New Definition of IF

When I first started this blog, which felt like a million years ago my life was completely different. I was newly married, newly diagnosed as infertile, and wondering that the future would hold.

Here I am many years, a few kids, and what feels like a lifetime later and IF has a new meaning for me. Instead of abandoning this blog like I've done for the last 3 years, I hope to turn it into something more relevant to my life now. No longer infertile, IF needs a new meaning for this blog.

My weight struggles have been a feature occasionally in my posts and I've previously promised to make lifestyle changes that would lead to weight loss. I've done that successfully a few times losing and regaining close to 200 lbs over the last several years. I decided enough was enough when for the first time in my life, the number on the scale started with a 3. I tried to justify my weight saying at least I don't weight 300lbs!! Then one day I did. That day was at the start of November 2019 when Hubbs and I decided to start yet another weight loss journey.

IF for the purposes of this blog and for the weight loss community of Reddit stand for Intermittent Fasting. Basically periods of eating followed by periods of fasting, there's a few different ways to do it, you can fast every other day, fast during the day/night and only eat during a specific time period, or choosing to fast one or more days per week. Hubbs and I are taking this journey together and are hoping to make positive changes in our life to be healthier for ourselves and for our children.

Hubbs has less total to lose than me, we're always iffy on our numbers, mostly because I simply refuse to tell him how much I weigh, but overall I need to lose at minimum 100lbs, but no longer being classified as obese would be a great start.

Since we started on November 2, 2019 Hubbs has lost 5lbs and I've lost 10lbs. That was with following a 16:8 IF plan. That means only eating between an 8 hour window during the day and not eating outside of those hours. For us it was 12pm - 8pm.

Starting this week, we are focusing on the "One Meal a Day" (aka OMAD), or a 23:1 IF window. Essentially only eating dinner every day. Based on our work schedules, this will usually be in the late afternoon so likely 4pm.

We've tried Paleo, Keto, CICO, and others, but dealing with food allergies and limiting what you can eat became exhausting. Finding recipes and tweaking things, making versions of the foods we like but having them taste terrible because the ingredients are completely different. This way we can eat the foods we like, just in smaller amounts.

We have spoken with our Doctor, she's fine with it, so please refrain from commenting that this is a terrible plan or unhealthy or anything like that.

So here we are, the start of another journey through IF land. I hope you'll stick around and follow along. I'll do bi-weekly official weigh-ins for me, I can't promise Hubbs' will share, but he's right along with me for the ride.