Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss

It seems fasting causes Adipocyte apoptosis. It makes sense, there is cell death.

I lost 100 lbs fasting over 1.5 years. I did gain some weight back after stopping, but not much. Strangely, where I saw fat return was not where most of it came off.

Yeah, but fasting is extremely unpleasant.

You get to know yourself well after about 5 days of zero food..... :))

I did that, and it helped to kickstart further weightloss. I was surprised how fast my body got rid of stored water, and how quickly I lost fat in the upper body region, primarily around my face, neck and shoulder.

Even much shorter fasts help you to understand how unimportant and fleeting a lot of feelings of hunger are. You get hunger pangs and feel like you need to eat, but in a hour it has passed and you go another 8+ hours just fine. When I eat some crappy food, I know it is going to make me feel very hungry in a few hours, but when it happens, I know it isn’t a real need and it helps stop the cycle of bad eating/overeating.

I'm not religious at all, but I still sometimes practice Ramadan for this reason. On top of the communal experiences of charity and shared meals that are more present during the month, the reminder that my body is greedy for food and does not really need so much is such a good annual reminder to have.

I'd love to hear more about your experience! How you went about it, what (if anything) did you do to prepare, if it was hard or easy, or if you have any tips or any specific thing about the experience you think would be beneficial to mention.

If you have the time, I would really appreciate it if you reached out to me. You can find my contact info on my profile page, there's also a link to an anonymous contact form, if you'd prefer that. Thank you!