Fasting on Purpose
Previously I wrote an article about how less is more. You’ll be pleased to know that I’m putting my words where my mouth is — I’ve been following an intermittent fasting routine for a couple months.
I employ the 16/8 routine – going without food for 16 hours and eating during the remaining eight. I eat lunch around noon and wrap up eating by 8 PM (not to brag, but I added those hours in my head). I’ve even fasted 24 hours a couple of times.
I find it easier to eat nothing than to eat a little. And I’d rather eat nothing than most foods considered “healthy.” Remember, less is more, and you can’t eat less than nothing. (My crack research team is looking into this assertion. Preliminary reports appear to confirm it.)
Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m doing this. I mean, am I punishing myself?
No. Fasting for me is not punitive. It started because I was looking into different options for managing inflammation. My first choice was uploading my consciousness into a robot, but apparently we have not yet reached the singularity.
I looked into some conventional methods. Surgery intrigued me, but I didn’t have six million dollars to become one of those six million dollar men. So that was out.
Going full robot didn’t work. Going bionic man didn’t work. Great! Only alternative options remained… like diet. I resisted at first but I kept reading about the effect diet has on many areas of life. Sleep, brain function, hormones, inflammation, microbiome. Apparently diet can even effect your weight.
“Eating healthy” gets a lot of focus. But what is often overlooked is that periods of eating nothing contribute benefits in addition to those gained through healthy eating alone.
I was as surprised as anyone that the food I eat (or don’t eat) actually matters. It seems achieving a healthy lifestyle by eating unlimited ice cream is unlikely. (This was a devastating conclusion. I’m still hoping this finding is part of the replication crisis.)
It’s worth noting that my prior experience with mindfulness was invaluable in starting my intermittent fasting routine. I’d had practice observing what I was thinking or feeling in a particular moment. Prior to my decision to fast, I observed what I was feeling when I wanted to eat something. I can say with non-scientific precision (but feeling the confident backing of the Pareto principle) that 80% of my desire to eat came from feelings other than hunger.
I know you are shocked right now. People eat for reasons other than hunger? In my case, the following feelings prompted the desire to eat: anxiety, loneliness, sadness, pride, happiness. It seems that when things were bad, calories were comforting. And when things were good, nothing provides the icing on the cake like icing on a cake.
After a few weeks of observations, I knew that my mind’s main objection — that I would be too hungry — was bunk. I can confidently say that after months of fasting I don’t need to eat as often as my mind tells me. Getting to noon without eating is not an issue. The only days where I even think about it are days when I feel stressed or I’m busy in the morning. But I’m onto you brain, you can’t trick me!
My diet is not perfect. I’m no stranger to self-criticism, so I could focus on how I’ve not yet adopted the perfect human diet 100% of the time. But I think it’s fair to say that over the past few months I have made progress. I am better than I was yesterday. And more importantly, I have found something that will give me results if I use it. There is a solution, as they say.
I’m as disappointed as many others would be that the solution didn’t involve pills, infomercials, gadgets ordered from Amazon — solving problems with money instead of effort is more fun. But I suppose I’m grateful that there is a solution at all. The alternative to a solution is… no solution. Research has shown that most people prefer their problems to be solvable.
Fasting is cheap and simple, exactly the opposite of what my monkey mind typically comes up with. So I’ll continue to fast because I find it beneficial. And I’ll continue to look for research that proves, in actuality, unlimited ice cream is the healthiest human diet.