From faintings to fasted half marathon

Hello, my name is Marko, I’m 47 y.o., married with a son of 8 years. I live on the border between Italy and Slovenia. I’ve managed to get from a BMI of 28 to 24 in 18 months, and here is my success story. I’ve always been an active type, I like outdoor sports, cycling, running, skiing, hiking, swimming… Yet, since late puberty, I have always been overweight. In 2009, for my wedding, I went to a dietitian, where, in six months of huge suffering, I managed to go from 203 lbs to 190. The promise was that I would not regain the weight. Empty promise, unfortunately. In some years, I got all the weight back. I wanted to stay healthy to enjoy the incoming years with my son. But the prospect of another period like those six months of eating by weighting every spoon and fork, and by the craving for a slice of “Margherita” pizza (the one without anything but tomato and mozzarella), was just unbearable. Let me mention also that in this period, before the discovery of I.F., I sporadically suffered from fainting out. When I went to the doctor, he told me that I just had a dip in blood sugar and that it would be enough that I always carry some sugar with me. Also, if I worked out more, I’d just eat more. Half an hour before almost any meal, I’d have cravings. These were all signs of insulin resistance, but I didn’t know that at the time, neither did my doctor nor any expert I asked to. I just felt like my being fat was like the color of my eyes, something predetermined and unchangeable. Three years ago, by discussing various health topics with a biologist friend of mine, he casually mentioned cortisol. From there, I started searching for information and eventually landed here, on Dr. Berg Youtube channel (along with some other similar channels). I discovered the concepts of insulin resistance, of the interplay between various hormones. I started intermittent fasting, initially 14-10 two days a week, then, after I saw I felt better every week, I grew a bit more daring. Now, I usually do OMAD and sometimes 18:6. If I am feeling OK, once every month or two I go for 36-42 hours fast. After the promising initial results, I dug deeper into the topic and I also changed a bit my workout pattern. Gone were the long cycling or running sessions, replaced with a mix of HIIT and low-intensity-cardio (BTW, long live the e-bike, great tool to save time and money by doing these workouts during commuting and errands). I cut on carbs (living in the country of pasta and pizza, and in a city renowned for its bread, not an easy feat) and learned mindfulness meditation. So in the end, in a time-frame of 18 months I:

• Went from 203 lbs to current 170, still losing about a pound and a half a month;

• Went from 40 to 36 inches of waist circumference (had to buy new belts);

• According to my fitness watch, went from 46 to 51 of VO2max;

• Crushed all my records of running pace, I am currently at 7:40 on the mile and I’ve managed to run a half marathon. All in fasted state, no fainting, no sugar in the pocket whatsoever;

• I enjoy food! I can eat without feelings of guilt, without kitchen scales; I just avoid carbs and highly processed food as much as possible, and in the feeding window I can eat until I feel satiated.

I see so many people around me who could benefit from this knowledge. I’d like to scream to them that it’s way easier than it seems, once you take control of your hormones rather than your calories. I feel so good yet so angry at the “common wisdom” of people that should know better. My doctor for example, if you see an overweight man in front of you, telling you he fainted because he was a bit late for lunch, rather than telling him to carry some sugar, maybe ask yourself how come a man with months of potential energy stored as fat cannot hold one hour for lunch. Insulin resistance, anybody? Not to mention dietitians who still pretend that you can determine your weight by counting calories, and when it doesn’t work, it’s your “lack of willpower”. I hope the science will soon be settled and all this fat phobia and victim blaming will be over. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to wait for another generation of doctors, I need to follow the indications my body clearly gave me, even if it goes against the guidelines and established “science”. Thank you Dr. Berg for your help and for allowing me to tell my story.