I can’t remember when I was not focused on my body image. Growing up in Southern California in the 80s as a teenager, imagine was everything. We were bombarded by MTV videos with pictures of beautiful skinny models living life to the extreme yet maintaining a perfect body. I developed very young and was constantly reminded that I was a curvy girl. After having some weight issues as an adolescent, going through puberty, and having my two best girlfriends move away, I can clearly remember the day I discovered I could use food as comfort. I was eating a bag of Doritos while watching TV and felt how the food immediately gave me a sense of relief and a numbing feeling. So, I ate and ate and became chubby. But once I started High School, I felt the pressure of Hollywood nearby, the influence of MTV, and I became a bit boy crazy, so I reeled in the eating and was able to maintain a smaller size; what I kept a secret was I was really binge eating and purging all through high school and into my early 20’s. After a very emotional break-up with my high school boyfriend, I reached my all-time lowest weight. I barely ate anything, and my eating disorder was out of control. The sad thing was nobody even noticed because our toxic society at the time encouraged us to be thin. Being thin was also considered to be desired in my family. Fat people were viewed as being out of control and not disciplined. I do not blame my family or have any negative feelings regarding my childhood. My parents were doing their best and passing on their upbringing.   I started clean fasting in November 2021 and have fasted every day since. I lost the first 20 pounds in the first few months doing a 16/8 approach but then had to do deep dives to find the root causes of my continued health issues. I have fired my primary doctor and found a very helpful endocrinologist who helped me discover that I had zero hormones, had thyroid antibodies and had already gone through menopause. My bloodwork in the previous years was explained to me as “normal,” but what wasn’t described was the numbers were typical for a post-menopausal woman. I had no idea because, in my early forties, I had an ablation surgery that stopped my cycles yet allowed me to have hormones. I had no tell-tell signs of menopause except the weight gain and a feeling of complete despair. So, between fasting and starting HRT, I have successfully lost all my weight gain, and I’m now just living my lifestyle without fear of gaining it back. I’m incredibly grateful to all those who have supported me on this journey. From all the supportive medical professionals to the people like me who successfully found their way back to health and are now sharing their stories to inspire others, I thank you! The Fasting Highway News THE AUDIOBOOK IS HERE!!! Excited to share that the audiobook for the fasting highway is now here and available on apple books, tunes, Spotify, Kobo, and Audiobooks.com. Hooplah, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million -BAM and many more platforms. It is not yet available on Audible. Our Patreon Supporters Community You can win a mentoring prize, get exclusive early access to the podcasts, and access to the fasting highway audiobook at the top tier level. Plus, bonus content and bi-monthly online coffee catch-up via Zoom for our patrons hosted by myself to support your fasting journey. Please consider this, as we must get the support of the listeners to bring it to you each week commercial-free. Please go to www.patreon.com/thefastinghighway to see the benefits you get back and how to join from 0.17 cents pr 0.33 cents per day, the cost of a Grand Latte a month! Private coaching by Graeme. Graeme is now available for private one-on-one coaching and mentoring sessions with you. He can help you with those burning questions about how to get started or overcome issues no matter what phase you are up to on your intermittent fasting journey. Please go to. www.thefastinghighway.com