Intermittent Fasting Stories

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Dana Hardy Bingham from Pittsburgh, PA. 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 [http://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 [http://ginstephens.com/community].  Dana, a retired teacher turned actor, director, wedding officiant, and part-time nanny, embarked on her fasting journey in September of 2023. Her primary motivation? The potential neuroprotective benefits against Alzheimer’s and dementia, after witnessing the challenges firsthand through her in-laws' battles with these diseases. Dana highlights her transition to clean fasting, the shift from sugar-laden treats to healthier choices, and her remarkable non-scale victories, including increased energy and improved mental clarity. She candidly shares how intermittent fasting has transformed her relationship with food and her overall well-being. As the episode concludes, Dana offers advice for those new to intermittent fasting. She stresses the importance of consuming podcasts as a motivational resource to maintain dedication to the process. These shared experiences and solutions from others can help fasters feel less isolated and bolster their resolve. Dana wishes she had discovered intermittent fasting sooner, expressing gratitude for the transformative impact it has had on her life. Ending with a note of hope, she underscores that even if one starts later in life, it's never too late to reap the benefits of this lifestyle shift. Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html [https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html]. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, an easier to understand and more thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!  Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community [http://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 [http://fastfeastrepeat.com/]. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com [gin@intermittentfastingstories.com] Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com [http://ginstephens.com/]  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html [http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Enid Bush from Manalapan, NJ. 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 [http://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 [http://ginstephens.com/community].  Enid is a retired teacher, currently teaching theater to young children, and she also works as a health coach. Enid shares her journey with intermittent fasting, which began when she discovered a health coach named Dr. Livingood, who introduced her to the health benefits of fasting. Inspired by his insights about autophagy, and encouraged by a nutritionist to work out on an empty stomach, Enid began fasting. However, it wasn't until she stumbled upon Gin's book, Fast Feast Repeat, that she realized she wasn't fasting clean, leading her to a deeper understanding and better implementation of the lifestyle. Enid discusses her struggles with diets in the past, detailing how she spent years trying various diets like Fit for Life, Herbalife, Weight Watchers, and different nutrition programs, only to find them restrictive and unsustainable. After beginning the clean fast on January 10, 2023, Enid noticed improvements in her well-being and recently celebrated two years in the lifestyle. Throughout the conversation, Enid emphasizes the transformation in her relationship with food. She highlights the joy of enjoying meals more thoroughly and describes how her tastes have naturally shifted towards healthier options, allowing herself to be more selective with what she eats. The episode also touches on her experiences with social expectations and perceptions about fasting, how she responds to skepticism from others, and the importance of understanding one's own body through personalized nutrition and fasting practices. Enid concludes by sharing her ultimate advice to those new to intermittent fasting: recognize the advantages of fasting beyond weight loss, particularly its healing potential. She advises newcomers to have patience, give their bodies time to adjust, focus on a clean fast, and believe in themselves. Emphasizing the freedom that comes with trusting one's own hunger signals and preferences, Enid advocates for a shift away from societal diet pressures and towards a more intuitive, satisfying eating experience. You can find Enid at embhealthcoach.com. Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html [https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html]. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, an easier to understand and more thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!  Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community [http://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 [http://fastfeastrepeat.com/]. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com [gin@intermittentfastingstories.com] Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com [http://ginstephens.com/]  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html [http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Tracey Mullin from Channahon, IL. 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 [http://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 [http://ginstephens.com/community].  Tracey owns her own cake decorating business. Tracey shares her journey to intermittent fasting, which began in March of 2017. Her lifelong experiences with different diets started in her childhood when she watched her mother experiment with various weight loss programs like Richard Simmons’ Deal-a-Meal and Jenny Craig. Tracey recounts her own experiments with multiple diets and workout regimens in the 90s and early 2000s, leading to weight fluctuations that prompted her interest in more sustainable weight management methods. Tracey discusses a pivotal moment inspired by an Oprah episode featuring Michael Pollan, which led her to rethink her consumption of processed foods. She later embarked on an elimination diet under her doctor's guidance due to stage 1 liver damage. During this time, Tracey now realizes that she was inadvertently practicing a form of intermittent fasting, resembling a 19:5 pattern, which resulted in significant weight loss at the time, though she didn’t maintain that loss long term when she reverted to her prior eating schedule. In 2017, Tracey found out about intermittent fasting through a beta program she enrolled in, and she started exploring other resources in the intermittent fasting community. When Tracey stumbled upon Gin's Delay, Don’t Deny Facebook group, her relationship with intermittent fasting continued to evolve, particularly when she met her husband, who was also practicing intermittent fasting. Despite gaining some weight during 2020 amid the stress of the pandemic and major life changes, she prioritized returning to a protocol that balanced fasting with enjoying her meals. Tracey appreciates the flexibility of intermittent fasting and integrates a combination of exercise routines including running, walking, and strength training to maintain her wellbeing. Toward the end of the episode, Tracey reflects on the personal nature of the intermittent fasting journey and the importance of removing obstacles to allow the body to naturally heal and regulate itself. Her final advice to listeners is about being patient with the process, not getting discouraged by fluctuations, and staying motivated by learning from other people's stories. She underscores the value of allowing enough time for the body to adapt to fasting and suggests that listening to related podcasts can provide constant encouragement and insight. Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html [https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html]. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, an easier to understand and more thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!  Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community [http://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 [http://fastfeastrepeat.com/]. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com [gin@intermittentfastingstories.com] Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com [http://ginstephens.com/]  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html [http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Jalene Weigand from Anaheim, 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 [http://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 [http://ginstephens.com/community].  Jalene is a preschool teacher, a nanny, and she owns a small soapmaking business. Jalene previously appeared on episode 350 almost two years ago, and she has been happily living the intermittent fasting lifestyle since the last time she came on the podcast. Her journey with intermittent fasting began in November of 2021. She describes her previous struggles with weight gain during menopause and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected her lifestyle and weight. Upon hearing a podcast with Laurie Lewis speaking about menopausal weight gain and how intermittent fasting helped her lose the weight, Jalene found hope and started immediately. The episode highlights her transformation and how intermittent fasting became the answer. Jalene’s weight loss journey was not only about losing pounds but also about regaining her health, as she dealt with hormone issues and Hashimoto's. By incorporating a clean fast and prioritizing whole foods, Jalene found significant improvements in both her physical and mental health. Through it all, Jalene recounts her journey towards finding balance and control over her lifestyle. A 4 to 5-hour eating window and activities such as moving around actively with preschool children are part of her routine. She emphasizes the importance of finding a personalized approach that works for one's unique body and lifestyle. Jalene's experience is a testament to the power of listening to your body and adapting as necessary, whether through tweaking fasting schedules or incorporating different types of foods and activities that fit in with your individual needs. As a final piece of advice, Jalene encourages listeners, especially those new to intermittent fasting, to take pictures and measurements from the start, as it is a great way to track progress beyond the scale. She has learned to focus on how she feels rather than the number on the scale, reminding everyone of the importance of living life to the fullest and embracing the journey with intermittent fasting as a sustainable lifestyle change. Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html [https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html]. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, an easier to understand and more thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!  Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community [http://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 [http://fastfeastrepeat.com/]. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com [gin@intermittentfastingstories.com] Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com [http://ginstephens.com/]  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html [http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Natalie Willis from Devon in England. 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 [http://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 [http://ginstephens.com/community].  Natalie works within the probation services. In September of 2019, after gaining weight when she stopped a previous method that wasn't working for her any longer, she discovered Gin’s podcast, started intermittent fasting, and read Gin’s books Fast Feast Repeat and Delay, Don’t Deny. Even though she had heard about IF from a friend who lost weight using the 5:2 approach, Natalie favored the daily eating window approach and found immense satisfaction and success, losing around 30 pounds in a year and experiencing various health benefits. Natalie’s preferred routine typically involves a four-hour eating window, though she explains that she moves her eating window around as necessary with her schedule.  The conversation weaves through Natalie’s past struggles with body image and a tumultuous relationship with food that started in her teenage years. She describes how joining Herbalife in 2014 set her on a positive path of health and wellness, although it became stressful with time. Transitioning to intermittent fasting brought a more natural and liberating approach to weight management for her. Natalie talks about the positive changes she noticed, such as improved mental focus, reduced joint pain, and overall better well-being. Growing her own food in an allotment has helped her pivot to a diet rich in vegetables and real foods. In sharing her non-scale victories, Natalie highlights rapid hair growth, improved dental health, and increased confidence. Her parting advice to newcomers is to embrace black coffee, exercise kindness towards oneself, and understand that intermittent fasting is a lifelong journey filled with seasons of change. Every day is a new opportunity to start fresh and find one’s sweet spot in this sustainable lifestyle. Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html [https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html]. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, an easier to understand and more thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!  Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community [http://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 [http://fastfeastrepeat.com/]. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.   Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com [gin@intermittentfastingstories.com] Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com [http://ginstephens.com/]  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html [http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].