The greatest discovery in my life

[Objectivist]

What was it that originally convinced you that following this advice would be beneficial to you?

Well, I didn't know about intermittent fasting when I started.  I didn't know about this doctor at that time, just found him this week.  I was really having major gut and stomach problems.  I was bloated and had terrible heartburn and gas and sour burps (sorry for being gross).  A video happened to come up in my youtube feed and the title was:  Go to bed hungry and you'll cure half your health problems.  I didn't even watch the video.  I said why not try what do I have to lose.  I made dinner for my family and went and laid down in bed and it felt so strange not to be eating with everyone.  I was sure I'd be in the frig at midnight chowing down.  But, that didn't happen.  I was sure I'd wake up the next morning ravenous but to my utter surprise I wasn't hungry at all.  I remembered another youtuber who I watch had said something about fasting and did a search.  I found Dr. Berg's videos and a light went on.  So I started skipping dinner every night but I was still eating all the same processed foods and sugar.  I remember the first three days I had eggs, bacon, toast with prickly pear jelly, and a piece of cheesecake!  I had one in the frig.  I did this for three days, skipping dinner and I got on the scale and I had lost 3 pounds.  My stomach problems went away that first night and never came back.  My wife made fun of me and scoffed but after I had lost 30 pounds or so she started doing it too and she lost 28 lbs.  

This doctor goes into so much more detail though, and I realize I've been doing things wrong for the last year.  I've been pretty much eating whatever I want for those two meals a day.  Recently I've been eating a lot less sugar and carbs.  I don't have a craving for them anymore.  I find myself wanting a piece of grilled steak or chicken with a salad and some avocados.    I still eat carbs but they are low glycemic index carbs like yams and whole grains and beans.  I eat a lot of lentil chili.  I do almost all the cooking and I've totally gotten rid of all processed foods. 

Here's what I typically eat now in a day after a year of intermittent fasting:

Breakfast, usually around noon to one o'clock:  

Huevos rancheros with three eggs.  A couple of slices of bacon, and some refried beans. I sprinkle a small amount of queso fresco on top and some fresh cilantro and usually some homemade guacamole.  I make everything from scratch including the refried beans and red or green enchilada sauce.  Sometimes I have chilaquiles with tomatillo sauce.  Sometimes I eat this Spanish egg and bread skillet.  (I really like the Spain on a fork channel  as well as Rick Bayless's channel.) 

Lunch, if I eat it is usually a grilled piece of fish, chicken, beef, or pork with a large salad and a bowl of blackberries and blueberries with cream).  

In addition to this, I drink a cup of black coffee in the morning.  Since I learned about how good Turmeric is for us, I've been adding a small amount of butter, a teaspoon of curry powder, and a pinch of black pepper.  This morning I added a little ground red chili to this.  

That's what I typically eat in a day.  I'm eating about a quarter of the calories I used to.  I used to eat a whole large pizza but now I can only eat two pieces.  See, your stomach shrinks and you get full a lot faster.  Also Grelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry is suppressed by fasting and lowering your insulin. Insulin is the key to all this.  

I haven't eaten anything since 6 P.M yesterday.  I don't normally eat after 5 PM but I rode my bike 11 miles yesterday so I got back late.  I've been fasting for 23 hours now.  I'm going to try for 72 to see how I feel.  Then I'll go back to one or two meals a day.  

The beauty is that this is totally flexible and I don't feel deprived at all.  I've still got 150,000 calories stored in my body, need to lose 42 more pounds so this routine will probably change after I get to my goal of 160 pounds.  That's what I should weigh. I might need to eat more since I won't have the fat reserves I do now. I haven't weight 160 pounds since I was 18 and that was 38 years ago!