Season 1

Episode 17: Fred

In this episode of the Intermittent Fasting Stories podcast, host Gin Stephens interviews writer and retired professor Fred about his experience with intermittent fasting. Fred hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba, but currently resides in Toronto. He began IF in 2018 after his cardiologist recommended it and his endocrinologist approved of the lifestyle change. He has lost about 40 pounds, and he is down to 240 pounds. Fred has struggled with a variety of complicated and serious health concerns, and his journey with IF is unique and compelling for the way in which it involves his overall health.

Before transitioning to an IF lifestyle, Fred had a lot of trouble with type two diabetes, heart trouble, dozens of concussions, and several other health concerns. He was not a candidate for bariatric surgery, and his previous efforts at weight loss were ineffective. After researching IF, Fred realized that the measures he was taught to take for his diabetes, such as eating a lot of carbs and eating many times a day, were actually harming him. He was also shocked upon his study of the science behind IF that more doctors were not aware of it. Fortunately, he had a well-informed cardiologist and a medical team willing to try new things and help him resolve some of his trouble. While his health issues interrupted his start to IF, Fred eventually found a rhythm and began to see results.

Besides the weight loss, Fred has experienced many health benefits. His AIC is better now, his vision and dental health have improved, his fitness level is higher, he no longer experiences crashes after workouts, he is more cognitively sharp, and his hair and skin have had positive changes. His tastes have also changed in healthy ways. As he keeps to an IF lifestyle, Fred now consumes fewer carbs than he did prior to IF, and his window has changed from 12-12 to about a minimum fast of 18 hours per day during the week. He is more relaxed on the weekends, and he shapes his window around his busy evenings. Fred combines his great experience with IF with a well-researched knowledge of science at play in it, and he hopes to teach a course on IF at his diabetes clinic. In the meantime, he leaves listeners with a final bit of advice: Given the fact that miracles only happen in the Bible, acknowledge that IF will take time and effort, but that it will work. Let it do its work!

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The Obesity Code

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