In the past couple months, after the birth of my son Leonardo, life has changed. Leonardo has been a blessing, and I won’t bother you listing all the cute things he does… like hiccuping or smiling… but with this immense joys also came sleep deprivation, stress and an unusual amount of projects with tight deadlines.

Things have been hard, and I have found myself finding comfort in food, alcohol and… yeah even some sporadic cigarettes. One of this Italian old habit that comes back at times of exustion and stress.

So how does this have to do with fasting? Well by total accident I stumbled upon this Ted talk and since I’ve heard about fasting before, and the principle made total sense to me I decided to learn more (by reading “The 5 2 fast diet for beginners“) and try.

The point of fasting is very simple. In modern times, we eat WAY more than we ever, bigger portions, more often, and foods that are processed and high in calories.

This constant stream of food through the body build up waste and toxins that stress the body and the mind. So reducing food intake (and increase water intake) simply allows your body to flush out the unnecessary, giving you a sense of general well being that affects your body and mind.

All I’m doing different is to limit my eating time to 6 hours a day. Basically I eat anything I want, just like before, but within the 6 hours window, which for me is from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm. And occasionally I’ll water fast all day too.

While at first it was hard to skip breakfast and cut out all my random snacks, I have replaced those habits with loads of water with lemon. I was surprised to see how my brain adapted to my new habits and stopped craving foods all day long.

By not having my body constantly digesting, and my mind entertained with snacks, I have found myself more focused, energised and faster at solving design problems. I’m able to sleep less and wake up well rested, I spend less time munching, cooking and even spend less money!

A truly successful experiment that I want to extend for the next months, all achieved with “Less” (MENO!), my favorite kind of solution.