FASTer Way to Fat Loss

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UPDATE SINCE WRITING THIS POST: I shared my results after I completed the full program here. My coach, Valarie Smorol, has actually started her own program called T.R.I.M. Fat Loss Bootcamp that applies the same concepts with added nutritional information, a slightly different schedule (that I like even better!), custom meal planning and a macro cookbook with over 700 recipes.You can sign up for the next round here and use the code LEXEATS for $10 off! If any of you are recent mommas, Val also has a SMOBaby postpartum program. I would love to have you join me! If you have any specific questions about the program, please feel free to comment below! PS: I also shared my low carb day grocery list here. 

Y’all may or may not know I started the FASTer Way to Fat Loss program a little over three weeks ago. After seeing multiple friends and other bloggers have such great success with the program and stepping on the scale to see a number I’ve never seen before, I decided it was time to do something about it. I’m obviously not one for diets, so a restrictive program was not going to work for me. I chose FASTer Way to Fat Loss because it’s more of a lifestyle change that I felt confidant I could work into my routine.

So what is FASTer Way to Fat Loss anyways? This program combines intermittent fasting, carb cycling, tracking your macros and exercise. I’ll get more into those below. You sign up with a “coach” who will guide you through the program, answer questions and provide feedback daily. You are assigned to a group on Facebook where you post any questions and your daily macros/calories from My Fitness Pal.. to me this is one of the most important parts because this gal needs accountability. My Coach is Valarie Smorol, who is local to Lexington and also a personal trainer and awesome! It’s so nice to have someone you can ask all your questions. Val also has great workouts! Because this was all new to me, I’m going to break down the main aspects of FASTer Way to Fat Loss and my experience with them below (taken from their website):

Intermittent Fasting

The foundation of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss program is intermittent fasting. We engage in a daily 16/8 fast protocol. This means that you fast for 16 hours each day (most of which are overnight while sleeping), and consume ALL of your daily calories during an 8 hour feeding window. 

This part is what scared me the most as I used to be a huge breakfast person and was usually starving if I didn’t eat by 9am. I gradually worked my way up to an 8 hour eating window over a few weeks before starting the program because I had heard such good things about intermittent fasting. I waited an extra hour to eat each week until I was able to wait until at least 12:30 every day to eat. I drink a lot of tea and lemon water in the mornings to curb my appetite. Sometimes I’ll also infuse water with lemon and mint over night, so yum!

Carb Cycling

Carb cycling is an alteration of carbohydrate intake to prevent fat loss plateaus and keep your metabolism working effectively. Basically, you cycle between low carb days (check out my low carb day shopping list here) and regular carb days to ensure that your body burns fat effectively without causing significant hormonal damage or dips in energy. We do two low carb days a week on Monday and Tuesday.

The low carb days seemed intimidating at first, but honestly have been easy! Since they are at the beginning of the week, I’m not tempted to cheat right after the weekend and usually cook at home on these days anyways. I’ve been able to find great low carb options at Trader Joe’s that I shared here. My low carb go-tos for eating out are Jimmy John’s unwiches, a big salad with oil and vinegar (I keep a bottle at my desk for lunches at work) and grilled chicken with broccoli.

Tracking Your Macros

Macronutrients (or macros) are the molecules our bodies need to grow and be active. Macronutrients are broken down into three basic categories: carbohydrates, protein and fat. We not only track our macros in FWTFL, but we also cycle our carbs and fats. This may sound a little overwhelming, but it’s actually a very simple practice of varying our carbohydrate intake each week to maximize the body’s ability to burn fat. We have low-carb days (we eat low carb and high fat with moderate protein). We have regular-macro days (we balance our macros, which is TYPICALLY 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein)—this helps rev up thyroid function with an adequate amount of carbs.  We also have low-macro days (we drop down on calories a bit), and we have occasional 24-hour fast days.

Balancing my macros on regular days has probably been the most challenging so far, but also the most eye-opening. I’ve realized I eat a LOT of fat. It’s kind of like a game, and requires some planning by putting your meals into My Fitness Pal the night before, but after three weeks it’s definitely gotten easier. I definitely don’t eat out as often, but have still been able to eat out and balance my macros relatively well, you just have to be willing to be annoying and ask for no butter or oil on your vegetables, dressings/sauce on the side etc. I actually ate pizza one night and was sure that I would blow my macros and ended up with them absolutely perfect, ha! 

My Three Week FASTer Way to Fat Loss Check In

So, how is the girl who posts donuts weekly on Instagram doing three weeks into a diet? Not too bad! If I’m being completely honest, I’d say I’m giving it about 75% effort, which I’m honestly proud of. I had gotten into a such a bad routine where almost every day seemed like a #treatyoself day and now I’ve cut that back to about once a week. I’ve probably had two days where I’ve completely fallen off the wagon, but I’ve been pretty good about preplanning meals so that if I know I’m going out or having a pizza night, I plan my other meals around that. I haven’t felt too deprived and have only really struggled in social settings like parties with cake or going out to dinner with my boyfriend who insists on getting dessert. I don’t weigh myself usually, so I’m going to wait until the end of the six weeks to see how much I’ve lost. I can say that I already feel so much better and have had less digestive issues and bloating. My clothes are fitting better and my pants aren’t so dang tight anymore!

(low carb) biscuits & blessings,

Leels