Weight gain is not a new concept for me.
My freshman year of college I gained 30 pounds, and I had to really hunker down to lose
But then fast forward to 2018 – I had a year that really tested my mental health. For the first part of the year, I gained a lot of self-medicating habits, and I was painfully stressed out and overwhelmed.
My anxiety got so bad I decided to give up drinking altogether and introduced a healthy diet to see if it would help me. For two months, my sister and I tried Keto. She lost 5-7 pounds, I lost nothing.
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Then, we tried a more simple, clean eating diet for a month. Again, she lost a few pounds, and I lost nothing.
I found out about the actual number associated with my weight gain in December. After having really bad pain in my shoulder, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment. When I stepped on the scale, I got sick at my stomach.
I had gained 35 pounds in less than three months.
I wanted to leave immediately, but I still had to go through with the doctor visit. The whole time I was wondering to myself, “how am I ever going to leave my house?”
The doctor even tested my thyroid because I was so concerned about how quickly I had gained the weight. My thyroid was fine.
I came home, and I quit taking all of my medication – fearing it was aiding in the rapid weight gain. And then I quit eating. I went an entire week just drinking coffee and water because I was so anxious and upset I couldn’t eat. The smell of food made me start crying.
To make matters worse, it was the week before Christmas. All I wanted was to be unseen and alone, and I was about to have to see all my family.
I lost about 6 pounds during the time I was eating little to nothing. Due to the excessive headaches, I started eating again, but I was afraid of food. The first month, I calculated every calorie and every macro. I started working out 3-5 times a week.
It had been a month – I knew I had to have lost weight. I stepped on the scale. NOTHING HAD CHANGED.
What in the world is wrong with me, I thought.
So then, I introduced a vegetarian diet. I started working out longer and harder. I did this for a month and a half. I stepped on the scale. I had gained 2 pounds. This was becoming a joke for me now.
Frustrated, I quit eating again because my anxiety wouldn’t allow it. I lost a few pounds, and at this point, I guessed the only way I could lose weight was to quit eating. I was broken.
THE WARRIOR DIET
That’s when I read about Intermittent Fasting and the Warrior diet.
I had tried Intermittent Fasting in the past, but I needed something more extreme. With the Warrior Diet, you can only eat in a 4-hour window a day – or just eat one meal a day.
For example, I go my entire day without eating and only drinking a ton of water. I come home and eat pretty much whatever I want (as long as I stay in my daily caloric needs), and then I go to bed and start it all over again.
I was desperate, so I decided to give it a shot. I hadn’t been eating, so I knew the adjustment wasn’t going to be that hard. My first OMAD (one meal a day) was beef pho and a Caesar salad. I finished it off with a casein protein smoothie.
For the first week, I was afraid to work out because my body was adjusting. I was feeling light-headed and starving some days.
But I could feel my body get smaller – and I wasn’t having to change my life. I ate dinner when I got home – and if my friends wanted to go get some pizza, I could go because I only ate once a day.
One day I was eating grilled catfish, broccoli and salad – and the next day I was eating a hamburger and fries. This diet really taught me about fueling my body. On days I ate healthy foods, I felt powerful and strong. On days I only fueled my body with junk, I felt sluggish.
I have been dieting all my life, and I have never felt this connection with the food I eat. Don’t get me wrong; I also enjoy pizza from time to time – but I know I need those healthy meals to keep me going.
Finally, the phrase “fuel your body” makes sense to me.
MY NEW LIFE
This diet is my new lifestyle. I don’t have to ever cheat or anything – I am always just following a simple rule, eat one meal a day.
An unexpected benefit from this new lifestyle is I have nothing to do on my lunch breaks at work – so I work out. I get a workout in almost every day, and I never have to worry about not having energy after work to hit the gym.
I am also having a ton of fun listing my OMADs on Instagram! I am now 20 pounds down and counting!
Have you ever tried fasting?
