About Me

Hello and welcome! My name is Katie, creator and owner of AllAboutFasting, where I hope to inspire and motivate others to use fasting as a tool for greater health and well-being in the hopes they will gain similar benefits to those I've enjoyed.

Are you, like I was, feeling heavy and lacking vitality? Does it feel like your body isn't functioning at it's prime? Are you reaching for foods you know aren't going to properly nourish you? but there's an inextricable draw to them?

If you'd like to get your life and your energy back, fasting can help, and then do so much more. Just look at the list of benefits fasting is known for. The thing is, it's SUCH a simple technique. And it's an ancient practice. And fasting has the ability to assist you in re-balancing your body and your life.

Being passionate about health and wholeness my whole life, coming into fasting and conscious eating was inevitable. Even as a teenager I was experimenting with a vegan diet. Not a "cool" thing in the 70s. Throughout my life I've studied and researched alternative health practices, from diet to supplements to yoga to Eastern methodologies. I'm a bit of a science nerd and majored in biology in college.

Why I built this website...

I started work on AllAboutFasting in 2008 because there was little quality information on the internet about fasting. At age 43, I was having some new health issues that, over time, were beginning to really concern me. Then inspiration struck: what I needed was a fast. I hadn't fasted in 23 years and so I did what we all do -- I turned to the internet for information. What I found was disappointing -- a lot of hype that lacked any real depth on the subject.  It was being touted as a lose weight fast scheme or as a way to cleanse your "filthy colon". They were negative messages that didn't jive with my understandings of what fasting is.

Where I first learned about fasting was during a month-long retreat to the Kripalu Center in Pennsylvania back in 1985, where fasting was promoted as much as a spiritual practice as a health tonic. I learned from that experience how healing, insightful, and liberating fasting could be. Fast forward to 2008 when I realized I wanted that for myself again. And then, I realized I wanted others to know about it too.

It became my passion to create an informational website providing basic information on a wide array of fasting topics and methodologies which could inform others of the value and deep benefit of fasting -- even, or especially, short-term fasting. So many people think of fasting as a long process and a huge ordeal, but it doesn't have to be.

Sharing my research...

My aim is to provide quality information on fasting and its uses toward better health and vitality. Not being a doctor or clinician, I didn't and don't feel qualified to make medical claims about fasting, but I am a great researcher and there were a handful of medical professionals whose opinions I could bring to the web, first and foremost being Dr. Joel Fuhrman. My deepest gratitude goes to Dr. Fuhrman for the incredible book he published in which he shares his expertise on the practice of fasting. And I strongly urge everyone to purchase his book. (There's a link to it on the Resources page.)

Throughout, I have always used the highest quality sources for medical details, either medical doctors or fasting professionals who have fasted hundreds, or even thousands, of individuals. My hope is to not only provide you information here on this site, but to guide you to further, more in-depth information found elsewhere on the web or in print materials.

Sharing my experiences...

Besides the extensive research, I also have my own personal experience to offer. Fasting can be like a mirror that reveals our inner selves. What makes us tick, what holds us back. The ways in which we fail to trust the wisdom of our own bodies and their innate healing abilities. This is unique for each of us, and so only appropriate that each of us must make a personal journey to find our own answers.

Here I share my experiences with fasting -- the openings, the clarity, and the missteps. I've been using various forms of fasting in my life for 11 years now, and have experienced delightful sensitivity to the workings of my body, clearly feeling its messages. I share my insights of the movements within me that fasting, and by extension, conscious eating, created.

I don't claim to know everything there is to know about fasting, nor make any claims about a single "right" method of fasting. It is a practice full of possibilities and personalizations that can help anyone sincerely interested in improving their health and their life. Understanding more about who you are is a bonus that comes with the territory.

Safety first...

Safety is always a primary concern, which is why I recommend anyone considering fasting to read the precautions to fasting and Who Can Fast?, as these articles detail the necessary prerequisites to fasting. Not everyone should fast! But anyone can do a cleansing diet and work toward more conscious eating.

And my apologies...

Unfortunately I was counseled in 2008 to not use footnotes on a website. "No one surfing the net wants to deal with all that formality," I was told. Times have changed and I wish I had followed my gut instead and provided those formal references for the medical information. What I did do was state in the text what book I was sharing information from, though that doesn't give you a page number, etc. If there's a particular point you need clarification, let me know via the contact form and I'll see if I can't locate the specifics for you.

I'm not a fasting fanatic, but I do have fasting in my health toolbox and can turn to it when I feel an imbalance or otherwise feel guided to do so. And I hope the information I have gathered here might help you to explore and incorporate this "tool" in your life. If you're brand new to fasting, the best place to delve in is probably the Benefits of Fasting page where you can get an idea of the potential power of fasting.

Here's to your best health!

Katie