Episode 428: Aleena Urbas

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Aleena Urbas from Ohio.

Are you ready to take your intermittent fasting lifestyle to the next level? There’s nothing better than community to help with that. In the Delay, Don’t Deny community we all embrace the clean fast, and there’s just the right support for you as you live your intermittent fasting lifestyle.

You can connect directly with Gin in the Ask Gin group, and she will answer all of your questions personally. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or recommitting to the IF lifestyle, join the 28-Day FAST Start group. After your fast start, join us for support in The 1st Year group. Need tips for long term maintenance? We have a place for that! There are many more useful spaces beyond these, and you can interact in as many as you like.

Visit ginstephens.com/community to join us. An annual membership costs just over a dollar a week when you do the math. If you aren’t ready to fully commit for a year, join for a month and you can cancel at any time. If you know you’ll want to stay forever, we also have a lifetime membership option available.

IF is free. You don’t need to join our community to fast. But if you’re looking for support from a community of like-minded IFers, we are here for you at ginstephens.com/community.

Aleena is a stay-at-home mom of two teenage girls. Her struggle with body image began at the age of 14 when a high school boyfriend told her that she was “fat”. That led her down a challenging path of eating disorders that began with anorexia and developed into bingeing and purging. She carried the shame of her disordered eating for decades.

Aleena thought she found the answer to her struggles when she joined a religious-based diet program and began attending their church. Despite achieving her lowest weight in 2011, Aleena discusses the emotional trauma and pressure she faced, which ultimately led her to leave what she refers to as a diet “cult”. This marked a positive turning point in her life, bolstered by the strong support system she found in intermittent fasting groups where she formed meaningful friendships that helped her through her most challenging times.

Both Aleena and Gin share the mental shifts they have experienced through their fasting practices. Aleena emphasizes how fasting helped her not only in understanding which foods worked best for her body but also in healing her relationship with food. She describes moving away from viewing fasting as a form of punishment to seeing it as a means of connection and self-care. Furthermore, Aleena and Gin discuss the pitfalls of ‘revenge fasting’ and the importance of approaching fasting with a mindset focused on gratitude and empowerment, rather than restriction and control.

To conclude, Aleena offers advice to those new to or struggling with intermittent fasting. She stresses the importance of letting go of fear, embracing faith in oneself, and being present in the moment. She encourages listeners to avoid keeping secrets that could hinder progress, to seek support from a community or inner circle, and to see each day as an opportunity for a fresh start. Aleena’s parting message is one of encouragement to connect to either a higher power or your own inner strength, finding joy and liberation in the journey towards a healthier relationship with food and oneself.

Get Gin’s books at: https://www.ginstephens.com/get-the-books.html. Good news! The second edition of Delay, Don’t Deny is now available in ebook, paperback, and hardback. This is the book that you’ll want to start with or share with others, as it is a simple introduction to IF. It’s been updated to include the clean fast, a thorough description of ADF and all of your ADF options, and an all new success stories section. When shopping, make sure to get the second edition, which has an August of 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition has not yet been recorded, so if you listen to the first edition audiobook, you’ll also want a copy of the ebook or a paper copy to see the updates.

Join Gin’s community! Go to: ginstephens.com/community

Do you enjoy Intermittent Fasting Stories? You’ll probably also like Gin’s other podcast with cohost Sheri Bullock: Fast. Feast. Repeat. Intermittent Fasting for Life. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.

Share your intermittent fasting stories with Gin: gin@intermittentfastingstories.com

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