I Tried 18 Hour Fasting For 6 Months — Here’s What Happened

I used to be one of those people who really thought daily fasting was a silly diet trend— there was no way I was going to skip breakfast, that was insanity! I have been doing juice fasts a of couple times a year for many years, but didn’t feel like that was similar for some reason — that felt like a reset, giving my gut a break — daily fasting just seemed like torture to me at the time.

For years I ate on a very strict eating schedule because of my work. If I didn’t schedule it, I didn’t eat. If I didn't eat, I couldn't function optimally — so, I created a schedule. I would wake up at 7 am, make oatmeal, go to yoga, get into my work calls and appointment which would take me until lunch on the go at 2 pm, and then back to more work. Home at 6:30 pm for dinner at 7 pm. Work more. Phone on airplane mode at 10 pm. Bath. Tea. Read. Sleep at 11 pm. Repeat.

That shifted very, very little over the years because I scheduled everything around it.

I was so routine with this that if there were important events during that time zone — I wouldn't go. I would simply skip them. I became obsessed with these times to eat and never thought they would change.

I actually became concerned about this strictness, so I asked myself why I was so attached to this strict schedule? There were two reasons. It was the one thing I really felt like I had control over, and that felt good. My life was complete chaos otherwise, so I held on tight to my boundary around…