“Do something, just don’t do anything” is a quote used by many to start whatever plan, program, diet, business or venture they are trying to start. It’s a call to action when you know you need to act, but you want to make the right move.
That was true for health and beauty influencer Janielle Wright, who at 337 pounds, was afraid she would die. Her body was in pain and she had trouble breathing at night.
“I was going to sleep worried that I wouldn’t wake up the next morning,” Wright told NBC News BETTER. “This is no way to live thinking you’re going to die because you’re overweight and you’re unhealthy,”
She was also afraid that she wouldn’t live to see her 3-year-old daughter, Novah, grow up. That was when the beautiful Ms. Wright realized something had to change.
“This time last year all I did was cry I was EXTREMELY depressed & scared for my life I would lay in bed looking at my daughter sleeping thinking is this the last time I’m going to see her 😔 I didn’t want to leave her I didn’t want to die so I made a choice I chose LIFE! Thank you Jesus who will never leave me nor forsake me,” she posted on Instagram.
In January, Wright made the decision to do something and began her weight-loss journey through intermittent fasting. It’s a time-restricted eating method where you only allow yourself to eat within a certain window of time. Wright says the method helped her lose 98 pounds so far.
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, but rather a dieting pattern.
In simpler terms, it’s making a conscious decision to skip certain meals on purpose.
By fasting and then feasting on purpose, intermittent fasting generally means that you consume your calories during a specific window of the day, and choose not to eat food for a larger window of time.
A 16/8 protocol in intermittent fasting means fasting for 16 hours and then only eating within a specific 8-hour window. For example, only eating from noon-8 PM, essentially skipping breakfast.
You can adjust this window to make it work for your life. For example:
If you start eating at: 7AM, stop eating and start fasting at 3pm
If you start eating at: 11AM, stop eating and start fasting at 7pm
If you start eating at: 2PM, stop eating and start fasting at 10pm
If you start eating at: 6PM, stop eating and start fasting at 2AM.
“I just prayed and asked that [God] could see me through this journey, and could be consistent and be patient, because I feel that patience is key when it comes to weight loss,” recalls Wright.
Wright began intermittent fasting with the 16:8 method. She cut out breakfast, she says, and ate just two meals a day — the first at 12 p.m., and the last meal around 8 p.m.
“I was only eating lunch and dinner, and it’s meant for you not to snack too,” Wright explains.
She says she stuck to low-carb meals, and limited her calories to between 1,800 and 2,000 calories a day. She tracked her calories on the MyFitnessPal app.
Wright says she spent five months conditioning her body to the 16:8 method. At that point, she says, she switched to the 20:4 method. According to this method, you fast for 20 hours and have a 4-hour eating window.
“I wanted a change,” says Wright. “I wanted to try to boost my weight loss even more.”
Fasting for long periods of time can become a bit tiresome and redundant. That’s why Wright lets herself have three cheat meals a month. Whether it’s nachos, Chinese food or a Subway sandwich, cheat meals help her stay…
…balanced, she says. But she warns not to overdo it.
“Once I’m done with my cheat meal I move on,” says Wright.
Wright says intermittent fasting is effective because it taught her self control. Since the rule required her to stop eating at 8 p.m., it prevented her from snacking before bed.
“It helped me not to go into the kitchen at night and eat cake or ice cream very late in the night,” says Wright. “And I feel like that is why it works, because it teaches you discipline when it comes to what time you’re eating your food.”
When you are intermittent fasting, Wright explains, it’s easy to become obsessive about timing your meals. She says it’s important to not be too fixated on time.
“Don’t be so tedious with time if that makes sense,” says Wright. “Like, it’s okay to be a couple of minutes off — like 10, 15 minutes off. That’s okay.”
We congratulate Janielle on her weight loss so far and look forward to many more lives that will be changed through her story! To find out more about this beauty, check out her instagram, here.
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