If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued by intermittent fasting — the simplicity, the structure, the seductive promise of “mental clarity” or “blood sugar mastery” — I want you to know: you’re not wrong for wondering. You’re human. And these things are designed to draw us in.
This week on the pod, I’m joined by someone you’ve told me you love hearing from (and someone I just happen to love deeply): my husband, Jeb. He’s basically along for the ride so that I don’t go off on tangents, but shares a bit about his personal experience with addiction — how it reflects some of the same behaviors and motivations. (he also claims to provide a little comic relief, TBD)
Together, we unpack the culture and selling points of intermittent fasting:
where it came from
why it’s often labeled “not a diet” (even though it walks, talks, and restricts like one)
how it connects to tech-world obsession with body “optimization”
what the research really says about all those glowing promises
the underdiscussed emotional and mental tolls of time-restricted eating
and how fasting can quietly mimic the very patterns so many of us have worked hard to unlearn.
I also share how this pattern showed up in my own history with disordered eating — not because I was following a specific protocol, but because I was chasing control.
This conversation isn’t here to tell you what to think. It’s here to hold space for reflection.
To ask harder questions than: Is it healthy?
Questions like: How does this make me feel? Who is this helping me become?
If you’ve ever felt the tug of a trend like intermittent fasting — or if you’ve lived the aftermath of its rules in your body and mind — I hope you’ll listen.
Lastly, this episode originally aired over a year ago, so if you have questions as a follow-up to this conversation, I’d love to hear them. It might mean we need a part two!
And if you are finding value in these episodes, don’t forget to hit the “like” button on this post! I appreciate you, my friend. Thank you for being here.
