This Single Mom Used Intermittent Fasting to Lose 50 Lbs. During Quarantine
Jackie Wilson recalls struggling with her weight as early as 8 years old. Her mom sent her to weight management camp at 10, where, in between activities like swimming and canoeing, "they also taught us about healthy habits and the food pyramid," she says. In her mid-20s, Wilson got into CrossFit and even lost 80 pounds with Weight Watchers (now known as WW). But the extra pounds always came back eventually.
"I found it [WW] unsustainable, especially after having a child," she says today. "I got really exhausted with the idea of doing a program, counting points, and, you know, all the restrictions." Wanting something that would last long-term without feeling like she had a second, part-time job in addition to working as an HR manager, Wilson was at a loss for years.
By the beginning of 2019, at 41 years old, Wilson's weight was approaching 290 pounds. While her labs always appeared healthy, she worried that Type 2 diabetes or other weight-related conditions would catch up to her one day. She'd heard about intermittent fasting before and always thought it sounded too good to be true. But on January 26, 2019, she decided to give it a try anyway.
There are multiple ways to practice intermitting fasting, such as the 5:2 program, The Dubrow Diet, and The Warrior Diet. Wilson decided on the popular 16:8 method, which advises that you to eat during an eight-hour window and fill your plate with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Otherwise, "I didn't put a whole lot of restrictions around this," she says. "I focused solely on the time frame and initially did not adjust what I was eating at all." She used the LIFE App to keep track of her progress.
Wilson lost 13 lbs. within two weeks. Seeing that it was working, she started researching the science behind intermittent fasting and came across videos by Jason Fung, M.D., author of The Obesity Code and Life in the Fasting Lane: How to Make Intermittent Fasting a Lifestyle. "Once I understood the science, I began to adjust my eating windows and my fasting windows and then I really started to drill down. I also lowered my carbs," she says.
Wilson usually has one or two meals a day. "Most days I'm satiated after breakfast depending on how long my fast was," she says. "Other times, I'll have an additional meal."
What Wilson eats in a day on the 16:8 method
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bacon with peppermint tea or coffee with creamer
Lunch/dinner: grilled salmon with half a sweet potato, greens, and sauerkraut
Snacks: sauerkraut, collard greens, or pickles
In mid-February, Wilson began walking in her living room. "I started walking in front of my T.V. for an hour when The View would come on. Since then, I've added light hand weights," she says, adding that she keeps her workouts low-impact. "Sometimes people think exercise has to be some type of structured workout. I mean, I went into my garage yesterday and was moving things and putting things up for sale, and you feel it at the end of the day," she says.
Two months into her new routine, Wilson was feeling good about her progress, but then coronavirus came along. She was laid off on February 24, and her children's schools closed on March 12. "I walked into a job search and home schooling from there," she says. "A lot has happened to us all at once. We've all had to adjust."
Despite all that COVID-19 upended, Wilson was determined to maintain the momentum she'd built around her health. She arranged to have healthy groceries delivered to her home, spent time outside and away from others to get fresh air, and relied on the community support available via LIFE App to stay motivated.
Wilson, now 42, has lost 52.5 lbs. in total and currently weighs 236.2 pounds. "Measure success in ways beyond the scale," she says, however, "because it's easy, especially for women, to look at a number and become obsessed with it. For me it's putting on clothes from last summer that I know used to fit, and now they're sliding off me. Those things are encouraging to me."
And Wilson plans to keep going. "Ideally, I would like to lose another 70 lbs. or so," she says. "Coming out of quarantine, I want to share this with people because I get my energy by helping others be successful and showing them that it works," she says.
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