Some of you may have been following my journey since I started sharing it back in 2018, and many are brand new to my story, so I felt it was time for a helpful re-introduction.
So, hello, my name is Vicki, and I have now shed over 200 pounds. (I don’t say "lost" because I have no intention of finding them again!)
So much has happened since I embarked on my fasting journey at the beginning of August 2018. When I began, I was in a dark place emotionally, having recently lost two grandparents within a ten-month period. They were my only family members who lived close by, and their passing left a huge emotional burden on me.
Let’s face it: I ate my feelings, leading me to a very dark place.
But honestly, it wasn't only their deaths that brought me to the way I was.
For my entire life, until coming into fasting, I was "Vicki, the big girl." I'd often be called "weirdo" and often deliberately made to feel unwanted or welcome. Eating non-stop was soothing and satisfying when those emotions were high, but the more I ate, the worse things became. This went on for years and intensified when my mom died at the young age of 36 (I was 16). This also created an irrational fear that I, too, could die early like her. No matter the emotion, I coped with it by eating to excess, and every previous attempt at weight loss resulted in no permanence because of my inability to handle my "inner eating monster."
After my life-long pity party began to feel like an unwelcome guest, I started thinking about ways I knew to lose weight. Previously, I had followed a semi-keto-style program. I dove into YouTube and accidentally discovered a testimonial video about fasting. I was so intrigued that I watched many more videos by other credible sources, but I was still in disbelief that fasting could work for me. I was sure of it because nothing else I had tried was successful.
I started with a 16:8 fasting schedule for about two weeks and went down 21 pounds. Since that was successful, I then upped the ante to 20:4, then 23:1, progressing to One Meal A Day (OMAD), and eventually some extended fasting. Whenever I broke my fast, I was conscious of consuming minimally processed foods, minimal sugar and carbs, and maintaining a meat-free diet.
Only a few months later, I realized I had discovered the gold mine of health and weight loss.
I had a fire under me and never wanted to look back to how things were before. I conquered my emotional eating within a few months and had all the momentum I needed to continue with fierce determination!
Fast forward to the end of April 2019, when we found out that my husband was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF) and was in dire need of a transplant. After seven months of going in and out of the hospital, fighting infections, and progressively getting weaker by the day, my husband lost his battle. He went into hospice on our wedding anniversary, and then two days later, on November 10, 2019, he passed.
During his last few days, I felt myself naturally regress into what I knew would keep me emotionally level and prevent me from slipping back into sabotaging habits.
I fasted.
I fasted my face off because I knew my late husband would be upset if I let myself go like a grieving widow could. Instead, I used my grief as a force to propel me forward—not just for myself but to keep my health as optimal as possible for our children, too. That’s how I honor my husband, his memory, and our future.
Feeding my emotional monster is not.
Many have asked me about how I stay so focused, determined, or consistent in my daily efforts, and my answer is always the same.
This lifestyle is my ticket to a long life, period. My previous lifestyle habits were going to bring me an early death; I felt it, and I knew it. Fasting to balance my body and mind became an identity and personal mantra that I passionately advocate to others. It's become not just my personal way of life, but it's now my mission in my one-woman-owned small business, reaching clients worldwide.
I share my story to hopefully inspire you, dear reader, to show you that fasting as a lifestyle tool can help you achieve more than you realize. I have welcomed everything this journey brings: the good and not-so-great days, and you should, too.
Bad days will happen, y’all. The key is learning to love those bad days just as much as the good ones because this life journey is totally and completely yours, and you have to own your "ish," as my late husband would say.
I can do difficult things, and so can you!
Now let's go get your after!
💛 Vicki
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