My 20+ Year Journey with Natural Intermittent Fasting

I discovered something mind-blowing recently—I've been biohacking my brain and body for over 20 years without even knowing it. Since childhood, my natural tendency to skip breakfast so I could sleep a little longer has accidentally put me in perfect sync with what scientists now call intermittent fasting. Your brain, this incredible supercomputer we all carry around, consumes about 20% of your body's energy while only weighing 2% of your total mass. That's like having a tiny nuclear reactor in your head! When you're fasting, something magical happens—your brain switches from burning glucose to using ketones for fuel. Think of it like upgrading from regular gas to premium rocket fuel. As an engineer and entrepreneur, my work demands intense focus and creativity. Every morning, I power through complex problems with nothing but black coffee in my system. No breakfast, no distractions—just pure mental clarity from 16 hours of fasting. When I finally eat around noon, I eat whatever I want, often more than my husband. The funny thing? This all started because young me loved sleeping in. My childhood self would rather spend extra minutes cuddled in bed than wake up for breakfast. Little did I know, I was setting myself up for a lifetime of accidental biohacking success! On those rare occasions when I do eat breakfast—maybe at a family brunch or when friends cook for me after I sleep at their house—I feel like I'm wading through mental fog, and I feel tired and sluggish. Now I understand why: that morning fasting period is when my brain is doing its best housekeeping work. The science behind this is fascinating. During fasting, your body triggers cellular cleanup processes (autophagy), releases brain-enhancing compounds (BDNF), and optimizes hormone levels. All this because I just naturally followed my body's rhythms! You know what's really incredible? I've maintained this routine effortlessly for decades. No strict rules, no complicated diet plans. I simply eat when I'm hungry (usually noon), enjoy whatever I want (avoiding excess sugar and fried foods), and stop eating after dinner (between 6-8 PM). This accidental biohacking has been my secret for maintaining energy levels, staying lean, and keeping my brain sharp. While others struggle with complex dieting rules, I've just been living in sync with my body's natural preferences. ### Potential Challenges and Misconceptions One of the biggest misconceptions about intermittent fasting is the fear of hunger and the belief that you're starving yourself. Personally, I start feeling hungry around noon, but before that, my body doesn't even want food. It may be a challenge for someone just starting out, but I believe our bodies are great at adapting. The lesson here? Sometimes the best health protocols aren't the ones you force yourself to follow—they're the ones that feel naturally right for your body. I just happened to stumble upon one of the most powerful biohacks simply by listening to my body's wisdom. It's fascinating to reflect on how what we call "biohacking" today is often just a return to our ancestral wisdom and common sense. Our modern habit of eating multiple meals with constant snacking throughout the day is actually the real deviation from our natural eating patterns. Our ancestors didn't have access to 5 meals a day with 10 snacks in between - they ate when food was available and naturally went through periods of fasting. What we're discovering through science now is that this natural eating pattern might have been beneficial all along. The "hack" isn't in finding some new revolutionary approach, but rather in stripping away the artificial eating schedules we've created in our modern world.

By Eduarda Ferreira