Postpartum Wellness / Health 2
As I mentioned I am starting to fast again. I am fascinated by the benefits and results of fasting that I have read about and some of the experiences I’ve had myself. I wouldn’t necessarily describe fasting as a weight loss tool and that’s why I believe so many people are disinterested in it. Most people seem to only want to do what’s going to make them lose as much weight as possible and not what’s going to make them more healthy. I weigh the least amount I’ve ever weighed as an adult but I definitely don’t think my body looks as good as it did when I was 142 lbs muscular and lean. I’m 5’3” with a large bust for reference so 142 lbs is quite heavy for my height and technically overweight by BMI standards. For the past two days I have weighed in at 129.5 lbs. I have met my small goal two weeks into this cycle. (I always have small/easy and big/hard goals when I’m trying to lose weight.) However, I haven’t even been eating in a deficit. My average calories per day has been close to 2500 calories. I did start fasting and also increasing my step count modestly. This is kind of perplexing results. I recently had a whole blood work up about 3 weeks ago for my yearly checkup. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have a thyroid problem and that’s why I was losing so much weight. My thyroid and everything else for that matter was good. (I had a cholesterol of 223 but I have very high good cholesterol and family history of high cholesterol.) My goal for my next check up in 6 months is to lose the 10 lbs, walk more and perhaps eat better and increase fiber. My ultimate goal, in my absence of time to workout and build muscle, is to weight 121 lbs (lose 8 more pounds) and be consistent with my physical therapy exercises for my core. My stomach still feels and looks a bit different from my pregnancy and c-section. I need to work on my core muscles.
Fasting has so many benefits besides weight loss and if you don’t have a history of a serious eating disorder or some serious medical problems I would recommend it to almost any adult. I once did a 3 day fast and it was so difficult but it was quite an interesting experience and accomplishment. A 3 day fast is supposed to reset your immune system. I wouldn’t recommend long fasts to people unless it’s something they are really into but even a daily fast between 13-17 hours a day would be quite beneficial for most people and worth a honest try.
