Trigger warning: this post discusses disordered eating. Please avoid if this might be triggering for you.
I’ve dabbled with fasting on and off for years. It’s one of those things that has been making headlines for a while now, in the wellness sphere at least. As someone who has, historically anyway, attempted every new fad diet and exercise regimen on the market, of course I have tried it.
I didn’t like it. If I don’t eat, I get hangry, I feel weak and I start to panic. I thought (hoped) that this would be one of those things that disappeared off the radar, like the Special K diet or HIIT workouts (just me??). Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and, as much as I don’t want to do it, I have been wondering once again: should I be fasting?
A warning sign
I’ve good reason to be wary of limiting my food intake. I grew up in the era of heroin chic, when models were skeletal and Kate Moss famously told us that: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Women, for the most part, worked out to be thin, and almost every woman I knew was on a never ending weight loss diet. Back then, avoiding food wasn’t called fasting, it was usually a sign of disordered eating.
I prided myself on never missing a meal. I trained my whole life, first in Karate and then in the gym, and always to be healthy, never to be thin. That’s what I told myself anyway. It took me a long time to realise that my relationship with food and exercise was more complicated than I thought. As it turned out, my end goal was always to make myself smaller. I was just like everyone else. What a disappointment.
It would be easy for me to use fasting as a weight loss tool, especially now that I am experiencing peri-menopausal weight gain. But, I don’t want that. I’m trying to leave all of that behind me.
Fasting for health
Like I said before, it doesn’t look at though fasting is going anywhere. Rather than taking my direction from magazines or influencers though, as I have done in the past; now I am looking to science.
I’m a big fan of Professor Tim Spector (Zoe co-founder), I trust him. So when he spoke of the health benefits of time restricted eating, I knew that there was likely something in it. He told the BBC that eating in this way: “Improved mood, sleep patterns, energy levels and microbiome.”
Then, I watched Limitless, with Chris Hemsworth. I know what I said about influencers, but come on … The man looks like he’s been chiseled from marble by the Gods themselves. (I probably didn’t need to say that to my husband as often as I did). Anyway, back to the science. In the episode, longevity expert Dr Peter Attia confirmed what Professor Spector had said and more. He went so far as to say that fasting has its own anti-ageing powers.
Fasting for faith
I’m also aware of the fact that fasting is common as part of many religions. Growing up a catholic, I often … OK sometimes, and I usually failed … gave up foods that I particularly enjoyed for lent. If I want to expand my own faith, can fasting help me? I think so. As the Stoic philosopher Seneca said:
“By overloading the body with food you strangle the soul and render it less active.”
According to my research, other spiritual benefits include: a greater connection with God, an appreciation for the body, and compassion for those who are suffering.
The individual approach
Something that I am trying to do as I get older, is to ignore all of the hype and figure out what I need to live well. One of the things that I took from the Zoe programme, is that our bodies are unique. What works for somebody else, may not work for me, and vice versa.
Living in the modern world, going without food isn’t always going to fit into my day. So, instead of having a strict fasting schedule, I decided to tailor it to my life.
I have been experimenting with three days per week of extended fasting. That means missing breakfast and then eating two meals between 12noon and 6pm. The other days, I tend to eat between the hours of 10am and 6pm, but I don’t limit my food intake, other than to try to include as much goodness into my diet as possible.
I’m managing to bypass that fear of restriction for the most part. I think my problem in the past was my all or nothing approach. Now, on the days when I feel particularly hungry, I just eat and go about my day. Of course there are those days when I lose it completely. When nothing will satiate my appetite and I can’t muster the will to override the urge to eat everything in my path.
Slowly, I’m learning to be OK with that. To let go of the need for perfection and to find a bit more balance, in every area of my life. It’s early days and, as yet, I can’t see any obvious benefits externally. On the inside though, I’m sure that my body is thanking me. I guess that time will tell.
