My perspective on (nearly) a year of IF

Last June, I stepped on the scale and did a double take. The number doesn’t matter—but the wake-up call did. If I didn’t change my eating habits, I was barreling toward a future looking less like a healthy, functioning human and more like Jabba the Hut.

Weight management was the impetus for exploring Intermittent Fasting (IF), but the more I dug in, the more I was compelled that it wasn’t just a way to lose weight, it was actually a different way to live to help support the way God designed our bodies.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent Fasting is simply choosing set periods of time to eat. The main idea is that having a shorter window of eating leads to fewer calories consumed and fewer insulin spikes in your body, which helps lead to weight loss and a variety of other health benefits that we’ll dig into later.

As a quick note, IF isn’t right for everyone and if you’re underweight, pregnant, nursing, have a history of eating disorders, etc. please talk to a doctor first.

Why Should (Modern) People Fast?

In the modern world of refrigeration, food processing, and grocery stores, we have constant access to food. That means that the only time our digestive systems are resting is when we’re asleep (if we aren’t waking up for a midnight snack).

Certain systems in our bodies are always operating (e.g., respiratory, circulatory), but for many of the systems, any rest is a welcome reprieve (e.g., nervous, digestive). If I’m eating from the moment I wake up until the second I fall asleep, my digestive system is always operating, and that’s not ideal.

Before a few centuries ago, we were pretty much always either hunting or gathering to get our food, which meant we did a fair amount of feasting followed by fasting until we hunted or gathered some more.

When we fast, especially for longer periods (i.e., 24 hours+), a process called autophagy begins. Autophagy enables our body to break down old or damaged cells and recycle them—what an amazing design! In a sense, it’s your body cleaning house like you do when you know important guests are coming over. This only happens when we give our bodies a break from constant digestion.

As an added bonus, the spiritual element of fasting is encouraged by Jesus when he says, “When you fast…” not “If you fast…” (Matthew 6:16). At this point, I’ve fasted far more for physical health than for spiritual health. Lord, forgive me. But fasting has made me more disciplined and allowed me to pursue greater spiritual health alongside my physical health.

Why I Fast

Here’s what I’ve noticed personally:

  1. I’m at a healthier weight, with less body fat and a smaller waist (a huge marker of overall health). This was the original motivation—but not the main reason I keep fasting. Sure, I like having less love handle—but what keeps me going is how everything else in my life works better.
  2. I am quantifiably healthier. There are a number of metrics that doctors I respect encourage us to zoom in on to measure cardiac and metabolic health. Three critical markers are your triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio, your HOMA IR (a calculation based on your blood glucose and insulin), and finally the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP). There are others, but those three are great indicators of overall cardiac (triglyceride-to-HDL), metabolic (HOMA IR), and inflammatory health (hsCRP). All of my metrics have improved significantly as a result of IF.
  3. I have more self control. I’m an all-or-nothing type. So when I’m not eating, I have that switch flipped and it’s not hard for me to say no. On the other hand, when I am eating, I tend to overdo it. So, it’s helpful for me to reduce that window when I’m on the See-Food-I-Eat-It diet.
  4. I feel better. When I expand my eating window, I typically feel worse. Sure, feelings aren’t everything, but feeling good in terms of how your body is operating is actually nice and it turns out that having a constant stomach ache isn’t how we were designed to operate.
  5. I sleep better. I use my Apple Watch to track my sleep, and I wake up less, sleep more deeply, and fall asleep more quickly when I’m regularly fasting.

How To Get Started with Fasting

This probably won’t surprise you, but you start fasting by just not eating for some period of time. That’s…kind of it. But if we want to dig in a bit more, here are some helpful tips I’ve picked up along the way.

  • If you’re eating, you’re not fasting. This line is from Gin Stephens and it’s silly but it’s true. You’re only fasting when you’re not eating.
  • If you’re drinking things that force an insulin response, you’re (probably) not fasting. That could include drinks like Coke Zero because even 0-calorie drinks can cause an insulin response in your body and then your fast is broken. Even chewing gum can create an insulin response! To be sure you’re fasting, don’t eat and only drink water, black coffee and non-fruit teas (think herbal, green, or black).
  • You have to prioritize protein if you want to continue to gain strength and muscle. This forces you to make healthier choices, which inspires a positive feedback loop with fasting.
  • Use an app or timer. You don’t have to use an app, but it motivates me. I’m a big fan of Fasty which is free, simple, and gives you some nice metrics for tracking your fasts.
  • Avoid eating whatever you want. Gorging on junk during your eating window? Trust me—you’ll feel awful. Take things slow, but as you start fasting start making better food choices focused on whole foods and protein. Knowing that I have a smaller window to eat has helped me make healthier choices, but I can still slide toward over-indulgence at times.
  • Track progress holistically. It’s going to take some time for your weight to change, but you may be surprised by how fast your waistline will start to adjust. Staying the same weight but losing inches in your waistline is body recomposition happening—gaining muscle and losing fat. That’s why I recommend buying a soft and flexible tailor’s tape measure you can wrap around your waist to track measurements and progress each week.
  • Take pictures of yourself. I have pictures I’ll never show you of what I looked like a year ago and others from last week. There’s a big difference, and it motivates me to keep going.
  • Walking accelerates body recomposition. Walking is probably the most underrated exercise of all time. If you fast and get 10,000 steps a day, your body will change for the better.
  • Plan your eating window. I like to look forward to my meals but not have it impossibly far in the future. To get started, I think just skipping breakfast, eating lunch around noon and finishing dinner by 8pm is a great start.

Beginner Fast Example (16:8)

  • 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM Skip breakfast and fast consuming only water, black coffee or tea.
  • 12:00 PM – Break your fast with protein-rich lunch
  • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM – Dinner sometime during this window.
  • 8:00 PM - Begin fast

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don’t snack during your fasting window. You lose the additional health benefits if you just lick the peanut butter knife when making your kids a PB&J.
  • Don’t forget to drink lots of water. You might want to get some electrolytes in you as well to avoid feeling weak or shaky. Stick with unflavored electrolytes to avoid any insulin response.
  • Don’t give up just because the scale doesn’t change. I’ve mentioned the myriad of benefits beyond that number on a little metal square that you should consider before throwing in the towel.
  • Don’t be too hard on yourself. This is a process and you’re learning a new system. You won’t do it perfectly. Some days you’ll fast longer than others and some days you’ll just want to eat. That’s ok. Give yourself grace and strive for improvement not perfection.

A Few Helpful Terms

  • 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, etc. That’s a ratio of the time when you fast (first number) versus the time when you eat (number after the colon). This is typically abbreviated in a ratio of 24 hours. So, 16:8 means you fast for 16 hours, eat for 8. That’s where I started. I’m now mostly using 20:4 (I eat a late lunch and early-ish dinner, all within a four-hour window).
  • ADF. Alternate daily fasting (ADF) is when you fast for an entire day (or consume fewer than 500 calories that day) and then eat a normal (or slightly above normal) number of calories the next day. I’ve done it a time or two after big celebrations (like weddings), but it’s not my favorite style because it just feels a bit daunting, especially for beginners.
  • Autophagy. “Consumption of the body’s own tissue as a metabolic process occurring in starvation and certain diseases.” Sounds bad. Is actually good.
  • Dirty fasting. Drinking things other than water, black coffee and non-fruit teas during your fasting window. Lots of debate about this, but if you want to get the other health benefits like autophagy, it’s best to avoid 0 calorie, sweetened drinks.
  • Insulin response. When you eat (or even taste something sweet), your body produces insulin to manage your blood sugar and that breaks your fast. There’s a lot to this (and lots I don’t fully understand), but if you want a deep dive on this check out The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung.
  • OMAD. One meal a day. Intense. Normally that means you’re fasting for 23 hours a day and eating in a one hour window.
  • Satiety. The feeling of fullness, often attributed to foods that are higher in protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

Final Thoughts and Suggestions

If you’ve been meaning to get your health in order, I encourage you to give intermittent fasting a shot for a few weeks, even if you’ve never tried it before.

Beyond simply not eating, the biggest game changers for me have been:

  1. Tracking my progress with Fasty
  2. Drinking carbonated water to feel full
  3. Brewing herbal teas (or Pu Erh—a kind of earthy tea that’s good for the gut)

If you want to get into the nuts and bolts of how to fast, I recommend Gin Stephens’ book Feast. Fast. Repeat. If you’re more into the science angle and what’s happening biologically, check out Dr. Jason Fung’s The Obesity Code.

This summer marks one year of IF for me and it’s not the finish line, but a new baseline for health and discipline.

Curious? Shoot me a message. If you start, let me know—I’d love to hear your story, answer questions, or just cheer you on.