Gin Stephens Podcast Episode - Intermittent Fasting FAQs

On today’s episode, I’m honored to speak to Gin Stephens, intermittent fasting expert.

After being featured on episode 24 of Gin Stephens podcast – the Intermittent Fasting Stories Podcast, Gin was gracious enough to return the favor and appear on our latest episode of Chat the Fat.

We talked about Gin’s personal story, how she struggled with weight loss for decades, her best tips for living an IF lifestyle, and how Gin uses her personal experience to help other fasters finally lose weight with an intermittent fasting lifestyle.

Gin is the host of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, and the co-host of the Intermittent Fasting Podcast with Melanie Avalon.

She is a New York Times Bestseller as the author of Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle, and Gin’s new book is Fast Feast Repeat.

Gin’s books have inspired successful intermittent fasters with her take on an intermittent lifestyle, the benefits of intermittent fasting, and the importance of following a clean fast.

Watch the Gin Stephens Podcast:

Listen to Gin Stephens Podcast Here.

Gin Stephens Podcast – Best Lessons:

Before you learn everything Gin and I chatted about during the podcast, some of my favorite key points from today’s episode include:

How Gin went from diet junkie to embarking on her inspirational story of losing weight and keeping it off with an intermittent fasting plan. Gin Stephens intermittent fasting story is one that’s thousands of other women have replicated to create their own success story.
Gin’s discovery about how insulin really works in books like the Obesity Code – which changed her mind from following a dirty fast to the importance of clean fasting.
How intermittent fasting is less of a diet, and more of a long term health plan with a side effect of weight loss.

Previous Diet Failures:

At the top of the podcast, Gin talks about previous diets she tried and failed, like:

Reading every diet book she could find looking for a miraculous answer
The shot of rice diet
The 5 bite diet
Various intermittent fasting strategies that weren’t right for her, but may work for you
Fast-5 Intermittent Fasting
Keto, and why it didn’t work for her
Why her body does better with carbs

Gin Stephens Before and After Intermittent Fasting:

Next, Gin talks about why intermittent fasting didn’t stick for her the first time around. She finally made it work by taking her fasting to the next level – aka, the clean fast. Learn what Gin believes every new IFer needs to know about a clean fast, including:

Why cream in your coffee or drinking diet soda during a fast isn’t a good idea
The reasons drinking BPC impedes the body’s natural ability to burn fat
When it’s OK to include calories or sweeteners during your fasting window
Why sweeteners are wrecking your IF results (as well as your gut microbiome)
How any sweet taste, even if it’s from a zero calorie sweetener, can break your fast
How your food preferences may changes overtime
Which drinks are allowed during a clean fast

What Does Gin Stephens Eat? More Importantly – When She Eats:

Then she talks about her current preferred form of fasting and when she eats:

What OMAD is and Gin’s definition of One Meal A Day – including a paleo OMAD (aka- real food) approach.
How she moved from two meals a day in a five hour eating window to only one meal a day in the same window, and the weight loss results she experienced from making that switch.
How she quit white knuckling her way through intermittent fasting plans.
Why setting small goals might work better for most fasters than a traditional rip the bandaid off approach.
The lessons she learned from earlier diets she followed, like The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet.

Gin Stephens Intermittent Fasting Support Groups:

Next Gin discusses her intermittent fasting support groups and all of the valuable information shared in the DDD Facebook Groups:

Gin’s large Facebook groups are like a family of intermittent fasters who share real-world stories. These are real people who work together to give the right support to both experienced and new intermittent fasters alike. Each group has a true community feel filled with supportive members.
Gin recently shifted to her own social network, which boasts of many help groups, including the Ask Gin Group.

Unrealistic Expectations & Why IF Is A Slow Weight Loss Approach:

Then we chat about unrealistic expectations most dieters go into the first day of their new diet with, like expecting to lose 100 pounds by summer because they saw it on a magazine cover. But we also discuss why intermittent fasting isn’t the best way to lose weight quickly – but the reasons it’s a great long-term approach, including:

Why intermittent fasting may lead to slow weight loss (and why that’s not a bad thing).
How you could be losing weight, even when the scale goes up.
The difference between body composition and losing scale weight
How constantly jumping on the scale doesn’t tell the whole story and could effect your body image.
The best ways to tell if your fasting routine is working (Pssst – it’s not the scale).

How to Get Started with Intermittent Fasting:

Gin shares her expertise on how to get started with intermittent fasting, including:

How starting your day with a low carb breakfast is one of the easiest ways to start this lifestyle shift, even if you don’t plan to follow a low carb diet.
Best intermittent fasting apps.
Best tips on how to extend your fast, plus tricks to stay compliant during your planned fasting window.
Reasons the fasting window should be boring.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits Beyond Weight Loss:

Then Gin shares the benefits of intermittent fasting beyond weight loss, including:

Why IF is really a health plan with a side effect of weight loss.
Chronic health problems she improved with a clean fasting routine.
How autophagy helps firm up loose skin as you lose weight, and other great things autophagy can help with.

Does Intermittent Fasting Without Keto Work?

Finally, we dive deeper into the weight loss combo of keto and intermittent fasting, including:

The reasons Gin doesn’t follow low carb for weight loss.
How one of Gin’s community members lost weight with a low carb and intermittent fasting combo, but healed her insulin resistance so she can now include more carbs in her diet.

Gin answer’s Marie’s question: How do you know when an intermittent fasting lifestyle isn’t the right choice for you?

Then Gin Stephens reviews one of Gin’s favorite things – Wow drops, and whether or not they’re OK to use while fasting.

12 Hour Intermittent Fasting Quick Start:

Looking for a fast start to your intermittent fasting plan? Check out the video below to learn how easy it can be to start with only 12 hours of intermittent fasting.

If you’re interested in learning how to combine keto with intermittent fasting for the ultimate fat burning combo, check out the Keto Quick Start Course. This is the same info hundreds of women have used to lose weight with keto and IF, even when every other plan failed.

Listen to my episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories.

Read Gin Stephens Books: Delay, Don’t Deny and Fast, Feast, Repeat

Gin Stephens Podcasts:

Check out the Intermittent Fasting Stories Podcast for past episodes with interviews from everyday fasters, and other health experts like Dr. Anna Cabeca. It’s a life lessons podcast that demonstrates how to use intermittent fasting as an essential part of our healthy toolbox.

Gin Stephens podcast The Intermittent Fasting Podcast is another amazing show filled with real world advice you won’t want to miss.