A fitness blogger who transformed her body through intermittent fasting has revealed she quickly gained 12 pounds when she started eating regular meals again.
Taking to her YouTube channel, Natalie Jamieson, 29, from California revealed that it took her approximately six months to get into the habit of intermittent fasting but a family vacation threw her disciplined eating schedule ‘out of whack’.
Intermittent fasting can be used for weight loss and typically involves skipping breakfast and scheduling all your daily meals within an eight-hour period.
Before and after: Fitness blogger Natalie Jamieson, 29, from California has taken to her YouTube channel to reveal how she gained 12 pounds after she stopped intermittent fasting
Break: The mom-of-two usually sticks to a diet high in meat, vegetables and healthy fats and eats minimal grains but over the holiday season relaxed her regimented eating schedule
Transformation: Natalie shared how intermittent fasting has transformed her body on her Instagram page, left aged 21 and right, aged 29 in March 2018
The thought behind fasting is that this period gives the body time to regulate insulin resistance, thus burning fat stores more efficiently.
The mom-of-two also usually sticks to a diet high in meat, vegetables, healthy fats and nuts and eats minimal grains.
Speaking about what threw her eating pattern off course, she explained: ‘It was Christmas time, we went on vacation up to northern Washington, where it was absolutely freezing, beautiful but freezing, all I want to do was stay inside and eat’.
‘I was having a lot of sugars, I usually have zero added sugar. I don’t have any fruit in my diet.
‘Because we were traveling around so much and going to different places and visiting different family members, and different people, I didn’t want to be the girl sitting there at 9am not eating with everyone.’
Revealing that she usually gains around six to eight pounds every holiday season, Natalie admitted that she gained 12 pounds in that seven week period, and attributed the extra weight gain to eating at ‘all different times of the day’.
And she also noticed that her skin suffered as a result.
Fit fam: The thought behind fasting is that this period gives the body time to regulate insulin resistance, thus burning fat stores more efficiently
Bikini ready: In October 2016, Natalie participated in a bikini competition after she transformed her body through intermittent fasting.
Prep: In October 2016, Natalie showed off her impressive results ahead of her bikini competition revealing she lost 19 inches overall
Side effects: Natalie shared that when she stopped intermittent fasting she was ‘starving’ all the time despite eating more and also suffered from acne breakouts on her face and back
‘The effects that I felt besides the weight gain, my skin started breaking out. When I get acne I get a little bit on my face, but I get it on my chest, my shoulders, my back, my body breaks out and I hate it,’ she added.
A former bikini competition participant, Natalie also detailed how she felt ‘hungry all the time’ even though she was eating more carbs and ‘much more sugary things’.
And she explained that after two weeks of eating on everyone else’s schedule – eating with everybody for breakfast, and eating a lot of sugar – she would feel ‘starving’ every morning.
‘Before, I could go until noon or one without eating and not feeling hungry. It was like the more I ate the more I wanted to eat,’ she said.
She also shared that she suffered from stomach and bowel issues when she stopped intermittent fasting.
‘Intermittent fasting should feel good. I realized how much I do enjoy it. It’s weird, I go longer periods without eating, but when I eat, I’m full for such longer amounts of time – just one of the many amazing benefits of intermittent fasting.’
However, she concluded: ‘Was it worth it? It was worth it. I was having a cheat day for weeks. It was a cheat month.’