After listening to Jimmy Akin’s story on weight loss, including his moderate success with the Atkins Diet and incredible success with intermittent fasting, I tried the Zero app, recommended by Fr. Mike Schmitz. I promise this isn’t any kind of sponsored article (I have only used the free version, and it’s been more than sufficient for me, but I can see the benefits of the paid version).
After nearly one month in, fasting at minimum 16hrs a day, and at most 48hrs at a time, I have only good things to say, both in terms of weight loss and building of discipline. Fasting has been both easy and hard, and that’s why I recommend it.
Years ago, a popular theory for dieting was to divide up your meals into smaller snacks, spread throughout the day. Nowadays, fasting seems to be increasingly popular. By fasting for at least 16 hours, your body is relying on reserves rather than anticipating your next meal.
Many have reported feeling hungry less often while fasting, and that is true for me. That’s the easy part of fasting. Feeling less hungry naturally leads to eating less without trying (unless you have a particularly bad habit of eating due to boredom).
But I am still hungry quite often, particularly toward the end of the day. I usually eat sometime around 2pm, before I work at 3pm. That is my one meal per day. No matter how much I eat, I will feel hungry again sometime before I go to sleep, but not when I wake up. On days when I don’t eat at all (except for daily vitamins), I’ll get hungry around 3pm.
That’s the hard part of fasting. There is plenty of time when I am hungry but will not eat. Obligatory disclaimer: don’t try any kind of diet without reading up on it or consulting a doctor, and this is not health advice. I can only say what works for me. I’ve been told that I should only break a planned fast if I feel exhausted, like I’ve come off a sugar rush and don’t have any energy. So far, that hasn’t happened. I can remain active enough to hit at least 10,000 steps and still feel energized without eating the entire day. I am hungry, but I have energy.
But weight loss is only part of the benefit. There is the spiritual discipline as well. Fasting has a long history within the Abrahamic religions. Fasting was (and still is) a form of penance. Whatever Lent might mean to you now, it used to mean 40 days of fasting (one meal a day, not 40 days without eating).
This is one amazing benefit to fasting. Fasting builds discipline and willpower. It works to separate that link between hunger and eating. When you have the urge to use the restroom, you need to respond to that sooner or later. But with fasting, you can ignore hunger. It will be there, and it will be unpleasant, but you can ignore it, and it will eventually subside. I’ve found that even though I’ve become less hungry, it’s the strengthening of the will that makes fasting easier. Being hungry is now like exercising. There is a desire to stop, but also a desire to keep going.
This can all be done without the Zero app, but the app seems to help by allowing me to set a timer for fasting, marking when I start and finish, and has a widget for the homepage with the time remaining. As often as I check my phone (which is far too often), I am reminded that I am fasting.
The rigidity of a strict time without eating is helpful as well. Whereas dieting tends to be about just trying to eat under a certain amount throughout the day, fasting is firm. I am not going to eat anything at all within this allotted time. That’s not a suggestion, but a statement. I can eat whatever I want (though protein removes hunger and provides energy much more than sugary foods), but only when my fast is over.
I have been very successful so far, and that’s coming from someone who has failed over and over again. The spiritual component is what is keeping me going. Losing weight is a benefit, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about building up the will, and not being a servant of desire. Fasting can be a diet, but it doesn’t need to be. Upon reaching an appropriate weight, there is no reason to stop. You can eat enough within that 8hr window to maintain weight and still fast 16hrs a day.
If you’re interested, you can download the Zero app, or learn more through the two links in the beginning of the article, and subscribe to my substack for updates on my own fasting.