In late February of 2021 I went to the doctor for an annual check up and was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. This was a huge blow for me. I knew I was severely overweight and unhealthy, but up to that moment was never really inclined to take care of myself.
Sure, I had lost some weight in the past, but it was always with an attitude of “If I can just hit my goal weight, I will be happy.” I linked weighing a certain amount to happiness and when I hit that goal weight and was still unhappy, I thought, so what’s the point of losing weight if it won’t make me happy.
This is an idiotic line of thinking of course. But there we were.
After my diabetes diagnosis it dawned on me that I was literally killing myself with food, so I decided to make some changes to my diet. I read a book called The Obesity Code (that link will take you to Amazon if you wish to purchase the book) and it really helped me change the way I thought about how I eat and fuel my body.
His basic premise is that if you can control how many times you instigate an insulin response in your body (i.e. every time you consume calories, pretty much regardless of what kinds of calories they are, your body produces insulin…for a Type II diabetic this over production of insulin causes all sorts of problem, not the least of which is weight gain) you can control your weight more effectively.
His advice is to use Intermittent Fasting as a means to achieve this.
For the uninitiated, IF is exactly what it sounds like. You go without consuming calories for longer periods each day and only eat or drink during specific windows of time. When I started, I used a fasting schedule of 16/8 which meant that I would fast for 16 hours and eat 2-3 small meals during an 8-hour window of time.
This worked incredibly well. I lost weight very rapidly in the first 3 weeks, going from 231lbs to 214lbs during that time. Seventeen pounds in 3 weeks is no joke!
So, because the fasting window was very easy to comply with, I decided to start expanding my fasting window and shorten my eating window. From a 16/8 fast I started doing an 18/6 fast, then a 20/4 fast, until now I essentially only eat one meal a day during about a 20-30 minute window of time.
I have seen incredible results from using this tool, losing over 60lbs in less than 90 days and although I do get hungry late at night, it’s not overwhelming and is manageable. This is something I can do forever.
This is true for me, but intermittent fasting isn’t right for everyone. My wife, for example, doesn’t see the same benefits with fasting as I do…when she fasts over a period of several weeks her weight stays pretty consistent and she doesn’t really lose much (she’s also pretty fit, so there isn’t much to lose anyway). But, when she eats several small meals a day her results come.
But, if you are struggling with your weight, I would highly consider starting an intermittent fasting regimen, at least for a few weeks to see if it works for your body. To get the best results, I use an app called Fastic.
When I first began my fasting journey, I knew I would need something to help me manage it. So, I downloaded a nifty little app called Fastic.
The reason I love Fastic is that a) the free version is perfect for my needs, b) it is simple and easy to use, c) it gamifies my experience, making it fun and engaging, and d) it helps me maintain consistency.
When you create an account you set your fasting window and the dashboard will show you your real time progress and track your fasting. When you end your fast it keeps track of that as well and will prompt you to start your fasting window at the appropriate time. It awards you flames, frosties, and stars for hitting goals (and even though I have no idea what those are for, I still love getting rewarded haha) and makes it fun.
For me personally, seeing those progress bars throughout the day is extremely motivating and useful. It helps keep the willpower needed to a minimum because it has systemizes everything for me.
Other features that I enjoy and use are the weight tracker and the water consumption tracker. When fasting, it is crucial to consume lots of water. This does a couple things. First, it helps keep you satiated and eases hunger pangs. Second, it flushes out all the crap in your body that breaks down while you are in your fasting phase.
I log into Fastic at least 5-6 times per day or more. It is a tool that I constantly use to track progress and stay on track. If you are interested in trying Intermittent Fasting, I would highly recommend giving Fastic a try. It might just change your life.
P.S. Oh, and my diabetes? On my last A1c check I had completely reversed any sign of it and had my blood sugar completely under control. Intermittent Fasting may have literally saved my life.
