What Do Intermittent Fasting Experts Really Eat

So there I was.

It was time to order and apparently, I was going first. I was at lunch in Toronto sitting across the table and a bit starstruck. I was at lunch with the author of The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting - Dr. Jason Fung. We were joined by Megan and Angel Ramos and my husband.

Megan Ramos is the Director of the Intensive Dietary Management (IDM) program that had gotten me through my first month of intermittent and extended fasting. Angel is another smart-as-a-whip coach for IDM.

I never get nervous. But when the suggestion came up that we all go to lunch to continue our discussions, I felt butterflies in my stomach. (We won’t even go into the part where I was so nervous, I accidentally went into the men’s bathroom at the restaurant.) I had thought that maybe secretly these people always fasted. But that wasn't the case. Megan is a fit and adorable young woman - the kind of hot blonde I’d love to hate but simply can’t because she is too smart and sweet. Angel is a muscled young man and Doctor Fung shows no sign of weight struggles - do they really eat? Do they just eat a tiny amount? What will they order? Will they finish their plates?

I had fasted since dinner the night before, as I do on most eating days now, and I was hungry. I was also nervous which makes me feel hungrier. When I eat, I eat a pretty hefty amount and I have been following a low carb/high fat way of eating for 6 months now. So, I ordered what I would normally order: Caesar salad with bacon instead of croutons, a steak, baked shrimp and a side of veggies. I felt so victorious when Angel, Megan and Dr. Fung all ordered the exact same thing! For some reason it made feel like a pro who knew what she was doing.

I don't remember exactly, but I think everyone finished their food. When my steak was a too overcooked for me to finish it, I ordered a second salad without croutons. It was a bit amusing when the manager came to apologize for some serving mishaps and offered the table free dessert.

There were no takers.

The poor manager looked so deflated when we wouldn't take the sugar laden apology. It was comforting to be with a group of people who ate like I did, all with a common purpose and seemed to truly enjoy their food.

What would you ask if you sat down with the people who wrote the books that changed your life?

It was nerdy, but I brought a laptop with 20 questions on it, and I powered through them.

Have you ever admired someone from afar only to meet them in person and be disappointed? Well, that was NOT the case.

I wondered if they would be real people with their own stories to share about their own fasting and eating struggles I could relate to.

They were.

Would they think that fasting and a ketogenic diet was the solution to every health problem?

They didn't.

Did they claim to have everything figured out?

Nope.

I found real people with a ton of knowledge and years of experience they had applied to their owns lives and the lives of many others over the past 20 years. They were funny and serious about health. They were endearing, likeable, imperfect, unpretentious, human, witty, and relatable. I learned more than I could have ever hoped for and I believed in their message.

I walked away even more hopeful about my chances for reaching an optimal level of health through a ketogenic diet and fasting and I can't wait to see what I can achieve during the second half of this year.

They made me want to help myself and to help others with a burning desire that I could not ignore.