Fasting is an act of withdrawing from food for a certain period of time, allowing the body to work with what it already has and metabolize it. This way of life has been proven to bring positive results when done properly and under professional guidance.
When I first heard that one could lose weight by fasting, I freaked out. For me, the importance of fasting has a lot to do with religion. In Nigeria, people fast for religious reasons. Generally, people fast from 6 a.m. to 12 noon or from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the morning. What I didn’t know is that fasting can also be practiced as a lifestyle for medical reasons. I really lost touch with the world.
My curiosity about fasting began when the word “overweight” rang a bell from every corner of my life – my family doctor, my surgeon and my mirror. I couldn’t rest. Working in the healthcare field, I’ve seen a lot. I know that nutrition and physical fitness are big contributors to health. I was confused because I thought it would be difficult. I have tried to lose weight so many times and failed. I gave up and just made up a personal definition of lifestyle in my head – eat healthy, exercise when I can, after all, I move more than 10,000 steps at work. I didn’t realise what was going on until after my surgery. I already weigh 80 kg.
Where and when did I gain so much weight? I drink a lot of water, I don’t eat refined sugar, I think I eat healthy + I do more than 10,000 steps a day at work. I could hardly bend over because my belly was getting bigger and I felt so bad whenever I go to the mirror and had to see it. When I had to tie my shoelaces, I had to breathe like someone who has done a marathon after tying their shoelaces. 3 minutes run to the bus stop, I have to gasp for oxygen. I weighed 80 kg and was overweight according to the BMI calculation given my height. I avoided taking full photos. The worst part was that during my surgery, the doctors told me I was overweight and intubation was a bit difficult. I was scared. I didn’t want any more complications or even one of those chronic diseases around me. After reading some books on healthy weight loss, I realized I was making lifestyle mistakes. I set out to find a healthier me before it was too late.
I listened to so many videos and teachings from Sahdguru on YouTube. I came across his teachings on fasting as a lifestyle and how effective it was. I got involved with it. I didn’t do much research, but signed up with an app to guide me. I successfully followed through for two weeks and lost a really good amount of weight. During my eating window, I ate a total of 700 calories. I also did an exercise program – 4 times a day at a gym near me. I felt good the whole time, but the Christmas holiday spirit and food caught up with me. I suddenly got sick without knowing what the problem really was. I remembered that I had drunk a whole two liters of green tea and chamomile tea the day before. It was the effect of the tea that messed up my system 360 degrees. I gained back all the weight I had lost. But this time I didn’t feel bad.
I had previously saved money for liposuction, but decided to invest it in an online health coaching certification program so I could be my own client along the way.
My fasting experience was great and an eye opener for me. It showed me so many things that I never imagined existed. Even though I failed after two weeks, I learned so much. I’m starting again, but this time to never fail again, because I think I’ve learned so much from my mistakes. I am now equipped with more resources, books, advice and professionals. I also have the advice of my family doctor who had already referred me to nutrition counselling. This time I’m ready to make sure I get it right and achieve my dream of a healthier me.
