When I went for my first annual cancer catscan checkup in early June the technician was a chatty guy. He was thin and bounced around with energy, so it was surprising to learn he'd been obesely overweight until recently. He confided the secret to his weight loss and now obviously healthy body was a fasting diet. I was probably twenty pounds on the wrong side of the scales. The cancer operation, which removed a foot of my colon (large intestine), and the enforced hospital diet had reduced my usual weight to 186. Still not a good BMI (body mass index) for an old guy (75) hovering at 5 feet 6 inches ; )
A pair of outdoorsy friends, Doug and Marc, who follow a casual fasting diet told me about their regimens. Another friend, Michelle, who worked as a nurse before retiring, loaned me a book by Dr. Jason Fung* about the relationship between obesity and diabetes. The universe kept telling me something I needed to hear. I was already in double overtime for life expectancy, having survived the right hemicolectomy and then serious dog bite wounds on both my shins (ironically on the same date as the cancer op a year earlier).
Doug explained that he only eats in a 4 hour period every day. He said he can eat whatever he wants, but then he has to forgo any food or snacks for 20 hours. It sounded daunting, but then I often went for 12 hours from my evening meal to my mid morning breakfast. In July I got serious about following the fasting routine, although I didn't go to the extreme of going one day a week with no food. I began eating my larger meal at 1 pm and then my smaller evening meal at 5 pm. Within two months my weight had dropped from 186 to 172! I plateaued at 172 for many weeks, then dropped to 170. Another month of the "diet" and I am now plateauing at 168. 165 was my usual weight for most decades of my adult life, and if I decide to push the limit just a bit more, I'll reach that goal eventually.
It's obvious that our society is eating too many over processed meals and junk food snacks. Our ancestors had to forage to eat, and they were probably lucky to eat one substantial meal a day. Our culture fetishizes 3 squares a day, and our modern sedentary lifestyle just doesn't need us stoking away all that unnecessary food. In addition to the fasting diet I've maintained and increased the daily walks and hikes I've enjoyed since I was a boy. The increased walking has probably helped with the weight loss, and I usually walk at least 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours daily now, with as much energy as when I was in my twenties.
Dr. Jason Fung: *The Obesity Code, The Complete Guide to Fasting
check out his youtube vids
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