As the year winds up for 2024, our last Q and A session comes from questions that our Patreon members have sent in about living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle and related things.

Thank you for being so supportive in 2024. We look forward to seeing you when our guests return next year to share more inspirational stories.

You can join the Patreon community or check out what it's all about at the link

www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway

My book, The Fasting Highway, is available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback and in audio on Apple Books, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms.

See you next year here on The Fasting Highway with a great line up of guests

The last five years have been one adventure or crisis after another. The only things that have stayed consistent have been her faith in Jesus, her marriage to a great guy, her four cool kids, and IF. She has fasted daily since October 28th, 2019, through all the following.

Homeschooling four children, three of them through high school. Teaching art classes as art director of drama productions for four plays in which the three older children were actively involved with set design and prominent speaking roles. Organizing and speaking at ladies' conferences two times a year. The husband has several job changes, one with a lengthy commute.

COVID need to say anymore?

 Youngest daughter loses the ability to use her legs intermittently for about a year, which involved lots of specialists with super scary treatment plans.

The oldest daughter has severe vitamin D deficiency, losing all of her hair and experiencing severe exhaustion during school, work and soccer.

 Mother-in-law broke her hip twice and is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, which involved her having a brain tumour removed and subsequent radiation and chemotherapy. Two of her daughters-in-law shared her care, one of whom was Juliette.

 Oldest son captains in two varsity sports , football and wrestling, made for year-round hectic sports schedules.

 The same son gets a severe concussion, making him unable to work or go to school for several months. There was a personality change for a time, which was terrifying.

Husband had five surgeries on his eyes, two of which were emergencies and weren't guaranteed to save his eyesight as the optical nerve was damaged.

Starts working at Kohl's 3 days a week just to get out of the house and see people.

 Family takes an epic road trip across the country to see the Colorado Rockies.

 The oldest child has a cyst on her spine, which creates such excruciating agony that her pain can't be managed from home. Lots of MRIs and specialists and no real answers until… leukemia diagnosis.

 Daughter starts her 2-3 year treatment plan for leukemia and all the hard stuff that comes with that.

 Juliette begins running and training for 5K races, a sprint triathlon, a half marathon and her favourite, obstacle course runs.

Just before this podcast, her closest friend of 20 years was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumour.

Perimenopause ramps up, making for an unusually cranky mom and wife on occasion.

Celebrating 26 years of marriage in June!

 How did she stay so disciplined with IF through all of this? It is because she never could have done 90% of those things prior to IF. She was so ill with a host of issues (see episodes 40 and 185 for her full IF story) that she was often bedridden and in a wheelchair. IF gave her the fuel and health to thrive amid all these crazy hardships and adventures.

 It can do the same for you. She wants to Remember not to let your current circumstances keep you from “seizing the day” wherever you are treading water in your life.

John Beaver, now 55 years old, came to Intermittent Fasting in August of 2020 – partly searching for a solution to his increasingly troublesome migraines and partly looking for some change to a lifelong struggle with weight and obesity.   The results were beyond expectations on both fronts!  The migraines have faded to infrequent occurrences, and his weight began to drop off almost immediately, dropping from a beginning weight of 293 pounds to less than 180 by April of 2022.  As life went on, and John moved forward into more of a maintenance mode, his weight settled back up just a bit in sync with his lifestyle.   By 2023, he maintained in the 195-200 pound range consistently while typically working with a 5-7 hour eating window, guided by a sense of flexibility around living life – tempered with the knowledge that he had changed his life with this new way of coexisting with food. He first appeared on The Fasting Highway podcast in Episode 54 during his weight loss phase in March of 2021, and later for a touchpoint in July of 2023 on Episode 183. John is the proud father of two sons.  His older son has also been an intermittent fasting success story – having lost over 100 pounds by changing this lifestyle since 2020.  John’s younger son lived with severe cerebral palsy and has been a massive part of the “why” for all the changes in his life.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.

As we take a break due to travel, we go back to Episode 151 with Netta Gorman,, in which she and I discuss issues with sugar and some practical advice and tips for dealing with it. We resume our regular podcast lineup next week when we return.

Show Notes from Episode 151

Netta was desperate to overcome her debilitating health issues. She struggled with chronic constipation, headaches, achy joints, uncomfortable extra pounds, energy slumps, anxiety, mood swings, and more. By 45, she’d tried everything… except for one solution! Cut sugar. But she resisted it – until she realized that “nothing changes if nothing changes”. It started as a temporary 2-week experiment to cut sugar, flour and sweeteners in July 2015. And to her amazement, Netta began to feel so much more energetic and vitalized that she carried on… and it’s been 7 years and counting! Now, Netta shares her voyage of self-discovery that transformed her relationship with sugar and her need for comfort foods. Netta is also the creator of the 12-week Life After Sugar Program, which empowers people who are open-minded and slightly rebellious to let go of sugar for good. She also offers a safe, private community that provides support and accountability in the After Sugar Club membership. Her passion is to guide people who struggle with cravings and mindless eating so that they can learn to let go of sugar, gain energy and confidence, and make their intermittent fasting lifestyle easy and natural. Find Netta here: aftersugarclub.com. Press kit available upon request to contact Netta: [email protected] As featured in Life After Sugar, Netta is inspiring thousands as the host of the Life After Sugar podcast, ranked in the US Top 100 nutrition podcasts with over 200K downloads in its first two years

Episode 250 is hosted by my forever girl, Lou Collins, who has had some severe health challenges over the past two years, as you will hear in the episode. A candid chat about the milestone of 250 episodes, check-in with my journey, and how The Fasting Highway has evolved into a global community that practices Intermittent Fasting. I am super proud of Lou who reaches out in a very public place for help in such a brave way,

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only

Bio by Karen Hobson

It has been nearly 2 years since my first interview with Graeme -Episode 166 March 2023.

I am now 82 and have been on maintenance since then. I initially lost 54 lbs. I was down to 128. During these last 2 years, my weight has gone between 129 and 132. The highest it has been was 134. I have been weighing daily to determine what foods cause water gain. My clothes still fit the same. Doing a 40-42 hr fast is the only way I can lose the water weight. It seems more challenging for me to do the longer fasts now. With my 60 years of diet history, I don’t want to find myself back up in weight again. IF is my way of life , and it has been so since August 2017.

Karen Cahill lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and has appeared on the podcast in previous episodes. We checked back in to see how Karen is doing at the six-month point, maintaining a 180 pounds-88 Kg weight loss while living an IF lifestyle. Karen is hugely inspiring to all in our global fasting community and is always the first to help others find better health—more in the episode.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.

BIO

 I'm 71 years old & have been dieting since the age of 9! Yes, 9 years old. It's hard to believe, but it's true.

My mum had taken me to our family GP with concerns about my development as I was somewhat more significant than my peer group. If more thought had been given, then both mum & the GP would perhaps have realised I was at the start of puberty...earlier than most, but accurate. My early puberty resulted in decades of see-saw dieting, following in the footsteps of my mum, who was a serial dieter...I hadn't known anything other than Mum on a diet. Like so many, I had a hundred & one reasons to diet & can probably tell you my weight at different stages of my life. However, my dad dying of Alzheimer's in 2012 was a massive factor in my decision not to be in the same situation in my older years...at this stage, I was almost 60! It was time to change all aspects of my life, including sleep, nutrition, movement & mindset. A lower-carb way of life was part of those changes & today, I feel amazing. But a diagnosis of cancer last year made me realise if I hadn't worked so hard, my recovery post hysterectomy & subsequent treatment may have had an entirely different outcome.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.

Bio By Christine Field

Rhode Island USA

I have been intermittent fasting for just under seven years, in addition to trying countless other methods of weight loss. Not all those years were successful because I was doing it wrong and cheating the system. Well, cheating myself is more like it.

 Initially, I did it wrong. Unclean. Uneducated about how to properly fast, etc., the same things you hear your guests say. I have been overweight my entire life. As a child, I was always the biggest one. I believe that I suffer from insulin issues that go undetected through typical medicine. I have strong reactions to sugar to this day. It’s awful. And I still hope to get it out of my life entirely someday.

 My highest weight was 358 pounds. My current weight is 178. I am 5’8”. I went from a size 26 Womens to a size 6. It’s genuinely UNREAL to live in this body.

 A couple years ago, I bought Gin’s book and started listening to her podcasts. That led me to your podcast. Although I love you both, I relate more to your life story in some ways.

 I clean fast every day. I have been doing this for about 3 years now. I give myself a 4-6 hour window. I now incorporate two days of shorter fasts because I was getting too thin for my frame.  My tastes have changed. My life has changed.

 Fasting reconnected me with life again. Taking the food away and all the accompanying noise put me in a place of openness and readiness to live my best life. I glow. I wake up every day ready to tackle life. I started noticing that the later I ate, the less refreshed I woke up, even if I had fasted.

 You often speak about how your weight affects your parenting. I resonate with that deeply because I have three sporty children. I coach basketball. I run a football league. I want to be agile and fit. I want to be a great example of health and fitness to them and other children as well. I am that now.

 Since our last talk, I break my fast most days with fermented food. I crave it now if I don’t have it. STRANGE! I follow that up with a protein, then vegetables, then carbs.

 I am imperfect. I accept that much now. There is no perfect plan. You live and do your best and that’s what I do. I do not kill myself working out anymore. This is also new. I set a step goal for myself and enjoy walks whenever I can. I also do a strength video every other day. I fit it in wherever I can.

 Another new tip- I’ve stopped thinking so much about what I don’t feel like doing. I just do it. The thinking screws me all up!!

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.

In this second repeat episode, we revisit with Leslie Taylor.

Thank you for your patience as i take a break to deal with a family bereavement of a loved one.

We will be back next week with our regular lineup of guests.

Show notes from Episode 158

Leslie Taylor is a stay-at-home mom and grandma and has worked as a medical website content developer. She enjoys taking complicated medical information and presenting it in a creative and easy-to-understand manner for the general public. She is currently writing a book on fasting called Fast Well Feast Well and will be releasing the content of the book in a free weekly newsletter called FastWell.

Leslie was a healthy weight until her 30s when a stressful cross-country move caused her to suddenly gain 25 lbs (11kg). This is when her dieting history began. She tried Weight Watchers and other calorie-restrictive diets. Each time she lost some weight initially but then regained back even more. She tried keto in 2018 but found it too restrictive, losing only 10 lbs. and then plateauing. Then her dad passed away in January of 2022 from heart complications from having type 2 diabetes for 30 years. She got on the scale and found she weighed 180 lbs. (81 kg), which was 50 lbs. (23 kg) above her comfort weight. Her blood sugar numbers were pre-diabetic. She knew something had to change. She had heard about fasting from her sister. Also, her dad had reversed his diabetes through fasting in 2018 but this was too late since his heart damage was irreversible. She began doing OMAD in January of 2022 and faithfully did OMAD every day for 6 months but lost no weight or inches. Then on August 1st of 2022 she started ADF. She is now down 34 lbs., her blood sugar numbers are healthy again, her fasting insulin serum number is A+, and she has numerous NSVs.

Graeme is now available for a private one-on-one coaching and mentoring session. He can help you with those burning questions, including how to get started or overcome issues, no matter what phase you are in on your intermittent fasting journey. Get accountable and come and have a chat with Graeme, who is vastly experienced in all areas of intermittent fasting and the mindset it takes.

www.thefastinghighway.com

Disclaimer-Nothing you hear on the podcast should be taken as medical advice. All views expressed are those of the guest and host.

As I take a break this week to celebrate my late father-in-law's life, we have a repeat episode with Erika Barnhart, who was on the podcast back in episode 212. At that point, Erika had lost a staggering 90 pounds -44 Kg in just ten months. It is an episode worthy of a relisten. We will be back next week with our regular schedule of guests.

Show Notes from episode 212

Erika Barnhart is a 43-year-old salon consultant who resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and three dogs. She had been struggling with weight issues since childhood and was overweight throughout most of her life. Over many years, she has tried numerous diets since the age of 12, but her success was only temporary. Erika has always been fond of eating various foods, but she also enjoys eating in large quantities and feeling full. At the age of 13, she was diagnosed with high cholesterol and triglycerides but was never prescribed any medication. Then in early 2023, she realized that she was procrastinating on scheduling her annual physical because she knew that the doctor would become more persistent about beginning a series of statin medication due to her high cholesterol. She also suffered from sleep apnea, used a CPAP machine, and had been experiencing plantar fasciitis in her right foot, causing her to limp. She felt unnaturally old, defeated, and unhealthy for her age. She was ready to make a change. She began looking for a sustainable and cost-effective plan to become healthier. As well as not wanting to take any medications unless necessary.  

Erika’s work involves a hybrid environment, including working from home, local, and overnight travel. She attends many business luncheons and events, so finding something to fit into her ever-changing routine is essential.

In March 2023, Erika finally discovered the freedom she had been seeking through fasting, and within about ten months, she lost 87 pounds (39.5kg). Erika achieved this by practising various fasts and focusing on nourishing foods. She appreciates the flexibility of fasting and incorporates it into her routine frequently. She has tried several fasts, such as Intermittent Fasting, Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), and Modified Alternate. Day Fasting (MADF), and One Meal a Day (OMAD). Also, she occasionally includes 48-60-hour fasts. Fasting has helped Erika gain more clarity, perspective, and patience, and the best part is that fasting doesn't cost anything! The flexibility has also made it easy to work into her ever-changing schedule. She's also excited to incorporate some yoga and weight training as soon as she begins working towards achieving her goal body. She’s also looking forward to hiking with her dogs once the weather improves in the spring.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts Zoom meetings twice monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day. There are over 100 exclusive pieces of audio content for Patreon members to help you navigate your IF journey and get more accountability and support.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration. It has been a game changer for many of the Patreon members.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.