 1 am reading it cover to cover.

 I had a total “OMG!” moment! Everything Gin said in her book about metabolic health and insulin being released every time we eat and the science behind clean fasting made so much sense to me. I was so excited and completely related to her as an elementary teacher. 

My mind was RACING and I didn’t sleep ALL NIGHT LONG!

I learned all about insulin levels, insulin resistance, insulin sensitivity, and blood sugar levels. Gin explained the many different ways and different approaches to time-restricted eating. I learned about the “eating window” and the “fasting window. She discussed the possibility of real fat loss as our body begins to dip into our fat stores during time-restricted feeding.

And finally, I learned all about the amazing health benefits of intermittent fasting including stabilizing blood pressure, and lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases. 

The next day, my husband and I were enjoying our coffee on Saturday morning and I was blabbing non-stop about everything I learned from the book. I talked his ear off about this new eating pattern for about two hours. 

DIVING INTO INTERMITTENT FASTING

Since I am a dive head first kind of girl, I did just that. So, two days later, on that Monday, I started “clean fasting”. I took the creamer right out, started drinking black coffee and slowly incorporated the Warrior Diet, sometimes referred to as OMAD – One Meal A Day, or 20 hour intermittent fasting schedule. I focused on sticking to healthy snacks, one large meal and a dessert filled with healthy fats each day – all within a 2-4 hour eating window.

My first few fasting days were rough. I suffered some pretty unpleasant side effects, but things gradually improved over a short period of time and I fell into a comfortable fasting period routine.

In the next few weeks I read another awesome book of Gin’s, FAST. FEAST. REPEAT, as well as another eye-opening favorite, The Obesity Code by Jason Fung. After reading, highlighting and re-reading these 3 glorious information-packed books, I could barely contain my excitement. I was filled with so much knowledge and fueled with all the power and determination I needed to finally make long term healthy diet changes to my lifestyle that I knew would FINALLY WORK…FOREVER!.

 I have gone on to lose 46 pounds in four months with intermittent fasting and I truly feel healthier and happier than ever. I reached my goal body weight in May of 2021 and have been effortlessly maintaining ever since!

My energy is through the roof, my sleep has improved immensely, and my weekly headaches are gone. The effects of intermittent fasting on my life have been nothing short of INCREDIBLE!

MORE COOL INTERMITTENT FASTING STUFF!

I’ve even had some super cool things happen since I have met my weight loss goal. First, I was featured on the Testimonial page on Gin Stephens’ website. You can *CLICK HERE TO READ MY FULL SUCCESS STORY featured on her site.

Next, I had the honor and privilege of being a guest (Episode #237) on Gin’s INTERMITTENT FASTING STORIES PODCAST. You can listen to the podcast episode that aired September 8, 2022, right HERE! I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think!

AND… my weight loss success story was just recently featured on the very first page of Gin Stephens’ newest best-selling book, CLEAN(ISH). WooHoo! I am still geeking out about this one!

Let Me HELP YOU!

Finally, in an effort to help more people find weight loss and health success with intermittent fasting, I started a Facebook community in February of 2022. I am extremely passionate about this group. It’s a very positive, inspiring and encouraging group of intermittent fasting friends. Together, we regularly share TIPS, TRICKS, and WEIGHT LOSS RECIPES and PRODUCTS! If you are wondering, “Will intermittent fasting work for me?” the easiest way to find out is to come check out our awesome group: SO WHAT IF? WITH JEN.

Plain and Simple, Intermittent Fasting is LIFE-CHANGING! I feel FREE and I am truly LIVING MY BEST LIFE NOW! 

And… if you’re ready to go ALL IN and finally lose weight and get healthy FOR GOOD, I’m totally here for YOU! In my INTERMITTENT FASTING and WEIGHT LOSS MASTERCLASS: 6 Weeks to Sexy, I will teach you step-by-step, week-by-week, exactly HOW I lost 46 Pounds in 4 Months with Intermittent Fasting! I’ll share with you every single TIP, TRICK, RECIPE & STRATEGY that I used to reach my goal weight and maintain for over two years now! CLICK HERE if you’re ready to do this TOGETHER!

SECRET BONUS FOR YOU: If you have read this far – THANK YOU – Please use the following discount code: if25 at checkout as a personal thank you from me and receive $25 off of my intermittent fasting weight loss video course.

BE KIND & BE WELL! I hope you spend your day LOVING WITHOUT FEAR and LAUGHING UNTIL YOUR CHEEKS HURT!

You can grab my first ever ebook RIGHT HERE too for just 5 bucks. It comes complete with my 10 favorite low-carb, delicious dinner recipes. These are the exact recipes that helped me lose 46 pounds in just 4 months.

TAKE A LOOK AT THESE 15 INCREDIBLE INTERMITTENT FASTING BEFORE AND AFTER WEIGHT LOSS PICTURES HERE!

READ MORE AMAZING INTERMITTENT FASTING WEIGHT LOSS TESTIMONIALS HERE!

CHECK OUT THESE AWESOME INTERMITTENT FASTING “LOW CRAP HIGH YUM” WEIGHT LOSS RECIPES!