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Kevin Lee Hsu
Writing to stop the voices in my head.

[2] Bus Thoughts ~ “Why I don’t eat for 48 hours every week”

On Monday, Noon Pacific every week, I say farewell to breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 48 hours. Sound insane? I don’t blame you. Full disclaimer. I drink a fair amount of matcha green tea and water, lots of it. Here’s why I do it:

Health

  • Anti-aging effects — Study (here’s a more readable copy)
  • Brings your body into Ketosis (burns fat) — Study
  • Resets your gut bacteria — Study on Fasting clearing the gut + Study on the effects of inflammation
  • Overall caloric reduction — now you are eating 5 days a week as opposed to the typical 7. This means less processed foods, less over-eating and natural portion control. Here’s a video about caloric restriction and neurogenesis (stimulating brain cell growth).
  • Decreases the chances of cancer (ongoing research)—Study (and another one for good measure)
  • Heightened senses (you can smell the tomato sauce of each pizza within a half mile radius, ask Kilian) — Personal experience
  • Dramatic spike in energy levels — Personal experience
  • Almost spiritual mental state — Personal experience

Discipline

  • This is one hell of a challenge. If you can control yourself not to eat, you can control yourself to do anything else. Just remember, mind over matter.
  • “The Marshmallow Test”- strong discipline earlier in life correlates to more success later in health and education.
  • Organization is a beautiful externality that comes from being disciplined. Monday to Wednesday will force you to plan for the free time usually spent eating. I highly recommend trying Transcendental Meditation in your free time.

Random positive externalities

  • Wednesday is hump day for everyone. For me, Wednesday is breaking fast day.
  • Fasting for 48 hours will always raise eyebrows and people will question you. This trains you to regularly defend your beliefs and use scientific research to back up your beliefs.
  • More time. In a 48 hour window, you’ll typically spend at least 6 hours eating (including shopping, preparing, and consuming). Imagine what you could do with an extra 6 hours a week ;)
  • Less time spent eating = less money spent on food.

48 hour fasts have one huge benefit above all…a change of pace. Everyone has biological differences and fasting may not be your thing, but there’s nothing more exciting than hypothesizing, using yourself as the Guinea pig, and seeing results (thanks Mr. Ferris).

So I challenge you. Don’t eat for 48 hours and watch how your body and mind react when you change the inputs.

live the scientific method,

Kevin L. Hsu

P.S. Thank you Alessandro, the guy who got me interested and started with all this.

Supplemental material on fasting

Bus Thoughts Style Guide // Inspired by Hime

  • Each Image will build on every “Bus Thought” written.
  • H1 — [Number in Sequence] Bus Thoughts ~ “Insert Title Here”
  • No bold in the article itself (cheesy way to emphasis)

#busthoughts