Intermittent Fasting Stories

Episode 14: Ryan Smith

In this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, host Gin Stephens interviews the high school English teacher Ryan Smith from Bangor, Maine. Ryan started his journey with intermittent fasting in 2014. Ryan and his wife Kim (the very first guest on the podcast) wrote a book called Unbelievable Freedom: How We Transformed Our Health and Happiness with Intermittent Fasting which describes their journey of trying IF and losing around 215 collective pounds through it.

 

Ryan’s first try with IF ended unsuccessfully, where he abandoned it after the first day. However, trying a paleo diet for a while after that enabled him to unintentionally prepare for trying this significant lifestyle change once more. Ryan shares that now he feels as if IF is the way people are supposed to eat.

 

His and Kim’s diet changed as a result of the deeper lifestyle changes they introduced in their life together. Initially, they struggled with the type of food to eat and the food preparation, now they have become a lot more synchronized. IF is partly responsible for this as it had an effect of restoring the sensitivity in their taste buds. An additional unexpected positive development for Ryan was the disappearance of the need to plan meals for work, as well as the need to prepare them during lunch time at the school he is teaching at.

 

Gin and Ryan also discuss how great they feel since they started applying clean fasting i.e. absolutely no calories during the fasting window, except water. Clean fasting cleanses your body and makes you feel lighter and healthier; and not breaking your fast with coffee (even keto coffee,) tea, or similar usually provides better overall effects. Ryan originally lost 120 pounds from 278 pounds in 2011 by going through a vegetarian, then a paleo diet, and then finally IF. There was a certain point where he gained back several tens of pounds, but it didn’t affect his look as his muscle-to-fat ratio went up. This is a common effect appearing in those that started IF with a higher weight and stuck to it while loosing a great deal of fat. Therefore, it is important not to focus too strictly on your weight targets, and focus on how healthy you look and feel.

 

The health changes Ryan experienced after sticking with IF are numerous. He may have reversed his diabetes condition for which he was diagnosed more than a decade ago. IF also improved his chronic pain related to his auto-immune Ankylosing spondylitis up to the point of getting off his anti-inflammatory medication.

Ryan’s final recommendation is to believe in IF and just live your life and enjoy your food. Stick to it and wait for the results that are likely to come.

 

 

Links:

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin:

gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Follow Gin on Twitter:

@gin_stephens

Connect with Gin on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Gin-Stephens-370557866639779

Read Gin’s book Delay Don’t Deny:

https://www/ginstephens.com/get-the-book.html

Read Unbelievable Freedom: How We Transformed Our Health and Happiness with Intermittent Fasting by Ryan and Kim Smith

Listen to Gin on the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast:

Intermittent Fasting Stories on iTunes

Episode 13: Donna Dube

In this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, host Gin Stephens interviews Donna Dube about her experience with intermittent fasting. Donna is a Rhode Island native who, after retiring from her nursing career, began to work for a non-profit organization that provides vaccinations to underserved populations. She entered the IF lifestyle in 2017 after going on a cruise and being horrified by a picture taken of her. Over the three hundred-pound mark at that point in her life, she wanted to make a change that would be permanent, rather than jumping back into the cycle of unhelpful diets she had already tried during her fifty years of struggling with her weight. The internet led her to resources on intermittent fasting (including Gin’s book!), and she immediately jumped into the lifestyle.

 

Donna started her fast at a stretch of sixteen hours, with eight hours (including two meals) comprising her window. After a month, she slowly moved to a twenty-three hour fast each day, and then restricted her carb intake. Donna found it necessary to take these measures because, after years of dieting and counting calories, she had developed insulin resistance that needed to be accommodated. Her initial goal was to lose one hundred pounds in two years, but she broke that goal in the first year and is now down one hundred thirty pounds from her starting weight. She has lost twenty inches from her waist, improved in her overall health, and both increased energy levels and altered tastes. She is able to listen to her body effectively, has corrected her insulin resistance, and has even seen a thirty-year-old scar nearly vanish! Though sharing some details of her journey has been challenging for her, she is excited to tell others about her story, and to encourage them to give IF a chance for themselves.

 

To that end, Donna’s interview is interspersed with insight and advice. She recollects her past feelings of being a failure, and her guilt because she thought her own will was to blame for her lack of lasting dieting results. She and Gin describe the sense of confidence and control that IF brings, as well as the reality of hormonal imbalances that make weight loss incredibly difficult for many people. Donna addresses her hope that medical professionals will be increasingly more open minded about IF and encourages listeners to set realistic goals/objectives and to lean into community on their IF journeys. She advises them to educate themselves about IF, to trust Gin and follow her advice, to push themselves, and to know that success truly is possible (even if it requires patience). Success, she says, starts in your mind. And to further shape listeners’ minds and fuel their motivation, Gin and Donna discuss and recommend Donna’s newly released book, A Timekeeper’s Guide to Weight Loss.  

 

Links:

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin:

gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

 

Follow Gin on Twitter

@gin_stephens 

 

Connect with Gin on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Gin-Stephens-370557866639779 

 

Read Gin’s book Delay Don’t Deny:

https://www/ginstephens.com/get-the-book.html 

 

Read The Obesity Code by Jason Fung and Brian Nishii:

The Obesity Code

 

Find Donna’s new book, A Timekeeper’s Guide to Weight Loss:

A Timekeeper’s Guide to Weight Loss

 

Read The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton:

The Biology of Belief

 

Find Gin’s recommended artisan bread, and other favorite things:

http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

 

Read Gin’s blog post on mindset:

http://www.ginstephens.com/all-blog-posts/the-importance-of-mindset

 

Listen to Gin on the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast:

Intermittent Fasting Stories on iTunes

Episode 12: Melissa Wages

In this episode, Gin talks to pediatric dentist Melissa Wages.

Episode 11: April Stearns

In this episode, Gin talks to April Stearns, a breast cancer survivor who learned about intermittent fasting from her oncologist.

Episode 10: Rebekah Vepraskas

In this episode, Gin talks to Rebekah Vepraskas, a therapist who works with clients seeking help with depression and anxiety. Rebekah shares how intermittent fasting has changed her life and also made her a better therapist.

Episode 9: Sheri

In this episode, Gin talks to Sheri, who works in the healthcare field. Sheri describes how she makes intermittent fasting work with her overnight work schedule.

Episode 8: Eddie Friedman

In this episode, Gin talks to Eddie Friedman, an attorney from Rosland, NY.

Episode 7: Sue Wilsey

In this episode, Gin talks to Sue Wilsey from Chicago. Sue is a library marketer who is one year into a one-meal-a-day intermittent fasting pattern, and is also twelve years post-gastric bypass.

Episode 6: Christiana

In this episode, Gin talks to Christiana, from Torrance, California, who describes how intermittent fasting has helped her get through a period of grief in her life.

Episode 5: Dennis Shock

In this episode, Gin talks to Dennis Shock from Augusta, Georgia. Dennis explains how intermittent fasting fits into his daily life, and how he has lost about 35 pounds over the past 10 months.