Episode 511: Melissa

Intermittent Fasting Stories

Gin Stephens

Nutrition, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Melissa from Hartland, MI.

Join Gin in the new Fast Feast Repeat app for The Grown-Up Year: 52 Weeks to Listen, Play, and Nourish, as well as a growing collection of intermittent fasting resources. Go to app.fastfeastrepeat.com to join us or go to the App Store and download the Fast Feast Repeat app, available for both iPhone and Android.

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.

Melissa is a case manager who works with people who have been in car accidents and a mom of two boys. She learned about fasting in August 2022 after her father recommended Fast Feast Repeat. In the episode, Melissa recounts her struggle with weight that began when she was in high school, detailing various diets she tried over the years, including calorie counting and keto among others, before discovering fasting. She describes how fasting provided a sustainable approach that didn't require extensive meal prep or special purchases, allowing her to lose weight steadily and improve her overall well-being. Melissa emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in the fasting community and resources, which helped her stay motivated and informed.

As time has gone on, Melissa has made significant changes in how she eats, prioritizing whole foods for her and her family. Her weight loss picked up significantly when she made the shift, and she is teaching her boys about choosing real foods. She also uses ADF as a tool for weight loss when needed.

Melissa's parting advice to listeners is to "get plugged in" by engaging with books, podcasts, and the fasting community to continuously learn and adapt. She highlights the value of being part of a supportive network and staying informed to make the most of the fasting 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

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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you struggling with food confusion or diet brain when it comes to what to eat in your eating
0:06.2	window? Do you know that you need to make changes, but you don't know where to begin? I'm excited to
0:11.6	announce my new Eat Like a Grown Up program. It's a 52-week learning journey that helps you
0:16.7	finally build a peaceful, confident relationship with food without dieting, guilt, or overwhelm.
0:23.2	And it's only available in the new Fast Feast Repeat app.
0:26.7	Join me in the app for The Grown Up Year, 52 weeks to listen, play, and nourish.
0:32.9	Each week, you'll watch a short video lesson and download a simple practical mission,
0:38.2	designed to help you listen to your body, play with your food in a joyful way, and nourish yourself with calm
0:43.8	intention. You'll learn how to move past emotional eating, understand your hunger cues, make
0:49.6	meals deeply satisfying, and you'll fall back in love with real food, all while connecting with a
0:56.1	community that's growing right alongside you in the app. If you're ready for transformation
1:00.6	that unfolds gently but meaningfully over time, this is where it begins. Go to app.
1:07.1	.fastfeastrepeat.com to join, or you can find the fast feast repeat app in the app store that
1:14.9	works with your phone. Along with the Eat Like a Grown Up, 52-week program, you'll find an ever-growing
1:20.5	library of intermittent fasting resources as well. Go to app.com to join us or download the fastfeastrepeastrepeat
1:26.7	dot com to join us or download the Fast Feast Repeat app today.
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1:39.9	If you're looking for morning energy, calm evenings, deep rest, digestion and recovery,
1:45.8	then bioptimizers has something for you.
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	...

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