The Fasting Highway

Latest Episodes:

Episode 239 Tonya Kortekaas -Losing 155 pounds -70 Kg and discovering a new style of eating that worked Aug 25, 2024

Show notes

Tonya Kortekaas lives in Pontiac, Michigan, with her husband, Michael, of 11 years. She is the mother of three adult sons and a “bonus” mom to Michael’s three children.

Tonya spent most of her adult life as a stay-at-home mom of 3 growing boys and self-employed as a portrait photographer. She felt that her most important mission in life was to raise her children and give them all the care and love they deserved. She has been good at putting her family before her own needs, but the costs of that have been not caring for her mind and body as she should. As her children have become adults and she has had more time to work on herself, she has entered into the full time working world and currently works for Oakland University. She enjoys outdoor walks, kayaking, biking, watercolour painting and coffee in her free time. Tonya has struggled with her weight since her early 20s. She realizes that emotional eating and overindulging in sweets have been her issues. She has tried countless diets, which have allowed her to lose weight but eventually gain it all back and more over the years. At her annual physical exam in March of 2022, she was confronted with the highest weight of her lifetime at 349 lbs. and a BMI of 51. Her blood pressure was soaring to a dangerous high, and her blood tests showed she was pre-diabetic. She knew at that moment it was time for a significant change. She was sick of living life with this ongoing weight struggle and longed deeply to be a “normal” "-sized person. Little did she know that change was going to lead her to an intermittent fasting lifestyle and complete freedom from her struggles with eating. She’s lost 155 lbs over 26 months of her weight loss journey. Since being on the podcast in February of 2023, episode 161, Tonya has discovered the benefits of a carnivore lifestyle and has noticed numerous health benefits by cutting the sugar and processed foods out of her life.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts three Zoom meetings monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Private coaching is available with Graeme one-on-one. Please go to www.thefastinghighway.com, click help get coaching, and book a time that suits you. All times you see are in your local time zone.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. The opinions expressed herein are those of the host and guest only.

Episode 238 Belle Swartz -Celebrating seven years living an intermittent fasting lifestyle Aug 18, 2024

Show notes

This week is Belle’s 7 year “fastiversary”. She started fasting at age 51 when she was still in perimenopause and could not lose a stubborn 10 pounds no matter what she did! And now she is almost 59 and at over 2500 fasts. She is a L*IF*ER!

Belle is married and has two children, ages 22 and 24 and a dog. She likes to keep busy by working a full-time and a part-time job and volunteering at a dog rescue on her day off. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dog and foster dog for walks, gardening, playing pickleball and canasta, spending time with friends and family, listening to podcasts, watching a good series on Netflix and travelling.

Her husband, Neil, jumped on the fasting bandwagon a few years ago after seeing the fantastic results that Belle was getting with body re-composition and autophagy. They have different daily fasting schedules, but make it work.

Fasting is a way of life for Belle now and just second nature. She recently travelled to Italy with her daughter and managed to keep up a fasting routine on the go! She often bends her fasting schedule to enjoy dinner with friends and a later eating window.

Belle has been part of the fasting highway Facebook group since its inception and has been on two previous podcasts, numbers 4 and 157.

Belle is here to talk about the “big picture” of fasting and how it has changed her total outlook on her way of eating. It is anything but a diet!

Episode 237 Ryan Smith Co author of Unbelievable Freedom Shares his insights into a seven year Intermittent Fasting Journey . Aug 11, 2024

Show notes

Ryan Smith has struggled with his weight since childhood. After years of yo-yo dieting and chasing nutritional trends, he finally created his own personal transformation story after discovering the power of fasting. He and his wife Kim went on to co-author Unbelievable Freedom: How We Transformed Our Health & Happiness with Intermittent Fasting. He shares his life-changing fasting practice to encourage others to make positive changes in their own lives. Fasting is the Foundation: A Real Man’s View of Unbelievable Freedom is his second published work. Since reaching weight loss maintenance, Ryan has continued his fasting practice and is exploring the role of anxiety in weight management.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts three Zoom meetings monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Episode 236 Maria Murphy A life of battles with weight and finally findng success with Intermittent Fasting. Aug 04, 2024

Show notes

Maria is a 35-year-old mother of two young daughters and married to her best friend. They live in central NY in the United States. She is a Certified Health Coach and works for her husband's real estate investing company. She has struggled with her weight for most of her life, which prompted her to go to college in 2006 to study nutrition and public health at Syracuse University. After graduating, she married and started her family before pursuing her career. She's been a stay-at-home mom while the kids were younger. She has always struggled with emotional eating. After a few traumatic events in her past, she reached her highest weight in 2017. At only 5'4" tall, she weighed in at 225 and felt like she constantly had to find clothing to cover up instead of what she wanted to wear. She was humiliated and desperately wanted a change. She tried practically every diet out there. During the fall of 2018, she decided to run to help lose weight since the calorie-restriction diets were not working. By the fall of 2019, she had completed her first marathon and had lost a good bit of weight; however, when she stopped the diet program, she regained it again. During the pandemic in 2020, she decided to pursue her career dream of becoming a health coach to help herself and others find happiness and freedom the way she desperately wanted to do on her own. After graduating from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, she found she wanted to focus more on the science behind weight loss and pursued a certification with Primal Health Coaching. She found Intermittent Fasting there and began a 16:8 protocol in June of 2022. She stopped fasting due to stress in her life and found herself eating through her emotions. She regained some of what she lost, but then discovered Gin Stephens and the clean fast which led her to also find Graeme and the Fasting Highway. She is coming up on her new 1-year fast-iversary and is within 15 pounds of her goal weight. She's determined to help spread the word about how life-changing and beneficial IF can be!

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts three Zoom meetings monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Episode 235 A revisit back to episode 48 with Shana Hussin Author of Fast to Heal . Jul 28, 2024

Show notes

This week, we take a break from our regular Schedule and revisit episode 48 with Shana Hussin, a Nutritionist Podcaster and author of Fast to Heal, who we spoke with three years ago.

To connect with Shana, please go to fasttoheal.info for her book and podcast details.

I like Shana's take on nutrition and IF, and this episode is well worth a listen or relisten

We will be back next week with our regular guest schedule.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts three Zoom meetings monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Episode 234 Sharon Mbabazi- The first twelve months of living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle. Jul 21, 2024

Show notes

Bio By Sharon Mbabazi

I am 37 years old and live in West Michigan, USA, with my wonderful husband and three beautiful children. They keep us very busy, and we are always on the go. I also work full-time as a data team leader for a company that provides strategic supply chain solutions to hospitals, banks, and other businesses in the surrounding areas.

I started my intermittent fasting journey at the end of June 2023 to lose 30 lbs/13.6 kgs. I had been steadily gaining weight since having our 3rd child in 2018 and was ready to take some steps to reverse the upward trend. I had tried counting calories and various exercise routines, and even though I would lose a little weight, it wasn't sustainable. I would always end up gaining back more than what I started with. I discovered IF when our wedding photographer, Tonya Kortekaas (featured in episode 161), shared her incredible story through social media. I contacted Tonya, who gave me excellent guidance on getting started. She recommended great resources, including The Fasting Highway book, podcast, and Facebook group. Yes, I had to put in the effort and hard work to start my journey, but her advice and those resources have genuinely played a key role in my success.

I gradually worked my way from a 16:8 window to 19:5 over about one month and have been steadily losing weight for the last year. I made some mistakes in the beginning (I was not clean fasting for the first week or so) but quickly learned and made adjustments along the way. I am currently down 39 lbs/17.7 kg and will soon be carefully transitioning into maintenance.

I am so thankful for everyone who shared their story so I could navigate my IF journey. I share my story, hoping it will do the same and inspire someone else.

Our Patreon Supporters Community

Please consider joining the Fasting Highway Patreon community. It has been great for all who have joined.

It has become an excellent add-on to our Patreon members' IF lifestyle, who enjoy a lot of bonus content to support them in living an IF life.

For less than a cup of coffee a month, you can join and support your own health goals.

Graeme hosts three Zoom meetings monthly in the Northern and Southern hemispheres for members to come and get support for their IF lifestyle, which has proven very popular with our Patreon members.

You will not find anywhere that provides that kind of support and accountability for just 0.16 cents a day.

I cannot urge you more strongly to give it your utmost consideration.

Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join.

Graeme's best-selling book, The Fasting Highway, about his journey and how he did it, is available in paperback and Kindle at your local Amazon store. It is also available on audio at Applebooks, Kobo, Spotify, and many other audiobook platforms. Disclaimer: Nothing in this podcast should be taken as medical advice. All content is the opinion of the host and guest only.

Episode 233 Kelly Frances -losing over fifty pounds 24 Kg in just over a year living an IF lifestyle. Jul 14, 2024

Show notes

Kelly Frances Bio

I am 63 years of age and live in Southern California, USA. I have been fasting since March 2023 and have lost 53 lbs. My starting weight was 213 (I’m six feet tall), and my goal weight was 160, which I obtained and have maintained since October 2023. I learned about The Fasting Highway book and this fantastic lifestyle from my longtime friend and co-worker Holly Rogers, a TFH online group member. We went to dinner one evening when she was visiting, and I shared how frustrated I was with the weight I had gained during my husband’s cancer illness in 2021 and his subsequent passing in December of 2022. I used food as a comfort and coping mechanism for the stress of being his caregiver and, eventually, his widow. It’s so easy to get into unhealthy habits when you’re dealing with such a traumatic event. You can even justify it by calling it “comfort food”, but I was anything but comfortable in my own body. Holly told me about the book and the online group, and I quickly ordered my copy of TFH on Amazon. I loved the book; online support is paramount to my success. My protocol was always TMAD and 16:8, but there were times when I would hit a plateau when I would extend my fasts for longer to get the pounds budging again. Once I reached my goal weight and I was in maintenance mode, I had to adjust my eating and fasting windows to find my “sweet spot”. If I have overindulged during weekends or vacations, I have the tools to keep any weight gain in check. Flexibility is key! I like to stay between 158-165 lbs. and not go over that. I feel that I’m at my healthiest at 160 lbs. My “why” is my son Van. He was 20 years old when his father died, and I needed to be healthy for him and, of course, for myself. We need each other more than ever!