My Intermittent Fasting Journey 断食の試み

 

コミュニティだよりあじの連載記事「断食の試み」です。

My regular column in the local community newsletter, entitled "My Intermittent Fasting Journey"

Last time, I wrote about undergoing surgery for the very first time in my life. Thanks to everyone, the surgery was a huge success, and I’m now almost fully recovered! I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and all the hospital staff who took such great care of me.

Now, let me ask you a question: how many times a day do you find yourself reaching for food?

In my case, I used to eat breakfast and snack pretty frequently throughout the day. If I count the single banana I always had right before bed, I think I was eating four to five times a day.

I’ve been getting regular health checkups for years, and for quite a while, my results had been flagging that my "blood sugar level is a bit high"—meaning I was in the so-called prediabetes category. But because I absolutely love naturally sweet foods like dried persimmons, figs, grapes, watermelons, and sweet potatoes, I never really found the motivation to change my lifestyle. However, this recent surgery became the ultimate catalyst for me to finally clean up my diet.

While looking into different options, one concept that really caught my eye was intermittent fasting. There are plenty of ways to do it, but I decided to go with the 16:8 method (where you fast for 16 hours, drinking only fluids, and fit all your meals into an 8-hour window).

Limiting your eating window does come with the risk of losing muscle mass if you don’t get enough protein, but the promise of an improved metabolism felt worth it. They say that when your body goes hungry for a certain period, it jumpstarts fat burning and improves insulin resistance. Plus, it gives your stomach, intestines, and other organs—which are usually working overtime to digest food—a much-needed break to recover and function better.

I’ve been sticking to this routine ever since I was discharged from the hospital in mid-June. My daily schedule is pretty simple: I have my first meal just after 10:00 AM, and my second one between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. In the beginning, my stomach would rumble like crazy, but I managed to calm it down by frequently sipping warm herbal tea or lukewarm water.

I’m also being mindful of food sequencing—eating vegetables first, then moving on to meat and beans, and saving carbohydrates like rice for last. Apparently, this order helps suppress blood sugar spikes. Since I’ve always had a naturally lean build, I’m also making sure I still get plenty of nutrients and calories throughout the day.

Needless to say, I’m actually looking forward to seeing the results of my next blood sugar test!