Intermittent Fasting Update, P4 HCG Diet

So far, using the Eat Stop Eat protocol to maintain my new-found weight has worked successfully and has been so…..freeing.  No calorie counting.  Eating in the amounts that I feel like on most days.  It’s just so…simple.

I’m came across his protocol in my search to find something that I could follow long term to maintain my weight.

We are all different individuals- some feel very comfortable counting calories on a constant basis and this is doable and easy for them- pleasing even. I’m not one of those people. Not only do I hate to count calories, it’s very difficult to do so because I make almost everything from scratch, so it’s very hard to figure out how many calories are in my homemade recipes. I don’t measure how much oil or butter I put in the pan to saute my garlic and onions. How many calories are in a huge pot of thai-style soup I made with no recipe, and how many portions are there in that pot and how many calories are in one portion?

Do you see my problem?

I knew there had to be something that would fit me and my personality best, I just didn’t know what it was yet. I knew if I just researched it enough, I would find the solution. And then I came across Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat Protocol- it totally fits me!  A more common term for what he promotes is called Intermittent fasting, but of course with his own unique twist, which in my opinion is the best.   I’m a very all or nothing person. So for me to eat what I want some days and not eat at all other days is perfect. It’s so simple and easy- I don’t have to think about it. 2 days a week I’m not allowed to eat. That’s it. No thinking involved. 5 days a week I eat in the amounts I want. That’s it. No thinking involved. This has been great for me mentally and emotionally.  Also, you never go a day without eating- even on your fast days you have one meal- for me it’s dinner.

Additionally, since using the ESE protocol, something in me has shifted. Prior to starting this, I always wanted to be eating- eating always sounds fun, all day. It doesn’t matter if I’m not hungry- I find myself just always eating. Since I started the intermittent fasting twice a week, I have started finding myself not being concerned with food- actually not wanting to eat.

For instance, say I ate a meal an hour ago. If I head to the kitchen an hour later for something, I think to myself, like I usually do, “I think I’ll eat something. I’m not eating, so I think I’ll eat something.” But lately when I find myself in this situation, I actually had a new thought pop into my brain which was “but I’m not really hungry- I don’t really feel like eating. I think I’ll just have some tea.” And that’s what I did.

That is a totally foreign feeling for me. Usually if I think of food or see it, I want to eat it, and it would be an inner struggle for me to refrain. It was so strange to feel sastisfied and not feel the need to stuff myself till I’m uncomfortably full- I actually would feel driven to do that in the past.

The fasting also helps me to crave healthy foods. Sometimes after making a dietary change for my health, I would find myself starting to lean too heavily on certain replacement foods that aren’t really that healthy- like some diet bar that’s supposedly low in calories but is full of ingredients that you wouldn’t really call food. Ingredients that in tiny amounts are probably okay, but that shouldn’t be making up the bulk of your calorie intake. But the intermittent fasting keeps me in this constant state where I’m in the mood for real food most of the time, not junk. Broccoli and steak sounds the most appetizing when I have fasting in my life, instead of the sugar free chocolate bar at Trader Joes.

This may not work for everyone, but if you’re anything like, and some of you probably are, it’s a great little tool to whip out when you need it (like stabilization in p3 for instance).

Watch Ken’s Full Interview here

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