Episode 461: Karen Gaul

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Karen Gaul from Norwich in the UK.

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.

Karen, a retired professional whose career was spent working with people, shares her lifelong journey with weight management and how she discovered intermittent fasting. She begins by recounting how she was placed on her first diet at the age of 9 due to her mother's fear of her becoming overweight. This set her on a tumultuous path of weight fluctuations that continued into adulthood. Despite these early struggles, Karen always maintained an active lifestyle, which included dancing, swimming, and various sports activities. Her first introduction to intermittent fasting came in 2019, inspired partially by her nephew who practiced it.

Karen's pivotal change came in 2020 when she seriously began intermittent fasting after reading Dr. Chatterjee's books and Gin's book Delay, Don't Deny. She initially incorporated intermittent fasting by delaying breakfast and quickly found that her satisfaction increased, reducing the need to eat three meals a day. By first making changes in what she was eating and then adhering to an 18:6 or 16:8 fasting protocol, she managed to lose weight steadily, going from 174 pounds to 123 pounds by the end of 2020. Her daily routine settled into having brunch around 11 am and dinner by 6 pm.

Karen also shares her health setbacks, particularly a diagnosis of stage 1A endometrial cancer just before her 70th birthday. Despite the shock, Karen's overall fitness and health put her in a good position for recovery. She underwent a total hysterectomy followed by 27 radiotherapy treatments. Throughout this trying period, Karen continued her fasting and credits it for helping her maintain focus and a healthy lifestyle. Two years later, she is cancer-free and attributes her successful recovery to her well-established fasting and wellness routines which include good sleep, moderate exercise, and a balanced diet.

In concluding her story, Karen emphasizes the importance of patience for anyone starting with intermittent fasting. She advises learning what protocol suits you through your own study of one, and reminds listeners that achieving your health goals is a journey unique to each individual. Karen encourages new fasters to utilize available resources, ask questions, and find a supportive community, stressing that persistence and self-discovery are key to long-term success. Her outlook remains optimistic as she continues to evolve her practices, always looking forward to what comes next in her wellness journey.

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, hardback, and audiobook. 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, an easier to understand and more 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 a 2024 publication date. The audiobook for the second edition is available now!

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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