Trigger warning: The following story discusses eating disorders and disordered eating behavior.

At the beginning of my four-year intermittent fasting (IF) journey, I was experiencing so many health benefits such as decreased bloating, improved mental clarity and sleep, and I was able to lose the baby weight I'd been holding on to for four years. It was going so well in the beginning that I thought I'd do IF for the rest of my life. But as I slowly started to try more restrictive methods of IF to reach my weight-loss goals, it started to not work, and I was actually gaining weight.

I was feeling so frustrated, sad, and hopeless because I was losing control over my relationship with food. Here's my story of how intermittent fasting started to fail me, and how giving it up for intuitive eating actually helped me have more peace with food and achieve my body and fitness goals.

In case you're unfamiliar with intermittent fasting, it involves incorporating periods of fasting (not eating), whether it be fasting for certain hours out of the day or fasting certain days out of the week. There are tons of different methods of IF, and when I started in February 2017, as with anything new in my life, I went all-in and tried just about every style. I started with 16:8, where I fasted for 16 hours and ate in an eight-hour window, from noon until 8 p.m. I found success, but had the misguided notion that "more is better," so I shortened my window to 17:7, then to 18:6.

During this time, I was doing hour-long rigorous CrossFit workouts four to six days a week at 5:45 a.m., and shortening my eating window to six hours made me so hungry in the morning, that pushing through to make it to noon became a huge mental struggle. So I ended up eating earlier, telling myself I'd just eat from 9 or 10 a.m. until 3 or 4 p.m., but not eating dinner with my family was terrible for many reasons (the most important being that I didn't want my kids seeing me not eat), so that didn't work.

I also tried other methods of IF such as Eat Stop Eat (fasting 24 hours once a week), 5:2 (eating normally five days a week and eating 500 calories two days a week), and Alternate Day Fasting (fasting every other day). It was too hard to exercise regularly and do these more restrictive IF methods (I was too hungry!), so I stopped working out, but that was a terrible move for my mental health.

During that time, losing weight became my goal, and I tried Fast 5 (eating in a five-hour window), 20:4 (also called the Warrior Diet, eating from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m,), and when that wasn't enough, I also tried 20:1 (also called One Meal a Day or OMAD). I'd lose weight initially with those methods, but hunger caused me to binge eat during my eating window. I even went so far as to try longer fasts like 48-hour fasts (I even tried a seven-day water fast!), but again, those were unsustainable. Thankfully, my body's instincts to eat took over, and I just ended up gaining weight.

"Research shows us that dieting, which includes intermittent fasting, is a consistent predictor for weight gain," explained Kara Lydon, RD, LDN, registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and owner of Kara Lydon Nutrition. The majority of people who lose weight while dieting end up gaining the weight back long-term, and up to two-thirds will gain more weight than when they started.

The physiological mechanisms your body activates when in starvation (aka dieting) mode, such as increasing your hunger hormones, decreasing your fullness hormones, and releasing neuropeptide Y (a hormone that stimulates food intake, specifically carbs), often lead to overeating, she added. Most dieters will be familiar with what's known as the restrict/binge cycle, although they may not know that exact name for it. This goes something like this: you "restrict your food intake, then feel extreme hunger and food preoccupation, which leads to a binge episode, followed by intense feelings of guilt and shame, which brings you right back to restriction in an effort to 'gain control,' but it just perpetuates the same cycle over and over," Lydon explained.

When your body is in starvation mode, it is essentially perceiving the restriction as a famine. "From an evolutionary standpoint, our bodies are designed to fight famine and starvation in an attempt to help us survive. Our bodies don't realize it's 2021 and what it's perceiving is actually self-imposed," Lydon said.

Another physiological mechanism that might be activated is energy conservation, which can cause you to stop getting your period, mess with your digestion, or make you feel cold and tired all the time. "This is your body shutting down or redirecting energy from non-essential systems in the body. This might also look like your body holding onto its fat stores in an attempt to conserve energy," Lydon said. I did experience feeling cold and tired, and I was bloated from bingeing, but this also explains why I got leaner when I started eating more regularly.

Trying so many IF methods and feeling like I was failing and fighting against my body was unbelievably exhausting and frustrating. Ultimately, it became detrimental to my well-being because it led to disordered eating habits. I was constantly thinking about food, what I was going to eat, when I was going to eat, when I was going to fast and I became depressed because my weight was slowly creeping up. I felt stuck thinking my only option was to fast longer, and that's when it started to feel like an eating disorder.

"Intermittent fasting is essentially glorified disordered eating," said Lydon. She explained that fasting for weight control purposes is recognized by eating disorder professionals as an eating disorder behavior, but unfortunately the diet industry has marketed IF as an easier way to lose weight compared to other traditional calorie-restricted diets.

Fasting (or any arbitrary food rules, for that matter) disrupts your body's innate ability to produce physiological cues to tell you when to eat and when you've had enough, Lydon said. "When you override your body's hunger cues, your body, in an attempt to help you survive, triggers certain physiological mechanisms to encourage you to eat." This explains why I felt so preoccupied with food, and why I felt so out of control when I did eat.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Jenny Sugar

Dealing with intense hunger made me cranky, bingeing made me feel guilty (and so bloated!), and constantly thinking about food and how to lose the weight that bingeing was causing all took up so space in my brain.

Lydon explained that intermittent fasting can also interfere with your social life, since you may avoid plans with friends that involve food. Fasting definitely affected plans with my family, depending on which method I was doing at the time, and that's one of the parts about IF that I really hated.

I also felt sad about not being able to cook and bake when I wanted to. I'd sit in bed flipping through my vegan cookbooks, or watching vegan recipe videos on YouTube, just to satisfy that need. It was so sad. I felt like I was missing out on so many levels.

My husband noticed my weird behavior around food, and he was definitely worried. He felt bad that I was imposing all these lame food rules on myself. I finally realized that while IF did have positive effects on my health at first, I had taken it too far. If I saw a friend struggling like this, I knew I'd step in and help her. I had to be that friend for myself.

The true driving force behind me deciding to stop doing IF and to focus on healing my relationship with food was because I have a 10-year-old daughter. I knew I wanted to be an inspiring role model for her, to teach her how to have a positive relationship with food and her body, and this was anything but positive. I had to stop this terrible cycle of restricting and bingeing, but I wasn't sure how. I wanted to move toward intuitive eating, but when I tried jumping in, I just felt out of control and feared gaining even more weight.

In the spring months at the beginning of the pandemic, like everyone else, my world was flipped upside down. I stopped going to my gym, was stress-baking and overeating, but was still eating from noon until 6 or 7 p.m. most days. I was eating a somewhat junky, mostly plant-based diet, and ended up gaining even more weight and not feeling like myself.

It was during one summer night while looking up vegan baking recipes on YouTube that things changed completely. I stumbled upon the Nutritarian diet and Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live, and immersed myself in all the research I could about whole-food, plant-based diets. I also read The Starch Solution and combined the two and started eating a low-fat, high-carb, whole-food plant-based diet, free of oil. I was already eating lots of veggies, but I increased my starch intake, so I was eating tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, oatmeal, and rice. I stopped eating salad dressings made with oil, and limited my nut and seed intake.

I loved that this way of eating wasn't a diet, but was all about abundance, focusing on promoting health and preventing disease by eating all the nutrient-dense foods I could. I stopped watching the clock and started listening to my hunger cues.

After a few months, I felt amazing! I realized how much eating breakfast brought me joy. I'd wake up looking forward to my bowl of oatmeal and felt so happy knowing I had full freedom to eat whenever I wanted throughout the day.

I had tons of energy and felt inspired to start rowing and doing yoga every day. I slept well, felt clear-headed, and loved how my mood had improved. I also noticed that my body started to get leaner that really surprised me because I was eating so much food!

I can now proudly call myself an intuitive eater, but it didn't happen overnight. This has been a six-month journey of trusting my body, re-learning how to observe my hunger and fullness cues, and making lots of mistakes. There were definitely times I ate too much, or ate too much of the foods that don't make me feel good. It was interesting watching how my brain reacted to me allowing myself to truly eat when and how much I wanted. At first, it felt out of control, and I was eating a lot. But I had read from intuitive eating counselors that this would happen, that my body was just soaking in the fact that the "famine" was over. That urgency and drive to eat often and eat a lot slowed down after the second month, and was replaced with a sense of calmness and happiness around food.

Now as soon as I get that first glimmer of hunger, I eat. Sometimes it's at 9 a.m., and some days, it truly isn't until noon I have no rules about what times I eat. If I want lunch at 11 a.m., I have it! If I get hungry an hour after I've eaten, I eat again. It's so liberating! What's funny is eating whenever I please has made me think so much less about food.

There are some days that I naturally eat in a seven- to eight-hour window, because that's when I'm hungry, so I asked Lydon if there was a healthy way to do intermittent fasting. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going back to my old, destructive ways. She said, "I always remind my clients that they are the experts of their own bodies. Only you can truly know for yourself if there is a 'healthy way' to do intermittent fasting." The key here is to listen to your body - noticing and honoring hunger cues as they arise and not waiting for some arbitrary time window to allow yourself permission to eat.

If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has resources available including a 24/7 helpline at (800) 931-2237.

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I Did Intermittent Fasting For Almost 4 Years Here's Why I Stopped and Actually Lost Weight - POPSUGAR

The idea of pot smokers as chubby middle-aged dudes who live for junk food and couch surfing is fast becoming obsolete. Plenty of regular cannabis users are far from fat, unhealthy, or lazy. A growing contingent of elite athletes ultrarunners and triathletes among them insist pot actually helps them stick to their diet and exercise regimens and keeps them trim. Some even swear weed has helped them shed pounds.

They may be onto something. Although the science on weed and weight loss is still emerging, some research suggests marijuana might play a small role. Weed is not a stand-in for healthy diet and exercise not by a long shot. But marijuana use also isnt a straight path to becoming an overweight unhealthy mess. Heres what the science has to say.

There is solid scientific proof that THC, the intoxicating cannabinoid in pot, indeed stimulates appetite in many people. Thats why its often given to chemotherapy patients who otherwise feel too sick to eat. THC binds to and activates CB1 receptors, part of the endocannabinoid system, which are located in the stomach, small intestine, and parts of the brain that monitor food intake and enhance eating pleasure.

CB1 is basically your weight gain receptor, says Tom Clark, Ph.D., cannabis researcher and chair of biological sciences at Indiana University South Bend. It is the main one that increases appetite, affects how fast you store the food you eat and reduces your metabolic rate to preserve the calories you consume.

Considering these effects, one could reasonably assume that regular marijuana use would lead to weight gain. Some studies do support this theory. However, the overall evidence is conflicting, and plenty of other research suggests the exact opposite may be true.

For example, a 2011 study showed that people who use cannabis at least three times a week are less likely to be obese than non-users. Similarly, research published in 2013 revealed that marijuana users had better insulin control and smaller waist circumferences. More recently, a 2019 study demonstrated that, over the course of three years, marijuana users maintained lower body-mass indexes than nonusers, something past research has found as well.

On its face, thats some pretty compelling data in favor of weed and weight loss. But these studies must be taken with a grain of salt. They all establish a connection between cannabis and a better body but they dont prove marijuana use is the reason for these outcomes. There could be other factors at play.

All sorts of correlational effects probably contribute to these results, Clark says. For one thing, pot smokers skew younger, so they may weigh less. Maybe these marijuana users also used more tobacco, which is associated with weight loss. Then there are people who are heavy, start smoking pot and just feel better, so they lose weight and attribute it to marijuana when there may not be any physiological effect.

Additionally, many pot smokers drink less booze, a definite contributor to weight gain. Marijuana also eases stress for many people and helps them sleep better, both of which are linked to lower BMI. There is also the pain management factor. If pot eases muscle aches and pains, it may help you stick to your workout plan or even train harder, as some athletes claim it does.

Regardless of all the potential cofactors aside, some researchers believe marijuana still might, in fact, have a direct physiological impact on weight. Clark is one of them. In 2018, he and his colleagues published a paper that, based on data from 17 large-scale studies, lays out a plausible explanation for the lower BMI and obesity rates among cannabis users.

Clark breaks down their theory like this: THC initially stimulates the CB1 receptor, which increases appetite short-termbut this effect doesnt last. Over a 24-hour period, he says the receptor becomes less active, likely leading people to consume fewer calories overall. Meanwhile, evidence suggests THC ramps up metabolism over time. So, based on this theory, even if you indulged the munchies after smoking a bowl, your increased metabolic rate would counteract the effect by burning through those calories quicker than if you werent a pot smoker.

You wouldnt need to smoke a ton of weed to reap these benefits, either. Clark insists even once a week may be enough to keep the CB1 receptors running on low and metabolism revved.

However, he is quick to point out that this is still just a hypothesis. To know for certain whether THC has this impact on weight control, Clark says wed need rigorous human clinical trials. Researchers would have to gather a bunch of people with identical diets and lifestyle habits, divide them in half, give one group pot and the other not, then monitor them over a long stretch of time.

This kind of study wont happen anytime soon, however, because weed is technically still illegal in the U.S. and laughably still deemed a Schedule I narcotic, which severely inhibits research. Complicating matters, Clark says plants like marijuana are notoriously hard to study because theyre complex organisms that vary significantly in makeup from strain to strain.

So, for now, the best we have are theories, and Clarks seems pretty sound. That said, he does not advise making marijuana your number-one weight-loss tool: I think cannabis can help if the side effects are tolerable, but youre better off focusing mainly on diet and exercise.

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Can Smoking Weed Help You Lose Weight? - Fatherly

With the emerging need for fitness enthusiasts to stay on guard, the prevalence of east fat burning mechanisms is busy doing the rounds. Not all fat-burning potent formulas are imbibed with the right formulations; instead, they are often filled with disclaimers.

This increases the need for buyers to be informed and make the right choice. Among a vast pool of such weight loss products being available, the Phenocal fat burner is creating waves in the fitness industrys realm.

Made with chromium picolinate extracts, the marketers advertise the 100% all-natural ingredients for promoting a healthy weight loss. With the 1.9+ billion population being overweight, there is a rising need to get back in shape.

This article let us review the diet pill supplement and assess its ability to work on users. Starting with the overview of its ingredients and benefits, we shall assess its users potency and value.

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After several years of study on human behaviour, it has been concluded that majorly people are tired of doing workout all the time and decided to switch to the supplements that help them reduce work. There are several pre-workout supplementsavailable in the market that can boost up-mechanism for stamina and help users to lose weight instantly. Phenocal is one of them- An All-Natural Pill for Weight loss.

Phenocal refers to a natural diet pill supplement helping you lose desired weight and reach goals quickly. Using all-natural ingredients, the potent formula comprises no chemical stimulants and drugs and thus is free of chemicals.

Produced by Pharmaxa Labs, the fat burner is a prominent part of the fat burner category. While claiming to aid you to lose weight effectively, phenocal works like a fat-burning aiding the fat burning process.

Through the passage of years, the brand has gained a prominent reputation manufacturing a wide array of wellness and health supplements. Powered by robust backing along with a hundred satisfied clients worldwide, phenocal offers legit reviews.

Marketed as a powerful, natural, and potent fat burner, it helps to lose weight with the help of appetite suppression, increases the rate of metabolism, inhibits fat cell production, and more.

Phenocal is ideal for adults who intend to lose weight and naturally. However, it is mandatory to visit a doctor with a proper health condition and take a professional recommendation to evaluate what suits you.

Before opting for Phenocal, have a look below. If you come in any of these categories, it will be best to avoid using this product:

Claiming to offer a host of natural ingredients, let us assess the ingredients and their significance. Boasting an all-natural formula, the effective fat burner contains several components that are difficult to ignore.

Known to suppress hunger and reduce cravings, the ingredients are among the most common ingredients in weight loss supplements. It effectively reduces the amount of daily calorie intake while aiding to cut down the stored fat cells.

The deficiency is largely linked to obesity; however, studies have found the participants to incur weight loss. It is usually supplemented with vitamin K12, and plugging the vitamins together assists weight loss easily.

Largely known for being a fat burner, the green tea leaf extract is an active ingredient of phenocal with a high level of caffeine and antioxidants. It effectively leverages the metabolic rate, leading to a swift fat burning process.

Another prominent ingredient in the list is acquired from brown seaweed. It helps to lose weight and is combined with substances, including pomegranate seed oil.

The leaves are typically rich in caffeine and antioxidants, and while they are brewed like tea, they can efficiently raise the metabolic rate. This propagates an improved calorie burn.

Manufactured and developed by Sabinsa Corporation, Bioperine is a prominent weight loss product. Efficiently used as a weight loss product, it helps to upscale the efficacy of ingredients that tend to get in the bloodstream.

Commonly known as hydroxytryptophan, HTP is beneficial to boost the serotonin level in your body. The hormone is released by the brain that helps in the regulation of the quantity and quality of sleep. However, be careful about the side effects it causes!

This is one of the most common shrubs used in the realm of traditional medicine. The component is largely known for suppressing appetite and leads to improved weight loss.

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Working towards burning your body fat, it does so through a seamless process. Here is how it performs its operations. It works on varied psychological processes and accelerates the overall weight loss goal.

Comprising a wide array of active ingredients, it has largely been proven to aid weight loss. The ingredients present to accelerate the process and boosts metabolism in your body.

In other words, the food is digested soon and does not get stored in your body. The ingredients moreover suppress hunger and combat cravings between meals. Hence, you end up acquiring a lot less food.

It boosts the fat loss process and offers increased energy for you to feel pumped up with energy at all times. As it works across varied fonts, it promises to render results, regardless of body weight, age, and uniqueness.

It comprises ingredients that can raise the core temperature of your body. It increases the metabolic rate and propagates a fast calorie burning process. This makes it easy for you to eliminate hunger and get rid of excess fat.

The formulation is claimed to comprise ingredients responsible for suppressing appetite. It is largely believed to reduce the calorie intake and only receive the boys amount to function. As a result, there will no longer be any stored fat, leading to weight gain.

It comprises ingredients that are largely responsible for reducing the cholesterol level in your body. It might not be directly helpful in weight loss; however, it is largely responsible for maintaining overall health.

The claims are, although similar to several fat burners; however, the ingredients and its operation promise you a world of opportunities.

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Following the World Health Organization, the obesity rate has typically risen since the mid-1970s. At present, more than a few billion adults are overweight, and supplements like phenocal attempts to combat the challenges without any trouble.

However, phenocal differentiates itself and is a blend of natural ingredients, proving varied health benefits.

Comprising fucoxanthin, the pigment can raise the temperature level. This increases the metabolic rate and is considered a promising ingredient for anti-obesity and metabolism.

Among varied ingredients, fucoxanthin is found as a nutritional ingredient for anti-obesity and metabolism. The result obtained from clinical research thus reflects on the benefits of the formula and is considered a safe ingredient.

The organizations market Hoodia Gordonii for the ability to suppress appetite; however, the evidence remains to be sparse. Several types of research curb appetite and offer the desired weight loss effect.

It is a scientifically proven suppressant that makes it beneficial for you to control snacking in between meals. By regulating the insulin levels, rightly addresses cravings for carb or sugar-rich food.

To get rid of the fat cells, you need to consume fewer calories. The phenocal is the perfect companion you need for your late-night cravings and to feel full.

Glucomannan makes you feel satisfied after eating and thus keeps you satisfied. This is a kind of fibre that contains zero calories and expands on entering your body.

Chromium picolinate is another popular ingredient that efficiently helps to regulate insulin levels. An improper level can further lead to causing varied health concerns, including obesity, diabetes, and more.

Glucomannan is a popular substance in phenocal and can aid you in lowering your cholesterol level. According to several clinical studies, glucomannan helps to lower the LDL cholesterol level and does not affect the HDL cholesterol level.

Other notable benefits of Phenocal:

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There are no such listed side effects of the formula as it makes use of natural ingredients proven to perform a varied specific activity in your body. It is, however, not ideal for pregnant women, as in rare cases, it might lead to causing stomach upset or mild nausea.

Here are a few possible lists of side effects:

Glucomannan can lead to causing a choking risk. Hence, make sure you consume the supplement with a lot of water, further enabling you to digest the pill well.

If you feel nauseated, you should eat first and then consume the component instead of having it on an empty stomach.

You might want to experiment with the timings, however, make sure you adhere to the instructions to ensure a healthy well being. Furthermore, it can work better as you might have more food to offset the powerful extracts.

Experiencing a consistent headache might be a common instance; hence make sure you reduce the dosage likewise. Click here to read the exclusive review of Phenocal.

The dosage of the supplements is usually determined based on the individual, weight, and other bodily concerns. However, it is recommended to consume 3 capsules twice a day. Make sure you consume the first 3 at least 15 minutes before breakfast with consuming the other 3 before lunch.

You must take it only with food for improved absorption whenever you consume the component. Make sure you do not consume more than 6 capsules a day.

As mentioned above, there are no such harmful effects induced, and hence it is considered being a completely safe component for consumption. Moreover, it has undergone industry-standard testing, making it a completely reliable supplement.

Eliminating all chemicals and artificial stimulants, it can be consumed for a long time. Hence, to the question posed above, yes, it is safe for consumption, however under professional directions.

You can buy phenocal on the Official website to attain the finest quality and the best prices. Moreover, you can find several discounts available on the price mentioned.

A bottle of phenocal with 150 capsules costs around $34.85 after discount. You can pay the shipping on orders below $60.00.

Ordering in bulk helps you attain bigger discounts and helps your buy to be a cost-effective one. Make your choice between the three-bottle package and five bottle packages, with the former being available at $95.70 and the latter is $149.52.

The product comes with a 60-day return policy when the brand will offer you a 100% money-back guarantee along with the peace of mind. However, the refund is applicable only when bought from the official website.

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The makers of Phenocal were convinced to see the users succeed in their aim of losing weight. This has motivated them to come up with such a polished component, crafted with the right formula, the right ingredients, and propagating the right benefits.

When the pill is consumed in sync with a calorie-controlled diet and exercise plan, it is beneficial to offer you an improved chance of attaining healthy weight loss. Hence, do not hesitate; instead, feel free to browse the product online and explore its benefits. however, if you are looking for the best alternative, then we recommend you to choose PhenQ. PhenQ is one of the most effective fat burner supplements that uses 100% natural ingredients. This supplement is suitable for both men and women. It helps you get rid of stubborn body fat quickly. It works on your body by melting your body fat and also inhibits the production of more fat in your body.

If you have been looking for a reliable fat burner for quite some time, then PhenQ is the best option for you. However, ensure to follow the directions as mentioned in the packaging and contact a medical professional if you witness any side effects.

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Phenocal Review 2021: Benefits, Side Effects and Alternative - fingerlakes1.com