FASTer Way to Fat Loss Results + Review

I wanted to write a full review with my results with doing the FASTer Way to Fat Loss. I am just ending the 6-week program and have so many thoughts swirling around in my brain I knew I had to write them down and share them with you.

I recorded a podcast with my friend and FASTer Way coach Amber Bibelheimer when I was about 1.5 weeks into the program. You can listen here to learn more about the program and my beginning thoughts. But where am I now being done with the 6 week program?

What is FASTer way program?

Let’s talk about what the FASTer way to Fat Loss program really is. It is an online intermittent fasting, fitness and nutrition program. It teaches you how to burn fat and use nutrition to help you meet your weight and/ or fitness goals and still fuel your healthy lifestyle. It is done through intermittent fasting, carb cycling, macro tracking, gluten/ dairy free whole food nutrition, and strategic (and really good) workouts.

I did the program fully, although there were definitely some hits and misses in the nutrition and workout department. I was trying to figure out what worked the best for my body all while sticking to the foods I know make me feel great and trying to avoid the ones that don’t. There’s no perfect in this program, you’re learning and it is progress over perfection.

I should also mention I started this when Evie was 9 months old and I was and am still breastfeeding. I didn’t intermittent fast as long (although I do go 12-13 hours). I don’t do as low of net carbs for low carb day, and my calories are higher to make up for making milk and my increased workout amount in the week. A BIG BONUS was that my milk supply went up. I have been able to feed Evie less often and she’s been gaining more weight. I think I gained an hour of time back in my days becuase I’m not nursing so often!

You can make this program work for you, whatever more specific needs you have. That’s why you have a coach to help you out!

What I learned during the FASTer Way

Eat more food and eat more carbs

I learned in the first week that I was not eating enough food and I was not eating enough carbohydrates. Yep, I said that… not enough carbs! Especially for breastfeeding. I quickly upped the amount of food I was eating and I found that I wasn’t hungry at night before bed and I wasn’t scrounging around in the kitchen the whole night wondering what to eat. I am now eating enough during my days and feel more satisfied at night.

I also needed to add in some more carbs. Sweet potatoes, fruit, gluten-free grains, corn. Now, the last 2 aren’t paleo at all, but I wanted to try. This was where some of the speed bumps came in. I haven’t done many grains in years. My body doesn’t do that well with them. So I experimented with them again (I was doing them at the end of pregnancy and the first 3 months postpartum and did great). I tried oats and it was a recipe for a 3-day stomach ache… bad idea! I found out the only grain I can do is brown rice. And I also can do some organic non-GMO corn. Overall, it has been the hardest to get in the number of carbohydrates I need in a day. I default to eating fat, and although good fat is good for you, I was eating too much and not enough carbs to fully fuel my body, especially on a lifting workout day.

I didn’t even realize I wasn’t eating enough carbs. I really thought I was eating more. And my hormones in this season of life needed more carbs.

Not as hungry

I used to wake up not too hungry and then at the end of the night feeling hungry and craving food and not knowing what to eat. I realize it was not getting enough carbs in, not enough food and calories throughout my days, and not eating enough of a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Now I feel content at night and that’s awesome! I have been intermittent fasting for 12-13 hours, but the program has you fast for 16 hours if you aren’t breastfeeding or don’t have any other contraindication.

Energy is better

Ever since Evie was born I haven’t slept so well. Overall she isn’t the best at staying asleep at night and after months of not a lot of consecutive sleep paired with not sleeping deeply, I was tired! Right before I started the program I was sleeping a bit better, but upping my carbohydrates has helped me sleep better and has given me more energy in my days. I mean… what mom (or anyone really) wouldn’t want that. I still get tired, but I don’t feel so out of it like I used to. Sleep is a magical thing. And I’m grateful for this program pointing out that carbs can improve my sleep.

Working out regularly

Exercise and I have always had a bit of a rocky relationship. I have never been one that loves to workout. But, I always wanted to and we know we feel better when our body is moving. My pregnancies are hard and stressful so my workouts are short and easy. And then postpartum I never got into any sort of exercise groove. It had been 18 months and I was ready to get strong. I have no fitness body or big muscle aspirations. I know that muscle is a biomarker for health. And I want to be healthy and feel strong and be able to do all the things with my girls I want to do.

The thing that surprised me is that I am loving these workouts. They are hard but so good. And I like lifting weights. I forgot that over the years. I’m an Enneagram 9 and I always read Enneagram 9’s like and do well with regular physical activity. I never thought I fell into that category. But the more I am working out, the more I realize how much I love it and my mental health does so well with it too. My biggest goal continuing on after the 6-week program is that I can keep working out 4x/week and build and maintains strength.

My Results

This is the area where I don’t want to put all of these results out there, because we all have our own fitness and health goals, we have different body shapes, health challenges, and how our bodies respond.

Here’s the simple version of my health goals. The first is I wanted to become stronger. Weight loss was not one of my goals because I don’t need to lose any weight, my body is right at the weight range that I feel good at. The second is I wanted to get into the habit of working out. And the third is figuring out how to fuel my body better. After having Evie I got in a rut of eating the same foods, lots of quick “healthy” foods like keto bars and crackers. And not enough veggies. I wasn’t eating poorly, but I wanted to eat better.

At the end of the 6 weeks, I haven’t lost any weight (and I didn’t think I would) but I did lose some inches around my waist and hips. I feel really good about that because I was holding on to some extra in that area from pregnancy. Oh, and there is no pre and post weigh in during the program, I just was curious myself. And I can actually get on the scale and have a healthy relationship with the number on there, so I was ok hopping on and checking in a few times during the process.

My biggest result was I am eating more food that I was before, feeling more energy, and I’ve toned up. Eating more food can often help you lose weight or feel more energy. I think a lot of us women undereat vs overeat.

Where I’m going next and feeling stuck

I signed up for the VIP program where I will continue to do the workouts and follow carb cycling. I am going to be customizing my eating a bit more because I know my body wants some more fat throughout the week.

I’m going to be tracking my macros only a few days a week vs all of the days of the week. I don’t want to be obsessed with what I’m eating (which overall I haven’t been during the program) but I wanted to make sure I am eating enough carbs and protein and not relying so much on paleo cookies, chocolate, and goat cheese. Because those were my go-to’s!

I have felt a little stuck at times wondering if I’m doing the right thing for my body. Should I be eating all of these carbs? Should I introduce more grains? But I think that’s a little normal. We all want to do our best but overall has given me so much more information about the foods I’m eating and we have been eating way more veggies, fruits, and a variety of foods.

The one thing I have been leary with during the program is all of the macro tracking. You calculate all of the food you eat in a day for the whole 6 weeks. For me, it wasn’t emoaitonal and I didn’t take a lot of stock in the fact that certain foods had a certain amount of calories/ fat/ protein/ carbs. I liked looking at it as information about how the food I was eating was nourishing my body (or not). But if you have a negative relationship with food and your body, this could be a trigger for you. But it doesn’t have to prevent you from doing the program. You can do it without doing much (or any) tracking if that works better for you. That has been my only issue with the program because I’m sensitive to people’s relationship with food and their bodies and the old habits of counting calories. In this program you don’t count calories. You want to make sure you are getting the right macronutrients in your body and actually eating enough food. Most people find they aren’t eating enough, especially with the increase in fat burning with the workouts.

Do You Want In?

Does this sound like something you would love to do? I was surprised at how much I loved this program. It really helps you learn how to figure out the best foods and the amount of food to nourish your body well. I think many people could benefit from this program.

You can learn more about the FASTer Way to Fat Loss HERE.