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Writer's pictureMary Maciel Pearson

Fasting after feasting

Updated: Jan 6, 2021

According to some very current research 60-70% of our annual weight gain happens between November and January. 


Historically, famine followed the harvest time feast, so persistent weight gain was less of an issue. We could live off of our fuel stores for months if need be.

But now we have an abundance of food year round. On cold, dark, dreary days we tend to crave comfort food, especially refined flour and sugar products. Because we spend more time indoors, we’re also more likely to snack. We don’t give our digestive system a break, nor do we access our fat stores for fuel. Consequently, we add to body weight annually.


I recently read “The Obesity Code – Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Toronto kidney disease specialist, Jason Fung MD.


Dr. Fung is brilliant and courageous enough to challenge current dogma around weight loss. He makes it clear that the “eat less, move more”, blame-the-victim type mentality, has failed miserably because body fat accumulation is not about “sloth and gluttony”. It’s a “multi-factorial” problem largely related to hormonal imbalance.


The main hormones of concern for weight gain, according to Dr. Fung, are insulin (fuel storing hormone) and cortisol (stress coping hormone). This becomes perfectly clear when doctors prescribe insulin to diabetics or prednisone (a prescription anti-inflammatory cortisol-like drug) for pain and inflammation. Prolonged use of either medication leads to weight gain in all. Cause and effect is clear.


When we become “insulin resistant”, meaning we have to produce more and more insulin to lower blood sugar, we gain weight. And the only way to reverse it is to increase insulin sensitivity again. Dr. Fung believes that the most effective way to do this is through fasting.

Coincidentally in 2016, Japanese molecular biologist, Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in medicine, for his work on “autophagy” or “self-eating”. By fasting we activate processes in the body that clean up debris and recycle it to feed us. I have written about "autophagy" in the past here.


Although there is no quicker way for a doctor who treats predominantly type-2-diabetic patients (more susceptible to kidney damage) to get into trouble, than to risk lowering blood sugar too much, Dr. Fung actually encourages his patients to abstain from food for prolonged periods of time. Unlike with caloric reduction or diets, through supervised safe fasting, this doctor is successfully helping his patients lose weight, lower insulin and reverse diabetes.


As for stress, while short-term stress can lead to weight loss, especially when it mobilizes action, prolonged social and psychological stress that leaves one feeling stuck promotes weight gain, especially around the waist. Belly fat leads to chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Breath work, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, biofeedback, HeartMath and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) help here.


Regarding exercise, I love Dr. Fung’s analogy of the Weight Loss 101 exam. He says food accounts for 95% of the grade and exercise for only 5%. "Yet we spend 50% of our time and energy studying exercise. It is no wonder that our current grade is F - for Fat."



Exercise has many benefits, but weight loss is not one of them. To increase our level of activity sustainably, current research shows, we actually have to eat more, not less. Else we risk reducing our metabolic rate too much, reach a plateau in our weight loss effort, give up and rebound with added weight gain.


Clearly one has to get healthy to lose weight, not the other way around.


I tend to eat all of my food within an 8-10 hour window, earlier in the day. That means that I fast for 14 to 16 hours daily. But over the holiday season, on airport travel days, I fasted easily for 24 hours. Our son, who is really lean, actually fasted for 36 hours without any adverse health effect. In fact, we both felt somewhat euphoric and alert unlike the drowsiness experienced after Christmas turkey dinner.  It is doable.


A word of caution though, to fast safely one must become adapted to burning fat for fuel.

Next week I’ll list my top tips to consider for sustainable weight loss based on the work of Dr. Jason Fung and other leading edge research.



This article was originally published on January 6th, 2017



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