In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Mary Lou Reece, a highway contractor who lives in Houston, TX.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 72: Mary Lou Reece

Are you ready to be inspired? Tune in each week to hear real-world stories from successful intermittent fasters, including their best tips to help you find success. Intermittent Fasting Stories is hosted by Gin Stephens, author of the New York Times bestseller Fast Feast Repeat, as well as her other books:  Cleanish, Delay, Don't Deny, and Feast Without Fear.  Looking for a community of like-minded intermittent fasters?  Go to ginstephens.com/community for more information and to join. 

Nutrition

Health & Fitness

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Susanne Muller who lives in New Zealand.

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle. 

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like. 

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.  

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community. 

Susanne is a retired medical writer. Susanne shares her past struggles with weight gain following college, her numerous attempts at different diets leading to a cycle of loss and regain, and her discovery of IF which introduced a new chapter of health and wellness into her life.

Susanne describes her earlier days trying various diets like Weight Watchers and low-carb, each providing temporary success but ultimately failing due to constant cravings and an unenjoyable restriction. It wasn't until 2018, upon reading The Obesity Code by Jason Fung, that Susanne decided to try IF, quickly finding her stride with the Delay, Don't Deny approach and the clean fast.

Susanne has settled into a hybrid approach, with one down day each week. Her down day routine includes black coffee in the morning and water for the day, while her up days are more relaxed. She prefers the full fast down day option because she doesn’t want to count calories, something she admits she is triggered by.

Gin points out the essential nature of personalizing IF to suit individual preferences and lifestyles, affirming that there isn't one universally superior fasting method. We each get to tweak it till it’s easy!

Susanne has returned to her college clothing size and has managed to maintain her weight through a combination of discipline and a joyful approach to IF, highlighting the importance of enjoyment over willpower. 

Susanne‘s advice: Susanne emphasizes the power of mindset and self-talk in achieving success as an intermittent faster. She underscores how important it is to enjoy the process and make the lifestyle both sustainable and pleasurable. Her parting advice is for others to be patient, stay positive, and find joy in the journey, advocating for a gentle approach when sharing IF with the curious, reinforcing that it's all about helping those who are ready to embrace the change.

Get Gin’s books at: http://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html, including her latest bestseller 28-Day Fast Start Day-By-Day, the Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle so it Sticks, New York Times Bestseller, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Cleanish, available wherever you buy books! Delay, Don’t Deny is available on Amazon.  

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com 

Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

 

 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 404: Susanne Muller

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Liz Nelson from Costa Mesa, CA.

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle. 

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like. 

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.  

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community. 

Liz is a director of sales and marketing for a lifeplan retirement community. She opens up about her long-standing battle with her weight, including a history of trying a variety of diets. Despite initial weight loss success with each, she found herself in a cycle of weight regain over the years. However, in 2021, Liz discovered intermittent fasting and experienced significant change, losing 30 pounds in 10 months. Her journey evolved into learning to listen closely to her body's appetite cues and focusing on how to meet her body’s nutritional needs.

Gin and Liz engage in a discussion about the mental shift away from "diet brain," focusing instead on listening to your body. Liz shares her experiences with intermittent fasting, at times feeling the challenge of restrictions and weight fluctuation, while gravitating toward clean eating. Emphasizing the importance of food quality, Liz tells listeners about her most recent lifestyle switch that includes healthier eating experiences within her window.

Liz leaves us with valuable advice: it is important to honor your unique journey, maintain trust in the intermittent fasting process, and focus on nourishing your body with quality foods. She reminds us that the commitment to a healthier lifestyle will unfold with patience and dedication. The real takeaway is to find satisfaction in the balance and to keep moving forward, despite the inevitable challenges along the way.

Get Gin’s books at: http://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html, including her latest bestseller 28-Day Fast Start Day-By-Day, the Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle so it Sticks, New York Times Bestseller, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Cleanish, available wherever you buy books! Delay, Don’t Deny is available on Amazon.  

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com 

Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 403: Liz Nelson

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Anne Scherliess from Germany.

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle. 

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like. 

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.  

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community. 

In this episode, Anne and Gin delve into the complexities of intermittent fasting for anyone with a history of eating disorders, the importance of professional guidance, and the profound emotional healing they've both experienced through this lifestyle change.  Anne is an actress. Her story begins with a mystery illness that led to severe water retention in 2021, which had the potential to significantly impact her acting career. Despite visits to multiple doctors, her medical issue remained undiagnosed until she finally met with a nephrologist who helped her solve the issue.

Anne then dives deep into her history of eating disorders, rooted in her family's fear of gaining weight. Her struggle with self-perception began at a young age, including bouts of anorexia and bulimia and emotional guilt around food which unfortunately affected her younger sister as well.

In a heart-to-heart dialogue, both Anne and Gin explore the toxicity of diet culture, their personal battles with obesity and different types of disordered eating, and how intermittent fasting offered them freedom from persistent diet thoughts. Anne credits "The End of Cravings" audiobook for her shift away from artificial sweeteners and a deeper understanding of the role of processed foods in hunger.

Intermittent fasting information from health industry figures like Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, Dr. Sachin Panda, and Dr. Jason Fung, along with Fast Feast Repeat, emerged as influential in Anne's fasting journey.

intermittent fasting helped Anne reclaim her relationship with food and her body, liberating her from the fear that once consumed her.

Anne’s advice:

Read Gin’s books—they tell you everything you need to know. Don’t be rigid with your window. Give your body time to repair each day. Learn to trust your body.

Get Gin’s books at: http://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html, including her latest bestseller 28-Day Fast Start Day-By-Day, the Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle so it Sticks, New York Times Bestseller, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Cleanish, available wherever you buy books! Delay, Don’t Deny is available on Amazon.  

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com 

Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 402: Anne Scherliess

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Troy Peterson from Madison, WI.

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle. 

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like. 

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.  

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community. 

Troy is a professional truck driver and also a musician. He shares his early life experiences growing up in a tavern environment, his battle with alcoholism, and his experience with substance abuse, ending with a recovery process via a twelve-step program and inpatient rehab at the age of 34.

Gin and Troy talk about the importance of non-scale victories and the remarkable improvements in Troy's physical, mental, and spiritual health since he started intermittent fasting. They touch on the misconceptions about eating windows and the metabolic benefits of finding a balanced approach to fasting.

Troy’s story is not just about intermittent fasting – it's about personal growth, self-discovery, and the sometimes difficult path to self-improvement. He highlights how his commitment to change has led to his body feeling satisfied and on a path to better health.

Advice from Troy:

Initially, early on, I wanted to preach on this to anybody that listened. Now, I have a link on my phone and a picture of Gin’s book just saved in my photos, and I can just show people. If you really want to know what I'm doing and about the changes you see in me, this is it. If you really want to know, get this book, read the book, and then we can talk about it. As for IF, just trust in it. No matter how it works in the first week or the first month or whatever, just trust in it.

Get Gin’s books at: http://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html, including her latest bestseller 28-Day Fast Start Day-By-Day, the Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle so it Sticks, New York Times Bestseller, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Cleanish, available wherever you buy books! Delay, Don’t Deny is available on Amazon.  

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com 

Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 401: Troy Peterson

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Zoraida from Southern California. 

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle. 

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like. 

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.  

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community. 

Zoraida is a director of accounting. She started exploring intermittent fasting as a way to find a sustainable solution after having her children. She had experimented with various diets but nothing seemed to provide lasting results. Everything changed when she picked up Gin's book Delay, Don't Deny, prompting her to start her own IF journey on April 19, 2020.

Zoraida shares the numerous health benefits she's experienced since starting intermittent fasting. She was pre-diabetic with high insulin levels. Following her IF lifestyle, she's seen improvements in her insulin markers, reduced inflammation, she gained mobility, and even began fitting into her old clothes again. These victories extended beyond the scale, contributing to her overall well-being and confidence.

Zoraida discusses the impact her intermittent fasting journey has had on her family. Her children have followed suit in adopting healthier eating habits, and though her son was initially skeptical about fasting, he has become more curious about its benefits. Both Zoraida and Gin highlight the importance of having support from their families as they navigated through their dietary changes.

During the episode, we hear about lifestyle shifts and dietary changes like Zoraida transitioning from adding creamer to her coffee to enjoying it black. We also dive into the struggles Gin and Zoraida faced with food, especially processed foods that are engineered to be irresistible. Zoraida admits her challenges with sweets, while Gin speaks about her weakness for cheesy, crunchy snacks. Both emphasize the importance of finding a balance and the power of self-awareness regarding food choices.

As the episode concludes, Zoraida offers heartfelt advice for anyone at the beginning of their intermittent fasting path: Give yourself grace and be patient with yourself. Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle, not a quick fix, and it's important to expect and accept changes as part of the process.

Get Gin’s books at: http://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html, including her latest bestseller 28-Day Fast Start Day-By-Day, the Ultimate Guide to Starting (or Restarting) Your Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle so it Sticks, New York Times Bestseller, Fast. Feast. Repeat., and Cleanish, available wherever you buy books! Delay, Don’t Deny is available on Amazon.  

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com 

Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 72: Mary Lou Reece

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