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15 Months of Intermittent Fasting Didn’t Transform My Life
Lessons learned from the latest biohacking fad
I’ll admit it: The hype over intermittent fasting intoxicated me. As a consumer of all things health and performance, I could not resist the urge to give it a go.
My parents gifted me wonderful genes. I’ve never been overweight in my 48 years. My physicals have only once turned up anything alarming — and that turned out to be a false alarm. So, what was I hoping to gain?
Having kids later in life encouraged me to do everything in my power to stay healthy. And despite my lucky streak of health, I was feeling the effects of getting older. I could feel my memory losing some of its sharpness. I also seemed to lack the mental stamina I once possessed especially in the early morning, my most creative time of day.
I’ve made a habit out of self-experimentation when it comes to health — playing around with everything from vegan to paleo diets, prebiotics, probiotics, exercise routines, sound therapy, and a few other things I’m too embarrassed to mention. Intermittent fasting, therefore, felt like a logical next step.
Most of the available studies on intermittent fasting focus on weight loss. But some studies, according to the NIH, also show the practice may boost neurological functioning. After 10–16 hours of fasting, your body releases ketones as an energy alternative to sugar. Early indications show this could have a protective neurological benefit.
It was that type of nascent research, and the propagation of it on health podcasts, that first intrigued me. Like other health experiments, I figured if it didn’t work out I could always go back to the way I’d been doing things before.
My strategy
I chose the most popular variant of intermittent fasting — the 16:8 method. In other words: 16 hours a day of fasting (except black coffee and water) and eight hours of nonfasting. In practice, this translates to eating my first meal around 12:30 p.m. and my last snack around 7:45 p.m.
I follow this pattern seven days a week. Some approaches allow you to eat your regular diet five days a week and then restrict calories for just two days. I advise against that…
