Finding Balance in a Plant-Based DIet

Finding Balance

How IIFYM, intermittent fasting and intuitive eating led Sarah Mordelt to a healthier relationship with food

How can one find a healthy relationship with food by jumping on every diet trend bandwagon that comes along? Fair question. When I was making notes to write this article, I actually looked back over the past two years and thought "Wow, what I was doing wasn't healthy or balanced at all."

In that time, I have tried "if it fits your macros", intermittent fasting and intuitive eating. And none of them worked for me. Now, I like to describe my approach towards food and eating as "intuitive fasting" ­ a blend between intuitive eating and intermittent fasting.

In this article, I want to share with you what I've learned by following these diet trends ­ the good and the bad ­ and how that has led me to a healthier relationship with food. And I'm intentionally saying "healthier" instead of "healthy" here, because I know I'm not completely where I want to be yet.

'If it fits your macros' (IIFYM)

From January to August 2017, I tried the "if it fits your macros" diet ­ or IIFYM for short. I actually just had to check my tracking app to remember the exact time period. I can't recall exactly how I got started, but I probably read it somewhere online or saw someone talk about it on YouTube.

Why I wanted to try IIFYM

I think I was initially intrigued by IIFYM because I am obsessed with numbers. I love tracking things, comparing numbers, analysing data and seeing patterns. So naturally, I was instantly drawn to expressing my food intake in numbers. Around that time, I was also starting to eat less meat and I wanted to see how that would affect my protein intake.

Why I quit IIFYM

I didn't quit IIFYM from one day to the other. Around August 2017, I was moving from my student dorm to a small flat in a new city, I was travelling, and I was visiting my parents more often. I just didn't have a scale with me all the time. So I was adding less and less of what I ate into my tracking app. I also realized I was getting enough protein and had gotten quite a good feeling of how many calories I was eating without writing it all down. So after a while, I just felt less motivated to do IIFYM and eventually stopped.

**What is... ...IIFYM?

In IIFYM, you track the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat and protein) of your food. That means you need to keep track of what you eat and how much of it. You can eat pretty much anything as long as you stay within these macronutrients and within your daily calorie goal. I went for a 40­30­ 30 split: 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat.**

What I learned from IIFYM

Food is not a number: As much as I love numbers and I love food, I realized that reducing food to numbers was harmful. I became so disconnected from the food I was eating. Sometimes I would eat certain foods and meals because they fitted the numbers. In a way, I think that helped me transition to vegetarianism, though that might seem counter­intuitive at first. Taking out the emotional connection and the taste and just looking at it on a rational level made me realize how unnatural and repulsive it was for me to eat meat.

Understand your habits: Once I started tracking everything I ate, I realized that I would often eat out of boredom. I also realized that almost every other day I would buy a chocolate croissant from the bakery on my way to or from uni. Beyond the fact that I was spending a small fortune on chocolate croissants, it was a rather unhealthy habit. There is nothing wrong with indulging, but I realized that the things you do unconsciously are so important.

**What is...intermittent fasting?

Whilst IIFYM is more about what you eat, intermittent fasting is all about when you eat. Essentially, you have a controlled fasting window where you don't consume any calories (only water or tea) and an eating window. A common method is the 16/8 method, where you fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours. Another method is the 5/2 method, where you eat normally for 5 days of the week and fast for the remaining two days.**

Understand portion sizes: Doing IIFYM really helped me get an understanding of what portion sizes really mean, how some foods are calorie or nutrient-­dense whilst others don't have so many calories. Now I absolutely do not think it is necessary to 100% keep track of your nutrient/calorie intake or look at every food label. However, I do think it is important to have a basic understanding of portion sizes and how much you need to eat to fulfil your needs.

Intermittent fasting

Sometime around June or July 2017 (while I was doing IIFYM but tracking fewer and fewer days) I saw a YouTuber talk about intermittent fasting. I thought ­ why not give it a try? To get started, I ate bigger meals for dinner and delayed my breakfast until I was feeling hungry. In the end, I went with a 15/9 split. Usually I would eat my first meal at around 10 am and eat dinner at 7 pm.

Why I wanted to try intermittent fasting

The main reason why I decided to try intermittent fasting was to reduce my bloating. Before, I was feeling bloated most of the time and it was annoying me. Also, I was just generally interested in the concept and hoped it would simplify my morning routine. As someone who always felt super hungry 10 minutes after waking up, not eating until noon seemed a bit dauting, but also quite intriguing.

Why I quit intermittent fasting

While I was still at uni, intermittent fasting was working really well for me. I felt great, had lots of energy, felt less bloated and was just very happy with my body. I would usually prepare some overnight oats the day before, bring them with me to class and break my fast during the first morning break. Because I came home at 5 pm at the latest, eating dinner at 7 pm wasn't a problem either. Then I started a new job in October 2017, and everything changed. Now I don't come home before 6.30 pm, and sometimes it's even later. In the mornings, I usually have meetings at work. I'm just not that flexible anymore with regards to when I eat.

What I learned from intermittent fasting

Eat when you are hungry: This was the biggest aha moment for me. I think in our culture, eating has become such an integral part of our daily routine that we don't really listen to our bodies anymore. We don't really eat when we have to or when we feel hungry, but more when it is "normal" to do so. Who told us to eat breakfast in the morning even when we don't feel hungry? Who told us to wait for dinner at a certain time even though we might already feel hungry? What I've learned is to pay close attention to my body's cues. I've learned that sometimes I feel hungry but that is just my body telling me I'm dehydrated. Other times I feel hungry and it is indeed my body asking for food.

Eat mindfully: For me, doing intermittent fasting took out the stress of eating breakfast while getting ready for work/uni. I guess it made me realize how little attention I was paying to

the food I was eating whilst eating it. Now, I am making an effort to try and have at least one meal a day without any distractions or multi­tasking going on. And by that, I don't mean chatting to my co­workers or hanging out with my friends. I mean scrolling through Instagram, watching YouTube/TV or answering emails whilst absent­mindedly eating my meal. This also includes eating and chewing slowly (which my grandma also used to tell me all the time! I guess she was right … thanks grandma xx) and stopping when you are feeling full.

Don't let your eating habits interfere with your daily life: The reason why intermittent fasting (and I guess also IIFYM) didn't work for me anymore was that my life changed. We have to understand that it is totally okay (and normal) to change. What worked a year ago might not work anymore, and we have to adapt. But that's fine. I learned that I needed to create an approach to eating that would make me feel happy and balanced, but also wouldn't interfere with my daily life.

Intuitive eating

Why I wanted to try intuitive eating

When I started my new job and couldn't keep up with the tight schedule of intermittent fasting anymore, I kind of went back to intuitive eating. I realized that with IIFYM and intermittent fasting I was setting myself a lot of rules and restrictions. Rules can be a good thing if they are reasonable and achievable. If you set too many restrictions, at some point you will become frustrated.

What is...

...intuitive eating?

Intuitive eating describes an approach where you listen to your body ­- eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. There are no restrictions or guidelines as to what you should eat. Instead, it is about how your body feels and what your body craves.

Why I quit intuitive eating

I wouldn't necessarily say I quit intuitive eating. Rather, I modified some parts of it, incorporated the aspects of intermittent fasting that I enjoyed, and finally found a way that works for me. I like to call it "intuitive fasting". I still try to delay my first meal of the day and eat fewer bigger meals in a shorter time period because I think it simplifies my life and I feel good doing so. However, I am also listening to my body, and if I wake up hungry then I'm gonna eat something ­- so what?

What I learned from intuitive eating

Eat clean: I feel so much better when I eat whole foods instead of processed foods. I notice I get less breakouts on my skin, my digestion is better, I have more energy. And I don't mean not eating any processed foods at all. What I mean is making an effort to fuel your body with mostly whole foods and clean meals.

Avoid extremes: Whether that's when you eat (see intermittent fasting), how many calories you eat (see IIFYM), or how much of a certain macronutrient you consume (for example low­carb­high­fat), I have learned to avoid extremes! Anything that is unnatural to you because it's too rigid or strict, that stresses you out or feels like a burden ­it is not sustainable. And I think when it comes to creating a healthy relationship with food, it is so important to find an approach that works for you and that is sustainable for you.

Listen to your body: How does a meal make you feel? Does it make you feel satisfied? Happy? Energized? Bloated? Tired? How do you feel eating it? How do you feel a few hours later? Your body is amazing at telling you what it needs. But you have to listen!

What I learned from going vegan

Around the time when I found "intuitive fasting" as an approach that works for me, I also transitioned to a vegan diet. Here is what I learned from going vegan:

Veganism is not a restriction: At first I thought, "Oh, I can'teat this. I can't eat that." However, soon I discovered all these

great plants and spices that I had never thought of eating before. Like tempeh, cashew cheese, tahini, edamame, hazelnut milk, aquafaba chocolate mousse… Sometimes I feel a bit silly for not knowing about these foods prior to going vegan, because now I wouldn't want to miss them!

It is okay to indulge: What I love about veganism is that you can basically make any dish taste so delicious and flavorful whilst keeping it nutritious, natural and healthy at the same time. Especially after doing IIFYM for a while, I had to relearn that eating is also about enjoying and indulging. It is okay to enjoy eating. In fact, I think it's super important to indulge from time to time! And if you do indulge, you don't have to make up for it. SM

About the writer

Sarah is the blogger behind Sarah's Vegan Guide, which she started to share her favorite recipes and her experience of going vegan. She loves getting creative in the kitchen, figure skating, traveling and listening to country music.