IF….. and WHEN…

IF (Intermittent Fasting) has been life changing for me and here is where I tell you some of those details!

First of all, I have never really struggled with my weight until a few years ago when aging hormones took over and I started filling out a bit. Now I’m not very big, so to others this was maybe not noticeable, but my clothes were tight and I just wasn’t feeling as good with my body. So, I wanted to lose a bit of weight; only 10-15 lbs total.

Now, I don’t believe in dieting or cutting out foods if you love them UNLESS you are allergic to them or they simply don’t agree with your body. So, that being said, I was not interested in dieting to lose weight!

Secondly for those of you who know me, you know that I am kind of an exercise fanatic. So, that being said not exercising was not the problem, and more exercise was not going to solve the problem.

I am, as you all know, a big advocate of keeping fit and healthy, but I have also learned that exercise (especially if you already do a lot of it) is not the most efficient way to lose weight! Doing cardio is absolutely fantastic for your body, for your heart, for your mental health and for your spirit, but for me I could not exercise more than I already do. People think that running etc burns SO MANY calories, that they can eat whatever they want as long as they exercise ( I was one of these people who believed this!) but this is NOT the case as exercise actually doesn’t burn as many calories as people believe it does.

I have heard over the years the whole “Calories in/Calories out” rule and that if you want to lose weight burn more than you take in. I have also learned this is not the case as not all calories are created equally! If you believe this, then that means you believe that 100 calories of cotton candy will be the same for your body as 100 calories of broccoli🤣. Now common sense tells us that this is obviously not the case! Our bodies use and store food in different ways and what we put into our bodies is key. How our hormones react to foods is a big factor here!

You cannot out-exercise a bad diet! If you eat the recommended 1200-2000 calories a day but eat processed junk, you are going to put on weight and damage your body in many ways, and most of these you may not visually see but will definitely feel.

So, what did I do since I wasn’t going to exercise more, and I already eat a very healthy diet? (following the 80/20 rule 80% good 20% not so good…..more on this later) I changed WHEN I eat the food I want to eat!

Did this simple change work?????? 100% YES!!!!!!!

That is all for today💛Stay tuned to this blog as my journey continues.

More details next time!!!!
Your Suzy Sunshine tip of the day!!! ☀️🌼🥰

WHEN …..and IF…..

• 

Welcome back and thank you for taking the time to follow me on my IF journey.

When I first began back in January 2020, I just started by skipping breakfast. At first this was weird as I had been eating breakfast my whole life and really enjoyed eating it! It is……”the most important meal of the day” isn’t it????? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! This was an ad campaign bought to you by one of the biggest cereal companies out there! Yes, that’s true, look it up!!!!

What you also need to know is that eating constantly is just not good for your body. If you’re doing it because your stomach is growling, or you think you’re hungry but you just ate 2 hours ago then you’re not eating the right foods.

Did you know that your body has a satiety (feeling full) hormone that will tell you when you are full? Well we do, and it’s called Leptin!! I have learned that processed foods, fast foods, and frozen prepared meals are mainly filled with “junk” and therefore do not give your body the “full” signal!? Our bodies require nutrients and real, whole foods provide these and therefore when we have had enough we actually feel full!

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Have you ever noticed that when you eat a fast food meal you feel temporarily full, but then are hungry again 1-2 hours later? Ever wonder why? No nutrients! Your body is saying “wait, there was nothing real in that food so give me something else!”

This sadly is one of the causes of the very sad obesity epidemic that is so unfortunately taking over! More than 50%of the population is struggling with obesity and it’s become a worldwide epidemic that is sadly becoming one of the leading causes of preventable death now; more deadly that our recent epidemic not Covid-19!

The problem is, so many people just don’t know how to get themselves out of this “rut” !

Everyone is more busy than ever these days, it seems, so sadly, this leads to us eating on the go. What does this lead us to? Fast food, easy meals, snacks etc.

So, how can we change this?

Planning for one! If you know when you are gojng to eat you can pack whole food meals.

My second tip is to try an “eating window” aka Intermittent Fasting. Start by just skipping breakfast…..even just delaying breakfast. Fasting is one of those things that is hard to wrap your head around! Everyone thinks “there is absolutely NO WAY I could skip meal” You’d be surprised!

Your fast start time is when you finish eating the night before until your first meal of the day. So if you finish eating at 7pm and eat breakfast at 9 am you did a 14 hour fast! Start there!

Before you eat breakfast you can indulge in all the black coffee, black tea, water, sparkling (unflavoured) beverages you like, and these also will help you to extend your fast and help you to feel full. Once you decide to “open your window” try eating a “whole” food; meaning nuts, avocado, berries, a banana; anything that is raw or unprocessed, and has as few ingredients as possible.

Intermittent Fasting is the absolute BEST thing I’ve ever done for my body and my mind! The mental clarity and the focus is so much better when your brain isn’t always focused on your body constantly digesting!

I’m going to leave it at that for now. Try a 14 hour fast today! It may be tough on your first day but it will get easier! Trust me on this! Trust the IF process! It’s totally worth it in the end!

Life changing! I’m not kidding!☀️😊

Wanna know something? IF you do read on…..😉

• 

I just felt the need to write a new blog post today as my life has changed so very much in the past year and a half, and I wanted to share my journey. Basically, the big change in my life started very simply, but it is something that has had a HUGE impact on my life in EVERY aspect!

In January of last 2020 I started Intermittent Fasting, also know as time restricted eating. A very simple explanation of this is that I only changed WHEN I eat, not WHAT I eat; I am already someone who eats 90% of my diet as whole foods, with little fast food or processed meals. I start my eating each day after 12pm and eat what I like between 12 and 7 p.m., but drinking all the water, black coffee/tea, or unflavoured sparkling water I like.

By doing this I am giving my body a chance to digest, heal, and use up what has been stored as fat to fuel my body throughout the day.

Let me be very clear about wording here; Intermittent fasting is a way of life, NOT a diet.

At first, not eating first thing was a little difficult as I felt a bit weak and had headaches, but once my body adjusted to it, which took about 3 weeks, I realized that I don’t NEED to eat first thing as long as I get my nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in my “window”. I am in no way starving myself as many people believe! Starving is a state you have no control over, Fasting is a state you have complete control of.

What people don’t realize is that if we eat every 2 hours to “keep our metabolism going”, “to keep our energy levels up”, “to keep our blood sugar from dipping/crashing” we are actually never giving our bodies a chance to digest and use what is in our bodies already. As long as you have more than 10% body fat as a female (and truly the only females who don’t are highly trained athletes which, let’s be honest, very few of us are) you have enough stored body fat to become a “fat burning machine” every day! If we aren’t using this body fat which is being stored as soon as we eat it, what is the point of it?!?!

My “eating window” as it is referred to by IFers (Intermittent Fasters) started out as 8 hours, but has gone down to 2-4 hours a day usually as I am able to fill my body with enough nutritious food (lots of good healthy fats and proteins, mainly “whole” foods) in a much shorter span of time, and I’m simply not hungry until this time. I no longer revolve my day around meals. I no longer revolve my life around a “grumbling stomach”. Once you start doing this you realize that hunger pains come and go, they don’t just get worse and worse. When your body becomes “fat adapted” which means that it is fueling off of stored fat rather than the quick burning carbs you just put in, you have all the energy you need. I exercise (and those who know me know I am quite intense with my exercise!) in a fasted state 100% of the time and feel incredible; NEVER lack energy. I will never go back to exercising after eatting, but more on this later. When you figure this out and instead realize that drinking water, black tea, or coffee when your stomach makes noises is enough to get you past these “moments” you realize that you have been filling yourself unnecessarily all along.

I am going to leave it at that for my 1st post about this, but I am going to continue this journey with you all for a while now as I have barely scratched the surface of this fantastic new way of life.

I have learned so much and have so many resources to share so leave comments, message me if you want more info now. Otherwise….stay tuned as I am very passionate about this and can’t wait to share more 😁💪🌞

Your Simply Susan tip of the day!

Shine on my friends🌼💛🌞

What’s new with “SQ”? (pronounced “esskew”)

Last year was a year of growth for me. I learned so much about myself, and took the opportunity to learn about sustainability and minimalism which led me off on a journey that I am so happy that I have made. I decided to ignore that voice in my head that said “what difference can one person make?” and chose to make our families lives more minimal (less “stuff”) and more environmentally friendly.

One major change was that I started listening to Podcasts and became completely addicted to them! Wow, why did it take me so long to find these! I have spent a huge amount of time listening to a variety of podcasts from Intermittent Fasting, to Fitness, Minimalism, Environmental Sustainability, to Daily pep talks, and this was only the beginning! They became an integral part of my daily living and my walks with Finley became even longer, and much slower…..finally really allowing him to do what he loves best; sniff and pee! The longer I was out in the fresh air learning all I could, the better it was for me, and who’s kidding who, when Mom’s happy, the family is happy lol!!🤣.

The one GIGANTIC change I made was that I changed when I eat (not what I eat…NOT a diet) by following an Intermittent Fasting lifestyle! Best…. thing…… ever…. honestly!!!!! I have not felt this energetic, focused, and felt this good about my body since before I had children! More on IF (intermittent fasting) in another blog to come as I have SO MUCH to say about why I will never go back to the way I ate before. So, with this incredible focus and feeling so physically great, I set off to reinvent myself.

One very important point I learned is that what I put ON my body was just as important as what I put IN my body! So, with that bit of information, I started my search for recipes for creams, lotions, deodorants, balms, butters, etc. Then…..…I learned that I could also make all my own house cleaning products that are not only cheaper, but are better for the environment and cleaner for our indoor air which we all know can become quite polluted with sprays, stale air, dander, and that is not even taking into account all those chemicals we use in our cleaning products😤.

So, that is the inspiration behind this post and to showcase what and how my life has changed for the better this past year!!!❤️. With that, I have created my own product line called SQ (pronounced “skew”) which is short for my nickname Suzy Q! I make MANY products for our family, but I am making 4 currently available to purchase if any of my faithful blog readers are interested! I will be writing a separate post listing these products: their prices, ingredients, and directions for use so please check it out and feel free to share this blog site!

Life is good! Hope you enjoyed my first post in a while, and please stay tuned for my new posts as they have been inspired by my new improved Minimal, Sustainable, and Fasted Lifestyle!❤️.

Your 2021 Suzy Q aka “SQ” post of the day! My new motto: Fit Body, Calm Mind, Happy Home.💪🦵🧠🥰🏡