Exactly 5 years since applying intermittent fasting, designer Ha Minh Phuc has seen improvements in her appearance, physical and mental health, and a significant reduction in visceral fat ratio.
Designer Ha Minh Phuc - owner of a famous fashion brand in Hanoi, born in 1985 - said she learned about intermittent fasting (IF) in July 2020, when she was trying to find a method to improve her father's health, helping him fight stomach cancer.
The turning point of the whole family also made her realize that maintaining and improving health is more important than ever, so she decided to pursue IF to be healthier and more beautiful. "At the age of 35, after three births, I weighed 63 kg, my body was obese, my body was flabby, and my skin was orange peel," Ha Minh Phuc recalled.
The goal of intermittent fasting is to create enough time for the body to digest and convert energy from what is consumed, while forcing the body to burn excess fat for energy, reduce fat, and lose weight.
Designer Ha Minh Phuc successfully lost 10 kg, rejuvenating his body from the outside to his internal health, largely thanks to building a healthy lifestyle, eating scientifically and moderately.In the first year of getting used to IF, the mother of three arranged her eating schedule according to the 4:4:12 rule. In which breakfast is 4 hours from lunch, lunch is 4 hours from dinner, and dinner is 12 hours from the next morning. After the body adapted to this schedule, Ha Minh Phuc gradually increased the fasting time to 16 hours, eating within 8 hours, which means the first meal of the day is eaten within 12 hours, and dinner is at 7:00 p.m.
Along with mealtimes, she controls the amount of food she eats in each meal by estimating the nutritional ratio of her hand or dividing it by plate: 40% fiber, 30% protein, 20% starch, 10% good fat. This rule helps Ha Minh Phuc still enjoy home-cooked meals with her family and applies it to parties, gatherings with friends, or when traveling without affecting her eating plan much.
"At first, of course, I couldn't avoid feeling hungry, but later I realized that it was a feeling of being addicted to sugar and that my body wasn't really hungry. After about 8 weeks, this condition improved significantly, and I no longer craved food," said the mother of three.
Designer Ha Minh Phuc recommends replacing a regular rice bowl with a plate about 20 cm in diameter to easily control the ratio of nutrient groups in the meal.Currently, at the age of 40, not only maintaining a slim figure, but designer Ha Minh Phuc has also noticed a clear change in both physical and mental health, always full of energy, confident in participating in all sports activities from gym to sexy dance, mountain climbing, playing pickleball... "I currently wear size S clothes, lost 10 kg and have not gained weight again. In particular, the fat index is only around 10% with 4% being visceral fat, 6% being subcutaneous fat, the muscle ratio has also increased, the spirit is comfortable and happy. The blood biochemical test indexes are always at a safe and healthy level", Ha Minh Phuc said.
After 5 years of applying intermittent fasting to improve himself, Ha Minh Phuc realized that the biggest difficulty lies in whether he has enough confidence in this method to apply it until it produces results or not. "The hardest part is to have enough trust and maintain enough time until the body balances its metabolism and creates changes. People often give up in the first 5 weeks, but the nature of this method is to improve from the root, to change lifestyle, so it cannot create immediate results," the 8X designer explained and compared the application of intermittent fasting to cycling, the first steps are often difficult but when momentum is gained, it will be easier.
In 2020, Ha Minh Phuc's body had a lot of excess fat accumulated around the abdomen and arms, so she always felt heavy and lethargic (left), very different from now.
The mother of three noticed that her physical and mental health had clearly improved, and she was always full of positive energy.She also said that the most common mistake that many people make when applying intermittent fasting is snacking during the fasting period and eating too much during the eating period. "You should only eat enough nutrition, eat moderately. Eating too much means eating without control, eating excessively. No matter what method you apply, it will be very difficult to improve your weight and health," she said.
The mother of three also encourages women to find a companion with enough knowledge and experience to strengthen their faith, perseverance, and overcome the initial stage of intermittent fasting together.
Home-cooked meals still reduce fat by designer Ha Minh Phuc.
Along with the eating time of 8 hours, fasting for 16 hours, designer Ha Minh Phuc controls the amount of food eaten in each meal by estimating the nutritional ratio according to the plate with 40% fiber, 30% protein, 20% starch, and 10% good fat.
