A 16/8 schedule is my norm. I wouldn't call that fasting because my appetite is poor already. I rarely get hungry during the day. I'm not too interested in food but I'm certainly not starving. The dietitian and endocrinologist says my metabolic rate has decreased to the extent I don't eat enough. They say that is harmful too.

I like to exercise so that is supposed to boost my metabolic rate. They say I need the calories to exercise more.

I think calling it fasting gives the wrong impression, when all that's being done is eating between certain hours, in my case between 12noon and 7pm. I've never really eaten breakfast, so the main difference is not snacking after 7pm. I'd heard about what was being called fasting and was put off investigating what it was for years, just because fasting sounded like starvation and not eating for long periods.

Cutting the carbs/sugars right down and removing gluten and processed foods have resulted in me losing 2stone just before PMR struck, and losing a further 2stone+ after starting prednisolone. I've maintained that weight loss by sticking to the 7hr eating window and the same no-junk nutrient dense diet.

My blood pressure dropped from high (despite being on meds) to normal within weeks of starting low carb gluten free and my chronic overnight reflux went away within days. I've halved blood pressure meds & beta blockers and dumped statins. I now know that what we feed our bodies impacts our health enormously and in most cases can reverse or greatly improve metabolic syndrome. It's hard for some people to accept they're making themselves sick with what they eat. They either don't believe that food has such an impact, or they think it's just easier to take a drug (with its own side effects) to remedy the harm they cause with a poor diet.