The weekends are hard. I’ve been trying to stick with this fat loss program and while the intermittent fasting part is easy for me (at least in the morning, I break my fast at noon but struggle to stop at 8 since I’m usually still finishing dinner), it’s so time consuming to track all my macronutrients every day. I feel like I’m constantly on my phone.
When I make something at home, like a salad, it’s a pain in the butt to manually enter every little thing into my phone. I was doing great all week without any cravings and then Friday I just wanted chocolate! I found myself eating semi-sweet chocolate chips at home after dinner, something I only do when I’m dieting and not buying my favorite treats I’m able to eat in moderation but not on the list of “approved” foods for this program. Then Nick said, “I know it’s your job, but you talk about this diet stuff a lot.” Sigh…
I don’t want to be that person. I used to be that person, but I don’t want to be that person anymore. Can’t the last 5-10 lbs just melt away? Truth be told, last time, I lost my “last 5 lbs” when I got norovirus! I never gained it back.
I don’t have a scale right now. It needs new batteries. I weighed myself at the gym last week and saw I was down 3-4 lbs since New Years. On this program, you’re technically not supposed to weigh yourself during the 6 weeks but I forgot to weigh myself at the start so I’ll wait until the end.
I wanted sugar all weekend. Finally on Sunday, I had a kiddie sized FoMu ice cream with Tommy. It totally satisfied my kick and I’m excited to get back on track today with a low carb day. On the program, I do two days eating low carbs (100 net total) and the rest “regular” macro because I’m nursing. If you’re not nursing, two of the days are lower macro days.
I signed up for this 6 week fat loss program that is called FASTer Way to Fat Loss so that I could learn about carb cycling, intermittent fasting and counting macros. Today is the start of week 2. I’m trying to commit fully so my review is accurate for those who can follow the program, but I think for me, I’m going to have to do a few modifications. They have ones already in place for nursing women.
That being said, I feel good right now even if I’m not at my goal. A pair of skinny jeans I was nervous to try on even fit this weekend.
However, I don’t want you to forget that a picture is not always telling the entire story. I have plenty of belly fat and skin that I can hide easily on Instagram. Fat loss isn’t going to get rid of stretchy skin. It’s my mummy tummy and a daily reminder how amazing the female body can be.
I know many of you are interested in my thoughts on Intermittent Fasting and this program and to be honest, it’s really hard to find a lot of research that agrees on IF, especially when it comes to a woman’s reproductive years. If you are thinking of getting pregnant, I don’t think IF is the right choice however, some people said their doctors recommended it to get pregnant. The research is really conflicting.
Thoughts on FASTer Way To Fat Loss so far
Here are a few initial thoughts:
- Not eating until noon is easier than I thought most days. I’m not that hungry and it allows me to be super productive in the morning! I have ADD and I love this side effect because it allows me to concentrate.
- I have NOT noticed a decrease in my milk supply and yes, I’m still exclusively breastfeeding.
- The workouts are fun to follow along. I love having a program that I don’t have to think about. Week 1 felt easy for me. I may modify moving forward… for example the workout on Saturday focused on legs but I did a BBG Stronger leg workout that I love instead as it felt more up to my current fitness level.
- Counting macros is HARD and I have found that I eat a lot of fat and not enough carbs or protein. Maybe I should try a vegan keto diet next…
- I’m kidding about the last statement, if anything, this is reminding me why I don’t do well on “diets” – as soon as I’m not supposed to eat something, I want it more and then I lose my ability to eat in moderation. Womp, womp…
Have you tried Intermittent Fasting? What are your thoughts on IF with nursing or getting pregnant?
I signed up for FWTFL last August, and it helped me finally lose those last 10 lbs (plus some). I too found that I eat a lot of fat and not enough carbs. Once you get the hang of counting macros, it becomes much easier. I am still following the plan, although I have had adjust so that I don’t lose any more weight. I only signed up for one round, and feel like (for me) it is a sustainable plan. I love that you are keeping it real with the mom-belly photos.
good to know! Did you correct the carbs/fat balance or continue to eat more fat?
For some reason I’ve always started to feel
Light headed if I don’t eat something for breakfast. Was it easy for you too make it until noon right away? I know you can adjust your hours but wondering if you were already pushing your breakfast out a little later. Also, what do you typically start with as your first meal after fast?
So I did it gradual. I still break it around 11 or 11:30 and try to finish sooner. It’s been a week so I’m not an expert by any means but it is easier on days I get to sleep in, that’s for sure compared to a 6 am wake up 🙂 I usually break it with a smoothie, omelet or big salad.
I started pushing my breakfast later the week before I started!
I am on week 4 (5 if we’re including prep) and I love it! My cravings are like 90% controlled and I feel great. 4 inches down half way through and energy like I haven’t had in ages. I’m similar in that I never ate enough carbs, like I think a perpetual low carb day mon-sun. I love how much I’m eating. Counting/tracking/entering does take some time but I try to do the whole day the night before/morning of. Sets me up for success vs playing catch up. Def can see myself sticking with this as a lifestyle.
Thanks for sharing emily! Yes, I need to input my info ahead of time. Would make life easier haha
Curious about what you mean by a list of “approved foods” for this program. I’m doing FWTFL (week 4) and I have the mindset that no food is off limits provided it fits within my macros. But now I’m second guessing if there’s stuff I’m actually supposed to be avoiding.
Like you, I found it time consuming at the beginning to track everything but I’ve found that planning out tomorrow’s food in advance really helps me stay on track. A nice benefit has been that I don’t have that dreaded “OMG…it’s 7pm…what the heck am I going to make for dinner?!?!” mad dash around the kitchen. I’ve actually enjoyed thinking about food less over the past 4 weeks.
Basically “things from the ground” and if “they have a mother” -as well as gluten and dairy -- so like cookies from Flour are no except on Saturday I guess…
I’m with you 100% tracking macros is time consuming and difficult to do as a parent. Im in a similar situation as you I had my second in the middle of August and am trying to loose weight so that I don’t have to buy another wardrobe. I waiting till lunch to eat is easier because the morning simply gets away from me but I do get snack cravings more in the afternoon. I think I may have to make some granola and trail mix to have available. I’m not able to exercise until after both kids are asleep and worry that because my body is craving more calories after a workout that I over eat (especially snacks like popcorn) right before going to sleep.
I only started exercising and trying intermittent fasting about 2weeks ago. I don’t know when I should start seeing results. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll have to buy new pants regardless because my hips widened with both pregnancies. While I can technically fit into some of my pre-pregancy pants because my hips are wider but the opening isn’t my love handles are pushed up and look way bigger than they are. It’s emotionally frustrating because I feel stronger than I used to and am proud of my wiggly belly for having held two kiddos. I guess what it comes down to is I need to remind myself it took 9months to grow a human, it’s going to take at least 9months to get back to preincubator form. At Lea that’s what happened after kid number 1.
I’m really looking forward to Boston winter being over so I can exercise outside.
HI Sarah! I’ve been following you and your workouts for years. I’m not too active on social media but saw this post on my Pinterest feed today. I tried the FWTFL program in the Fall. I wouldn’t say it’s a horrible program but definitely not for me! I try to eat healthy and in moderation but the second I had to go low carb or low macro it’s like I was craving everything under the sun! Also, fasting until noon was really challenging for me with teaching 5:30 am and 8 am workout classes. I will say that I did learn a lot regarding macros and switching them up depending on your goals. I went over on my fats and was low on my carbs and protein as well. In the end, I did feel like my abdominal area was tighter and I did drop a pound or two; however, I felt pretty unhappy for the 6 weeks and was looking forward to it being over. It was definitely not something I could sustain as a lifestyle because I felt obsessed with food and stressed about pairing my workouts with the kind of macro day assigned. Nonetheless, I wish you the best of luck on it! I found it was a good experience but it isn’t something I would sign-up for again. I look forward to hearing your full review 🙂
This is great. Thank you Stacy for sharing your own experience! I feel like i wouldn’t be able to do it if i taught two morning classes!