The Fasting Highway

In this episode, I talk with Karen Giacalone, who lives in Texas, USA. Bio by Karen Giacalone On episode 135, I shared my struggles with chronic inflammation related to autoimmune disease, mould poisoning, and insulin resistance. All of these factors contributed to 20 extra lbs. that I was unable to lose throughdiet or exercise, until I thankfully discovered IF in the fall of 2019. With very little effort, I was able to reach my goal weight during the pandemic, but most importantly, I noticed a reduction in pain, an increase in energy, and significantly improved autoimmune markers. Maintenance felt easy, and life was good! Then just 8 months after recording my first episode, I suffered a near fatal heart attack that changed my life in the blink of an eye. I was the very last person anyone would have expected this to happen to. I had no preexisting conditions; zero blockages, low cholesterol, low blood pressure, I exercised, ate well, and did everything right. My heart attack was brought on by a virus that caused cardiomyopathy, which is inflammation of the heart muscle. That cardiomyopathy triggered afib, which then created a clot in my coronary artery. I then failed to recognize the warning signs of my own heart attack because I had been so illthat they overlapped with the symptoms I was already experiencing. I simply went into denial, as many women unfortunately tend to do, which is why we’re statistically more likely than men to die of a heart attack. I personally waited over 12 hours to seek help, and was told that if I had waited another 30 minutes I would not have survived. I was hospitalized for 12 days, 5 of which were spent in the cardiac ICU. The doctors were not encouraging, to say theleast. I was told that I was in severe heart failure, that I might never fully recover, and that I would likely need a heart transplant. They warned that I had a very long road ahead, and predicted that if by some miracle I did fully recover, that it would take at least a year. I was eventually discharged with awearable defibrillator that would automatically shock my heart into beating again in the event that it suddenly stopped, which I had to wear for 3 months. I was taking a total of nine medications with unpleasant side effects, but theykept me alive, and I was grateful. I completed 3 months of cardiac rehab, where I could feel my heart getting stronger every day. Before the end of those 3 months, despite all of the dire predictions, my echocardiogram amazingly showedthat my heart function had returned to a normal range. There were still a few challenges ahead, including 2 ablation procedures to alleviate persistent afib episodes, a heart monitor inserted in my chest, and flow therapy to helpincrease ejection fraction, but I had defied all the odds and had become a walking miracle. Today I take just one medication, see my cardiologist just once a year, and live a full and active life with no restrictions. I am 100% convinced that my fasting lifestyle contributed directly to my extremelyunheard-of recovery; mainly because of its ability to reduce inflammation. I wanted to share this update to remind everyone that IF is not just a tool for weight loss. I’m living proof of its drastic health benefits, and the very realimpact it can have on your body. IF can positively affect every single one of your organs on a cellular level, including your heart, and in fact it can literally save your life.

Rachel Awad is a longtime member of the Intermittent Fasting Community, and has been a previous guest on The Fasting Highway. Originally from the US, Rachel lives in Egypt; she has been an expat for over half of her life. Currently 63 years old, she has been doing some for over IF for 12 years and has been clean fasting for 9 years. Over the years, she has followed many different fasting protocols, including 5:2, OMAD, 16/8, 19/5 and ADF. She’s a firm believer in tweaking when needed to find your fasting sweet-spot. She has lost over 100 pounds – currently down 120 lbs from her highest recorded weight. Since we last spoke in August 2025, Rachel has faced some personal obstacles and is up about 10 lbs from her lowest weight, and is determined not to let that discourage her. Lately she is very focused on the mental and emotional aspects of weight loss, which are sometimes the most challenging part of the journey. Graeme's Links to connect with me directly. Come and Join Our Patreon Community At the Link Below www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway. Come for a month or stay for a year, check it out, and get all the content. Your first step to excellent support and accountability is available in our Patreon community, and I highly encourage you to join.

Dana last appeared on the podcast in Episode 263 in March 2025, where she shared her IF story. She started IF on September 5, 2023, after learning about it on a podcast focusing on Alzheimer's and dementia prevention and mitigation—a topic close to her heart after losing both of her parents-in-law to the disease. At 5'2" and 55 years old, Dana spent most of her adult life weighing between 128 and 140 pounds, but now comfortably maintains between 113 and 116 pounds. Within just one week of starting IF, she remembers saying out loud to her husband, “I feel fantastic. I don’t think I’ll ever want to stop doing this.” She never looked back and has been thrilled that the journey continues to bring her so many non-scale victories (NSVs) that she can't imagine ever not fasting daily. It has truly become part of her identity, and she is deeply grateful. Even through the hardest times, fasting is the one thing that gives her a positive sense of control over her health and happiness. Although she still struggles with emotional eating at times—and occasionally too much sugar—she holds fast to the 80/20 rule and feels confident she can maintain this lifestyle forever. She completely flipped the script on her diet: she used to eat sugar and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) 80% of the time and nutritious foods only 20% of the time, but now that ratio is fully reversed! Her mental health is better, her motivation is higher, her nutrition is improved, her sleep is better, and her mood is brighter... the benefits don't stop there! So many positive changes have happened simply because she gave her digestive system the rest it needs. Dana attributes much of her progress to staying active and informed. She relies on the ZOE app to select healthier foods with confidence and ease, and draws daily inspiration from James Clear's Atomic Habits. Her routine includes lifting weights 3 to 4 times a week, fitting in two HIIT workouts, prioritising rest days, and walking after meals or hopping on her vibration plate. A retired English teacher, current theatre director, wedding officiant, and part-time nanny, she keeps active and on her feet three days a week nannying in a large house. Dana is super grateful for fasting mentors like Graeme, Gin, and Dr Fung—all of whom she listens to regularly and is inspired by. She encourages anyone and everyone to try fasting and loves talking about it. Given her deep passion for its health benefits, she is even considering pursuing a coaching certification to help guide others on their own journeys! Graeme's Links to connect with me directly. Come and Join Our Patreon Community At the Link Below www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway. Come for a month or stay for a year, check it out, and get all the content. Your first step to excellent support and accountability is available in our Patreon community, and I highly encourage you to join.

A real treat: inspiring community member Jacqui Lewis, a Journalist and keen podcast fan, takes over the host chair this week. Jacqui delves into Graeme's early life and how Intermittent Fasting has changed his life for the better. Graeme shares some very personal moments in this candid interview. A big thank you to Jacqui Lewis; it was a thrill to be interviewed by her, a person I hold in very high regard. Graeme's Links to connect with me directly. Come and Join Our Patreon Community At the Link Below www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway. Come for a month or stay for a year, check it out, and get all the content. Your first step to excellent support and accountability is available in our Patreon community, and I highly encourage you to join.

Bonnie is 64 and lives with her husband in beautiful southern Oregon in the western United States. She enjoys her full-time office work. She has a great life with her husband and their little sausage dog, and she likes to visit her grown children who live out of the area whenever she can. After being thin throughout childhood, Bonnie first felt the need to lose weight in her mid-twenties. This was followed by decades of yo-yo dieting, as she was unable to maintain for very long any success she achieved. She discovered intermittent fasting in 2017 and dabbled in it for a few years without reaching its full potential. In January 2025, Bonnie turned the corner in her pursuit of health through a committed daily practice of intermittent fasting that she has continued to this day. She lost 50 pounds in about 8 months to reach her healthy weight range and has maintained her loss for about a year. Her “why” for IF as a life practice is the continued pursuit of health to do all she can to avoid very serious health problems suffered by her family. She considers her weight just one indicator of that pursuit. Bonnie sees maintenance as its own journey. She practices IF daily with a little added flexibility to accommodate and enjoy life events. She feels maintenance is the “real game” for her, and weight loss was the “pre-game” warm-up. Before IF, she couldn't keep her weight in a healthy range, but with IF, she's finding success. She believes IF will always be part of her life. In this discussion, she shares some of the guardrails she uses to stay focused on her pursuit of health. She mentions challenges in crossing the bridge from “knowing” what to do to “doing” what is best for her. She speaks of the hope she feels now as she does whatever she can to help her healthspan last as long as her lifespan. Maintenance has given her the opportunity to explore broader health topics like gut health, enjoy new creativity in nutrition, and discover the health effects of various food choices. She tries to make each meal worthy of the fasting time she invested to get to it. Bonnie enjoys the fasting community. She loves learning from and sharing ideas and encouragement with fellow travellers on the IF journey. Graeme's Links to connect with me directly. Come and Join Our Patreon Community At the Link Below www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway. Come for a month or stay for a year, check it out, and get all the content. Your first step to excellent support and accountability is available in our Patreon community, and I highly encourage you to join.