Fast This Way
Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be
Book Edition Details
Summary
"Fast This Way (2021) challenges conventional wisdom about fasting, using up-to-date science and the author's extensive experience to outline how to sustainably fast for a long and healthy life. It explores how eating specific foods at specific times, tailoring fasts to personal biology (including gender differences and genetics), and even how workouts and sleep can enhance the benefits of fasting beyond simple calorie restriction."
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why you feel sluggish after meals, crave snacks constantly, or struggle with energy crashes throughout the day? The answer lies in understanding that your body possesses ancient wisdom—evolutionary mechanisms designed to help you thrive in times of both feast and famine. For millions of years, humans naturally alternated between eating and fasting, creating metabolic flexibility that kept our ancestors strong, sharp, and resilient. Today's constant eating pattern has disconnected us from these powerful biological systems, leaving us trapped in cycles of hunger, inflammation, and fatigue. But what if you could reclaim this ancestral strength? What if the key to boundless energy, mental clarity, and optimal health isn't about eating more, but about strategically eating less? This journey will show you how to harness your body's innate intelligence, transforming not just how you eat, but how you live, think, and feel every single day.
Break Free from Food Control and Cravings
The voice in your head whispers constantly about food, doesn't it? That persistent mental chatter about when to eat, what to eat, and whether you're hungry creates an exhausting cycle that keeps you trapped in patterns you never consciously chose. This invisible prison of food obsession drains your energy, clouds your thinking, and prevents you from accessing your true potential. Strategic fasting isn't about deprivation or punishment—it's about discovering the profound freedom that comes when you realize you are not your cravings. Dave Asprey discovered this transformation during his vision quest in an Arizona cave, where he spent four days consuming only water. Initially terrified of hunger, he expected weakness and misery. Instead, by day three, he experienced unprecedented mental clarity and physical energy. His senses became razor-sharp, colors appeared more vivid, and his mind felt liberated from the constant chatter about food. This wasn't deprivation—it was awakening his body's evolutionary superpowers. The breakthrough came when Asprey realized that the fear of hunger was just his reptilian brain lying to him. His body had abundant energy stored as fat, and fasting simply taught his metabolism how to access it efficiently. The result was freedom from food cravings and a profound sense of control over his biology. To start your own transformation, begin with Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting. Wake up and drink black coffee blended with grass-fed butter and C8 MCT oil instead of breakfast. This provides ketones that suppress hunger while maintaining the metabolic benefits of fasting. Skip eating until lunch, then have a normal dinner. Remember that consistency matters less than you think—vary your fasting windows and listen to your body as you reclaim your metabolic freedom.
Transform Your Body with Smart Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting represents a fundamental shift from the modern eating paradigm of constant consumption to an ancient rhythm that aligns with your body's natural repair cycles. When you fast, your cells activate autophagy—a powerful self-cleaning process that removes damaged proteins and cellular debris while generating new, healthy mitochondria. This cellular housekeeping literally makes you younger at the molecular level. Asprey's transformation began when he learned to work with his body's natural rhythms rather than against them. For years, he struggled with obesity despite intense exercise, cycling for hours while consuming sports drinks and energy bars, yet continued gaining weight. The constant sugar intake kept his body dependent on glucose, preventing fat burning and creating inflammatory cycles. His breakthrough came when he discovered that timing matters more than calories. When Asprey shifted to exercising at the end of his intermittent fast, around 1-2 PM, his body was primed to burn stored fat. The transformation was remarkable—he could complete intense workouts powered by ketones and stored body fat, emerging stronger and more energized than ever before. His body learned to generate power from its own reserves rather than requiring constant external fuel. The 16:8 method provides an accessible entry point, where you simply compress your eating into an eight-hour window each day. Start by pushing your first meal back by one hour each day until you reach a comfortable fasting window. During the fasting period, support your transition with high-quality fats like MCT oil, which provide steady energy without triggering insulin response. Your goal is to train your metabolism to switch effortlessly between fuel sources, creating the foundation for lasting health and vitality.
Unlock Peak Performance Through Fasting Science
The science behind fasting reveals why this ancient practice produces such dramatic results in modern bodies. When you fast for more than fourteen hours, your body initiates a cascade of beneficial changes that extend far beyond weight loss. Your cells begin producing brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that promotes the growth of new neurons and protects existing brain cells from damage. This neuroplasticity enhancement explains why many people report improved focus, memory, and mental clarity during fasting periods. Research demonstrates that fasting triggers the regeneration of stem cells throughout your body, essentially turning back your biological clock. Your immune system becomes more efficient at identifying and eliminating damaged cells while producing new, healthy replacements. The process extends to your cardiovascular system, where fasting reduces inflammation markers, improves cholesterol profiles, and enhances heart rate variability. Asprey experienced this firsthand during his dramatic self-experiment where he ate 4,500 calories daily while maintaining intermittent fasting and actually lost weight. This proved that when you eat matters as much as what you eat. His body thrived on variety—sometimes 16-hour fasts, sometimes 24-hour fasts, occasionally longer periods, always adjusted based on his energy levels, sleep quality, and life circumstances. The metabolic flexibility gained through strategic fasting transforms how your body handles stress and energy demands. Instead of experiencing energy crashes when meals are delayed, you maintain steady focus and performance. Begin tracking these changes by monitoring your energy levels, sleep quality, and mental clarity during different fasting windows. Notice how your body responds to various protocols and adjust your approach based on these observations, creating sustainable improvements in both performance and well-being.
Build Lasting Strength and Mental Clarity
True strength emerges not from constant comfort but from learning to thrive during controlled challenges. Fasting combined with strategic exercise creates a powerful synergy that builds both physical resilience and mental fortitude. When you exercise in a fasted state, your body adapts by becoming more efficient at utilizing stored energy and producing the cellular machinery needed for peak performance. The vision quest experience perfectly illustrates this principle. Despite four days without food, Asprey found himself hiking miles through desert terrain with more energy than he'd felt in years. His body had activated ancient survival mechanisms that modern abundance typically keeps dormant. The ketones produced during extended fasting provided his brain with premium fuel while his muscles efficiently burned stored fat. This metabolic state created a sense of mental clarity and physical capability that felt almost supernatural. This enhanced state becomes accessible through consistent practice with shorter fasting periods combined with appropriate physical challenges. High-intensity interval training during fasted states teaches your body to perform under stress while building mitochondrial density and improving oxygen utilization. The temporary discomfort of exercising without recent fuel intake develops the mental resilience needed to push through challenges in all areas of life. Structure your training to complement your fasting schedule, exercising near the end of your fasting window when fat oxidation is highest. Focus on compound movements that challenge multiple muscle groups while building functional strength. Recovery becomes crucial during this process, so prioritize sleep quality and stress management to support your body's adaptation. The goal is building a foundation of strength that serves you in every aspect of life, creating lasting transformation that extends far beyond physical appearance.
Summary
The path to mastering your body and life through strategic fasting isn't about perfection or extreme measures—it's about reclaiming the biological wisdom that modern life has obscured and learning to trust your body's incredible capacity for adaptation and renewal. As Asprey discovered in that Arizona cave, "The greatest gift of fasting is that it helps you divorce your story about food from the reality of your biology." This separation between conditioned responses and biological truth creates space for authentic choice and genuine freedom. When you no longer feel controlled by cravings or dependent on constant consumption, you can direct your energy toward what truly matters in your life. Your transformation begins with a single decision to experiment with going without. Start tomorrow morning with a simple 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule, supporting your body with high-quality fats during the transition. Pay attention to how you feel, adjust based on your body's responses, and gradually extend your fasting windows as you build confidence and metabolic flexibility. Take action today by choosing your first fasting window and committing to it for one week—this simple act of going without will teach you more about your true capabilities than any amount of theory ever could.
By Dave Asprey
