Today, Debbie Weil brings her husband Sam Harrington, a retired physician, back on the show to talk about fasting. One year ago the couple completed a five-day fast using a ProLon kit of dried soups and crackers. This year, after packing on the pounds during the stay-at-home pandemic holidays, they decided to repeat the fast.

And this time, Debbie took notes to record the experience.  If you’ve listened to the pair kibitz in earlier episodes, it will be no surprise that they experienced the fast differently. They talk about what the fast felt like day by day (it was harder for Debbie) and what the possible benefits are in addition to losing weight.

A month later, both are a number of pounds lighter (about four for Debbie; eight for Sam). And they’ve mostly kept the weight off. Debbie finds herself eating smaller portions and neither is snacking between meals.  Desserts and sweets still call to Debbie but she recognizes that the craving for sugar is not one that can be cured in five days or even a month.

Both agree that the fast led to a successful reset of their eating habits.

They talk about the science behind fasting and about something called intermittent fasting which means shortening the span of hours in the day during which you eat. Sixteen hours of fasting vs. 8 hours of “eating” is a typical ratio. That could mean skipping breakfast and eating only between 12 noon and 8 PM. And they speculate on whether fasting and intermittent fasting are merely the latest fad. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to fast and why you might want to do it, this is a conversation for you.

Debbie’s day-by-day fasting notes:

DAY 1: light-headed and mentally fuzzy.

DAY 2: 8:30 AM weak and sluggish; 1 PM fatigued and sluggish, as if I’m operating at 1/3 speed; 4:30 PM this is painful. Back hurts, muscles ache, dizzy, drowsy, and IRRITABLE.

DAY 3: feeling better, not so achey.

DAY 4: light-headed, fatigued, dreaming of the food I will eat when this is over; this feels never ending.

DAY 5:  feel debilitated and so weak; fuzzy thinking is really a problem; NEVER AGAIN. (Of course, I said that each time after giving birth.)

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

• ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet -The 5-Day Fasting Diet
• Definition of autophagy
• Intermittent fasting: Surprising update (Harvard Health Blog, February 10, 2020)
• Can scheduled fasting improve your health? (Harvard Health Blog, May 2020)
• Should you try fasting? (Harvard Health Blog, August 2020)
• The Whole30® Program

Note from Debbie

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– Debbie

They are NOT fasting in this photo.