Intermittent fasting, the slow honest way.
I lost about 300 pounds over almost two years by changing when I eat. These are the free tools I wish I’d had at the start, in the order I’d use them, plus everything I’ve written about it.
Read this first
I’m not a doctor and none of this is medical advice. If you have a health condition, take medication, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, talk to your doctor before you change how you eat. Fasting isn’t right for everyone, and nothing here promises a result.
Where to start
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Take the readiness quiz
Two minutes. It asks about your schedule and experience and suggests a realistic window to start with. It can’t tell you whether fasting is safe for you.
Take the free quiz -
Track your window
A simple start and stop timer with a private history. It runs in your browser and keeps your log on your own device. No account.
Open the free tracker -
Keep the cheat sheet handy
One page: what 12:12, 16:8 and the rest mean, and what breaks a fast. Confirm your email and the download opens.
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Go deeper with the guide
Finding Your Window is my 12-page PDF on five starting windows, the first two weeks, common mistakes and when to move up. $9.99, one time.
See the guide
My story and the basics
How I Lost 300 Pounds With Intermittent Fasting
I went from 520 pounds to 200 in almost two years by changing when I ate. No surgery, no weight loss drugs. Here is what I did, including the rule I still break.
Before You Try Intermittent Fasting: Questions Worth Asking
Before picking a fasting window, sit with a few questions first: what problem you're solving, whether it fits your schedule, and what to ask a clinician.
12:12, 14:10, and 16:8: What Do Fasting Windows Actually Mean?
12:12, 14:10, and 16:8 are just hours in a day, not a difficulty rating. Here's what the fasting and eating windows actually mean, and what the research says.
Everything else I’ve written on fasting
When to Move to a Longer Fasting Window, and When to Stay Put
I started below 12:12 and can hold 20:4 now. It took almost two years. Here is what I'd look at before adding hours to a fast, and when I'd leave them alone.
What I Eat While Intermittent Fasting: Whatever I Want, Just Less
I never changed what I eat. My old Taco Bell order was five items and a large pop. Now it's one, maybe two. Here is what one meal in my eating window looks like.
Intermittent Fasting With a Physical Job and Chronic Pain: How It Went for Me
I've worked hard physical jobs and I've been in pain for years. Here is where my bad fasting days came from and what changed as the weight came off.
What Breaks a Fast? And What I Actually Drink
Anything with calories breaks a fast. Here is the plain list of what does and what does not, and what I actually drink in a day, including the pop I have not quit.
5 Intermittent Fasting Mistakes, Including the One I Still Make
Five mistakes I'd warn a fasting beginner about: starting too long, changing everything at once, quitting after one bad day, expecting it to be fast, and the one I still make.
What to Actually Write in a Fasting Journal
A short, honest fasting journal needs a handful of fields, not a daily grade or a race toward a longer fast. Here's what's worth recording and what to skip.
Planning Your Eating Window Around a Normal Workday
Fitting an eating window around a day job, a commute, or family dinner, with labeled worked examples and the logistics that actually make a schedule stick or fail.
How to Use the Free Fasting Tracker (And Keep Your History)
A walkthrough of the free Fasting Companion Tracker: picking a window, starting and correcting a session, and exporting a backup before you lose your history.