A good primer on fasting, but not as good as “The Complete Guide to Fasting” book.
Since reading The Complete Guide To Fasting, I decided to go on a fasting reading kick. Does that even make sense? “Fasting reading…” Anyway, I am a fan of Dr. Fung, so I traversed down to my local library and checked out his newest book from the library. And it was just okay.
A Good Introduction to Fasting
I think this would be a good book for anyone who wants to learn more about fasting in general. The chapters are essentially short anecdotes from the three authors of their experiences with fasting. They offer tips and tricks to deal with sweets in the workplace; they go over some of the science of fasting, and how to prepare and plan for your fast. The authors are Jason Fung, Megan Ramos, and Eve Mayer.
Is that we are not alone. Many people fast. Some for religious reasons, and some for health reasons. In a society of chronic metabolic diseases, it’s great to see a passionate community of like-minded individuals who want to take control of their health without counting calories (which doesn’t even really work). I appreciate what these three individuals have done for the fasting and the health-conscious and longevity community at large.
How Many Stars?
3.5 😐
I just did not love this book, like I loved The Complete Guide to Fasting. Maybe it was because The Complete Guide to Fasting goes into much more depth and detail, and I’m a nerd for this kind of stuff. But it just seemed like it lacked substance for me. It is good for people who know nothing about fasting, or who are beginners or who are on the fence and just want some general information on fasting. The chapters were just individual stories about their experiences in fasting, not in depth explanations which I would have preferred. I respect their work and appreciate them all, but I just didn’t click with this book as much as I did with some of the other books written by Dr. Fung.
BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME
Title: Life in the Fasting Lane: How to Make Intermittent Fasting a Lifestyle―and Reap the Benefits of Weight Loss and Better Health Authors: Jason Fung, MD, Eve Mayer, and Megan Ramos Publish Date: April 7, 2020 ISBN: 0062969447 | ISBN-13: 978-0062969446
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Comments?
Have you ever fasted? What was your fasting journey like? Let me know your thoughts on fasting in the comments. Thanks!
Everyone has 8 minutes a day to work on themselves.
Updated November 27, 2021
Yeah yeah yeah. I know I’ve talked about life changing books before. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you that this book has had such a profound effect on my stress levels, peace of mind, and habits.
The Best Introduction to Meditation Book You’ve Never Heard Of
There are a million reasons why I love 8 Minute Mediation. In fact, I read this book before I read 10% Happier. First of all, Victor Davich is a great author and writes in a conversational tone that really relates to his readers. Second of all, most people think you need to go to a monastery or spend hours a day sitting still meditating, but through reading this, I’ve learned that that is completely not true. Third of all, the 8 minutes is key- the main message is not necessarily that you need to do 8 minutes of meditation like you needed to do 8 minute abs back in the ’90s ;)- the point of the 8 minute meditation is to build the habit of meditating daily. The habit of breathing and becoming present.
Davich breaks the book out into 8 chapters of different “themes” of meditation. Put another way, you will meditate 8 minutes a day for 8 weeks. Each week, you will be working on a different them or type of meditation. One week is concentrating solely on your breath, and another week is lovingkindness meditation, for example. After 8 weeks, congratulations! You now have the meditation habit.
After this 8 weeks, you have built your meditation skills, and you can choose what to do after that. A lot of times, I do lovingkindness meditations. There is a resource section in the back of the book which you can use to explore meditation further once you are done the 8 week program.
My Biggest Takeaway from 8 Minute Meditation
Is the habit formation. Before reading this book, I never meditated consistently. I always gave up, frustrated that I didn’t have some magical power that other meditators possessed. I was completely wrong about that as I learned through this book and through my own meditation experience.
How 8 Minute Meditation Has Personally Affected Me
I’ve always been interested in meditation. I wanted to be more “zen”. Years ago, I even did a temple stay in Korea. As of this writing, I’ve meditated for about 100 days straight. There was one night when my wife asked me if I meditated that day, and I had forgotten! So right before bed, I took some breaths. That is the closest I’ve gone to not meditating daily. As Davich puts it, everyone has 8 minutes a day for themselves, and I certainly have no intention of stopping my 8 minute daily habit.
How Many Stars
5 🙂
If you have even the faintest interest in meditation, I’d recommend this book wholeheartedly.
BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME
Title: 8 Minute Meditation Author: Victor Davich Publish Date: December 2, 2014 ISBN: 0399173420 | ISBN-13: 978-0399173424
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Comments?
Do you meditate? Have you heard of this book? Did you give up on meditating? Let me know in the comments!
This book could easily be titled: The Complete Guide to Taking Back Control of Your Health.
One of the running themes of Ryan’s Reading Reviews is health and wellness book reviews. I’ve personally struggled with some health problems over the years (decades?), and I when I would go out in public, I would see all these people with “pouches”. So I started saying “America is fat, the proof is in the pouch”. Sorry for anyone with a pouch who is offended. Clearly something in our society regarding health and diet is wrong, so that’s why I took my health into my own hands and have been reading about health and wellness ever since. And I’m never looking back. Enter The Complete Guide to Fasting.
This is a Life-Changing Book
Dr. Jason Fung has an interesting story. Dr. Fung is a kidney doctor who had a large number of diabetic patients referred to him who developed kidney problems. He knew there had to be a solution to diabetes (type 2) other than just prescribing medicines like insulin. And thus began fasting as a therapy for diabetes, a myriad of other metabolic diseases, and overall health. This is a must-read for anyone who is sick of dieting and wants to take their health into their own hands. In summary, Dr. Fung shows that the conventional wisdom of “eat less, move more” is fundamentally wrong.
Imagine this for a moment: The thing that every doctor and every expert in society recommends is the exact opposite of what really works. This is backed up in the book through charts and cited sources. Remember that show The Biggest Loser? Well, only one winner has successfully kept the weight off long-term.
So instead of “calories in, calories out (CICO)” and “eat less, move more”, Dr. Fung says weight loss is more of a hormonal issue. This makes sense to me- I have no doubt that 100 calories of soda and as 100 calories of spinach are totally different metabolically.
The Benefits of Fasting
There are a myriad of benefits to fasting. Here are a just a few:
The Complete Guide to Fasting is Not Really a Diet Nook
It’s more of a lifestyle book. Dr. Fung and his panel of experts weigh in (no pun intended) on advice and strategies on how to fast properly and in a healthy way. But just from an evolutionary perspective, it makes logical sense. Our ancestors lived a feast-and-famine existence. In the springtime, food for our ancestors was abundant but in the winter food was more scarce. Same thing today- we don’t need to eat 6 meals a day, every day. We aren’t going to die if we skip dinner one night. You don’t need to starve yourself by eating 1,000 calories every day. For instance, you can enjoy life and eat guilt-free on Thanksgiving, and then do intermittent fasting after the holiday to get back in check. Which leads me to the next point.
There are Many Different Types of Fasts
The book has all different types of fasting plans and you can experiment/choose the plan that is right for you. There are intermittent fasts (skipping meals, only eating dinner once or twice a week, for instance). There are extended fasts (72+ hours of fasting), and there are fasts which you can customize and adjust to your own lifestyle and health goals.
What you Can Eat While Fasting?
Dr. Fung advises against completely depriving yourself of water when fasting. Instead, he advises you can eat/drink things like coffee, tea, water, and even bone broth, especially on longer (extended) fasts. There is a whole section in the book on what to eat/not eat during fasts.
Who Should Not Fast?
The average healthy person can do fasting on their own. However, since 1 in 8 Americans are metabolically healthy, there are a lot of people who should not be fasting without medical supervision. If you have any medical complications or are on medicines for anything, especially diabetes, you should not fast unless you are directly in contact with your doctor or medical team. In other words, most people should use caution when fasting. Medications can really cause problems or even death while fasting.
I am not a doctor, I am just a guy who lost over 30 pounds using diet and exercise during the pandemic, when a lot of people gained weight. I’ve been reading books on health and dieting for over a decade and these are just my opinions and results that I am sharing with you. Your situation and journey may be different, as everyone has the own unique situation, so this is really just a book review. With that being said, I wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone who is ready to take control of their health and get off or reduce their medicine.
How Many Stars?
5 🙂
My tagline used to be “Book Reviews in 500 words or less”, but clearly I went over that for The Complete Guide to Fasting, and I could write another 1,000 words on the book. I think it’s a great book, considering the obesity epidemic we have been in for decades. It’s a great book for individuals to check out, as well as for our public health interest. If you are curious about the benefits of fasting and the failure of dieting, check it out. It may just change your life like it did mine.
Peter Attia – Another legend for Keto and Longevity
BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME
Title: The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting Authors: Jason Fung, MD and Jimmy Moore Publish Date: October 18, 2016 ISBN: 1628600012 | ISBN-13: 978-1628600018
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Comments?
Did you read The Complete Guide to Fasting? What did you think of it? Would you like me to write a personal post about how I lost 30 pounds in part by using this book, or should I stick strictly to book reviews? Let me know in the comments.
