From 5,000 Calories a Day to Fasting Without Struggles: Dezarae’s Story

Dezarae went through years of addiction, struggled with binge and emotional eating, lost herself in the process, yet managed to recover. Today she has a beautiful family, went from 220 to 160 lbs, and has fallen in love with herself even more. 

We’ve asked Dezarae a few questions about her experience, and she was kind enough to share her inspiring story and explain 5 very precise ways that helped her lose 60 lbs!

Keep on reading to find out!

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I had struggled with weight my entire life. 

I’d always been big because I had a very unhealthy relationship with food and struggled with binge eating and emotional eating. 

I’m a recovering alcoholic and quit drinking back in 2009. 

I’m 5 foot 3, and I was around 220 pounds by 2010. After being sober for a couple of years, I started counting calories and working out with a friend and lost around 70 pounds. However…

When life got hard after a few years of sobriety, my addictions came back full force with food. I began binge eating with a vengeance, and over the next few years, gained all my weight back. 

I started a family in 2016 and gave birth to 3 amazing kids. However, this led me to being 230 pounds by May of 2020. 

I had chronic back pain, my knees hurt all the time, I was constantly exhausted. I didn’t have the energy to try to look good: I didn’t style my hair, I didn’t wear makeup, I didn’t wear cute outfits…

I lived off caffeine and junk food. I was complacent and thought I was happy but physically didn’t feel that good. 

I was around 220 pounds when I started trying to lose weight again. I wanted to be back where I was in 2012 – 160 pounds.

I couldn’t get myself to stick with any diet or exercise program. So I sought medical help. 

I tried several medications to help with weight loss, all of which came with a high price – SIDE EFFECTS! Terrible ones. All were very expensive, and none worked after my body adjusted to the medication. I would lose 10–15 pounds, then gain it all back. It was quite upsetting.

My biggest struggles and setbacks came along with my personality – my escape was food.

Any time I was stressed out, anxious, or upset, I ate. And, I ate a lot! It was easy for me to consume 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 calories a day. I also had no control when it came to sweets. Once I started consuming anything super sugary, I would eat in excess. 

Trust your gut

I had heard of intermittent fasting before but never considered doing it myself. 

But one day, I was on the couch, and I saw an ad for the DoFasting app, and something inside of me just said to give it a shot. 

I just did it with 0 hesitations. I trusted my instincts. 

This was in May of 2021, and this is when my true, life-changing journey began.

Right before I found the DoFasting app, in April 2021, I gave up sweets. I told myself I’d completely abstain from them as I did with alcohol, and for me personally, that set me up for even greater success when I began my fasting journey a month later.

Intermittent fasting protocol that works

I will say that the main thing I use the app for is to remind myself when to start and stop eating. It has become very ironclad in my life. 

I started with a 16:8 plan. I ate from 11 am to 7 pm. 

I will admit that at first, it was a tad slow going because I was still a very heavy overeater. I was consuming way too many calories during my eating window. 

The summer at work was hectic, and I found myself some days having to wait even longer than 11 am to start my eating window. Some days I was fasting for 18–20 hours, and I would still stop eating at 7 pm.

How long does it take to see the difference?

After a couple of months of fasting for 18–20 hours when I could, my appetite started to decrease substantially. 

I started noticing weight loss and changes in my behavior with food. 

There would be days I would forget to eat and have to make myself grab something quickly in between other tasks, and for me, this was CRAZY!!! 

Food had always been a top priority in my life. I’d finish every bite on my plate and eat until I couldn’t anymore, snacking when I was bored. But, by July of 2021 – food just wasn’t that important anymore. I started gaining confidence in myself when the pounds began to fall off.

The significant changes that come after

I started to dress nice again, tan, take pride in my appearance, and I naturally became more active because I felt better and wasn’t struggling with chronic back/knee pain anymore. 

By August 2021, I felt like a new person. 

I was so happy with my results, and the craziest part about it was that it was incredibly EASY!!! 

Not having to worry about eating constantly gave me more time to think about other important aspects of my life. It freed up a lot of my time. 

By the fall of 2021, everything was just working naturally. I kept with the 16:8 fasting plan but continued to push myself any time I could. I’d say at least 2x per week, I’d fast 18–20 hours. 

That was a huge deal for me. 

Perks of fasting

When I do eat, I eat what I want. And most importantly, I mess up at times!! 

I’ll get starving from time to time after my eating window has closed, and you know what, I’M HUMAN. I make mistakes, and I’ve eaten later in the evening before, BUT…

Any time I do that – I instantly update my app for the time to start my fast, and I just wait until later in the day to start eating. 

I’ve done this on NUMEROUS occasions, and I’m still thriving and losing weight. When I fast, I fast CLEAN. I only consume water. 

I don’t work out much, but I’m hyperactive and constantly moving. I have much more energy now that I’m smaller. My chronic back and knee pain is GONE! I’m even able to wear heels again.

As of 1/10/22, I hit my goal of 160! Nine months of using the DoFasting app helped me achieve this result. My new goal is to hit 140 and work on toning my body, getting rid of my tummy flap from having three kids.

What would you like to tell others who are starting their journey?

1. If you mess up and eat when you’re supposed to be fasting, just update your time on the app and start eating later the next day.

2. Try fasting 18–20 hours 2x per week.

3. Try to abstain from sweets if you have an addictive personality and can’t control yourself with that kind of food.

4. CLEAN FAST! Don’t cheat. You are only cheating yourself.

5. If you plateau or don’t notice instant results, JUST KEEP DOING THE NEXT RIGHT THING! It definitely took 2 months to really start working for me personally. You have to allow your appetite to decrease, and the longer you can fast on a regular basis, the quicker that will happen.

*IMPORTANT: While other fasting-related apps are mostly only time trackers, the DoFasting app is a full-on personal fasting guide. This means that you’re getting all of the knowledge on fasting to reach the target weight without questioning if you’re doing it right. 

You’re literary moments away from…

✅ Daily fasting and nutrition tips as well as a step-by-step guidance specifically for you

✅ A comprehensive tracker to journal your progress and reports to always know what’s next

✅ Mouthwatering recipes (for your eating windows) with simple ingredients you and your family will love 

✅ Access to a science-backed content library to answer all fasting-related questions

✅ A macronutrient breakdown of your diet

✅ And even home-friendly video workout routines

But the best part is that all of it is personalized to you based on the answers in a 1-minute quiz.