Welcome to the FAQs! I’ve broken it down by category, for your convenience. You can also press ctrl + f on your keyboard to search this page for what you’re looking for. Also, be sure to check out my Resources page for even more help.
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Intermittent Fasting
- What is intermittent fasting?
- Do you have rules about what you eat during the window?
- Can you drink coffee in the fasting window?
- Are you allowed to have snacks in your eating window when intermittent fasting?
- Is it okay to have artificial sweeteners (Stevia, Sucralose, Aspartame) in my fasting window?
- What’s the best fasting window?
- Do I have to count or restrict carbs when intermittent fasting?
- Can you eat dessert when you’re intermittent fasting?
- Do you have zero energy by the time you finally break the fast?
- Don’t you get really hungry during the day?
- What are some of the benefits of intermittent fasting that you’ve found?
- Have you found any other health benefits of intermittent fasting?
- What are the hardest things about intermittent fasting?
- I’m pregnant. Should I practice intermittent fasting?
- I’m breastfeeding. Should I practice intermittent fasting?
- Help! I’m not losing weight with my chosen eating/fasting window. What should I do?
OMAD
- What is OMAD?
- Why supper as your OMAD? Why not breakfast?
- Don’t you miss breakfast?
- Did you go from a normal eating pattern to 24-hour intermittent fasting (OMAD) suddenly?
General Weight Loss
- What should I do if my weight loss is really slow?
- Why do you weigh yourself every day?
- Why not measure yourself with measuring tape instead of weighing?
- What numbers do you keep track of?
- What should I do if I plateau?
- What should I do if I’m depressed?
- What should I do if I have an eating disorder?
Walking
- Where do you walk your 6 miles?
- How did you walk 6 miles a day in your house? How many square feet were you living in?
- How long does it take you to walk 6 miles a day?
- Isn’t walking 6 miles a day really boring?
- What pace do you walk at?
- Why don’t you walk faster? Couldn’t you burn more calories that way?
- Have you found any benefits to walking 6 miles a day?
Slow And Steady Success Academy
- What is Slow and Steady Success Academy?
- Are the courses live? Do I have to attend at a certain time each day?
- How are the courses structured?
- Are the videos the same ones as you have posted on Youtube?
- Can I post questions if I have them?
- What are your current course offerings?
Questions About Me
- How tall are you?
- Do you have a lot of loose skin now that you’ve lost a significant amount of weight?
- Do you drink anything with sugar in it?
- How much water do you drink each day?
- How many calories are you eating every day?
- Do you have a Six Miles to Supper Facebook group?
- Do you offer 1 on 1 coaching?
- Can you help me with my weight loss journey?
- You’ve mentioned that you’re a full-time RVer. Why did you decide to do that?
- What’s the deal with that Donorsee shirt I see you wearing on some of your videos?
Intermittent Fasting
What is intermittent fasting?
It’s the practice of not eating for a set period of time each day. Your day is broken up into your eating window and your fasting window. On the internet, it’s generally written as [fasting window length in hours]:[eating window length in hours]. For example, a 16:8 means you fast for 16 hours, then you eat during the next 8 hours. To put it another way, you might eat only between the hours of 12:00pm and 8:00pm.
Is it necessary to have rules about what you eat during the eating window?
Not in my experience. I eat what I want, and however much I want, and I stop when I’m full.
Can you drink coffee in the fasting window?
In my experience, yes. Throughout this entire process of weight loss and maintenance, I’ve drunk coffee with half and half three times a day during my fasting window.
Are you allowed to have snacks during your eating window when intermittent fasting?
You get to make your own rules about snacking. Here are my observations: for me, the urge to snack is generally emotionally eating or a way for me to procrastinate. I generally do not snack, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. I recommend eating until you get full at your meal, so that you don’t feel the need to snack. Ultimately though, it comes down to results. If you’re eating meals and snacks and still making progress towards your weight loss goals, I say go for it!
Is it okay to have artificial sweeteners (Stevia, Sucralose, Aspartame) in my fasting window?
I personally don’t eat/drink artificial sweeteners. They make me feel hungry, and I tend to eat a lot more if I have a drink with artificial sweeteners with my meal. I also don’t like the taste. However, I always advocate for people experimenting for themselves. I’ve polled my Youtube audience and found that many people are using artificial sweeteners and with no problems. You’re in charge of your rules. If you love drinks with artificial sweeteners, try having it in your fasting window for 6 weeks, and see what your results are.
What’s the best fasting window?
Ultimately, the one you can stick to. I recommend figuring out the shortest fasting window that will also give you the weight loss you want. Make it as easy as possible.
Do I have to count or restrict carbs when intermittent fasting?
Not in my experience. I do not count or restrict carbs. A review of my meals for a random week would be relatively high carb (think pastas, white rice, etc).
Can you eat dessert when you’re intermittent fasting?
You make your own rules. I personally eat dessert whenever I want it. In January 2016, when I got clear on my plan, I told myself I could eat whatever I wanted during my eating window, and that included desserts. No guilt allowed. What I found was, when dessert was “on plan,” the desire for it faded. Throughout my whole life up until that point, dessert had felt off limits. It was if I was “being bad” if I had a dessert, which made it exciting. When having dessert was no longer breaking any rules, that excitement went away. I still love desserts, but I have just found they don’t have the power over me they used to have.
Don’t you get really hungry during the day?
Surprisingly, no. In general, I stay satiated during my fasting window. I have found that my body gets used to my eating pattern, whatever that might be. On the other hand, as a woman there are hormonal things happening throughout the month. I have found that just before my period, I tend to feel some hunger during the fasting window.
Do you have zero energy by the time you finally break the fast?
My experience with intermittent fasting is that I have had much more energy overall, and that it lasts the whole day. By the time I break the fast, I am feeling hungry, but my energy levels are fine. Since I take Sundays off (eating whatever, whenever all day long), I have compared my energy levels. Interestingly, I seem to have more energy when I’m fasting than when I eat all day. However, everyone is different! If you find intermittent fasting makes you have low energy, try a different plan.
What are some benefits of intermittent fasting that you’ve found?
- It’s cheap (No special food or equipment to buy)
- I’ve learned a lot about myself (like how often I was eating just to eat, because I was bored or tired or upset etc)
- I’ve got a lot more free time
- I’m much more productive
- I feel amazing
- I feel more focused
- I can still eat whatever I want
- It’s simple
- It simplifies my life
Have you found any other health benefits to intermittent fasting?
-
- Helped me stop stress eating/emotional eating
- Healthier relationship with food
- Less indigestion
I was a relatively healthy person, even when I was obese. I can’t say with certainty that I get sick less often since practicing intermittent fasting. I simply don’t get sick often.
Side note: Although I have not personally struggled with diabetes, I have heard from several subscribers on my Youtube channel that have gotten their blood sugar numbers back in the normal range after practicing intermittent fasting. Also, another subscriber said their ulcerative colitis has improved markedly because of intermittent fasting. All of this is purely anecdotal, but I find it fascinating.
What are the hardest things about intermittent fasting?
- Withstanding social pressure to eat. People feel guilty if they’re eating and you’re not.
- Period hunger. Right before that time of the month, I do feel some hunger during the day.
- Trouble sleeping
- Nausea
I have found these last two things to be cues that I need to eat more during my meal. I have been tempted in the past to try to achieve faster weight loss by eating less during my meal. Instead, this backfires because I don’t sleep well, and I end up feeling nauseous during the day, which makes it harder to stay on plan.
I’m pregnant. Should I practice intermittent fasting?
Discuss this with your doctor. On a personal note, I’ve gone through three pregnancies, and I fully understand how difficult it is to be gaining weight when you’re already overweight. I personally gained between 40-60 pounds with each pregnancy. I know it feels tempting to try to lose or at least not gain during this time, but resist that urge. Baby comes first. Instead of trying to limit your food at all during this time, I would encourage you to practice eating to satiation, but not beyond. Also, consider implementing rules like not eating in front of screens (no phone, no tv, etc). These are good habits that you can start working on right now, and that will benefit you later on because you’ll be in the habit of sharing meals with your child in an undistracted way.
Even though it doesn’t feel like it right now, this too shall pass. Once your baby is here and you’re ready, then you can go about the business of losing weight.
I’m breastfeeding. Should I practice intermittent fasting?
Discuss this with your doctor first. After my first pregnancy, I got most of the baby weight off while I was still breastfeeding. I was less successful at this after baby #2, and then got no weight off and started gaining more after baby #3. But will all three babies, my motto was, my milk supply comes first.
I had finished breastfeeding my third child before I learned about intermittent fasting. In hindsight, I don’t know how well it would have worked for me during that time because I routinely experienced nausea if I wasn’t eating frequently enough. I imagine intermittent fasting would have made this worse, and I would have quit it. If you do try intermittent fasting while breastfeeding and you find it just doesn’t fit in your life, take heart. Ultimately this is all about reducing caloric intake in some way, and/or increasing caloric outgo in the form of more movement. You can eat 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day and lose weight. People do it all the time.
Help! I’m not losing weight with my chosen eating/fasting window. What should I do?
First, make sure you actually need to lose weight. Check your BMI using this calculator:
If you’re overweight or obese, then it’s probably a good idea to continue to lose weight until you get into the normal BMI zone. If the scale isn’t moving down and you’re overweight, you’re consuming too many calories in your window. I stayed stuck in obesity for a long time because I had convinced myself that I was not eating too many calories. The truth was, I was eating way more than I thought, and once I ate less, the scale started to move down.
Here’s a video I made that gives you 5 things to try if you’re not losing weight on a 16:8, but it applies to any window that’s not working.
OMAD
What is OMAD?
OMAD stands for One Meal A Day. It’s as simple as it sounds. In order to practice OMAD, you simply eat one meal each day. For example, when I practice OMAD I only eat supper. When I sit down to supper, I eat until I get full. When I stand up from the table, I begin fasting again, and won’t eat again until I eat supper the next day. If you’d like to see a full list of the advantages and disadvantages of OMAD I’ve found, click here.
Why supper as your OMAD? Why not breakfast?
There are no rules about which meal could be your only one with OMAD. I wanted to make my one meal be the one that would have been most troublesome to skip. Breakfast is easy for me to skip, as is lunch. However, family supper is important to me. My husband, my 3 kids, and I all sit down for a nice family meal at the table and eat and talk each night. I’ve also found that for my life, most of my family events tend to be in the evening. In short, having supper as my one meal is the easiest thing for my life. If breakfast was super important to me, or if my family breakfasts were a big deal, I’d have made breakfast my one meal.
Don’t you miss breakfast?
I love breakfast food, especially hashbrowns, scattered covered and smothered. And eggs. And turkey bacon. And gravy and biscuits. When I crave breakfast, I make it for supper. Or, there’s always cheat day (Sunday)!
Did you go from a normal eating pattern to 24 hour intermittent fasting suddenly?
No. When I initially started experimenting with intermittent fasting, I started by pushing breakfast later into the day (say 10 am instead of 7). Then I skipped breakfast altogether. Then I started pushing lunch later. Eventually, I got to a 24 hour fast. That was the point when I started having consistent, noticeable results.
General Weight Loss
What should I do if my weight loss is really slow?
Be patient. My weight came off at the rate of about 1 pound per week when I had the most to lose, and dropped down to 1/3 of one pound per week on average, once I got into the normal BMI range.
Why do you weigh yourself every day?
Because when I was at my heaviest, I was terrified of that number. I was so scared of it that I wouldn’t even get on the scale. And that led me into denial about where I was, weight-wise. Daily weighing is a daily reality check. This is where I am today with my weight. I have done my utmost to divorce my emotions from the scale, and instead look at that number as a data point, nothing more, nothing less. I remind myself that the number is not a measure of my self-worth. Yes, this is easier said than done. And it’s some of the most important work on myself that I continue to do.
Why not just measure yourself with measuring tape instead of weighing?
Because I can lie to myself. I can suck in my gut a bit or measure a little higher or lower on my body to manipulate those numbers. The scale doesn’t fudge the numbers. It’s the hardest method to cheat and the easiest and quickest way for me to track.
What numbers do you keep track of?
My weight, my 7 day weight average, and my steps for the day. For more on the 7 day average, click here.
What should I do if I plateau?
Focus on consistency and be patient. Also, do a sanity check to see if you’re now at a healthy weight. If you are, it’s probably time to maintain.
What should I do if I’m depressed?
I’d encourage you to seek out whatever help you need. Ask for help from those around you. If you need therapy, get yourself to therapy. Take care of yourself. If you have suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help immediately. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit their website here for live chat. If you’re outside the US, here is a list of hotlines. This article by Tim Ferriss, who was suicidal at one point provides some compelling arguments against committing suicide: Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide. There are people around you who care deeply about you. Don’t give up on yourself.
What should I do if I have an eating disorder?
Seek professional assistance immediately. Here’s a website to get you started.
Walking
Where do you walk your six miles?
In the early days, I consistently walked all six miles inside my house (aka house walking). For the past 2 years, I’ve been a full-time RVer, and I usually get my steps in outdoors, walking around campgrounds or on hiking trails. When the weather is bad, I get my steps inside the RV.
How did you walk 6 miles a day in your house? How many square feet were you living in?
I just walked around my house until my Fitbit said 14,000 steps. For more information about house walking, click here. The houses I’ve lived in have ranged from 1,400 sq ft to 1,900 sq ft. For the past 2 years I’ve lived in a less than 300 sq ft class C RV and I still get my miles inside when the weather’s bad. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
How long does it take you to walk 6 miles a day?
About 2 hours. Generally, I split that up into several different chunks of time throughout the day. I count every single step I get, from incidental steps like when doing housework to intentional walking. In other words, if I get all 14,000 steps while cleaning my house then I wouldn’t feel the need to get any additional steps in via a dedicated walk. Every single step counts.
Isn’t walking 6 miles a day really boring?
At first, it was boring. But now, it’s fun. In the early days, to make it less boring, I watched Netflix. I was able to watch some entertaining shows that I had missed, like Parks and Recreation, Sherlock, Broadchurch, and Fringe. Sometimes I listen to podcasts such as The Dave Ramsey Show, Smart Passive Income, and The Tim Ferriss Show to name a few. Nowadays I generally walk with my husband and we chat about our day.
What pace do you walk at?
I walk about 3 miles per hour on average, though I allow myself to walk at whatever pace I feel most comfortable at that day. This is a slow and steady pace.
Why don’t you walk faster? Couldn’t you burn more calories that way?
I am optimizing for enjoyment. The most important thing to me is that I stick with my habit of being active, and I stick with the things I enjoy. I loathe speedwalking and I know myself well. If I tried to make myself walk faster in the name of burning more calories, I would eventually quit walking altogether.
Have you found any benefits to walking 6 miles a day?
Yes, namely:
- More energy
- Fewer aches and pains
- No gym membership or equipment necessary
- No knee pain (a recurrent problem when I was running 3 miles a day)
- No back pain
- Lots of time for self-reflection and thinking
- It’s relaxing
- Closer relationship with my husband (who generally walks with me)
Slow and Steady Success Academy
What is Slow and Steady Success Academy?
This is the online school I’ve built for people who want a step by step process to lose weight sustainably and keep it off for good.
Are the courses live? Do I have to attend at a certain time each day?
No, the courses are self-paced. You can join any time and go through the courses as slowly as you need to.
How are the courses structured?
Each course is broken down into several modules, which each cover a topic. Each module contains several video-based lessons that break down the module into easy-to-understand concepts. Occasionally there are written exercises, which are meant to help you learn more about yourself and to help you delve into the root issues of your weight struggles.
Are the videos the same as the ones you have posted on Youtube?
No. All of the videos in the courses are freshly recorded content.
Can I post questions if I have them?
Absolutely! There is a discussion feature inside each course, and your question will be answered promptly after you’ve posted it.
What are your current course offerings?
- Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
- Weight Tracking 101
- Overcoming Fear and Worry on Your Weight Loss Journey
- Weight Loss Success Mindset 101
- Keep It Off! Weight Loss Maintenance 101
Questions About Me
There’s a quick bio on my About page but you may still have questions, like…
How tall are you?
I’m 5’6″. A normal BMI for me is 115-154 lbs. To check your BMI click here.
Do you have a lot of loose skin, now that you’ve lost more than 70 pounds?
While my skin isn’t super tight, it isn’t super loose either. I’d say my stomach looks exactly like what I’d expect a person who’s had 3 babies and lost 70+ pounds to look like. Here’s a video I did about that: Intermittent Fasting: Loose Skin
Do you drink anything with sugar in it?
Not during the day during my fasting window. At some point, I cut out sugar in my coffee, though I still take cream. However, I sometimes have a glass of wine at night before bed. Do I sometimes drink a Coke or Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew, or have a milkshake? Absolutely!
How much water do you drink each day?
I don’t have any set amount of water I drink. I simply drink when I’m thirsty. I’ve found that I keep plenty hydrated if I just follow my thirst.
How many calories are you eating every day?
I have no idea, and it certainly changes based on my activity level. I do not count calories, measure my food, or restrict my portions. I’m eating enough to maintain my weight in the normal BMI zone. (:
Do you have a Six Miles to Supper Facebook group?
No. As I was losing weight, I saw that my social media usage generally led to more stress and thus more stress eating, and I severely limited my use of it. After I started my Youtube channel, many people requested a Six Miles to Supper Facebook group, and I had one for a while. After a time I shut it down, because I was uncomfortable encouraging people to use social media more. (For more details, check out this blog post.) I currently have no social media accounts, unless you count Youtube.
Do you offer 1 on 1 coaching?
Yes. Click here to see my current coaching packages.
Can you help me with my weight loss journey?
Yes. Check out what I offer, based on various budgets:
Free: Browse through this site. I’ve made lots of videos about various intermittent fasting and weight loss topics, and I also have a podcast. Use the search bar at the top of this site to find what you need. I do live Q&As on Youtube. Click here to see the current schedule, or to rewatch old lives.
Less than $15: I’ve also written two books to help you with the weight loss journey.
The Laid Back Guide to Intermittent Fasting. In that book I share the way I practice intermittent fasting, and what my overall journey looked like. (To view all the retailers this book is available at, click this link.)
Overcoming Weight Loss Obstacles: How to Keep Going When Things Get Difficult. That book goes into more depth about the difficult parts of weight loss, such as facing the fears associated with losing weight, how to handle self-sabotage, and dealing with body image issues.
Greater than $50: Check out my Slow and Steady Success Academy for premium courses and coaching.
You’ve mentioned that you’re a full-time RVer. Why did you decide to do that?
The short answer is I realized that I kept saying that I wanted to travel and see the world, but we rarely traveled anywhere, except to see family or to go to the beach for a couple of days. In 2018 we sold everything, bought a 31′ Class C RV, and hit the road for 2 years. It was an amazing experience for our entire family. We grew closer, learned to communicate even better, and we saw some awesome sights. Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, and Washington D.C. on the Fourth of July are some of my favorite memories from this time.
What’s the deal with that Donorsee shirt I see you wearing on some of your videos?
You need to know two important things about me. First, I am not in any way compensated by Donorsee. Second, one of the things I’m most passionate about is making a positive impact on the world, specifically poverty alleviation in the poorest areas of the world. I have always enjoyed giving to charity, but a major frustration I had was that so often I would see that the CEO of a charity would be making well over 6 figures, while there was little transparency as to how the donations were being used. The Donorsee app solved that problem for me. I love Donorsee and I want as many people as possible to know about this app, and I figure if I wear my Donorsee shirt on my Youtube videos, several thousand people who might not have otherwise heard of it will now hear about it.
The Donorsee app focuses on showcasing high-impact, usually low-cost projects, and helps connect donors directly to the projects they donate to by providing video updates from the workers on the ground. Donors can see exactly how their money was used to impact specific lives. Using this app has both educated me about the harsh realities of global poverty, and given me hope that we can make a positive impact on the situation by donating. Some of my favorite Donorsee storytellers are:
- Prince Inglis, a Donorsee partner who was born and raised and lives in Malawi, Africa. He rides on a pushbike to the villages, instead of using a car, so that he can find those who are truly in dire need.
- Veronika Cejpkova, a Donorsee partner who founded Whisper’s Magical Children’s hospital in Jinja, Uganda which provides low-cost, high quality medical care in this community.
- Aubree Packard, who founded Walk In Love International. She has many projects that provide formula to infants who would otherwise die of starvation.