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In this episode of Unscripted Pivots, we welcome the incredible Laurie Lewis, founder of Fast Forward Wellness. Laurie shares her personal journey of overcoming weight gain, brain fog, and low energy to discover the transformative power of intermittent fasting. We explore how this simple yet effective approach can help anyone—regardless of gender—regain energy, sharpen focus, and feel their best, all without the stress of restrictive diets.
Laurie’s insights are practical, science-backed, and, best of all, relatable. With humor and real-life experiences, we break down the steps to create an eating window that works for you, helping to reset your body’s natural rhythm and boost overall wellness.
Key Takeaways:
Laurie’s insights are practical, science-backed, and, best of all, relatable. With humor and real-life experiences, we break down the steps to create an eating window that works for you, helping to reset your body’s natural rhythm and boost overall wellness.
Key Takeaways:
- More Than Weight Loss: Intermittent fasting is about so much more than just shedding pounds—it’s a lifestyle shift that improves energy, mental clarity, and overall health.
- Start Simple: Laurie shares easy ways to ease into fasting, starting with a 12-hour fasting window, then gradually adjusting to an 8-hour window over time.
- The Healing Power of Fasting: Learn how intermittent fasting can reduce inflammation, promote fat burning, and even help with conditions like insulin resistance and joint pain.
- It’s Not About Deprivation: Laurie explains how fasting helps you reconnect with your body’s natural hunger cues without the need for crash diets or deprivation.
- For Men and Women: While many women turn to fasting for health benefits, Laurie’s approach works just as well for men, with specific tips for both genders.
Follow Guest Laurie Lewis: Fast Forward Wellness
Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Check out Laurie’s Holiday Fasting Program to stay healthy and balanced through the holiday season!
Have a question about my coaching program? Shoot me an email!
Liked this episode? Share it! And tag me @unscriptedpivots.com
Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Check out Laurie’s Holiday Fasting Program to stay healthy and balanced through the holiday season!
Have a question about my coaching program? Shoot me an email!
Liked this episode? Share it! And tag me @unscriptedpivots.com
Creators & Guests
What is Unscripted Pivots: Inspiring Stories from WTF [Women That Flourish]?
If you’re looking to find connectivity in the female experience, you’ve found the right podcast. Unscripted Pivots (UP) takes a deep dive into how women can masterfully chart their lives only to end up in the most unexpected places. "Life is what happens while we are busy making other plans" and the most unpredictable detours, our “WTF” experiences, can shape us in ways we never dreamed possible. My podcast invites women to redefine “WTF”, calling them “Women That Flourish” moments instead. I’m your host, Danielle Sprouls, aka "The WTF* Lady", and my mission is to bring you weekly interviews with inspiring stories of women empowerment, identity loss, entrepreneurship, leadership, mental health, and more. We’re here to celebrate a woman's adaptability, resilience, and perseverance. No matter our unexpected detours, we can always move UP.
Danielle Sprouls (00:01.421)
Quick question for all of you tuning in, who here wouldn't want more energy, better focus, a clearer mind, and even a chance to reset your relationship with food? Sounds pretty great, right? Well, today we're diving into how you can achieve all of that without adding another thing to your already packed wellness routine. I'm Danielle Sprouls, your host on Unscripted Pivots, and with me today is the incredible Laurie Lewis.
founder of Fast Forward Wellness. Laurie has helped thousands of people tap into these benefits by mastering a simple approach to wellness that fits into real life. No crash diets, no fads, just science-backed strategies that actually work. So if you're tired of feeling sluggish or you want to regain control over your health, stick around. We're about to uncover the real secrets behind improving your energy, focus, and overall wellness. And trust me,
There's plenty of humor along the way because let's face it, the wellness journey can get very interesting. So let's dive in. Welcome to Unscripted Pivots, Laurie. Thank you for coming on.
Laurie Lewis (01:08.441)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Danielle. It's great being with you. Thanks for inviting me. Good to see you.
Danielle Sprouls (01:13.056)
my gosh, you are just a treasure chest of knowledge when it comes to this. And I can't wait to learn even more. I've read a little bit about your programs and what it is that you're doing online. But for our listeners today, can you describe to us like when you first came across intermittent fasting and what was the aha moment when you said, OK, wait, this I need to look into. And then you, you know, eventually embraced and ran with it and you're teaching others. What was your moment?
Laurie Lewis (01:43.327)
my gosh, it's so exciting to me to think back seven and a half years ago and then the 10 years before that, I was really suffering in perimenopause and then the transition into menopause. And for those who don't know, you're officially in menopause when you don't have your period for a consecutive 12 months. And...
Danielle Sprouls (02:00.76)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (02:07.651)
Perimenopause are the transition years of this hormonal chaos that affects us all differently. But I love that we're living in a time now where we're talking more about it because 17 years ago when I went into perimenopause, I didn't know what was happening. They didn't send us to biology class for older women. And yeah, it sure would. So here we are. We get to talk about it. And I really suffered for about 10 years. And part of that struggle was I
Danielle Sprouls (02:26.664)
No, that would have helped.
Laurie Lewis (02:37.679)
experienced my balance and equilibrium were off, memory loss, brain fog. I was aching head to toe. And at age 49, when I went into menopause, which is early, 51 is the average, I suddenly gained 50 pounds. So I was lean and fit and running marathons. I've been studying nutrition for over 20 years as my personal passion. And everybody knew me as the
Danielle Sprouls (02:54.297)
Wow. Okay.
Laurie Lewis (03:04.045)
healthiest friend they had and I never wanted to be the food police. I stayed in my own lane and did my own thing and figured out how to fuel myself well. So with this sudden weight gain, nothing I had done in the past made a difference. And I suffered with all those symptoms and including the 50 pound weight gain for about five years. And one night I was home in Colorado where I grew up visiting my mom and
She very lovingly, but most daughter ears can't hear this too well. She said, let's use this time that you're home to turn the weight around.
Danielle Sprouls (03:38.351)
Yes.
Danielle Sprouls (03:44.495)
Thank you, mom. Thank you, mom.
Laurie Lewis (03:46.275)
I'm just going to thank you, mom. my goodness. I had a complete meltdown, Danielle. I was like a five-year-old having a temper tantrum saying, I can't just snap my fingers. I've been trying so hard. But that very night, I googled. I've been googling everything. I've been studying nutrition. I've trying everything for all these years. And I knew about long-term therapeutic fasting.
Danielle Sprouls (03:58.671)
Mmm.
Danielle Sprouls (04:13.839)
Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (04:14.265)
did not know a person could choose to live their life in a pattern of fasting and eating every day, having an eating window, being conscious of refraining from flavored food, flavored drinks and nutrients for a portion of every 24 hour period and heal your body by doing that. And I read about it that night and I started that very same day and I've had an eating window every day.
Danielle Sprouls (04:29.433)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (04:43.299)
for seven and a half years. I, you know, here I am at age 61, no aches and pains. Thank you.
Danielle Sprouls (04:48.694)
Mm-hmm. Looking fabulous. Check us out on YouTube. Okay, we'll be on YouTube. So check her out. She is gorgeous. I mean, you know, just the light that shines just enhances your outer beauty as well. Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (05:00.815)
Thank you, Danielle. So no medication, no aches and pains, optimal lab work. And I went through a battery of tests on two occasions because I had to test it out to make sure it was real. And at 61, my biological age is 40. So that means my cellular health is. And what's so cool is that when the doctor was reviewing my results, she looked at me over the edge of the clipboard and she said, you're an intermittent faster.
Danielle Sprouls (05:16.48)
wow.
Is that fine?
Laurie Lewis (05:30.563)
And I said, how can you tell? And she said, look at these numbers. You're just breathing out fat. I was, you meaning exhaling and instead of sugar and yes, please.
Danielle Sprouls (05:30.756)
Danielle Sprouls (05:40.972)
Okay, wait, wait, can I just stop you right there? Because you said breathing out fat. Now, the majority of the listeners on Unscripted Pivots are women. And that statement alone will get their ears to perk up because we're looking for all sorts of ways to dispel our fat. And you know, it's so interesting to me. And look, I've been down there. I just celebrated my 60th birthday. So I too have gone through perimenopause and then the menopause and all the whole nine yards.
Laurie Lewis (05:58.223)
That's right.
Laurie Lewis (06:07.459)
Here we are.
Danielle Sprouls (06:08.514)
And here we are. I, just recently over the last two years shed a lot of weight once I took on a better, you know, intentional lifestyle, which did begin with intermittent fasting. I'm so glad that we've crossed paths because that's something that I recognize I need to reintroduce and not temporarily so, but as the lifestyle choice that you had, because I felt so much better when I was doing that, Laurie. I had absolutely more energy.
I had the clarity of thought that had kind of like, you know, fallen by the wayside. And there are certain changes that you described early on that you were experiencing that we start to go, well, OK, this comes with age. But then once the 50 pounds comes, that's when we really start to go hold the phone because, now none of the clothes fit. We literally become strangers held within a body that we just we just don't embrace or understand. And.
This literally affects all areas of our life, all of our relationships, because it starts with crippling the relationship that we have with ourself, right? We start that the self love goes out the window, the self talk and the criticism come in and the confusion and then that ripple effect, it really it affects other relationships within our lives too, because we feel less. So this journey that you were on, you you went through a lot of pain to get where you did. I think pain is the catalyst to change, as they say.
you found out. I find it very interesting. I want to touch for a moment before we dive into the science-backed strategies that you teach your clients, but that it was your mother that so lovingly brought it to your attention. Your mother didn't mention intermittent fasting. She just said, hey, Laurie, honey, you might. Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (07:47.405)
What she actually said when I had my meltdown was she said, let's pray for an answer. And I said, thank you. I will take anything, anybody. was, I was the only word to describe my condition at that time was despondent. And so for that solution to appear that night and have me start that very same day was just such a gift.
Danielle Sprouls (07:53.474)
okay. Yes.
huh.
Danielle Sprouls (08:05.646)
Yeah,
Danielle Sprouls (08:15.982)
That's it. That's an answered prayer for sure. You know, I'm a woman, a faith based woman with a very spiritual life myself, so I can get that. And, you know, it's interesting that when we are brought to our knees, right, proverbially, but like even literally, that's when we are actually in a state of surrender and say, OK, please just help me here. And then you got that answer, which literally turned your life around.
Now there is no one listening to this podcast that doesn't want to be in optimum health. Right. Explain to the listeners how you actually get there and what this looks like in terms of even like a mindset shift. Right. Because this is about changing what we do physically and as much as when we're eating and probably to some extent what we're eating. But there's a mental block or the unknowns around this. So, you know, in layman terms, describe what you
counsel your clients on when they're at the beginning of this journey.
Laurie Lewis (09:15.169)
It does start or could start. encourage a start with, as you said, a mindset shift. So here's the first step. Mostly when we embark upon a new health habit, we relate to it as a thing. And for those of you who listening, I'm doing air quotes. It's a thing we're going to try. OK? So I'm going to relate this to what if I called you Danielle and I was like, OK, I heard about this thing.
Danielle Sprouls (09:19.524)
Yeah. Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (09:28.698)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (09:33.935)
Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (09:43.309)
This thing, really want, I'm really going to try it and I want you to try it with me. We should try it. If we don't like it, we don't want to keep doing it. If it doesn't work, we don't have to keep doing it. But I heard that it repairs your brain and gives you a lot of energy. So here's what you do. When it gets dark, you go in your room and you lie down horizontal and you close your eyes. And then like eight hours later, you open your eyes and sit up and it's called sleep. But if we don't like it, we don't have to do it anymore. Okay. That would be weird.
Danielle Sprouls (10:06.64)
You
Yeah, yeah.
Laurie Lewis (10:11.905)
We don't relate to sleep as a thing that we're testing out to see if we like it or see if it works. Fasting is the same. It's imperative. We just didn't know all through all human history. You know, even before humans used fasting as a spiritual practice, prayer and fasting, even fasting, going without food has been the way.
Danielle Sprouls (10:27.792)
Mmm.
Laurie Lewis (10:40.205)
that human beings have survived throughout all human history, except now we live in a time where food is completely abundant 24 seven, the food is designed to keep us addicted. And now we've become emotional eaters, eating out of boredom, eating out of fear, anger, all the emotions. So starting with this mindset shift of it's not a thing. It actually has integrity.
Danielle Sprouls (10:57.584)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (11:08.057)
to look at the day and decide. I mean, the only reason we have to decide when our eating window is, is because we live in a time of food abundance. So we do need to use the clock to keep us honest, if you will, about and purposeful and deliberate about putting our body into a fasted state.
Danielle Sprouls (11:25.904)
Mm-hmm.
Is there, let me ask you this, is there a one size fits all program here? No, she's shaking her head no guys. So yeah, walk us through that. So when you're counseling your clients, you're looking at what their, I guess their schedule is, their lifestyle or whatever. So tell us how you do that, yeah.
Laurie Lewis (11:37.167)
So here.
Laurie Lewis (11:43.747)
That's right. You start so gently. Okay. So I'm inviting everybody to step outside of the punishment diet model that we've been in for our whole lives and step into this world of trusting our bodies, trusting ourselves and tuning into our own inner intelligence with a gentle approach. So today you decide and I'll put you on the spot, Danielle. What time today do you think you'll
close your eating window. Look at when you normally have dinner and when you you don't need to rush you get to say what time do you think that would be?
Danielle Sprouls (12:17.989)
Mm-hmm.
Well, when I was practicing this religiously, I was closing the window at 6.30 p.m. It was great. It was great.
Laurie Lewis (12:26.073)
Did you like that?
Okay. Okay. Good. Now some people might say, yeah, that was the reason I quit because I went to a bunch of events and then I wasn't closing it and it was the summer and the sun's up. Like, you know, so I'm always curious. What had someone stop? Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (12:41.048)
Well, you know, it's excuses. mean, you know, at the end of the day, this is not about deprivation. And you gift yourself some structure. me, the effect is I loved the discipline of it because it spilled over into other areas of my life. When I took, you know, and I don't love the word control so much as when I took
Laurie Lewis (12:49.763)
That's right.
Laurie Lewis (13:01.967)
Mmm.
Danielle Sprouls (13:09.206)
care of myself in this way, I was showing up in a way that literally had a ripple effect in other areas. So there was a safety feeling around that to tell you the truth. And, you know, and I am an early riser. I don't really care to eat early. I like the coffee and I kept to that and I drink it black. So that was fine. And then, you know, have like a protein shake or one of those spinach juices or something like that. But I ate light and I just felt
Laurie Lewis (13:22.233)
That's.
Danielle Sprouls (13:38.813)
more in control, right? Like I was taking care of myself. And so that made it easier to be more in control of work schedule. And this and that, like all of a sudden it was like, it set the tone. So this wasn't about deprivation. It wasn't about starving. I mean, in the beginning, some of it's uncomfortable, but you know, several years ago, I also gave up like, drinking alcohol. There's a lot of networking events, right? Well, you just, you make a decision. Yes. Is this yes or no for me? And then you go from there. Is it an overnight thing? No.
I suggest things, well, I'm not going to suggest to your clients, but to my listeners, the journaling and the slowing down and the meditation, just taking pause ful moments where you're checking in with yourself and revisiting your why for this change, for instituting something that's going to serve you. Right. So this isn't a quick fix. And that's how I feel about that. But not eating early was a relatively easy choice for me.
Laurie Lewis (14:08.835)
Mm.
Laurie Lewis (14:29.028)
Mm.
Danielle Sprouls (14:36.054)
John, my husband, who is the cook in the family, it's kind of, you know, it's a little bit of a challenge. He works on the later side. So eating dinner with him was kind of off the table most evenings, you know, and maybe that's even why I slipped up a little bit. But, and then I lost weight and so then, you know, but I'm so glad I'm revisiting this because I wholeheartedly believe in what you're saying, what you're doing, having experienced it firsthand.
Laurie Lewis (14:48.591)
Perfect.
Laurie Lewis (15:04.211)
my gosh, you said so many beautiful things. But the thing that I mostly latched on to was that keeping an eating window had everything else in your life get better. And when I share that with people, they're like, that sounds too good to be true. How is that possible? It defies. It's almost like you can't put words to it. So back to how to start. OK, so hopefully everybody has now got their
Danielle Sprouls (15:26.259)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (15:31.311)
their curiosity peaked and they're more talking about burning our own body fat and dealing with menopausal stuff and being a better human being and having, as you said, energy, focus, clear mind, a better relationship with food. OK, so everybody's on board. And here's how you start. You said you'd like to close your eating window at 630. Great. Add 12 hours. OK, so in that 12 hours, you're going to close your eating window. really encourage people have a eating window closing ritual.
Danielle Sprouls (15:32.597)
Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (15:36.384)
Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (15:52.32)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (16:01.325)
So that every day you do the same thing, whether it's high-fiving a member of your family, like eating window closed, you wipe the counters, you turn out the lights, you, I don't know, you pour yourself a glass of plain sparkling water, whatever it is, do the same thing every day so that it sends the signal to your brain that this is a new habit, it's a new routine, and yeah, we're doing this. So then you drink plain water, go to bed, hopefully you're sleeping seven or eight hours, wake up.
Danielle Sprouls (16:23.062)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (16:29.635)
drink your black coffee, drink some plain water, and 12, you're aiming for 12 hours later, open your eating window. Now at that 12 hour mark, that's really hard for some people to reach that. Other people are like, yeah, no problem. I could go 14. Okay, great, go for it. But this is not a hard push. This is we're aiming for that 12 hour mark, and then the next day a little more, and the next day a little more. And when you open your eating window, I always say,
Danielle Sprouls (16:46.922)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (16:59.435)
eat normally. People are like, what's normally? Well, what do you normally eat? We're going to start with one thing. You also said another great thing. starting first with the intermittent fasting. So my observation and my personal theory is that if you start with this one thing, teaching yourself how to have an eating window, everything else gets easier. With time, you will address your sleep, your hydration.
Danielle Sprouls (17:03.094)
Mm.
Danielle Sprouls (17:27.936)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (17:28.439)
your movement, you'll have upgraded food choices because this amazing phenomenon called appetite correction will kick in and your own body will start asking for the nutrients for the food it would prefer. And it starts forgetting about and loses interest in the foods that it's not getting the best nutrition from. starting with fasting first. And I think that each person can get to an eight hour eating window.
within a week or two and settle in there and have your eight hour eating window from nine to five or what what.
Danielle Sprouls (18:02.386)
Really? Wait, hold up. Hold up. No, I'm not, I, no, I didn't, wasn't even aware of this. Okay. So the goal is, I always thought it was 12. So 12 is kind of like pumped up. Okay. So you're saying that the ideal situation would be eating within an eight hour window. So.
Laurie Lewis (18:22.713)
to start to begin.
Danielle Sprouls (18:25.686)
to begin. is nine to five? That's eight hours, right? So then you started eating at nine, but you don't eat at past five. Is that what you're saying? That would be the ideal.
Laurie Lewis (18:27.096)
Yes.
Laurie Lewis (18:32.258)
Yes.
Laurie Lewis (18:36.303)
So starting with a 12-12 schedule, meaning 12 hours of clean fasting and 12 hours of an eating window is the way to start. If you're not hungry at that 12 hour mark, then go a little longer and then gradually over a week or two, shrink your eating window. And then that eight hour goal within the first few weeks of intermittent fasting is really a settling in point.
Danielle Sprouls (18:56.042)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (19:06.273)
It's a gradual way to train your body that we and your mind and your emotions that we're fasting clean. We're having an eating window and we're discovering which eating window. And here's how you decide which eating window is best for you. You feel amazing. It works with your life, the timing and the people in it, the things that you do in your life. And the third is that it
Danielle Sprouls (19:11.958)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (19:25.075)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (19:33.315)
This particular fasting and eating schedule will help you reach and maintain your health and weight goals. So all three of those, you have to feel really great. It's got to work with your life and you've got to reach or maintain your health or weight goals. All three of those need to be in place. So once you reach that 16-8 schedule within a few weeks and settle in there, you might realize I can eat.
I don't need to eat in eight hours. I could eat two meals, six hours or other people who have, you know, really focus on their fitness and their body fat's really low and they've got optimum health markers. Maybe that person has a 10 hour eating window. So maybe somebody else who needs to turn around their A1C really quickly and blood pressure and blood sugar issues and so forth would have a three or four hour eating window. So each individual
Danielle Sprouls (20:04.502)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (20:28.062)
Yeah, let's talk about the window. Because using I imagine, I mean, at least I did this, like using the window wisely. So in other words, not gorging yourself like for an hour in and out burger. OK, like you're like, this is my only time, you know, the mindset of deprivation, which this is not about whatsoever. So obviously you want to incorporate better food choices. But what are some of the common challenges or mistakes that you see that clients do?
Laurie Lewis (20:29.689)
gets to choose. Yes.
Danielle Sprouls (20:57.972)
when let's say we'll give them an eight hour window, are they not using it appropriately or like they just like not eating, you know, the first three hours and then all of sudden they're eating back to back and then creating digestive issues. You know, I there's just, you know, there's so unknowns there. So tell us about the window itself.
Laurie Lewis (21:15.385)
So I really encourage people to start gradually so that you can address any blood sugar issues or that, you know, binging the minute your eating window opens that you're standing at the kitchen counter or the fridge shoving food in. So that most people report, they say the fasting hours are easy. It's the eating window that I have a problem with. And so within that first month,
of adaptation phase. Your body is adjusting. You're shifting from being a sugar burner to being a fat burner. And then at some point around the three week mark, the body flips a metabolic switch because you've used up the stored glycogen, which is stored sugar in your liver and muscles and so forth. And the body goes, we have fat here we can burn. And that's a few days of.
Danielle Sprouls (21:46.87)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (22:04.67)
Bravo, bravo.
Laurie Lewis (22:05.695)
Yay, I know it's so exciting, which is why you never want to stop because who wants to go through the adaptation phase again? But it's worth it if anybody out there including you Danielle if you if you feel like you stopped and you're gonna start up again It's totally worth it. You'll get through that adaptation phase and within about three weeks. You'll be burning fat again
Danielle Sprouls (22:23.702)
So what can everybody expect if they choose to try this? And we strongly encourage it. I certainly am going back to it. Is it like natural normal to experience some fatigue in the beginning as your body is going through this shift? you know, so the first few days, maybe week or two, and don't think like, God, this is making me tired. I can't do it. I have no energy. Right. Describe to the listeners what they can anticipate to be normal.
Laurie Lewis (22:40.238)
Yes.
Danielle Sprouls (22:52.094)
and not get discouraged by those experiences.
Laurie Lewis (22:55.245)
Yes. So the low energy or as I call hunger wave, but moments of hunger, strong thoughts of food, it comes and goes. So for me, I lost the 50 pounds in 15 months, which is very nice and slow. But within three days, I felt like myself again. Now that's impossible to put words to. It was something like there I am. I was brighter, sharper, clearer. So right in the beginning, there are
Danielle Sprouls (23:14.262)
Mmm.
Danielle Sprouls (23:20.022)
Mmm.
Laurie Lewis (23:25.123)
Moments where you have strong thoughts of food or your stomach rumbles and you think, when am I going to eat? my gosh, I can't make it four more hours. Whatever. But if you drink a glass of water, maybe put a little salt, high quality salt under your tongue, just a few grains, perk yourself right back up. Maybe take a magnesium capsule, stay busy or sit quietly and breathe. It will pass.
and suddenly you will go about your day. The whole point here that I love is you said at the beginning, it fits into your real life. Like there are moments where it takes some determination and effort and focus and then it passes and you are just living your life, undistracted. The strong food noise and cravings and emotional eating stops. So then you said, what about
Danielle Sprouls (23:49.811)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (23:57.75)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (24:17.901)
the eating window, how do you use the eating window? We have been trained erroneously to be drinking flavored drinks and constantly grazing. We want to go back to our human design, which is eat a lot at once and then pause and wait for hunger to arise again for the next eating occasion and eat another meal and then close your eating window. So each person
Danielle Sprouls (24:27.999)
Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (24:46.243)
figures out for themselves when they want to open their eating window based on how well they feel, what their day holds, and their own health and weight goals. And then each person figures out, do I want to open my eating window with my coffee the way I love it and a protein shake or a green juice or a full eggs and bacon breakfast or a littles? Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (24:52.397)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (25:08.513)
Yeah, let me let me ask you this does coffee count so when I drink the black coffee that's considered I'm eating or no
Laurie Lewis (25:16.043)
No, it's not. So I'll define the clean fast and what it is and why. So the clean fast is a purest fast where that we want to put our bodies into the deepest healing repair state, fat burning state, deep cellular repair that we can. And the way to do that is plain, unflavored water, plain, unflavored black coffee, plain, unflavored, bitter, black or green tea.
no mint, no ginger, no lemongrass, no, you know, plain unflavored electrolytes. So sodium, magnesium, no flavors and your medication as prescribed. So once it's very binary, it's not very exciting, right? So if people are like, but what about lemon? The lemons going to help me fast longer. It actually won't. It takes you out of a fasted state and
Danielle Sprouls (25:45.347)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (25:58.168)
Mmm.
Laurie Lewis (26:08.865)
It makes fasting harder because it excites the system and your body then thinks, lemon, I love lemon and it aligns to receive food, but you think you're fasting. And so then the body gets really grumpy because you gave it the promise of some food and no food is coming for hours and hours.
Danielle Sprouls (26:16.533)
okay, sure.
Danielle Sprouls (26:26.109)
Wow, wait, so does apple cider vinegar also fall in that category? Because, know, when I go through these, you know, wellness kind of like surges where I'm like all dialed in, you know, apple cider vinegar, like in hot water, I used to do that. Is that like where you stand with that?
Laurie Lewis (26:30.137)
Yep.
Laurie Lewis (26:40.021)
It's I think apple cider vinegar is a miracle food. It's absolutely incredible and it's food. So I really encourage people who are having digestive issues or acid reflux and so forth. Open your eating window with a little glass or a big glass. You get to figure it out for yourself. Warm water, hot water, cold water, a little bit of water, a lot of water and a splash of apple cider vinegar and drink that down to open your eating window. And that's incredible.
Danielle Sprouls (26:44.717)
Okay.
Danielle Sprouls (26:59.927)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (27:09.967)
incredibly healthful, but it's apple cider vinegar is food. Yeah, it's food. So you don't even have to. It's so wonderful that the fasting clean makes fasting work better and our brain, our body gets quieter. We're in a complete digestive rest and we don't need to be worrying about what I'm allowed or not allowed. Everything just moves to your eating window.
Danielle Sprouls (27:11.797)
OK, yay.
Danielle Sprouls (27:25.101)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (27:37.479)
And that's the best of everything. So save the flavor party for later in your eating window. Save the nutrients. Save your supplements for later in the eating window, because those are the building blocks of food. And you get to decide if you're going to open.
Danielle Sprouls (27:52.313)
And then it's about being sensible, right? It's about not, you know, overindulging in any of the categories, right? I imagine if somebody wants a slice of pizza or a glass of wine, they can have it, but, you know, just don't go overboard because all of that stuff wouldn't be self-serving no matter how short of a window you had. You know, we began the conversation talking about what personally happened to you, which brought you to this space, right?
Laurie Lewis (27:55.097)
Completely.
Danielle Sprouls (28:14.553)
So, and you talked about menopause and we have some male listeners and they're not going to have, although I don't know why it's called menopause, right? I think we were laughing about that when we first met online. said, I think it's because men have to pause when their wives or girlfriends go through the whole changes because boy, wow, right? So, but you know, they also have changes which are visibly recognizable.
in their energy starting to deplete and you know the body shifts and their hair loss. I there's all sorts of things that men go through too as well and you have male climates. Do you see any differences in maybe not how you're prescribing the program to them because it's very personalized but in how they embrace it you know what is your experience around how much men want to understand it and do it compared to women if there is even a difference I don't know.
Laurie Lewis (29:04.547)
Well, I don't think there's a difference. I, my group programs are for women and my one-on-one coaching is for everybody. And I tend to help men who have an important health issue to turn around, or as you said, are dealing with just dragging through life and excess weight and, food addiction also, men just as women emotionally eat and.
Danielle Sprouls (29:06.83)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (29:25.952)
Mm Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (29:32.695)
Some of the issues that get addressed for men are erectile dysfunction, which is really exciting because that can... Exactly.
Danielle Sprouls (29:38.243)
Yeah, well that'll perk them up. know, women want to lose the 50 pounds and the men want to, you know, I don't know how, but you know, it's yeah. And I mean, at the end of the day, it's like returning to, you know, what almost would feel like your younger self, like the self that you knew. And that is not unobtainable. Like you can get back to that. I mean, yes, we're going to age and there's going to be certain things that we can't restore. It is what it is on a lot of levels. However,
Laurie Lewis (29:44.237)
That's right. It's largely an issue of insulin resistance.
Danielle Sprouls (30:04.814)
this can be addressed and have a significant impact by practicing this lifestyle, right? It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle. And that's wonderful that you give men a safe space to do that. And I'm not surprised they'd probably stick to one-on-one coaching in this regard. And describe to the listeners, Laurie, if you will, what the long-term health benefits are. I mean, yes.
Laurie Lewis (30:29.591)
It's so I said I felt better in three days. I felt like myself. I was just brighter, sharper, more focused, more energized, clear. Then I lost the 50. I lost 51 pounds in 15 months. I had a stall on the scale. Five months, the scale didn't budge, but I got two sizes smaller during that time. So when people say intermittent fasting didn't work for me, I want to know what happened. What were you doing? How long did you do it? How long was your eating window? Were you fasting clean?
Danielle Sprouls (30:39.064)
Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (30:59.455)
And what do mean it didn't work? Because body recomposition and the deep healing is always happening. We are lowering inflammation. And for me, as I indicated, I started intermittent fasting so that I could feel better and I could do something to shed that excess weight. But I really just wanted to feel better.
And little did I know that my hair would start, you know, head to toe, we'll go head to toe. My hair would start growing in thicker. My dental health improved. My skin got glowy and smoother. Aching joints. I was aching head to toe. And now I have no aching joints. My hips, my knees, my shoulders, nothing. All the way down to my feet, I had debilitating plantar fasciitis for over 10 years. And it...
Danielle Sprouls (31:38.49)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (31:47.169)
melted away within three to four months and has never returned. So and then when I look at my lab work, everything's optimal. My fasting insulin is really, really low. Everybody out there, if you don't have fasting insulin on your lab work, beg your doctor or go to your lab work dot com and get a fasting insulin test and it should be below five. The range says below 20, but optimal is below five.
Danielle Sprouls (32:05.711)
to get it checked, okay.
Danielle Sprouls (32:13.211)
They're coming in at a strong 12 and they're feeling proud and Laurie's like that. no, not exactly. Okay. We get we can improve on that people. Okay. So if you know what your number is five is optimal. I mean look at the end of the day who doesn't want to be the best version of themselves and you know, I'll just go back to just that, you know intentional mindset shift where I'm saying I'm taking care of
Laurie Lewis (32:17.827)
They should. I know, I know. We've got a ways to go. We've got to get that. Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (32:30.233)
That's right.
Danielle Sprouls (32:43.216)
me for all that we show up for with it, you know, in our families or marriages, if you are married or, you know, work, I mean, all the different things that grab and demand our attention. And that's fine. Right. But this is like a return to self love and to self awareness as to what we're doing, how we're doing it. You know, it's so much bigger than, you know, losing weight or getting it, you know, like.
You know, I want to feel like I want to you know, look sexier this or that. I mean, it's so much bigger It's it's such it's an investment in yourself and this is for everybody This isn't just for people that are going through their 40s and perimenopause I mean you want to start this as early as what what would be the recommended age? Is it like, you know post puberty? I guess you know, I mean, yes, so
Laurie Lewis (33:28.429)
Yes, I have two clients in their early 20s. One was studying, had failed the bar and was studying for the bar for the second time and was really stressed out. The other, yeah. The other one had, it was on Accutane, had PCOS. I mean, just the, both of them, a laundry list of gut issues and so forth. So at any age we can,
Danielle Sprouls (33:32.795)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (33:40.508)
It's a hard test, I know, I took it.
Danielle Sprouls (33:51.098)
Mmm.
Laurie Lewis (33:56.959)
start having an eating window. And I love to report that my clients from 23 to 83, any man or woman can turn their health around and feel better. So plenty of people know they have perfect lab work and they feel awful. And they're like, OK, my labs are perfect, but I feel awful for everybody out there. Fast, clean, take advantage of that deep.
Danielle Sprouls (34:11.717)
Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (34:16.378)
Yeah.
Laurie Lewis (34:25.359)
cellular cleanup that happens when we're in a fasted state. Have an eating window. Many people find that it's just easier to have a shorter eating window because then food is off your mind and you can have delicious, nutritious food in the eating window of your choice. It can change every day, but in the beginning, I find that for any time a human being is creating a new habit, it's really helpful.
Danielle Sprouls (34:50.277)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (34:52.025)
to figure out for yourself what your daily fasting sweet spot is and stick with that for many months. And then if there's some special occasion, we're heading into the holidays and special occasions galore, then you get to look at your daily schedule and you decide when's my eating window today. And.
Danielle Sprouls (34:57.677)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (35:12.581)
So it can adjust based on events, right? So you can say, okay, yeah, obviously there's a lot of flexibility here. There's a lot of flexibility here. mean, it's, you know, not to depart permanently, but if you need to, you know, because of the holidays and because of maybe vacations that are coming up, you know, I'll just add this just from my personal experience is that, you know, it really, this is something that you do for yourself.
Laurie Lewis (35:15.701)
Absolutely.
Danielle Sprouls (35:37.672)
And I would say to anybody, if you're committed to this and you want to do it, don't worry about recruiting anybody else who lives in your home. You can suggest it. But if you try to make this a group exercise, you are setting yourself up for failure because, you know, not everybody's going to embrace it. then the worst thing that can happen, which really can happen, is that, you you start off strong with like your partner and the next thing you know, they fall by the wayside. So then you join them in the demise.
Laurie Lewis (35:48.831)
No.
Danielle Sprouls (36:04.067)
Working with Laurie, taking advantage of her group coaching, you have a built-in community that's on the same path with the knowledge that you have, the support, the strategy, the accountability. Because look, we can all have really great ideas and then following through is not easy on any given day. So working with you and following your program is really the way to set yourself up for success. And so...
I'll end on this. I saw on your website, you have a holiday program coming, right? So you're out there helping people as they know they're about to embark on like, know, the overindulgence season, which doesn't have to be that, okay? So tell us a little bit about what your holiday program is, where they can find you and yeah.
Laurie Lewis (36:49.879)
I'm going into my seventh annual holiday program. It's my signature program. It's how I got started. we get to go through, the holidays are meant for joy and camaraderie and community and celebration and awe. And we can love our bodies, love our family, love ourselves and not just treat November and December like it's a slippery slope of going off the rails. We can eat.
Danielle Sprouls (36:54.487)
Yay! Okay.
Danielle Sprouls (36:59.769)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (37:03.375)
Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (37:15.129)
Mm-hmm.
Laurie Lewis (37:17.583)
the delicious food and drinks we love and have an eating window and never need to diet again in January. Never need to diet again ever, period. So it's amazing arriving in January, feeling so well like the new year doesn't have to fix all my, you know, air quotes, bad behavior from November and December. So it's the best of everything. I love every minute. It starts October 29th and if, yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (37:25.232)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Danielle Sprouls (37:38.97)
And when does that start exactly? Does that start in November or? Okay.
Laurie Lewis (37:44.955)
and we get everybody aligned and ready to go through the holidays together feeling empowered, feeling supported and feeling amazing.
Danielle Sprouls (37:56.378)
And I will have a link to, you know, your website and whatnot in the show notes. So check that out, everybody. But the grouping, is that something that you meet weekly or monthly? What's that about?
Laurie Lewis (38:00.505)
Thank you.
Laurie Lewis (38:06.999)
It's on Tuesday nights and we meet most weeks. You'll see there's, when you look at the dates on my website, which is Fast Forward Wellness, my business is called Fast Forward, you'll see that there are a few Tuesday nights that are missing, but it's a 12 week program that ends on January 21st. So we get you into, I always say from Halloween sweets through New Year's bubbly and beyond.
Danielle Sprouls (38:18.331)
Mm-hmm.
Danielle Sprouls (38:32.412)
I love that. I love that. Well, it is such a pleasure to, you know, meet you on the podcast and to learn more about, you know, intermittent fasting, which I know works. I've been there and I'm going to return to that. And, know, for the other things, the weight, the number I'm at is really solid. I'm very happy with what I weigh today. But this is but I'll tell you what, after leaving corporate America full time and taking on my own business the past eight months, I could use a little bit. I mean, I get sluggish. There are certain things that I know that
I haven't been paying attention to those things as well as I could. And the freedom that I felt when I was doing that is indescribably wonderful. So I will return to that and I'll look into your program. I love it.
Laurie Lewis (39:12.835)
I love that you're going to do that. And when I reached my goal weight and goal size, I was able to fit back into the clothes for many years prior. I didn't change a thing with my eating window and fasting schedule because I felt so well. so I love. That's right.
Danielle Sprouls (39:21.18)
Mm-mm.
Danielle Sprouls (39:29.467)
Yeah, it's not broken, it works, so why would you? But again, this is so much more than a weight in the number achieving that number. This is talking and addressing all your internal health, the way that your body performs and feels, because you can be as thin as you want and not be healthy. We know this. And so, you know, very distinct difference from just a diet. So, Laurie, so great to have you on Unscripted Pivots. And yeah, I look forward to working with you and your group coaching. All right, have a great one.
Laurie Lewis (39:44.996)
That's right.
Laurie Lewis (39:56.143)
Thank you, Danielle.