In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Nicki Torossian from London, Ontario in Canada.

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.

Nicki is a sales representative for a Belgian bra and swimwear company. She remembers always struggling with her weight as a child, and she accompanied her mother to Weight Watchers meetings at the age of 10. By the time she was 13, she was 175 pounds, and at 5’ 4”, she was overweight and felt self-conscious about her size. At the age of 16, she went on Nutrisystem and found success, losing 50 pounds and getting down to 133. She recalls taking one of their diet pizza meals to Christmas dinner, because she was afraid to eat real food.

Nicki’s family moved before her senior year of high school, and she started school at her new weight. No one knew she had been overweight, and she felt amazing. Unfortunately, she slowly began regaining the weight, and when she went to college, she got up to 185. She gave up trying to lose weight, and after college she found herself over 200 pounds for the first time

That is when the real struggles began. She married a chef, and continued to gain weight, ending up at her highest weight of 272 pounds. Desperate, she crossed the border into the US and had gastric bypass surgery. Her surgeon explained that the surgery was just one tool, and that it was going to be up to her to change how she ate long term to see success.

After the surgery, Nicki got down to 135 pounds and felt amazing. She and her husband divorced, and she found herself in a new relationship. That began a period of slow regain, where she regained about 40 pounds.

Around that time, she began exploring a plant based diet. While she didn’t lose any weight, she ended up finding intermittent fasting in March of 2019. She got started, and after about a year, she was able to re-lose 35 pounds. She has maintained in her goal range for the past 6 years. Even better, she surpassed her size goal. She hoped to be a size 14 for life, but she finds herself wearing clothing sizes she never dreamed of, and is happiest in a comfortable size 8.

Nicki’s relationship with food and eating has been transformed, and she credits that to her changed hormones and also her understanding of the power of real food. She has soft skin, an improved mood and a sense of calm, and she doesn’t get sick. She also loves the energy she has while fasting.

At the end of the episode, Nicki tells listeners that it’s physically possible to go for longer periods without hunger, something she would not have believed before starting IF. Thanks to IF, she is living a life where she can enjoy food without guilt, and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Check out our sponsor Zoe at ZOE.com, and use the promo code IFSTORIES10 to get 10% off your membership.

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.

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Episode 451: Nicki Torossian