Dr. Jason Fung is diabetes and obesity expert from Toronto. His work is transforming people’s lives; making them healthier and happier. Dr. Fung is a proponent of intermittent fasting (IF). I changed my lifestyle and began intermittent fasting the day I watched this video of Dr. Fung explaining his research.
I knew this was what I had been looking for.
I’m fascinated by intermittent fasting and Google it, regularly. Weight loss is the most obvious, desirous, and prominent result of IF, but temporary caloric abstinence helps everything; body, mind, and soul.
There is a growing body of research discovering how and why IF performs miracles, such as anti-aging and cancer curing. CNN asks if fasting is the fountain of youth.
The concept is simple: fast for, at least, 16 hours, each day. Eat. Stop eating. Simple. While your body is in fast mode, great things happen. When I started IF, weight loss began, immediately. It was freaky. I sleep better, breathe better, feel better, and, most importantly, look better.
Inflammation issues have been resolved, as well. I recently asked my family, “When was the last time I complained about my arthritic hips?” No one could remember. There’s plenty to complain about, but my hips have been cured.
In this podcast, George St Pierre, one of Canada’s finest athletes, explains to Joe Rogan, how meeting Dr. Fung and beginning intermittent fasting has changed his life.
As St. Pierre explains, his diabetes and colitis are better, his muscle density has gone up and his body fat is down. He feels ¨better, sharper, lighter…¨ Like George, I wish I’d known about intermittent fasting, years ago.
Fasting slows the mind and leads to contentment. It is not just food consumption, being re-evaluated. Thanks to IF, I have more time, more energy, I’m more productive, and I spend less money. I feel empty; less bloated and bogged down. ¨Oh, God, I´m hungry,¨ is now, ¨Oh, good, I´m hungry.¨
I like fasting because it is free. Almost, anyone can fast. Fasting is simple. There is no need to see an expert, buy supplements, record, count, restrict, exclude, follow a plan…. just stop consuming calories, for 16 hours. Unlike a diet or weight loss plan, the end of a fast is never far away. Each day, when I break fast, there is a sense of accomplishment; a sense of pride.
Food tastes better and is more satisfying, after a fast. For years, everything I ate or drink came with a sliver of guilt. Now, whatever is consumed feels earned and I enjoy eating and drinking, more than ever. As well, since I only have one or two meals a day, I prepare them better and eat healthier.
The eight hours of consumption is to each his or her own. I’ve read you shouldn’t eat before bed, but my feeding window is 4 pm to midnight, because I enjoy social time with friends, in the evening.
My new routine is get up, shower, and go to work. Not having to prepare and eat breakfast, then make a lunch, streamlines mornings and I leave earlier. I work or exercise during lunch break. A little water during the day is all I need. When I get home, in the evening, I enjoy a meal.
My 21 year old daughter, like many people, fasts from 7pm to 11am the next day. She doesn’t snack after dinner and skips breakfast. She feels better, has lost weight, and is, especially, happy her skin has cleared up.
Fasting is gaining in popularity, but it can’t be dismissed as a trend, fad, or craze, because it has been part of many cultures and religions for centuries. According to the infallible Internet, the Buddha said, ¨I, monks, do not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening I, monks, am aware of good health and of being without illness and of buoyancy and strength and living in comfort. Come, do you too, monks, not eat a meal in the evening. Not eating a meal in the evening you too, monks, will be aware of good health and….. living in comfort.¨
Fasting is simple and effective, but it is not easy. A friend, who has been trying to lose weight for years, has started IF several times, but can’t see it through. By his own admission, he lacks the will power. Curiously, fasting, for all it offers, can’t cure that.