It can’t be cured.
That’s what I was told.
The physical pain was bad enough. Eating would bring me to tears. The mental health struggle. The fear that came with being told the condition might not go away.
Any medications that I used just helped numb the inflammation and symptoms but never seemed to change the underlying situation.
I kept going to doctors looking for another answer.
But it didn’t seem anything they were doing was having an effect. And when I asked about it, they said that there wasn’t much else known on how to treat it.
So I started researching and trying to grasp for anything that could help.
I talked to some people and read a few places that fasting might help my autoimmune conditions. I chose to do it because the few people I knew that had autoimmune conditions said they were hearing fasting may help too.
My wife had experimented for a while with fasting.
When I was asked to join her, I said, “I am definitely not doing that.”
But now, I was thinking I’ll try anything.
So I swallowed my pride and started to fast.
I was hopeful that this was the direction that would change my health.
The research on fasting and autoimmune conditions is limited and far from complete. 1
What I didn’t realize is that I was wrong about the mechanism.
Fasting was not the answer.
But it was the first domino.
After the first one fell, it really started to accumulate positive results.
There were three big changes that I noticed after I started fasting.
First came discipline.
After a few weeks of doing it, I realized that I told others I was gonna do it and stuck to it.
It was a struggle for the first few days. But then it just became a part of what I was doing.
Second came agency.
I felt like I was in control of my situation and I was enacting change. I went in with the mindset that I was going to heal myself.
I’d made a contract with myself to get better. And then things that were small became cumulative.
The reward became the foundation.
After a month I started feeling better.
After month two, I started looking better.
I started getting comments like, “you look great chef” and others asking me what I was doing.
I was able to share and told them that I was feeling great.
I never weighed myself except at the doctor. But everyone has the humbling routine of seeing their reflection each day.
When I looked into the mirror, I started seeing a better version of myself. More than the weight.
It felt like I had more control of my destiny and I started feeling better.
I started looking better.
I wanted everything to continue.
Third came attention.
When I found success with something, especially when I was in a darker place, I started wondering if I made one positive change, what could another positive change do?
I started to look at my life and what other things were suffering.
Once one thing started working, I began to ask a different question.
Instead of looking at what was wrong, I started looking for what else I could improve.
The attention to my body began revealing things I had ignored for years.
I started looking at my sleep.
Then I started looking at my diet, most notably that my protein might be lacking.
Here’s what fasting looks like for me now.
I still fast every day.
I feel blessed that I started this practice.
I enjoy the way I feel, so I continue.
My day normally consists of two large meals and I start my first meal around 1pm.
I then eat dinner around 8 pm and am done for the day.
When I am out with friends or socializing, dinner can end up a couple hours later.
When it does I go with it.
Optimizing a fasting window at the expense of connection is a fool’s errand.
Once or twice a year, I do extended fasts for three to four days.
I don’t think of these longer fasts as a cleanse or a cure. I like the mental reset that they give me. I find the experience useful for reflection. Longer fasts are not appropriate for everyone. They can carry different risks than simply delaying breakfast.2
Fasting did not heal the condition, but it created the conditions for everything else to begin.
When something started working, I wanted to believe I had found the thing that did it.
Looking back, I don’t think my improvement worked that way.
Fasting, sleep, protein, movement, leaving the kitchen, and eventually moving to Portugal all had a cumulative effect resulting in health improvement.
Fasting was simply the first domino.
Moving to Portugal changed the routine again.
I no longer consider a late dinner with people I care about a failure of my health routine.
Social isolation and loneliness are associated with higher mortality risk. 3
I’ve learned there is a big difference between solitude and loneliness.
The people I care about are part of my health too.
Rigidity in the name of health that costs you meaningful relationships isn’t health.
Fasting was the beacon when my health was the foggiest.
It wasn’t the cure-all I hoped it would be.
It showed me where to look next.
It allowed me to identify other gaps in my health and more ways to feel better.
First came discipline.
Then agency.
Then attention.
And eventually, the wisdom to know when to be flexible.
What was your first domino?
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Educational only — not medical advice. Consult your physician before changing your health, diet, or exercise routine.
Well done Nathan, I talk about the first corner effect. Once you get around the corner you have a completely different view and approach. Well done.