In this episode of Intermittent Fasting Stories, Gin talks to Janelle Samson from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. 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 . Janelle is a chemist at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Janelle shares her journey into intermittent fasting after a long history in the world of bodybuilding. Janelle explains she first heard about intermittent fasting during her bodybuilding days in the early 2010s, though at the time, she and others in the fitness community dismissed it as just another fad. She attempted fasting briefly under the guidance of someone who didn’t fully understand the clean fast principles, leading her to give up, concerned about muscle loss. Many years and life changes later—including pregnancy, motherhood, and the closure of gyms during the pandemic—Janelle found herself struggling with unexplained weight gain and low energy, even after trying traditional approaches to nutrition and fitness. A turning point came when a coworker, whose sister’s doctor recommended intermittent fasting, rekindled Janelle’s interest. Janelle began her journey in June 2023, starting with a 14:10 approach and gradually narrowing her eating window as she learned more, eventually settling into a routine that worked for her lifestyle. Her initial research brought her to Gin’s book, Fast. Feast. Repeat., which she credits—as well as the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast and community—for giving her the knowledge and support to embrace clean fasting and the “delay, don’t deny” philosophy. Listening to the podcast episodes, Janelle connected deeply with the stories of others and found practical tools and reassurance in their diversity of experience. Janelle’s approach to fasting has not been defined by rapid weight loss but by steady progress and substantial health improvements. She openly discusses her slow, “turtle” pace in shedding pounds, emphasizing how much better she feels in terms of physical energy and mental clarity. Throughout her two-year journey, Janelle has released over 20 pounds and, most importantly, shifted away from a restrictive, scale-obsessed relationship with food, particularly as a former bodybuilder. She highlights the newfound freedom she enjoys around food and eating—modeling a positive example for her young daughter and appreciating treats, family meals, and special occasions without guilt or diet mentality. Janelle concludes her story by encouraging newcomers to immerse themselves in well-researched resources—particularly Gin’s books and the podcast—for practical guidance and support. She underlines the importance of keeping an open mind, especially for those with a diet-focused background or entrenched ideas about nutrition. Janelle’s final advice is to try intermittent fasting without overcomplicating it: read, learn, don’t stress about perfection, and remember it costs nothing to give it a shot. According to Janelle, intermittent fasting has been truly life-changing, and she urges others to discover its benefits for themselves. 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.
