I thought real fasting—freely going without food for many hours or days—undid what I was trying to do with exercise and a healthy diet. Fasting would kick me into “starvation mode,” I thought. That is, my metabolism would drop into low gear, and my body would shed muscle and store fat. As a strength trainer in college, I taught this to fellow students trying to lose weight and get in shape. As a father, I taught this to my daughters. And for decades, I practiced what I preached.
