Intermittent Fasting- The start of my journey

With the beginning of 2020 and the start of a new decade, I wanted to make some updates to my lifestyle page. As many of my patients know, I have been an advocate for the Wheat Belly lifestyle for the past 5-6 years. I still think it is a wonderful lifestyle that can be incorporated with what I am about to explain, but in my experience with patients through the years as well as myself, I have found that any “diet” or extreme food restriction isn’t sustainable in the long haul for most of us.  

I have learned a great deal from my patients. I am always willing to listen, which has taught me a thing or two over the years. Last year just before Christmas I saw a patient that I have known for years. Like many of us she has struggled with weight and tried all of the “diets” and extreme food elimination, finding initial success but eventually “falling off the wagon” and regaining all of the lost weight plus more. Long story short, when I saw her last year she had lost 45 lbs from the previous year and looked AMAZING!  Great skin, sparkling eyes, and just all around healthy. In our conversation she educated me on the source of her new found success- Dr. Jason Fung and intermittent fasting. My first reaction was, “fasting? Not for me. I would be hangry and feel terrible.” There was just something about her that day that pulled me in. I am not a big fan of scales and almost never weigh. I walked out the door from seeing her and jumped on the scale. I knew I had stopped tying my scrub bottoms, and that I had an extra roll hanging over my jeans, but had told myself it wasn’t that big of a deal. Needless to say I was shocked by what the scale was screaming back at me. I weighed what I had weighed 9 months pregnant. At this point I was even more interested in reading Dr. Fung’s book. 

Being in the midst of a busy holiday season, I didn’t have time to read Dr. Fung’s book right then. To bridge the gap I watched a few of Dr. Fung’s interviews on YouTube and started my journey January 1, 2019. I told myself that no matter what I was giving this lifestyle a try a year. I began with what is called 16/8- 16 hours of fasting with an 8 hour eating window. That basically was just giving up breakfast (I know we were all taught it is the most important meal of the day… but read The Obesity Code and you will discover as I did that we have all been taught a lot of nonsense.)  Three weeks in I had lost 4 pounds. I thought to myself, really 4 pounds and I’m starving myself 16 hours every day? I hadn’t read the book yet and was leaving for a 2 week vacation, so vowed I would read the book then. After reading The Obesity Code my life was forever changed. I have continued to read and share what I have learned and experienced personally over this past year with family, patients, friends. What I can tell you is that this is the most impactful change on people’s lives that I have ever seen or experienced.  

There are multiple sources for intermittent fasting out there along with many different opinions on how one should proceed. As I look back at 2019 with my own family starting this journey I cannot believe the difference in myself, my husband, my two daughters and their husbands. As a collective we have lost 175 pounds and counting- that is an entire person! Each one of us has had to find what works for us individually, but one common factor for everyone during our fasting hours has been to keep the fast squeaky clean. During the fasting period this means black coffee, green tea, black tea, or water of any kind that isn’t flavored, and no gum, mints, or sweeteners of any kind. Dr. Fung talks about different types of fasting that allow for different things during the fast. Each one of my family members discovered that not keeping the fasting hours clean made it much harder, which meant feeling hungry during the fast. Keeping it clean allowed for much easier fasts. There have been countless non-scale victories (NSV). The message I wish to impart is that this is NOT a diet. Weight loss is just a nice side benefit.  What works for me may not work for you. This is an experiment of one, and you have to find your best path. One of the most amazing aspects of intermittent fasting is that you can live your life without guilt or crazy unsustainable diets. The best part of all is that it is basically free. I do encourage you to read a few books, so depending on whether you are investing in your own copies or borrowing from a library, this should be the extent of your investment. Sure you can buy someone’s plan on intermittent fasting if you want, but the basic premise is to avoid food and fast for a period of time each day.

There are certain people that fasting is NOT appropriate for. These include children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. People with a history of or current eating disorders and diabetic patients on medication should have medical supervision if they choose to follow this lifestyle. If you have multiple health issues you should check with the specialist following you to see if there are any precautions that should be taken for your specific issues before starting intermittent fasting. 

Weight gain is the number one complaint I hear on a daily basis. We live in a society that makes eating most of the day very easy. We are also brainwashed to think we need a program or a pill to fix it. We all have the power within ourselves to make changes to better our lives, and I encourage you to read or listen to The Obesity Code. The book is a little deep in some areas but very good. The other book that I love is Delay Don’t Deny by Gin Stephens. She is a real person like us that has done a fabulous job simplifying the science- it’s like talking with your friend. If you feel overwhelmed by a more sciency book, Delay Don’t Deny is a good place to start or you can always read it second. I’ve read about 15 books now and follow different blogs and podcasts on intermittent fasting. I learn more every day. I love Gin’s saying, “we came here for weight loss but we stayed for our health.” There are so many health benefits that come with intermittent fasting, and I hope you feel inspired and are willing to take a look. This journey has been one of the most enlightening of my entire career. I have seen more success in my patients in the past year than the previous 20 years combined, and is why I am so excited to share this information. In learning more about intermittent fasting, I hope you feel the freedom and joy this lifestyle can bring without being tied to diet mentality.  Here is to a happy and healthy new decade.