In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Rachel Jones from southwest Florida. Gin has a new YouTube Channel! Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_frGNiTEoJ88rZOwvuG2CA and subscribe today so you never miss an intermittent fasting tip, a support session, or an interview with a past IF Stories guest or expert. 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.  Rachel and her husband run AJ’s Yacht Service in southern Florida, and Rachel also works as a corporate registered nurse. The conversation begins with a glimpse into Rachel's health journey, exploring her long history with weight fluctuations, various diets, and her eventual disillusionment with perpetual dieting. She shares how becoming a mother and reflecting on her energy levels inspired her to prioritize wellness and strength over simply chasing a number on the scale. Rachel recounts her initial exposure to intermittent fasting back in 2017, driven by her husband’s interest, but she admits she wasn’t ready for it at the time, remaining skeptical as a health professional. It wasn’t until 2022, when she was researching anti-aging strategies and holistic wellness, that intermittent fasting resurfaced as a method worth considering. By that point, Rachel had already lost a substantial amount of weight, and her primary motivation for intermittent fasting was its potential for health and longevity rather than weight loss alone. She describes how adopting functional fitness and shifting her mindset led to sustainable changes, allowing her to model a healthy, positive lifestyle for her young daughter. Throughout the episode, Rachel reflects on the importance of mindset, discipline, and personal development, emphasizing that intermittent fasting became part of a broader self-care and self-love journey. She is candid about her ups and downs, including periods of weight regain and her experimentation with alternate daily fasting (ADF). Rachel also highlights the freedom she has gained—freedom from food obsession, food guilt, and diet challenges—by listening to her body and embracing a flexible fasting window, typically from mid-afternoon to early evening. She mentions the numerous non-scale benefits she’s noticed, such as improved sleep, better metabolic health, and increased resilience, and how her approach to nutrition is now much more intuitive and enjoyable. As the episode concludes, Rachel encourages newcomers to intermittent fasting not to adopt an extreme approach from the start. She reminds listeners that the process does not have to be perfect or rigid—starting small and focusing on building belief and understanding is key. Rachel’s final advice is to do your research, engage with supportive communities, and don’t feel pressured to conform to others’ expectations or share your new lifestyle before you’re ready; above all, intermittent fasting is a personal journey, offering sustainable health and true freedom for those who stick with it. 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 Visit Gin’s website at: ginstephens.com  Check out Gin’s Favorite Things at http://www.ginstephens.com/gins-favorite-things.html Subscribe to Gin’s YouTube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_frGNiTEoJ88rZOwvuG2CA See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.