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've 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.

Hello, my super amazing, spectacular, magnificent Fabuloso fasting friends,

if you are new here, welcome to the show and welcome back and thank you so much.

If you've been a loyal listener.

Alright, today I'm gonna get really, really real with you and.

We're gonna talk about a very common thing that happens along

our intermittent fasting journeys.

I'm talking about falling off of the intermittent fasting wagon

because it's absolutely a thing.

And trust me, I've had my fair share of wagon falls over the last few

years since starting my IF journey.

So whether you've just returned from a tropical vacation or had a

cheat day that turned into a full weekend of indulging, or maybe just

an extra, crazy busy, hectic schedule that threw you off your fasting game.

It happens.

We all fall off the fasting wagon, sometimes get out of our regular fasting

routine, maybe gain some or a lot of the weight back for some reason or another.

It just happens.

Today I'm here to say to you, do not freak out because in this episode I'm

going to give you eight simple strategies to help you climb back onto the fasting

wagon fast and help you to get things rolling in the right direction again.

Intermittent fasting is awesome, but I get it.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows and IF can definitely present

challenges from time to time.

Life just gets in the way sometimes and sticking to your regular fasting

routine can get downright hard at times.

So let's jump in and talk about what you can do to give yourself a reset

and jump back on the wagon fast.

The very first thing that you should do is to take a deep breath and give yourself

some grace because nobody is perfect.

And occasional setbacks, including weight gain, are bound to happen along

your fasting weight loss journey.

Okay.

Giving yourself grace is a great first step that could make a huge

difference when it comes to getting back to your fasting lifestyle.

Forgiving yourself is super important because it allows you to acknowledge

setbacks without self-judgment or guilt.

Again, you need to recognize that setbacks are normal.

Acknowledge your feelings and remind yourself that it is totally okay.

I. To slip up sometimes.

Try to focus on progress and not perfection instead

of dwelling on the setback.

Focus on the progress that you've made so far and be sure this is super important.

Be sure to celebrate your successes and use them as motivation

to continue on your journey.

Self-compassion is so important, and you need that so that you can

release that negative energy and those negative emotions, and then

focus on moving forward positively.

So try to adopt a no biggie attitude.

Forgive yourself, forget the past, and simply recommit to your fasting goals.

The next strategy you can try and this one totally works, is

to complete an extended fast.

If you really wanna get that scale moving in the right direction again

and fast, this is the way to go.

More specifically, I'm talking about completing a prolonged or

an extended fast that is 10 to 12 hours longer than your longest.

Fast to date.

This has been my absolute go-to strategy after falling off of the intermittent

fasting wagon, an extended fast can help reset and reignite your metabolism

as well as your fasting routine.

Completing a 36 to 48 hour fast gives your body a chance to detoxify, improve insulin

sensitivity and jumpstart fat burning.

This strategy can most.

Definitely provide a fresh start and renewed motivation to stick to your

fasting schedule moving forward.

Be sure to stay tuned to my April bonus episode where I'll be giving tips and

tricks to help you to comfortably complete an extended fast with complete ease.

The next strategy to help you jump back on the fasting wagon is to

eat more protein and less carbs.

Increasing your protein intake and eating fewer refined carbs can really help ease

you back into your intermittent fasting routine by stabilizing blood sugar

levels and reducing cravings, it may also really help with sustained energy

levels during your fasting windows.

Protein-rich foods like grilled chicken, fish, or plant-based protein options

provide satiety, making you feel fuller for longer, which definitely makes it way

easier to stick to your fasting schedule.

Protein also helps to preserve muscle mass.

Which makes things easier in the fat loss department too.

When you focus on increasing protein and minimizing carbs during eating periods,

you're helping to maintain that metabolic flexibility, which is a key factor in

efficient fat burning during fasting.

And finally, reducing processed carbs, minimizes insulin spikes.

And this is important because it allows the body to transition more smoothly

between fasting and feasting states.

Moving on to strategy number four, throw out the ice cream.

Just do it.

Let it go and get back to squeaky clean eating and clean fasting.

And don't just ditch the ice cream.

Get rid of all the junk food, sugar and candy that's in your house.

I fall off the wagon every Halloween.

Yes, I absolutely do.

Which is why I no longer buy my Halloween candy until a day or two before Halloween.

I used to buy it a few weeks ahead of time and stick it in a closet.

Then I would creep in and snack on a few minutes or chocolate

bars every day until Halloween.

Not good now, honestly, I still fall off the wagon every Halloween, but it's

not nearly as bad because I buy my candy like one day before I do Halloween, and

then I allow myself Halloween night to drink a glass of wine, and I allow myself

to binge on as much candy as I want Halloween night, and then that's it.

I get rid of all of the leftover candy from Halloween night.

I give it away or throw it out, and then I get right back on

track the next day, November 1st.

If it's laying around, it's going to tempt you, so just throw it all out.

Throwing out all the junk food in your home can help reset your body

and mind after falling off the intermittent fasting diet wagon.

Removing tempting snacks and sugary foods from your environment reduces the

likelihood of succumbing to cravings and overeating tip number five.

Simple but very powerful.

Make water your new best friend.

Drinking more water than usual, will do a whole bunch of really cool things

to help you jump back on that wagon.

Water will flush out all those nasty toxins in your body pretty quickly.

Water will help promote satiety so that you feel full and you

can fast longer and easier.

And water helps reduce cravings and helps you to feel less tempted

to reach for those unhealthy junk foods and sugary treats.

Tip number six.

Ditch the restaurants and eat at home.

Stay home and avoid eating out at restaurants for at least three weeks.

Preparing and eating meals at home instead of dining out at restaurants is

key because it totally allows you to have better control over your food choices.

And.

Your portion sizes when you cook at home, you know what you're getting, and

you can be sure that your meals align with your intermittent fasting goals.

Avoiding hidden sugars and excessive calories often found in restaurant dishes.

This strategy helps promote healthy eating habits, for sure.

If you struggle with eating healthy at home or with what to make, I

have a few suggestions for you.

First, I wanna encourage you to try a meal delivery service

like Hello, fresh or Green Chef.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I swear.

Buy Green Chef delivery systems provide healthy food choices.

They're easy, affordable, and super delicious.

They help with portion control.

They save you time in a whole bunch more cool stuff.

If you want more info on how to incorporate a meal delivery service into

your intermittent fasting journey, you can check out my blog post on my website.

So what if with jen.com?

It's titled 10 Best Reasons to Use a Meal Delivery System to

Get Healthy and Lose Weight.

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

Another thing you can do is you can check out my free intermittent fasting recipes.

I have almost 150 free healthy, high protein, intermittent fasting

recipes right on my website.

Just head to the recipes tab at the top of my site and then to the

dropdown that says IF Recipes Home.

I'll leave that link for you below too.

Strategy number seven is another big one, and that is to get back to

your exercise routine right away.

If you've fallen off the fasting wagon, getting right back to your

exercise routine is crucial, and that is because exercise releases

endorphins, which promotes a positive mindset and renewed motivation to stick

to your intermittent fasting goals.

And if you really want to effectively get back on the

wagon, fast hit or high intensity interval training is the way to go.

A couple days a week, hIIT exercise routines really rev up your metabolism

and help burn through your excess glucose.

The fastest HIIT workouts really do get the job done.

They are time efficient and effective, making them ideal for boosting fat loss

and improving overall fitness levels.

A lot of times I'll just jump on YouTube and type in 15 minute.

Hit workout or quick hit workout and you can find some really great ones for free.

Like I said, just right there on YouTube.

And finally, strategy number eight, get a plan and stick to it.

I love the quote by Benjamin Franklin, if you fail to plan,

you are planning to fail.

You most definitely need a game plan, a fairly regular weekly fasting

schedule that you can stick to.

Now, that's not to say that it should be the same fasting schedule every day

of the week because it is a good idea to mix things up, but just have a plan.

For example, my regular or my jump back into my routine regular fasting schedule.

It goes pretty much like this.

M mad Are one meal a day or basically a 20 and four routine?

I do on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Of just about every week.

Then on Sunday I enjoy a much longer eating window and follow a 16 eight

or a two mad schedule that day, stopping my eating around seven or

8:00 PM on Sunday night, and then I go right into my weekly 36 to 42 hour

extended fast until Tuesday afternoon.

And this.

Plan totally works for me.

You just need to find a plan that works for you and again, stick to it.

Having a weekly fasting and eating plan provides structure and accountability.

It really helps you stay committed to your intermittent fasting goals after a

setback, and will help you to feel like you've regained control over your eating

habits and overall if f lifestyle, A plan reduces the likelihood of making impulsive

and not so healthy eating decisions too.

So again, just stick to your plan.

Create that consistency that will reinforce healthy habits.

You'll be empowered and motivated to bounce back and regain momentum quickly

after you've fallen off the fasting wagon.

And if you want even more intermittent fasting support, be sure to join our

free intermittent fasting Facebook group.

So what if with Jen, where we have almost 3000 like-minded,

intermittent fasting friends who are kind, they're loving and they are

extremely supportive of one another.

Especially when we fall off the wagon and run into other

challenges along our IF journey.

So my fabulous fasting friends, if you've fallen off the fasting wagon

and are struggling to get back into your intermittent fasting weight

loss game, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, put on a nice big smile.

And number one, give yourself some grace.

Number two, try and extended it fast.

Three, eat more protein and less refined carbs.

Four, throw out all the junk food in your house.

Five, make water your new best friend.

Number six, eat at home and ditch the restaurants for at least three weeks.

Number seven, get right back into exercise.

And if you can do some HIIT workouts, that's even better.

And finally, number eight, make a weekly fasting plan that works for you.

And be sure to stick to it.

Thanks for listening today.

And remember, intermittent fasting isn't about dieting.

It's a flexible lifestyle, so don't spend your day counting calories, spend

it counting your blessings instead.

I hope to connect with you again soon.

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

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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 F 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.

So what if with jen.com?

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

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.