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.

Several hours of fasting, your gut is pretty darn sensitive.

So, when you decide to break your intermittent fast for the day, it's really

important to choose your fast breaking foods wisely because your gut absolutely

needs foods that are easy to digest.

In this episode, I'm going to give you 8 tips Awesome and super simple,

easy to grab food options for breaking your daily intermittent fast safely.

Helping you find foods that work for you so you can feel your absolute best

along your intermittent fasting journey.

So when you're first starting out with intermittent fasting, especially

those first few weeks or months when your body hasn't quite become fat

adapted yet, it can feel like you are painfully staring at the clock

until it's finally time to indulge.

And then the second you hit stop on your fasting app and give yourself

permission to eat, you shovel in every morsel of food that's in sight.

And unfortunately, I know all about this because that is exactly what I did

when I first started my intermittent fasting weight loss journey back in 2021.

And Oh, literally, let me just say it was not good.

I got all the things, gas, bloating, explosive diarrhea.

I know it's super gross, but it's true.

And I even got some pretty painful stomach cramping.

It was just, it was super uncomfortable.

However, Even though it took a lot of research, a bit of time, and a

decent amount of trial and error, I eventually figured things out and

found some truly awesome and soothing ways to break my fast every day.

And now that I've been fasting for three and a half, almost four years,

I finally feel extremely confident about the foods I choose to break

my fast with each and every day.

So today I want to give you some safe options from the start and hopefully

save you from going through the same tummy troubles that I went through.

All right, let's do this.

Number one on my list is apple cider vinegar, and it is number one

on my list for very good reason.

Apple cider vinegar is the bomb, and it is by far my number one go to

for breaking my intermittent fast.

Let me tell you why I love this stuff so, so much.

So, Since starting my IF weight loss journey, I can probably count on one

hand the number of days that I have not broken my fast with apple cider vinegar.

I have been and still do break my fast with ACV pretty much every single day.

My husband uses it almost daily too.

So needless to say in our house, we go through a bottle of apple cider

vinegar just about as often as we go through a tube of toothpaste.

It's part of my routine.

I love it and it totally works for me.

There are seriously so many amazing potential benefits to

drinking apple cider vinegar.

Some of which include helping to stimulate fat burning and aid with fat loss.

ACV has been shown to improve gut health by killing harmful bacteria.

It's also been shown to help stabilize blood sugar levels

and lower insulin levels.

It can help improve digestion.

And it's really awesome for helping you feel full for longer.

I could actually go on and on about the benefits, but I'm not going to.

So since ACV does have like three calories per tablespoon, I think, um, I do believe.

in my mind that I'm technically breaking my fast once I take that very first sip.

Something really important that I do want to mention is that ACV should

always be diluted before drinking it.

Now, the question of whether apple cider vinegar aids with weight loss or not

has been a controversial and very much debated topic for a very long time.

And again, I am a teacher.

Not a doctor, but I do know that for me, breaking my fast every day with ACV

has absolutely been a game changer for myself personally, and I know that it's

been a game changer for many people in my intermittent fasting Facebook group.

Now, is it a get skinny quick drink?

Absolutely not.

You can't drink this every day and choose not to fast or not do anything

else that's healthy and expect the weight just to melt off you.

That's just not going to happen.

But I found that adding it into my fasting routine by taking one to two

tablespoons of Bragg apple cider vinegar mixed into my homemade weight loss

cocktail produced Incredible results.

I tracked my weight loss every day.

And I know that once I added this drink into my daily routine, my

weight loss results, and now my weight maintenance results, they started

to get real exciting really fast.

So I have a blog post on my website.

So what if with Jen.

com.

It gives the exact ACV drink recipe that I have been using,

um, to get such great results.

It's super simple.

I mix in four spices, some organic lemon juice, some

sparkling water, and that's it.

Also, in the blog post, I lay out my exact daily ACV fast breaking drink routine.

I'll leave the link to that blog post in the show notes below

if you want to check it out.

One to two tablespoons ACV to break your fast with is awesome.

But before we move on to number two on the list, please note that it's really, really

important to use brag with the mother.

It says it right on the bottle, apple cider vinegar.

There are cheaper knockoff versions out there, but I truly believe

that they will not be as effective.

And it's really not that expensive.

You can buy Bragg ACV from most grocery stores and it usually costs between 5

and 8 for a, a big 32 ounce bottle of it.

And you can also easily get it from Amazon too.

So, all right.

One last thing on that.

I know I already mentioned this, but it's just that important.

You need to make sure that you dilute the one to two tablespoons of ACV.

It's super duper important.

Okay.

Let's move on to number two on the list.

And that is.

Another good one, bone broth.

Bone broth is such a safe and comforting way to break your intermittent fast.

Why?

Well, bone broth is very easy to digest.

It's filling and it's pretty darn tasty too.

It's also packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and electrolytes.

When we fast, our gut lining can become slightly disturbed, and bone broth

does an amazing job of repairing, protecting, and helping our gut to

function optimally after a fast.

And finally, bone broth is loaded with muscle building protein and

collagen, which is healthy for our bones and teeth, and helps to give

our skin a youthful glow, too.

Studies have also shown that bone broth helps boost our immunity

against common illnesses, enhances digestion, and strengthens our

bones, joints, and ligaments.

I think that choosing to break your fast with bone broth is a clear winner.

I have the best homemade rotisserie chicken crockpot bone broth

recipe that I love to make up.

I'll leave the recipe for this awesome homemade bone broth

recipe in the show notes in case you want to check it out too.

Safe, fast breaking food number three is an avocado.

Yum.

Breaking your fast with an avocado is an absolute rock solid choice.

And this is because avocados are packed with healthy fats that will

keep you feeling full and energized.

Avocados are gentle on your stomach and And are also full of really

awesome antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins, including vitamin

K, vitamin B6, vitamin E, vitamin C, copper, potassium, and folate.

So lots of amazing stuff

. Number four on the list, hard boiled eggs.

I love eating one of these after I finished drinking my

ACV drink and I'm making dinner.

Eggs are a really easy way to get some decent protein in too

with just a small amount of food.

This is ideal and makes for the perfect snack to ease into your eating window.

Eggs are also low in calories and easy to digest and with them being protein

rich, they can be helpful when it comes to preventing muscle loss, which is

especially important when you're fasting.

All right, moving on to number five.

A definite fast breaking fan favorite?

Chicken.

Since chicken can easily be digested, it is an excellent food to break your

fast with, and chicken is another very popular source of protein, which

helps with the muscle issue, too.

And chicken is great because it provides a bunch of healthy vitamins and

minerals, including vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, magnesium, and selenium.

So when I cook dinner, I am all about saving time.

So I often grab a rotisserie chicken from our little corner

grocery store to throw into the chicken dishes that I like to make.

And since I already have it there on the counter, love to grab and eat a few

pieces of it when I'm breaking my fast.

Um, honestly, I usually have to buy two rotisserie chickens, um, in

order to have enough because it's my dog's favorite food of all time.

So I have to have enough for him and me.

And of course, um, for the actual meal that I'm making with it.

Anyways, number six on the list is another one of my absolute

personal favorites, fermented foods.

Fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, and kimchi are known to

support gut health and help to strengthen your gut microbiome.

After fasting for several hours, our digestive tract is stripped of

enzymes, as well as some good bacteria.

So breaking your fast with fermented foods helps add back in some of

those enzymes and good bacteria.

And fermented foods may help to reduce diarrhea and possibly

prevent constipation too.

These foods are also very rich in vitamin C and may also

help to reduce inflammation.

I have a recipe that I have been making for a few years now for seriously

the best homemade dill pickles.

I like making my own because store bought pickles are often loaded with extra added

ingredients like sugar and other junk.

Anyways, I have my pickle recipe posted all over my website.

I'll leave the link for the recipe for you in the show notes in

case you want to give it a try.

It's so easy to make and they are just so crunchy and delicious and

I'm rambling about pickles now.

Moving on to choice number seven.

nuts.

A handful or in my case, it's usually more like two or three

handfuls of high quality nuts are great for breaking your fast with.

They are rich in vitamins and they can really help to restore nutrient

balance in the body after a fast.

Love munching on a handful or two of nuts while I'm cooking and

preparing dinner for my family.

For me, they are so satisfying and make for the perfect healthy snack

before I enjoy my OMAD or one fairly large meal or dinner for the day.

Now, I get it.

Lots of people are freaked out by nuts, um, and even though I don't

count calories, I do realize that nuts are quite high in calories.

But I have found that if I stick to the best low carb, weight loss friendly

nuts, they actually can be a really satisfying, weight loss friendly food.

I mainly stick to these seven lower carb healthy nuts, which are almonds,

nuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pine nuts.

I have a whole blog post on these seven nuts if you want to check that out, too.

Oh, and if you have an Aldi grocery store near you, first

of all, you're super lucky.

Anyways, they have the best container of deluxe mixed nuts.

Um, the brand is Southern Grove.

These mixed nuts are my favorite because they contain most of

the seven nuts I just mentioned.

And also the price is usually right.

Cause my gosh, nuts like everything else nowadays can be so, so expensive.

Check it out.

Gosh, I super duper love Aldi, but I'll save that for another podcast episode.

All right.

We have made our way to our last safe fast breaking food Seaweed snacks.

I know it seems like a weird one, but they are actually really

Awesome for breaking your fast with and even though they sound gross.

They're actually really tasty They are also the perfect, crunchy, no

carb, extremely low calorie satisfying snack that helps replace your want

for crispy salty potato chips.

They really helped me because I was wanting to grab a bag of Doritos or

regular tortilla chips and salsa or cheese dip at the very beginning of my

journey when I was breaking my fast.

So they're really great for that.

Not to mention there are so many science backed benefits of seaweed.

Seaweed contains iodine and tyrosine, which supports thyroid function.

It's a great source of vitamins and minerals.

It contains a variety of protective antioxidants, supports gut health,

and a bunch more really cool stuff.

Anyways, you can buy these in convenient little snack packs.

I really like the GIMME.

It's G I M M E, the GIMME brand that you get on Amazon.

They have a four and six flavor variety pack that includes flavors

like teriyaki, wasabi, sea salt, toasted sesame, and avocado oil.

Super duper yummy.

Also, you can usually find them at the dollar store too.

Uh, I've tried them from there and they're actually pretty good.

All right, there you have it, eight simple, safe, and delicious ways to

break your intermittent fast each day.

The absolute best advice I can give you, speaking from personal

experience, is to make sure that you do not break your fast with a binge.

You will literally feel like dog crap if you do.

It's also a good idea to keep your fast breaking food choices simple.

Try and stick to just one food, whether it be an avocado or hard

boiled egg or a few pieces of chicken.

I, I wouldn't recommend Pulling out the container in the fridge with the leftover

casserole you had for dinner the night before and eating that as your fast

breaking food Eating just one food instead of a casserole or mixed dish can help

your digestive system adjust more easily After the fasting period It will also

help you to better understand how your body reacts to that specific food when you

use it to break your fast and when you're trying to figure out what works best

for you and your tummy and all of that.

It's also a good idea to keep it simple because sometimes when you

break your fast with a hodgepodge of carbs, proteins, and fats, you run

the risk of creating a sharp insulin spike right away, which is not good.

Finally, when you do eat your first meal of the day, take

your time and let it digest.

I try, although I'm still not awesome at it, to make sure to eat every meal

super slow and enjoy each and every bite.

I like to pretend that I'm eating at a gourmet restaurant even when

I'm in my own boring dining room.

It does work, though, and it allows me to practice mindful eating and truly savor

every moment that I spend eating delicious and healthy foods that fuel my body.

So, when choosing foods to break your intermittent fast safely with, remember

to keep it simple, take things slow, and choose healthy options, including

apple cider vinegar, bone broth, avocados, eggs, chicken, and meat.

fermented foods, nuts, and yummy seaweed snacks.

All right.

So that's almost a wrap on this episode, but since it is the last episode of

the month of August, I'd like to first give a shout out and a huge thank you

to our August Intermittent Fasting Success Story guest, Laura Wilson.

She gave us so many incredible gems during her podcast interview earlier this month.

And so I'd like to leave you with a recap of her podcast.

Best Gems.

Number one, Laura has found great success with the OMAD or one meal a

day intermittent fasting schedule.

Two, she has found that drinking green tea throughout her fasting window keeps

her energized and feeling fantastic.

Oh, and it does a great job at fighting keto or fasting bad breath too.

Number three, she noticed a significant difference in the amount of weight

she lost during the weeks that she was consistent with breaking her fast with

the ACV drink I mentioned earlier.

Four, she is a teacher but does not formally exercise and still experienced

fantastic IF results, including dropping three jean sizes and losing 21 pounds.

Proving that you can still get incredible results with intermittent fasting,

even if you're not able to exercise.

And finally, number five, Laura's biggest gem.

Laura believes that mindset and commitment are absolute musts when it comes to

success with intermittent fasting.

It's important to understand that intermittent fasting is not a diet

and instead it is a lifestyle.

So decide, commit.

and succeed.

You are not going to want to miss the next episode coming up on September 10th where

I get to chat with Mark from Olympia, Washington, a man in his mid 60s who

used intermittent fasting to finally wave goodbye to his very stubborn belly fat.

Have the best day ever.

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.