The Fasting Method Podcast

Latest Episodes:

When Life Gets Stressful, Don't Fast Harder Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

When stress is already high, pushing harder may be exactly the wrong response.

Episode #282

🎙️ Coach Terri Lance and Megan Ramos explore how chronic stress affects the body, hunger and fasting, and why a demanding season may call for dialing fasting down rather than turning the intensity up.

Megan explains what happens physiologically when cortisol remains elevated and why trying to force an aggressive fasting schedule during a highly stressful period can feel like climbing Mount Everest against your own hormones. Instead, she and Terri look at ways to keep moving forward with shorter, more flexible fasts, movement, meal structure and other behaviors that offer a meaningful return without adding another major stressor.

They also discuss the difference between intentional flexibility and simply drifting away from supportive habits, why "good enough" can be a powerful long-term strategy, and how to navigate busy periods without arriving at January feeling that you need to compensate for the previous two months.

👉 What you'll learn • How prolonged stress and elevated cortisol can affect glucose, insulin and hunger • Why intense fasting can become harder when your body is already under stress • Why struggling to fast during stressful periods isn't simply a willpower problem • When dialing fasting down may be more useful than pushing harder • Why 24-hour fasts can offer useful flexibility during busy periods • How movement after meals can support both metabolic health and stress management • Why "good enough" behaviors can have a surprisingly large return • How time-restricted eating can help create structure without demanding perfection • Why being intentionally flexible is different from drifting back into old habits • How to keep making conscious choices without postponing self-care until January

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🎁 Holiday Workshop Bundle Three practical, coach-led workshops, six live sessions and two months inside the TFM Community for $99 USD.

The bundle includes:

• Enjoy the Holidays, Maintain Your Progress with Coach Amy Medling • Fat Fasting Made Simple with Coach Heather Shuker • Making Sense of Your CGM with Coach Lisa Chance

Each workshop includes two live sessions, giving you time to learn, experiment and return with your experiences and questions. Community access begins as soon as you purchase, and the workshops begin Monday, November 16.

Explore the Holiday Workshop Bundle: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/workshops/

📣 Connect With Us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastingmethod/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFastingMethod Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/obesitycodenetwork YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@TheFastingMethod

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Make sure your body is up for the plan 00:16 When life gets busy and stressful 01:16 Why this isn't the time for diet panic 02:22 What prolonged stress does physiologically 03:07 Cortisol, glucose and insulin 04:02 When positive stress still affects the body 05:16 What can you do when the stress won't disappear? 06:12 Supporting your body during a stressful season 06:39 Don't demand 40 pounds of weight loss by January 07:38 When fasting becomes the one thing you try to control 08:03 Why this isn't a willpower problem 08:36 The five-day fast versus climbing Mount Everest 09:23 Why a 24-hour fast may make more sense 09:52 Does your body agree with the plan in your head? 10:06 Dial down the fasting instead of intensifying it 10:52 Movement as another high-return tool 11:36 Movement doesn't need to be intense 13:17 When dinner is simply what works for your family 14:25 Finding what is "good enough" 15:18 Time-restricted eating during stressful periods 16:01 Why 24-hour fasts are underestimated 17:16 Consistency matters more than rigid fasting patterns 18:17 Keep food to meals during the holiday season 18:40 Is cream in your coffee becoming a bigger factor than you realize? 20:29 Terri's heavy-cream confession 21:54 Finding comfort without automatically adding more food 24:37 Intentional flexibility versus drifting 25:47 Support inside the TFM Community 26:40 Holiday workshops with Amy, Lisa and Heather 27:47 The goal isn't a perfect holiday season 28:31 Enjoying food without abandoning your goals

⚠️ Disclaimer This podcast is for educational purposes only, and it is not to substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. You should always speak with your physician or other healthcare professionals before doing any fasting, changing your diet in any way, taking or adjusting any medications or supplements, or adopting any treatment plan for a health problem.

The use of any other products or services purchased by you as a result of this podcast does not create a healthcare provider-patient relationship between you and any of the experts affiliated with this podcast. Any information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Here Comes Sugar Season! Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

The holidays don't have to become a choice between perfect restriction and giving up until January.

Episode #281

🎙️ In this solo episode, Coach Amy Medling looks at what happens when "sugar season" begins and food, celebrations, traditions and expectations start showing up everywhere.

Rather than offering another set of holiday food rules, Amy explores a more discerning approach. How do you tell the difference between something you genuinely want and something you're eating simply because it's there? What have you already learned about the foods that are difficult for you to negotiate with? And which traditions really are worth your yes?

Through stories about Halloween candy, Christmas fudge and her grandmother's Thanksgiving dressing, Amy explores how to enjoy meaningful foods without turning the entire holiday season into an all-or-nothing struggle. She also widens the conversation beyond food, asking what else deserves your time, energy and attention during a season that can easily become overloaded.

👉 What you'll learn • Why sugar season often begins long before the big holiday meals • How to distinguish between "I want this" and "it's just here" • Why you don't need to keep testing something you already know about yourself • How one thoughtful decision can reduce repeated battles with willpower • Why making something less available can feel different from restriction • How the "good" versus "bad" mindset can turn one choice into weeks of shame • What Amy means by having "discriminating tastes" • Why some meaningful holiday foods may genuinely be worth your yes • How to think about whether a choice is bringing you closer to what actually matters • Why food can be part of a rich holiday season without being responsible for making the season rich

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Not everything deserves your yes 00:19 Welcome and why Amy calls it "sugar season" 01:39 How sugar season quietly begins 02:43 This is not a sugar-free challenge 03:20 Finding the middle between restriction and giving up 03:41 Do I actually want this, or is it just here? 04:34 Amy's Christmas fudge problem 06:25 Why keep asking yourself to do something that isn't working? 07:10 Changing the method without losing the meaning 07:25 When you already have enough data about yourself 08:13 Knowing which foods are difficult for you to negotiate with 09:27 Letting something special stay special 10:24 The trap of trying to "be good" through the holidays 11:18 How good becomes bad, shame and "I'll start again in January" 12:00 Discerning instead of being good 12:38 Why Amy's grandmother's Thanksgiving dressing gets a yes 14:12 Meaningful food versus food that happens to be there 14:33 Is this worth my yes? 14:47 Is this choice bringing me closer to my goal? 15:32 Sugar season is about more than sugar 16:27 Arriving at January with something left for yourself 16:52 What else is worth your yes this season? 17:55 What are you really hungry for? 18:11 Food doesn't have to make the season rich 18:33 Three questions to carry into sugar season 19:27 There's no failure, only feedback 20:18 Creating a plan for the holiday season you'll actually live 21:19 Maintaining your progress is progress too 21:48 Thanksgiving isn't the test, it's the practice 22:22 Learning from what happened and adjusting 22:51 Participate in the holidays without abandoning yourself

How Do You Know What Health Advice to Trust? Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

When experts disagree, how do you decide what information deserves your trust?

Episode #280

🎙️ Coach Terri Lance joins Dr. Jason Fung for a conversation about health information, expertise and the challenge of making decisions when credible-sounding sources tell us completely different things.

Dr. Fung explains why changing evidence is part of medicine, why even established advice can later turn out to be wrong, and why he tries to stay open-minded rather than becoming overly attached to one position. He also shares the lens he uses when considering new treatments, supplements and health claims: what are the potential benefits, and what are the risks?

The conversation explores online health information, unlicensed peptides, emerging drugs, conflicting medical opinions, podcast claims and what it means to be an informed participant in your own healthcare without assuming you need to become your own doctor.

👉 What you'll learn • Why access to more health information can make decisions harder, not easier • Why expert advice can change dramatically over time • How Dr. Fung thinks about evidence without becoming overly dogmatic • Why risk versus benefit is central when evaluating a new treatment or supplement • Why unlicensed injectable peptides raise very different safety concerns • What to consider when your own research conflicts with your doctor's advice • Why the source of a health claim matters • How financial incentives can complicate health information • Why repeating a claim widely doesn't necessarily make the evidence stronger • What it means to stay curious and involved in your own healthcare decisions

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 When even the experts don't know 00:14 How do you know which health advice to trust? 01:39 Dr. Google, AI and becoming an informed patient 02:37 When experts completely disagree 03:26 Why accepted medical advice changes over time 04:01 Why Dr. Fung tries to keep an open mind 06:28 Looking at risk versus benefit 06:33 The problem with unlicensed peptides 08:44 Could legalization make peptides safer? 09:15 What we still don't know about emerging drugs 12:30 What happens when your research conflicts with your doctor? 14:22 Why you ultimately have to make your own decisions 14:42 Can you trust the source of the information? 15:52 Dogmatism, cholesterol and conflicting medical opinions 17:10 Can patients bring useful information to their doctors? 18:14 Creatine and claims that outpace the evidence 19:24 Health podcasts, Lp(a) and the echo-chamber problem 20:15 Staying informed without outsourcing your thinking

Maintenance Begins With the First Pound Lost Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

How you lose the weight has to prepare you to keep it off.

Episode #279

🎙️ Coaches Terri Lance and Heather Shuker explore what sustainable weight loss actually asks of us, and why reaching a goal weight is not the point where the work ends.

Heather explains why maintenance begins with the first pound lost. The behaviors that help you lose weight also need to become part of how you live, even though their intensity may change over time. Terri and Heather discuss the difference between an on/off approach and learning to adjust the dial, why consistency matters more than perfection, and what happens when we keep waiting for the point where we can finally "relax."

They also explore identity, vacations, food rules, setbacks and experimentation, including Heather's own experience of learning over several years which choices genuinely make her feel better.

👉 What you'll learn • Why reaching your goal weight doesn't mean you're finished • What it means for maintenance to begin with the first pound lost • Why sustainable change needs a dial rather than an on/off switch • How the behaviors used for weight loss may change in intensity during maintenance • Why self-care continues long after active weight loss • What perfectionism can do to consistency • Why the scale shouldn't be your only measure of success • What people often really mean when they say they need a "break" • Why lasting change involves identity as well as behavior • How experimentation helps you discover what works for you over time

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

📌 Make It Stick with Coach Heather Shuker If losing weight is only part of the challenge, Make It Stick is about what comes next: building the consistency, habits and skills that help you protect your progress and reduce the risk of regain.

Make It Stick starts Thursday, October 22.

Heather's free webinar, Avoiding Regain: Why the Weight Comes Back and How to Prevent It, takes place Thursday, October 15.

Can't make it live? The replay will be available afterward via the Make It Stick website page.

Learn more and join Make It Stick: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/make-it-stick/

📣 Connect With Us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastingmethod/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFastingMethod Join our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/obesitycodenetwork

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 There is no on/off switch 00:22 Terri and Heather introduce sustainable weight loss 01:29 Why we fixate on reaching a goal weight 03:05 What happens after you reach the number? 04:10 Maintenance begins with the first pound lost 06:20 When rapid weight loss creates unrealistic expectations 07:29 Think of intensity as a dial, not a switch 09:15 The self-care journey lasts forever 11:29 Weight loss is about how you live 12:36 When healthy behaviors stop feeling new and exciting 15:00 Why healthy living doesn't need to be entertaining 18:55 What matters when you don't follow the plan perfectly 20:26 If you're white-knuckling your way to goal, what happens next? 21:09 What does "taking a break" really mean? 23:14 Why permanent change involves identity 24:44 You're not starting over, you're continuing 25:35 Using experiments and food rules to learn what works 27:24 Why experience teaches what information alone cannot 29:00 Becoming a healthy person who makes healthy choices

Why Old Patterns Are So Hard to Let Go Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Knowing what to do doesn't always make an old pattern disappear.

Episode #278

🎙️ In this solo episode, Coach Terri Lance explores why old eating and coping patterns can return even when we understand them, dislike their consequences and genuinely want to change.

Terri explains why behaviors that now feel frustrating may once have helped us manage stress, seek comfort, feel safe or create a sense of control. Rather than simply asking, "Why am I still doing this?", she offers a more useful question: what is this pattern still helping me manage, avoid or obtain?

She also looks at the difference between self-compassion and excusing a behavior, why removing an old coping strategy without replacing its function can leave us struggling, and how new patterns become stronger through repetition.

👉 What you'll learn • Why old patterns can persist even when you know better • How problematic behaviors may still be meeting an immediate need • Why our brains favor immediate rewards over long-term consequences • How shame and self-criticism can reinforce the very pattern we want to stop • Why self-compassion still needs to include accountability • What can happen when you remove a coping strategy without replacing it • The question Terri uses to uncover what a behavior is really doing for you • How to build a more supportive response to the same underlying need • Why old patterns often reappear during stress, exhaustion or social pressure • How repetition helps strengthen newer, more useful patterns

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🧠 Ready to Go Beyond Knowing? Beyond Knowing is for people who already know how to fast and what nutrition choices support them, but still struggle to follow through consistently.

Led by Coach Terri Lance, the program digs deeper into patterns, emotional eating, self-sabotage, shame, identity and the internal work that can help knowledge translate into lasting change. Starts October 13 Learn more and join: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/beyond-knowing/

Want to hear more first? Watch Terri's webinar: I Know What to Do, So Why Can't I Stick With It? https://youtu.be/_XzjvaDgqF8

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Why our behaviors make sense 00:35 Terri introduces Beyond Knowing and today's topic 02:35 Why old patterns are so hard to let go 03:19 Stop judging the pattern and understand its purpose 03:46 Why behaviors persist even when they cause problems 05:14 Where old eating patterns may have started 06:21 When an old solution starts creating new problems 07:42 The immediate reward we often overlook 09:00 How self-criticism can reinforce the cycle 09:37 Self-compassion without excusing the behavior 10:35 Why coping strategies need replacing, not simply removing 12:03 What need is the behavior still meeting? 13:02 A better question than "Why am I still doing this?" 14:05 The 3pm vending-machine example 17:16 Why old patterns return under stress 19:10 Using setbacks to strengthen new coping strategies 20:37 How to examine the patterns you're struggling to release 21:31 Beyond Knowing and the webinar replay

Not All Health Markers Matter Equally Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Just because something can be measured doesn't mean it deserves equal weight when you're thinking about your health. Episode #277

🎙️ Coach Terri Lance continues her conversation with Dr. Jason Fung about how to interpret health markers in context rather than focusing too heavily on a single test or number.

Dr. Fung discusses CRP and inflammation, why he believes metabolic markers such as triglycerides, HDL, glucose and insulin deserve more attention than LDL alone, and how different markers can answer very different questions.

They also explore coronary calcium, emerging research around vitamin K2, and the challenge of deciding what to do with interesting new evidence before the science is fully settled.

👉 What you'll learn • Why not every measurable health marker is equally useful • What CRP can—and can't—tell you about inflammation • Why Dr. Fung places more emphasis on triglycerides and HDL than LDL alone • How triglycerides, HDL and insulin connect with metabolic syndrome • Why metabolic health is important when thinking about cardiovascular risk • What a coronary artery calcium score can tell you • Why emerging evidence doesn't always mean immediate action is warranted • How Dr. Fung thinks about risk versus potential benefit when evidence is still developing • Which metabolic markers he considers most useful to follow • Why health information is most useful when it helps guide practical next steps

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Coronary calcium and cardiovascular risk 00:24 Why no single health marker tells the whole story 02:50 What CRP tells us about inflammation 04:32 Why a high CRP can be difficult to act on 05:10 Triglycerides, HDL and metabolic syndrome 05:32 Why Dr. Fung looks beyond LDL 08:00 Comparing cardiovascular risk factors 10:00 How triglycerides and HDL connect with insulin 12:00 Why metabolic health matters more than a single cholesterol number 14:39 Catching metabolic dysfunction earlier 14:57 Coronary artery calcium and emerging evidence 17:00 Vitamin K2 and the challenge of evolving research 18:45 Which health markers Dr. Fung prioritizes 21:07 Looking at risk in context 24:06 Terri reflects on how to use health information without becoming overwhelmed

205 Pounds Down: Rob's Journey From Blame to Trusting His Body Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Rob lost 205 pounds—but the biggest change was learning to stop blaming himself and start trusting the process.

Episode #276

🎙️ In this Community Voices episode, Coach Amy Medling talks with TFM member Rob about the physical and psychological transformation that took him from 434 pounds to a very different way of living.

Rob shares the wake-up call that started his journey, his experience with a GLP-1 medication, discovering Dr. Jason Fung and intermittent fasting, and how rolling 42-hour fasts became part of his path forward.

But this story goes well beyond weight loss. Rob explains how he moved away from decades of shame and self-blame, learned to work with his body rather than fight it, and used the TFM Community to help build the identity, flexibility and trust he now brings into maintenance.

👉 What you'll learn • How a serious health scare became Rob's turning point • What changed when food noise disappeared on a GLP-1 medication • Why discovering Dr. Fung's work changed how Rob understood his weight • The difference between releasing blame and giving up responsibility • How Rob used fasting as an exit strategy rather than a temporary diet • Why rolling 42-hour fasts worked so well for him • How Rob lost 205 pounds and 22 inches from his waist • Why mindset and identity became just as important as the fasting itself • What "trust the process" means when life knocks you off course • How Rob approaches fasting, food and maintenance now • Why learning to listen to his body has given him more freedom

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

⚙️ It's Not Too Late to Join What It Takes What It Takes has started, but there's still time to join Coach Heather Shuker for this six-month intermittent fasting and weight loss program designed to help you stop starting over and build the habits, skills and confidence to make change last. Weekly live sessions at 6pm ET Replays are available, so it's easy to catch up if you join late or miss a live session. Learn more and join: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/what-it-takes/

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Rob on willpower and finding what finally worked 00:25 Meet Rob and hear about his 205-pound transformation 01:07 Decades of weight struggles and conventional dieting 04:15 The cardiac wake-up call that changed everything 05:50 Stopping alcohol and searching for another answer 07:00 Rob's experience with a GLP-1 medication 09:00 Discovering Dr. Fung and a different explanation for weight gain 10:59 Letting go of shame without giving up responsibility 13:00 Finding fasting and building an exit strategy 15:00 Why rolling 42-hour fasts worked for Rob 17:30 Coming off medication and continuing to lose weight 20:49 Seeing the physical transformation 22:34 Identity change and why Rob joined the TFM Community 27:30 Replacing alcohol as a way to manage stress 31:27 What happened when Rob stopped the GLP-1 medication 34:39 Building flexibility into fasting and maintenance 37:39 Learning to see himself differently 39:06 Trusting the process when life goes off course 41:42 Food noise, fullness and learning to trust his body 42:40 Amy reflects on what made Rob's transformation last

Your Fast May Not Be the Problem Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

If the fasting is solid but progress has stalled, the answer may be hiding in what happens between your fasts.

Episode #275

🎙️ In this Metabolic Troubleshooting episode, Coach Heather Shuker looks at a common frustration for experienced fasters: completing solid therapeutic fasts but still not seeing the progress they expect.

Heather explains why the fasting protocol itself may not be the issue. Food quality, eating frequency, grazing, under-eating and compensating for difficult eating days by fasting longer can all make it harder to understand what is actually working.

She also explores why eating days need to be nourishing as well as structured, how they become practice for eventual weight maintenance, and why erratic eating sometimes reflects stress, boredom, loneliness or overwhelm rather than a lack of nutritional knowledge.

👉 What you'll learn • Why fasting can work extremely well at first even when food isn't ideal • What "eating normally" can actually mean in practice • How grazing through an eating window can undermine the benefits of fasting • Why extending a fast after difficult eating days can become compensatory • Why eating days should be nourishing rather than another form of restriction • How chronic under-eating can increase hunger and contribute to later overeating • Why eating days are important practice for eventual weight maintenance • How stress and emotional eating can sit upstream of inconsistent food choices • What to stabilize before increasing the length or frequency of your fasts

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

⚙️ Ready to Stop Starting Over? What It Takes is a six-month intermittent fasting and weight loss program led by Coach Heather Shuker, designed to help you build the habits, skills and confidence needed to make change last. Weekly live sessions at 6pm ET Starts Monday, September 21 Learn more about What It Takes: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/what-it-takes/

Want to hear more first? Join Heather for a free webinar exploring what actually drives sustainable weight loss—and why so many people get caught in a stop-start cycle. Weight Loss Blueprint: What It Takes to Lose Weight Monday • September 14 • 6pm ET Register here: https://thefastingmethod.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XrJDBuywSQ-HfA57r9_bxQ

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 When the fasting isn't the hard part 00:20 Heather introduces the eating-day problem 00:31 When fasting works like a "magic eraser" 02:46 Why solid fasting may still not produce progress 03:38 What does "eating normally" actually mean? 04:42 Eating windows, snacking and grazing 05:13 Why fasting longer can become compensation 06:43 Are you eating enough on your eating days? 08:30 Eating days as practice for maintenance 09:55 When restriction leads to hunger and overeating 10:29 Stress, emotions and erratic eating 12:39 What to stabilize before increasing your fasting 14:45 Which feels more stable: your fasts or your eating days? 15:38 Why support can matter when you already know what to do

When Your Labs Are "Normal" but Your Metabolic Health Isn't Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Normal blood sugar doesn't always mean everything is metabolically normal.

Episode #274

🎙️ Coach Terri Lance is joined by Dr. Jason Fung for a conversation about what routine lab results can—and can't—tell us about metabolic health.

Dr. Fung explains why blood glucose and A1C can remain within normal ranges even while insulin levels are rising, why "normal" and "optimal" aren't always the same thing, and why looking at a single number without context can miss important changes happening underneath.

They also discuss fasting insulin, C-peptide, why these markers can be useful when assessing hyperinsulinemia, and why trends over time often tell us more than one isolated result.

👉 What you'll learn • Why normal lab results don't necessarily explain how you feel • The five criteria used to define metabolic syndrome • Why hyperinsulinemia can develop before blood glucose becomes abnormal • How A1C can remain normal while insulin levels are rising • The difference between a laboratory "normal range" and an optimal result • Why fasting insulin can be difficult to interpret from a single measurement • What C-peptide can tell us about insulin production • Why C-peptide may be more stable than fasting insulin • Why repeated measurements can provide more useful context than one result • How better information can support more useful conversations with your healthcare practitioner

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 How A1C can look normal while insulin rises 00:31 Terri and Dr. Fung introduce the lab conversation 01:25 What does "normal" actually mean? 02:56 Why normal bloodwork doesn't explain everything 04:36 Looking at metabolic health more closely 05:13 The five markers of metabolic syndrome 05:47 Hyperinsulinemia versus insulin resistance 06:52 Why measure insulin at all? 07:32 How insulin can rise while glucose stays normal 08:37 Normal range versus optimal range 10:42 Why insulin measurements can fluctuate 11:55 What C-peptide tells us 13:05 Why one result isn't enough 15:50 What can you do with the information? 19:37 Why tracking results over time can matter 21:13 Why A1C may miss early metabolic dysfunction 23:42 Using lab information to ask better questions 25:14 Understanding what your doctor is—and isn't—testing

120 Pounds Down: How Michele Built a Life Beyond Sugar Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Michele lost 120 pounds—but the deeper transformation was learning to live without the food noise, social pressure and old identity that had shaped her relationship with sugar for decades.

Episode #273

🎙️ Coach Amy Medling talks with TFM member Michele about losing 120 pounds, reversing diabetes and building a way of living that feels sustainable rather than temporary.

Michele shares how a one-year sugar-free commitment changed her relationship with food, why the social side of giving up sugar was harder than the physical side, and how she learned to celebrate, connect and care for herself without relying on sweets.

She also reflects on people pleasing, identity change, navigating comments about her body and continuing to move forward through ordinary wobbles rather than expecting perfection.

👉 What you'll learn • How Michele lost 120 pounds after decades of obesity and 12 years with diabetes • Why she originally planned to join The Fasting Method Community for only one month • What happened when she reintroduced sugar after a sugar-free period • Why removing sugar eventually felt freeing rather than restrictive for Michele • How social expectations became harder to navigate than the food itself • Why celebration and connection don't have to revolve around sweets • What it felt like to no longer be the largest woman in the room • How repeated choices gradually became part of Michele's identity • The practical strategies she uses in social situations and during difficult moments • Why wobbles don't erase genuine transformation • How Michele thinks about slow progress, maintenance and every pound she doesn't regain • Why different seasons of life can call for different fasting tools

📝 Read the Transcript You can read the transcript and explore more episodes of The Fasting Method Podcast here: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/podcasts/

⚙️ There's Still Time to Join the Intermittent Fasting Masterclass The Intermittent Fasting Masterclass started Monday, August 31—but there's still time to join before the first live Q&A with Megan Ramos on Saturday, September 5.

Across four weeks, you'll get 14 recorded lessons and four live Q&A sessions with Megan, helping you understand how intermittent fasting works, how the main strategies fit together and what you may need to adjust in your own fasting practice.

New to fasting? Unsure whether your current approach fits? Wondering how fasting, nutrition and eating days work together—or what to change when progress stalls? The Masterclass is designed to help you build a clearer foundation and make more informed decisions about your next step.

And if you can't attend every session live, you won't miss out: replay access and TLDR summaries are included.

Learn more and join: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/intermittent-fasting-masterclass-summer-2026/

📣 Connect With Us Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastingmethod/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFastingMethod Join our free Facebook group: https://bit.ly/TFMNetwork

🤝 Join The Fasting Method Community Build your fasting knowledge, learn from experienced coaches and connect with people who understand the journey: https://www.thefastingmethod.com/community/

⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 When your body changes faster than your identity 00:32 Amy introduces Michele's Town Hall conversation 02:35 Decades of obesity, diabetes and starting again at 55 06:41 Michele's evolving relationship with sugar 09:05 Why giving up sugar was socially harder than physically 12:50 Learning to celebrate without sweets 20:32 Losing 120 pounds changes more than your body 22:33 No longer being the largest woman in the room 25:39 People pleasing, self-care and honoring your own needs 30:26 Navigating social situations without sugar 37:10 "Every pound I don't gain is a pound of loss" 40:10 What Michele would say to someone still caught in old patterns 42:16 Different seasons need different fasting tools 45:58 The 120 pounds were only part of the change 47:52 "Washed from the inside out"

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