The fasting journal · matched to fast day 50
Day 50. Why He Did It
Day 50 and John is under the gazebo again with the gnome. He runs the numbers the way he always does. Then something changes in his voice. He puts the numbers down and tells you why he did any of this.
Numbers first anyway. 184.5 pounds this morning. That is 2.9 pounds up overnight and the second big step of the refeed. Total change is 44.1 pounds in 50 days from the 228.6 start on August 1. BMI 28.0, body fat 30.1 percent, muscle 37.7 percent, 1950 calories burned. Ketone strip at zero for the second day.
The gain is on schedule
I mentioned to you in previous recordings that we are going to keep gaining weight, about 10 pounds. So I expect that to go up a little bit more.
Same story as yesterday. His body is refilling water and glycogen after 45 days on nothing. He guessed the scale would settle around 185 to 190 and this morning it walked right into that range. He barely spends a breath on it. It is numbers here, numbers there, he says. Then he gets to the part he came to say.
No matter how you look at it
Here is the takeaway. Here is the real meaning of it. No matter how you look at it, this is a win.
He knows the fast ended early. He wanted 90 days and got 45 before his body made the call on day 45. He knows there were rough days in between. He counts none of that against the result.
I managed to burn off 40 pounds of visceral fat from my body.
That figure is his estimate, not a scan. What is not an estimate is the 50 pounds that came off between August 1 and the last morning of the fast. Cleveland Clinic describes visceral fat as the fat stored around the organs deep in the belly, the kind that drives inflammation, insulin resistance and heart disease more than the fat you can pinch. John’s challenge to anyone watching is simple. Go ask a doctor. Go ask a nurse. Ask anyone in the medical field what losing that much of it would do for your health. He did it in a short amount of time and he wants you to see that it can be done.
The work is not over
Even though let’s say I average out to like 190, I am still heavy for my weight.
No pretending. He is still in the overweight range and he says so on camera. The plan is what he calls divide and conquer. Four to six months from now, a 20 day fast, roughly 10 pounds. A few months after that, another 20 day fast. Shorter pushes with real recovery between them until the number is normalized, whatever that means, he adds. Same doctor, same monthly bloodwork.
Why he did it
This is the part of the video worth watching twice.
The important part is you do not have to deal with the chronic diseases that are coming up there. You are healthier. Your body is stronger from the inside out.
MedlinePlus lists what carrying extra weight invites. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke. He does not list them. He talks about what they would take from him instead.
I want to remember every thought that I have with every friend, family. Family to me is extremely important. I got new family members joining us. I got a grandkid. I want to have time with him and share good times with them and be able to remember when I get into my 80s and 90s. I got a new one on the way and I want to share time with her.
That is the whole project in four sentences. Fifty days of water, broth and a strip that read 16 for weeks, all so a grandfather can be present and sharp for a boy who is here and a girl who is coming.
And then he turns it around to you. He imagines these feelings of family and friends matter to you as well. That you want to keep them intact and remember them for the rest of your life. What he offers is just his experience, step by step, to show how simple it really is to gain it all back and to be in control of your life.
The count
Day 50 of the 90 day calendar. The refeed is five days old and the scale is doing exactly what he said it would. With God’s help, he says, we are gonna divide and conquer and we are gonna win.
He is on cloud nine. Big win. Enjoy your Saturday. Cheers.
Quick answers
Why does John call a fast that ended early a win?
Because of what left his body while it ran. In the day 50 video he says it plainly. Even though we stopped the fast earlier than I wanted and we had a little bit of issues along the way, I managed to burn off 40 pounds of visceral fat. That number is his own estimate and not a scan. The direction is not in doubt. He went from 228.6 pounds on August 1 to 178.3 on day 45 and stands at 184.5 today after five days of refeeding. Cleveland Clinic describes visceral fat as the fat packed around the organs and the kind most tied to heart disease and diabetes. His challenge to viewers is to ask any doctor or nurse what losing that much of it would mean for their health. He already knows the answer for himself.
What is the difference between visceral fat and the fat you can pinch?
Location. The fat under the skin is subcutaneous and it is what you feel at the waistband. Visceral fat sits deeper, wrapped around the liver, stomach and intestines inside the belly. Cleveland Clinic explains that visceral fat is more active and more dangerous than the fat under the skin because it releases substances that push inflammation, insulin resistance and blood pressure the wrong way. That is why a smaller waist after a long fast can matter more than the scale number alone. John cannot measure his visceral fat at home, which is why he calls the 40 pounds his estimate and why the monthly bloodwork with his doctor is the real scorecard.
What chronic diseases is John trying to avoid?
He does not name them one by one. He says he does not want to deal with the chronic diseases that are coming up there and that his body is stronger from the inside out. MedlinePlus lists the conditions linked to obesity and they are the familiar ones. Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers and sleep apnea. His BMI read 28.0 this morning, so he is still in the overweight range and he says so. That is why the plan does not end here. He wants the number normalized and he wants it for the years, not for the photo.
What is John's plan after the refeed?
Two more fasts, spaced out. In four or five, maybe six months he plans a 20 day fast and expects to lose about 10 pounds on it. A few months after that, another 20 day fast. Between them he eats normally and lets the weight settle, which he estimates will average around 190 pounds once the refeed finishes climbing. He calls it divide and conquer. Shorter runs with recovery in between instead of one enormous push, each one under the same doctor supervision and monthly bloodwork as the first 45 days. MedlinePlus frames weight control the same way, as a long game built on habits that hold, not a single event.