The obesity epidemic in the U.S. Quoting the Center for Disease Control: “42% of Americans are obese.” What’s worse: “Fr

When Scott had lost a bunch of weight to beat diabetes, it had been as a result of the information in these books. He had learned to do water-only fasts ranging from 24-72 hours in duration, combined with a low-carb, high-fat diet (LCHF) — generally referred to as keto.

Driving home from the clinic, my mind was racing. I formulated the beginnings of a plan on how to recover from diabetes: a complete withdrawal from sweets, anything containing wheat, and starchy foods like potatoes and rice. I had read about wheat belly years earlier but never could give up my hot bagels, fresh whole-wheat bread, or several other favorites — pasta, pizza, and Basmati rice with spicy Indian food. I resolved to research diabetes itself and the best means possible for defeating it.

I devoured the books Scott mentioned. Dr. Fung’s book was specifically targeted to readers with Type 2 diabetes. The book described how it’s possible to reverse diabetes and lose weight — quickly — with a fasting program and LCHF diet. But I’d never fasted for 24 hours or longer! Could I do it?

It became very clear within an hour or two of researching diabetes that my lifelong appreciation of breads and pasta was surely a primary cause of the problem. The carbohydrates in food are quickly transformed into glucose in the body. Insulin — produced by the pancreas in response to eating — is supposed to metabolize that glucose so it can meet the body’s short-term energy needs. But with Type 2 diabetes, the body has become insulin-resistant. In other words, insulin can’t do its job, so the glucose accumulates in the blood and is stored in cells as fat.

But wait. I’m getting ahead of myself. A bit more about what I learned from Dr. Fung, a practicing kidney specialist and one of the world’s leading experts on fasting as a means of recovery from diabetes and other chronic diseases. I’ll share my own interpretations rather than quote from his book.

A prime place where excess glucose is stored is in the liver. So the liver becomes fatty — and thus far less efficient at its job of metabolizing food. Fat around the belly pretty much assures that other visceral organs are fat-laden, too.

He assured me that with a keto diet, I’d have plenty of yummy food choices to replace the foods I’d have to avoid. He also suggested I get a blood glucose meter and a ketone meter. I bought a glucose meter online later that day, but I couldn’t find a quality ketone meter here in the Philippines. (It turns out I don’t need it.)

Since leaving the USA in 2010, I had lost touch with these and other men from my men’s brotherhood (The ManKind Project). Previously, I had sat in weekly face-to-face gatherings among these men for over ten years. Due to COVID-19, they had recently started holding their gatherings on Zoom and reached out to me to join them. Sitting with these men again in weekly circles was truly a redeeming aspect of the pandemic.

But in the five months before my diagnosis, the COVID-19 lockdown had had its way with me. I had spent long hours every day at my computer, mindlessly nibbling soda crackers or other salty snacks out of boredom. My gym was closed, and technically I was prohibited from leaving my home. I still walked in circles around the rather large lot where I live for three miles on most days. But eating from boredom and reduced exercise added another 20 pounds to my weight.

An item that popped up in my research seemed like a no-brainer to me: intermittent fasting. So I resolved to start 16:8 fasting after that night’s dinner. That’s 16 hours of fasting (say, from 8 p.m. in the evening until 12 p.m. the next day), followed by an eight-hour eating window (12 p.m.-8 p.m., for instance). Then wash, rinse, and repeat. Also, cue the internal monologue:

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ial composing the solid Earth would immediately begin accelerating, as though it were in perfect free-fall, towards the center of the Earth. In the central region, mass would accumulate, with its density steadily rising over time. The volume of this material would shrink as it accelerated towards the center, while the mass would remain the same.

The following morning I had a Zoom call with a group of men I refer to as my Wisdom Council. The general purpose of the weekly call is to support one another through life’s ups and downs, week to week.

Their responses blew me away. All three of them had struggled with weight problems, one specifically with diabetes. That man (Scott) gave me the titles of two books I should read immediately for answers to the questions I’d fallen asleep with:

On reflection, I knew the source of the diabetes problem. After walking the Camino de Santiago in 2019, I was at my lowest weight in 30 years. In the following nine months, I had gained 20 pounds — still, in my mind, on the high side of “normal”.

Uh-oh. Some of my other favorite foods had to go: fruits, lentils, chickpeas, and beans. Oatmeal, granola, and milk. Quinoa, rice, and all other grains. Not only potatoes but sweet potatoes as well (the healthier option, I’d always thought).