Hello and welcome to the intermittent fasting gems with Jen podcast.

I'm your host Jen, a middle aged Michigan mama, wife and teacher who

in 2021 stumbled upon this crazy cool thing called intermittent fasting.

And before I knew it, I'd lost 46 pounds in four months and

gained an incredible lifestyle filled with complete food freedom.

If you're hungry for unique, no nonsense fasting tips that actually

work, you're in the right place.

So whether you're walking the dog, folding that last load of laundry, or

cruising to your nine to five, let's start fasting our way to freedom together.

Today we are hanging out and chatting with Mary O'Rourke from Fenton, Michigan.

How you doing Mary?

I am fantastic, Jen, how are you?

I'm great.

So Mary is a 20 year old college student.

She's a junior studying zoology.

And we actually, uh, spoke with Mary's mom, uh, Uh, last month in November, and

this is going to come out in December.

And I cannot wait to chat with you today.

Mary and I go back a little bit.

Um, her brother was in my kindergarten class.

So I have known Mary for quite a while.

And I think.

I think I actually was Mary's substitute teacher, um, many, many years ago.

So

Mm-Hmm,

excited to talk with you today, Mary.

So let's just go ahead and have some serious fun.

Alright.

I'm so excited.

I am too.

You look adorable.

Love the

Oh, thank you.

Yeah,

you.

super cute.

So, all right, I'd to start off by asking what have been your top three

wins with intermittent fasting, whether that's weight loss or if you have any

non scale victories like, um, more energy or better sleep or whatever that may be.

Go ahead, Mary.

Yeah.

Um, well I think weight loss is definitely the number one for me.

Um, 'cause that's, you know, what got me started in if was,

you know, I think everyone just about starts for the weight loss.

Um, and that's.

agree.

Yeah.

how much you lost, Mary?

So, um, I haven't been great about weighing the last time I weighed

in was actually March of this year.

Um, but I started at 275 pounds in September of 23.

And in January I weighed in at about two 55.

So I lost, you know, about 20 pounds there.

And then, um, Yeah, in March, I was 240, and I haven't weighed,

yeah, I haven't weighed since then because I have a doctor's appointment

coming up this month, actually.

You know, like, the six month difference, I wanted to weight,

yeah, because sometimes the scale is very, you know, back and forth,

and it can be not super motivating.

Oh, I hear you.

I

Yeah, yeah,

um, find what works for you.

So,

right, yeah.

Well, that is, that is incredible.

And

Thank you.

really tell in your face, like,

thank you.

yes, you're so

Yeah, yeah, oh, thank you.

you off.

That

No, you're good.

Okay, of course weight

Yeah.

is Usually the the top win for many people not everybody

Yeah.

for me as well.

So,

Yeah.

all right Keep going.

That was

Yeah.

So yeah, so there was that and it, um, I also do body measurements because

that kind of helps me keep track of that to make sure I am actually losing.

Um, so in, in total, I've lost 39 inches off my body, which is very exciting.

my goodness 39 inches

Yeah.

am so glad that you saw that because I think you're right.

Like that number on the scale can get very, very daunting

Yeah.

need to realize that they are actually progressing and a great way to keep

yourself motivated and in the game.

And to keep moving forward is to consistently take those body measurements.

Sometimes

Yeah.

do think you just need to throw that scale out the window for a bit

Yeah.

can get the right mindset, but But you, it's working, you know, and that, uh,

measurement tape can really, really be

Yeah.

So,

Cause I mean there could be so many good changes happening to your body

and the scale might not change.

And I feel like a lot of people get stuck just with those numbers.

So I, I personally, weigher, but this month I'm going to

see how much I've really lost.

My mom and I are convinced it's somewhere around 60, 70 pounds, maybe in total.

Yeah, yeah,

So what

yeah.

you to do, Mary, is, um, so we're recording this in August, but your,

show will come out in December.

So if you

Mm hmm.

back to us, I'll be sure to have this,

Okay.

data in the show notes.

So as I know,

Yeah, absolutely.

to know.

So very

Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely.

I will, I will tell you the results.

Yeah, yep.

So there's, there's that one.

I think, um, also gut health.

I feel so much better now.

I had horrible acid reflux and gas and, mm hmm.

Yeah, the, the reflux, it was just every night.

Because, I mean, I had a horrible habit of late night snacking.

It's like my all time favorite thing.

You know, I would skip breakfast and then yeah, yeah, absolutely.

You know, just watching movies, eating popcorn, that kind of thing.

Um, so I had reflux real bad and I just was convinced that that was

just a problem I was going to have to deal with for the rest of my life.

Um, but with IF, oh my gosh, just no more reflux at all.

It's completely gone.

completely gone.

completely.

Yeah.

that you at just 20 years old realize the importance of gut health.

I think there are so many people, myself included, it took me until I

was in my, you know, mid forties to realize that, gut health really is

connected to, um, All of the issues in our whole entire body, really.

absolutely.

is just incredible that you figured that out

Yeah.

that is going to be something that you can carry with you for the rest of your life.

So that, that is very, very exciting.

Um, have you read that

Thank you.

Yeah.

Eat Dirt by Dr.

Axe.

Ooh, I have not, I have not heard of that.

gut health and I

Okay.

break like a year ago.

And, um, I highly, highly recommend that

Okay.

Okay.

out there.

He, I think his name is Josh, Dr.

Josh Axe, and he just breaks down, oh my gosh, how to

improve your gut health, but how

Okay.

is.

connected to just about every function in our body, which is, um, it's very

eye opening and scary at the same time.

So.

Ooh,

Yeah,

like an exciting read.

I'm gonna need to check that out.

It's really good.

Just jam packed with, um, fantastic information.

So, all right, so Mary, what would you say, what's your main or

preferred intermittent fasting method or schedule that works for you?

Whether that's like 16 8 or do you mostly do OMAD or what works good for you, Mary?

I, I think I kind of switched between, um, 19 5 or OMAD.

Um, my, like my, my golden eating window is 3 p.

m.

to 8 p.

m.

Ooh,

I, I do that.

Golden

Yeah,

3 p.

that's,

p.

yeah, that's just like my, my perfect cause I, I really do

not like to eat past eight.

Sometimes I'll have to tweak my window, maybe two to seven or one to six or, but

I, I really don't like to go past eight.

I definitely do on occasion.

Well, sure

but

and that's okay.

yeah,

of intermittent fasting is the flexibility and you can

Yeah, absolutely.

it to those hours where you need to.

And, um,

Yeah.

well, I think that that sounds, uh, very doable.

And I know for me, that's the schedule that I actually use.

The 19 5 is the method that I use now

Oh, great.

So pretty much every day of the week, except for Sundays, I, um, do pretty

much 19 5, 20 and four, um, Sundays.

I do more of a two mad, more of a 16 8, but.

Okay.

to something you said, you kind of switch things up.

You kind of go back and forth

Yeah.

and 19 5 and whatever is kind of working for you.

And

Yeah.

a really great tip, too, because if you're, you get stuck in the same fasting

hours and the same routine and schedule, then it's just like anything else.

Your body gets used to it.

And

Yeah.

your, you know, metabolism kind of gets stuck again.

So that's a great way to kind of keep things moving in the right direction.

So,

Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely.

so, and I know we have actually talked about this in the, my, my Facebook

group, it's kind of out there right now.

Kind of the buzz because of the life app being no more.

We're all upset

Oh, yeah.

loved

in peace.

Yeah, so, uh, when I was talking to your mom, she said you guys, um, had

tried this Fasting Queens because it had to do with, um, kind of

women's health and things like that.

But she did send me a message and said you didn't, you weren't super crazy

Yeah.

right?

I don't

Yeah.

your

Yeah.

I mean, I, I, no, no, you're good.

Um, I was intrigued by it because, you know, it would track your cycle as well.

And I think, you know, the two kind of coincide sometimes,

um, fasting and your cycle.

Yeah.

Um, but I don't know.

It didn't have, you know, that, that satisfying button of start fast,

end fast and, you know, You know,

and

yeah, it was, it was more like a, like a calendar kind of thing.

So it would say, Oh, your fast has started or your fast has ended more

just like telling you what's happening instead of you controlling the app.

Um,

agree.

yeah,

too.

yeah, but I've,

another guest and she said to try out, uh, Sunrise, which I haven't checked out yet.

I know that Zero is a pretty good app too, and so

Yeah.

That's what I'm using right now.

Besides the fasting app, how do you, um, are there any other methods

that you use to kind of track your, your eating and fasting windows?

Um, I think ultimately I just, I really stick with that, that three to eight.

Um, I, because I do like the same specific hours every day.

Um, It's,

you can

yeah.

you

Right.

Yeah.

We do better with

You need some tools.

We need tools,

Yeah.

I mean, fasting does help with the brain health, but still

Right.

struggling a little more.

So you're

Yeah.

sure you're good with that.

So,

Yeah.

Yes.

Sometimes I'm inconsistent with it, but you know, other, other days I'll just be,

oh, mad, like, depending on how work goes.

And a lot of the time I, I struggle to just follow the clock.

Um, so I'll just, yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Awesome.

So, Mary, what would you say, uh, is your biggest challenge

with intermittent fasting?

Uh, my family

around other people who don't fast, probably, um, cause my, my family,

we're, we're big late night snackers, we love watching movies at night, and,

you know, it's, it's like a law in our house that all, all movies have

to have snacks, you know, we need the popcorn and the candy and all that,

um, and that typically happens, you know, After eight or way after eight.

So, you know, my window is closed and there's that little,

part of it, and

yeah,

you

yeah,

I'm sure that's got to be much more difficult than,

yeah.

old like me who goes to bed, you know, shortly after eight

You're not that old, Jay.

well, thanks.

But

don't look a day over 25.

Yeah, and

Yeah,

I think, I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but, I, I know that even at my age,

I had difficulty with just basically people with generally the general

understanding of fasting and a lot

yeah,

They just don't get it and they're maybe a little judgy.

Um, and so, especially at your age, I'm sure there are a lot

of people your age who probably maybe have never even heard of it.

So they're kind of

right.

Yeah,

You know?

yeah,

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I, I'm

yeah.

I mean, no, you're, you're kind of hitting the nail on the head.

Cause I, I've definitely gotten, you know, I, I get , two reactions from it.

Normally it's either.

Oh, like, you should just break your fast now so we can go get

ice cream together or something.

That's what I hear from my friends, um, or sometimes I'll also hear, Oh, like,

no, you're, you're starving yourself.

One meal a day, or you're, you're refusing to eat until this specific time.

Like, you have an eating disorder.

You, like, you shouldn't be doing this.

It's not healthy.

And I think that's just, you know, the lack of understanding of what fasting is.

Cause I understand.

What it looks like on the outside, it can look like over restricting,

but yeah, so I do, I do hear that sometimes and I, I explain, I, yeah,

Well, and that's the thing.

Yeah, you are going to get that.

I, I know I've talked about this a lot, but I've struggled with that a lot.

And, but

yeah,

I've gotten to a really healthy place where I've realized that

I don't talk about it now.

Unless someone asks me, and also, um, I just kind of let my

lifestyle do the talking for me.

And you would be

oh yeah,

so many people at the beginning who were so judgmental and had snarky

comments, uh, they, not all of them.

Some of them are still snarky

oh man,

many, that's okay though.

You know what?

Many of them have changed and they have even come to me and said, okay,

I think I'm ready for you to tell me a little bit more about the cinnamon

ooh,

thing.

okay,

I don't push it, you know, I don't push it on them.

And, um, if they're ready, then I'm happy to talk to them about it.

yeah, absolutely,

So when, Mary, do you clean fast?

Meaning, um, I think you probably know because I know you do a lot of,

you listen to the Delay Don't Deny,

I do, yeah,

with Jen Stevens and Fast Piece Repeat.

mm hmm,

and so, um, During your fasting time, your fasting window, you sticking

to black coffee, plain water,

yes,

plain sparkling mineral water, and,

mm hmm,

herbal tea?

yes, yeah, absolutely.

what, what drinks your fasting hours do you prefer?

Um, I really like to stick to water.

Um, I used to be big on, you know, Coke and Pepsi and I, I loved my pop so much.

But, um, to me now it doesn't really feel worth it to drink my calories,

especially like I used to love coffees from Starbucks and stuff and, but those

are really just milkshakes at this point.

So

are.

Yeah,

yeah, I, I definitely prefer to just, just eat my calories and

So

yeah, it also, yeah.

ice water, not sparkling mineral water, just, uh, regular water?

Yeah, yeah.

I've never been a big fan of sparkling water.

It's not, not for me.

Yeah.

Okay.

How about, um, electrolyte supplements or salt or

Yes.

Okay, which What What do you

Um, have you heard of Element?

Yes, that's the one I

Yes.

sure.

Yeah.

perfect.

Yeah, so I use the, uh, the unflavored, unfiltered one during my fast.

I love that one.

I

Yeah.

mix mine, I, I prefer mine with the plain sparkling mineral water.

I don't know, it gives

Mm hmm.

a fun,

Okay, yeah.

don't, it doesn't give it a flavor, but it does fun stuff in my mouth,

A little something, yeah.

Yeah.

like I'm having something cool and I do like putting the little packet in there

and seeing all the bubble, I don't know,

Oh,

it's the

no, I get it.

Mary, it's the little

Yeah,

But, um.

so how often do you use the element?

Um, I want to say right now, probably once a week, I would like to take it every day.

Um, but I just, I forget.

Yeah.

It's

Yeah.

And yes, it is pricey.

Okay.

Yeah.

And it's mostly just forgetting about it.

Yeah, so I, I know when I was losing the weight, um, I was,

uh, using it two to three, maybe, if I could, four times a week.

And it really, it really does help.

It, it

Yeah.

pickup, that energy boost that you need.

I, um, only use it once, about once a week now because I generally try to

do an extended, like, 36 hour fast.

I

Okay.

uh, starting Sunday All day of eating because I go to my parents

house on Sunday, and then I have, I do like two med that day.

So I have like

Okay.

of eating and I kind of, I really indulge that day too.

Um,

Yeah.

start my extended fast around seven o'clock on Sunday and then I usually do

like a, like What Jim Stevens calls it or whoever calls it the meal is Monday.

Cause I

Oh yeah.

just boring anyways for around my house.

So, uh, my

Yeah.

he has to do his own thing, eat his scrambled eggs or

whatever he's going to make.

I'm not cooking on Monday.

And then I usually about when I'm about hour 22 or 24 into that extended fast.

That's when I take that element electrolyte supplement

with the sparkling water.

And.

It's perfect because it does.

It gives me that pick me up, that boost that I need to last until,

um, midday on Tuesday when I go

Yeah.

my fast.

So,

Yeah.

And it's just so hydrating too.

It's great.

Yeah.

is, and you really do need it because especially, you know, if you're somebody

who's, you know, struggling with, you know, fatigue and muscle cramping

and, um, maybe like a little bit of dizziness, really helps to knock it out.

And it's, it's

Yeah.

kind of train your body when you're first starting to get into kind of

build up that fasting muscle too.

What's the

absolutely.

the longest fast you've ever done, Mary, do you know?

Ooh.

Um, I, I don't know.

I haven't tracked specifically.

I think I have accidentally done probably like a 36, 40 hour pass.

you just we

sometimes it just happens that way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like I, I think that that day I just, I was at work and I, maybe I didn't have

time for a lunch break or something.

And it just, it just didn't happen.

Cause sometimes at work, what I end up doing is OMAD because, you

hmm.

You know, let's say I work 10 to 8 or 9 and I get one break, it'll

typically be at around like 6 or 7 p.

m.

and I'll just eat all the food that I packed and then windows

closed after that, you know.

So have you have you found?

I know I did that if you're busy at work or whatever, it's

just so much easier to fast.

Yes.

Oh my gosh.

It's, it's a lifesaver.

And you just, you don't have to think about it.

You just, you throw everything you're going to eat for the day in your lunchbox,

Yeah.

eat it all when you can, and then you're done thinking about food.

and how do you feel like when you're in that fasted state, Mary,

like, do you have lots of energy?

I know I did when I

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

working at, as a teacher, as you know, in a fasted state, it was

like, I just had so much energy.

I was, I didn't know what to do, but

Yeah.

It's.

a great feeling.

Yeah, absolutely.

I, I love the energy that comes from it.

Um, and I've, it's helped me to like, I don't know, be very heightened on

like feeling your body kind of shut down after eating, you know, how like

all your energy goes towards digesting.

So you just feel that, that slump after eating a good meal.

I

I, yeah, I, I didn't realize, you know, that I was feeling that all day

long back when I would be consistently eating, my body was constantly working to

digest and just pulling from my energy.

And I didn't even know until I finally let my pancreas rest and just, you know,

you have, when you have that much energy, it just makes Every other part

of , your life just perk up and you

absolutely.

be a better, friend.

You can be a better, um, worker and, you know, employee,

whatever they may, that may be.

And you

Yeah,

feel so much better about yourself.

Um,

absolutely.

so so you said you're eating windows or are about between like three and eight So

what what kind of foods like and drinks like what what do you enjoy eating?

What

Okay.

good?

During

Yeah.

windows Okay

thing where you, you know, you delay, don't deny.

So in my head, in my head I was like, Oh, so I can eat anything, anything

as long as it's in this eating window.

So I started with One meal a day back in September.

And what I did was, you know, I would, I would go to Culver's and maybe get,

you know, a bunch of yummy food from there, just really crappy food too.

And I would eat it all in my one sitting and call that my one meal a day.

And then that would be it.

And I did that for a couple of weeks and obviously it yielded nothing because

I was eating like garbage and what you eat is obviously important still.

Um, so I figured that out pretty quickly.

Um, I started doing research into the gut microbiome and how important

variety is in your food and, you know, getting different food groups.

So I started prioritizing that better over the first few months.

Um, and now it's like, it's so important to me.

Um, I, I try to keep carbs low.

Um, I love high protein and I really try to focus on getting

vegetable variety, like just eating as many different vegetables as

I can, um, and high volume of it.

Cause There was a book that I started, I, I'm struggling to remember what it

was called, um, but it, it was just

microphone.

talking about the microbiome and feeding the right kind of bacteria

and not feeding the wrong kind.

Um, so yeah, yeah.

So I, I constantly just think about it as, you know, I need to be, be feeding my,

my little gut microbiome and, you know, make sure it can do what it needs to do.

Well, you have educated yourself beyond many, many 20 year olds, I'm sure.

Um, and I love that you mentioned the variety of foods because that is, I used

to tell when I taught, um, elementary P.

E.

I used to tell the kids that they need to eat the rainbow, you know,

Yeah.

so many colorful fruits and vegetables on their plate.

And you're right.

That is so cool to be able to, um, know that just by eating a variety

of foods, you are feeding, you know, the good bacteria in your

Yeah.

yeah, you got to switch it up.

You're right.

If you're eating the same stuff, um, it is going to become a problem.

So,

Yeah.

yeah, fantastic.

So what do you.

Do you attention much to the first thing that you eat?

Like, what makes your stomach feel good?

Um, cause I know when I, when I first started, I had to do a lot

of trial and error with that.

Because there were some foods that were make, giving me stomach cramps.

There were some foods that I was running to the bathroom, I mean.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

to find the foods that, um, make your stomach feel good.

So do you have certain foods that make your stomach feel good

when you break your fast, Mary?

So I think I definitely I don't like to start with anything super sweet.

Good.

like to start with.

start

Yeah, I don't know,

don't

something basic, typically a protein or some kind of veggie.

I

kind of like to do a small meal

or

I start, or a snack of some kind.

grapes.

and yeah, thank you.

And then a few hours into the eating window, I'll eat.

Have a larger meal.

Um, and then I, I really love having sweets.

Um, I have a big sweet tooth, but I try to be smart with it.

So maybe I'll have some grapes before I close my window, or I love

just like a tablespoon or two of.

Just whipped cream because, you know, like the calories are so low or raspberries and

on my fruit and yogurt every night.

So

right.

It's so it's so good.

It's so good

cream, there's no sense in even having it.

So,

Yeah, so so I'll typically close my my window with something sweet Which I've

heard people have an issue with like it's like they have a harder fast the

next morning I personally have not had an issue with that But I'm also not, like,

So

eating Ho Hos before bed.

when you say something sweet, just grapes or what, what do you, what are you

Yeah, so, so it would be something like grapes or raspberries with

whipped cream on top, or um, But there's, there's this dark chocolate

brand, have you ever heard of HU?

The H U bars?

Okay.

know,

It's, it's like, it's really, um, simple ingredient dark chocolate.

Okay.

actual cacao beans and just, you know, Coconut sugar, and I

think that's all that's in it.

Yeah.

so it, yeah, so I, you know, if I do indulge in like chocolate

or something like that, I want it to be something that's not

protein in it, too?

Is it like a protein bar, or?

no, no, it's just like, yeah, it's just chocolate, like sea salt, and

yeah, so just basic ingredients.

Cause I, you know,

it doesn't upset your stomach and you feel good, Then go for it

Yeah,

is it's all about finding out what works best with your body and and

everybody is different there So

Yeah, because I don't want to be in a diet mentality because ultimately I'd

like to keep fasting up for the rest of my life because I'm really loving it.

So I want to make sure that I don't feel like I'm trapped and I can't enjoy food.

do you count calories

Um, I do, but not, um, But I'm not very, yeah, exactly.

So I'm not like tracking every individual thing into an app or anything.

I just, I'm kind of conscious of it.

Like how many calories are in this, this chicken breast or like this,

Yes

of chips or something like that.

I'll just, I'll kind of keep it in my mind so that I know I'm

Yes.

it's super easy to not be in a deficit if you don't think about it, at least

That's

I've yeah.

I've noticed that.

you're holding yourself accountable, but at the same time, you're not being so

strict, uh, about it that you're, you

Right.

Like measuring out my olive oil and all that.

back into that very.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

that's when, you know, that whole diet mindset starts to set in and you're right.

Right.

for years, I struggled with that.

And that's why I love.

you know, not having to worry, like I said, with about that

with intermittent fasting.

But

Mm hmm.

you, do you exercise?

Um, how do you like to move around and stay active?

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Um, so I love Pilates.

Pilates is my, my, my jam.

Yes.

Um,

to be flexible for that.

I am not.

yeah, I mean, I, I, I don't do the, the crazy Pilates routines.

Um, I, I do just simple 20, 30 minute videos.

Um, I started that actually in April because I, I saw some ad

online about, you know, Oh, start this 28 day challenge Pilates.

So I, you know, I did it, um, because I wasn't really prioritizing moving.

I was just doing the fasting and I was like, I want to speed up this

weight loss process a little bit.

Sure.

So, so, um, I started that and after the 28 days.

I just, the energy that I had and I, the strength that I felt, I loved it.

So I've just been doing it ever since.

Um,

I

yeah, I, I try to do it every day.

It helps you kind of keep moving Along, you know in a with that

positive mindset keeps you motivated to keep going on the intermittent

Yeah.

think too.

So do you?

when you exercise or when you do your Pilates is it while you're

in that fasted state or is it after you eat or When do you

So

yeah

Pilates, um, typically when I started, I would do it after

closing my eating window.

So I would do it around 9 PM, something like that.

Um, but as, as time has gone on, I think in the past month or two, I've

gotten more into the habit of doing it.

In my fasted state, um, because I'm not, you know, worried about

digesting and stuff like that.

Um, but I've also taken up running, um, which that I

like to do in my fasted state.

Me too.

sometimes, yeah, so sometimes pilates will be pushed to after, because I

would much rather do pilates with food in my stomach than try running.

Yeah.

Oh yeah,

Yeah.

yeah, but yeah.

Yeah.

I, I like to run in the fastest state too.

Um,

Yeah.

I'm gonna work on that Pilates thing.

I

Yeah.

my, I always say this, but my husband teases me because I, I am seriously

the least flexible person on the

Oh yeah.

I don't know what it is.

Like,

Yeah.

I mean, some people aren't, you know.

I mean, I can, I can do squats.

And I, I was the gym teacher, but

Right.

would come to something like the yoga unit, I'd be like, Oh boy, we're going to

have to have so and so teach this unit.

Cause my

Yeah, it's okay.

I'm nowhere near the splits or anything like that, so it is okay.

We all have our, our things, so,

and I'm sure you're a better runner than I am, you know, because I've

only been doing it for a couple months now, but I love it since starting.

Oh my gosh, it's so fun.

did you know I ran the Boston Marathon in 2011?

I did.

my gosh, that's amazing.

Yeah.

at the very top of my bucket list thing.

I actually qualified in 2009 and then tried to get in, uh, the next

year and it was, um, it filled up in, like, six hours or something.

And so

Oh, that's amazing.

over and then I, it was a wonderful experience.

Um, something I'll never, ever forget.

So

Oh man, that's, that's great.

Running is kind of, I, I still run now, but now it's, I don't run for time

and, and I just run to, to basically clear out my head and that's my

Yeah.

And I find that that, that the running, like I said, it's just really

helped me, um, kind of stress and prioritize myself, you know, cause

sometimes you just, you know, you forget to, uh, Take care of yourself.

And so if you have at

yeah,

like that that you can, you know, fall back on and

yeah.

Absolutely.

that really helps but

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I'm glad to hear that.

Oh, sorry.

Sorry.

I'm glad to hear that.

Uh, you, you ran the marathon cause I, I might pick your brain about that later on.

Cause I, I actually really want to do a marathon.

That's what got me into, yeah.

That's what got me started on the running.

I actually, I followed, people always are amazed when I tell them this,

that I actually did a run walk method.

And I did that to qualify for the marathon.

So I

wow.

Okay.

I ran 4 minutes and walked 1 minute.

Intervals and that is how I train.

So, um,

Okay.

Yeah,

I check that off, but I can

right.

Yeah.

That's great

Well, thank you.

Yeah.

glad to hear you picked up running.

Yeah.

Yeah.

love it.

But All right, miss mary.

So we're almost ready to wrap things up.

Um,

Okay.

Okay.

today?

Put you

That's a good, that's a good question.

you've already given

I'll, I'll, Uh, Uh, well thank you, Jen, thank you.

It's really all, it's all thanks to my mom and using, you know, Jen and

Sherry and Fast Feast Repeat, all that.

They are my resources.

Yeah.

before you give us your, your, uh, gem, I want to

Mm hmm.

it, you were on, what podcast were you also on?

Oh, yes, so I was on Fast Feast Repeat, um, briefly.

I wasn't like, It wasn't an interview or anything.

It was just my question got on there.

oh,

Um, yeah.

Yeah.

So that, that's one of the episodes of faster feet.

Yeah.

I was so excited.

I was just walking around MSU when I heard the episode and I heard

Mary from Fenton has a question.

And I was like, I was so excited.

I was, I was geeking out.

Yeah.

what was your question on there?

Um, it was back when I was doing the, the one meal a day with, you

know, the Culver's and everything.

And I was saying, Hey, is it okay if I, Do 23 one

oh.

and they were like no

Well,

I mean especially with what I was eating Absolutely,

and really push through my weight loss journey and her, um, Jen's,

uh, success stories, podcasts, and all of those, they're, they're

just so inspiring and motivational.

So.

So, um,

yeah

I'm done talking your turn.

Shiny,

Alright, time for my gem.

Okay, um, well, I think ultimately, patience is so important.

Um, I think a lot of people shy away from fasting because it's not like a crash

diet, where you're gonna lose 40 pounds in a month, um, like it's advertised.

Um, but it's, it's consistent and it's healthy and I think you,

you know, you should start it.

I think today should be your day one.

Oh,

though it might, yeah, even though it might take, even though it might

take a year for you to lose all that weight, a year from now is

still going to be a year from now.

Time's not going to stop.

The only thing that's going to be different a year from now is Where

you're at, like, are you a year into fasting or are you a year into doing

the same thing you were doing before?

Like time is still going to pass.

It's just ultimately who you are is that's going to be up to you

and the decisions that you make.

And I think it is, it is a long game fasting, but it's so worth it.

And you, you start to feel good so quickly and she just like changes

keep happening and I'm so excited for the rest of the journey, you

know, it's, it's It's just great.

So I think ultimately patience and just being okay with the the slow roll.

That's my gem.

think that's a very shiny one.

Thank you.

that's the corny teacher commenting me.

Oh, that is okay.

That's okay.

are so right.

And so, so many of us want that instant gratification.

And if it doesn't happen overnight, we get frustrated.

But just knowing that, you know, it, this is so different than a traditional diet.

Um, it isn't.

you know, something where you say, Oh, Hey, I did such and

such a diet and I lost 30 pounds.

Well, the fact of the matter is you, you may have, but you know,

most of us gain all of that or more back most of the time, because it's

Yeah.

a, thing to do at the moment.

Whereas with fasting, you know, even when people say to me, Oh, Jen, I messed up.

Well, do you think?

I'm, I mess up all the time.

Like, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I ate all of that.

But you can't take that as a failure.

You just, you just get back on the horse and you keep

Yeah.

when, like you said, you know from the beginning that you're committed and that

it's a long game, it's a lifestyle, then it is really, um, it's, it's attainable,

it's achievable, it's sustainable, and, um, it's so, like you said, it's

so freeing and it's so rewarding, and you just, just something that you

can, like I said, give yourself grace and, and just keep moving forward.

Yeah, absolutely.

I love it.

It's, I'm so, so grateful that I found it so young and really,

that's all thanks to my mom.

yes.

would have found it without her.

Yeah.

incredible.

She's, she's been a great, both of you have been, um, awesome

members in the Facebook group and I can't thank you enough.

So, um,

No, we love you, Jen.

oh, I love you too.

Well, I just have to really thank you for chatting with me today and for sharing.

So much awesome information and so many great tips with our listeners.

And you seriously, you're like an IF superstar.

And I, I,

thank you.

Thank you.

are so

Thank you.

Oh, I'm

know, interview guest we've had.

So I love

my goodness.

Me

I have had so much fun hanging out with you today.

Um, good

too.

your, with your intermittent fasting journey, but also with your internship

and all that you decide to do so,

Yeah, thank you so much.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

God bless you too, Jen.

You're amazing.

This was great.

Thank you.

have a great day.

Hey, everybody.

I have an awesome update about Mary.

I was able to connect with Mary on Thanksgiving day, 2024.

And on that day, she had officially hit the 100 pound mark.

So in just 14 months, Mary lost a hundred pounds and an incredible 64

inches with intermittent fasting.

We are so proud of you, Mary.

If you want to check out her super motivating and inspiring before

and after pics, Be sure to check out my blog post, how Mary lost a

hundred pounds with intermittent fasting and the show notes below.

And again, if you have an intermittent fasting success story that you'd

like to share, I'd love to have you as a guest on this podcast in 2025.

Just send me a quick email at so what if with Jen at gmail.

com and we'll go from there.

Have a super spectacular day, my fasting friends.

Hey, thank you so much for choosing to spend part of your day listening

to this episode of the intermittent fasting gems with Jen podcast.

If you think these tips could help a friend or a family member, please

consider sharing this episode with them.

And if you really enjoyed the show, taking a minute or two to leave a positive review

Would be so appreciated tune in for new 15 to 25 minute episodes released on

the 10th, 20th, and 30th of each month episodes will feature solo shows filled

with IF hacks that have worked for me, as well as episodes where I get to chat with.

fun folks of all ages who've experienced incredible success

with intermittent fasting.

If you have questions or want more unique intermittent fasting health

and weight loss tips, tricks, and recipes, please visit my website

and blog at sowhatifwithjen.

com.

Finally, we'd love to welcome you into our free intermittent fasting program.

Fasting Facebook support group.

So what if with Jen?

Find all of these links in the show notes below.

And as always, I hope you spend your day loving without fear and

laughing until your cheeks hurt.