Wellness Reboot

The skinny on fasting

I am back from a six week trip through Europe. It all started with a house check-in in France. Old stone house checked out fine. New paint on a few things, pool was in its winter hibernation, some bottles were opened and some sausages grilled. Then it was off to Switzerland—we flew into Basel (direct flight from Bordeaux), picked up the Landy loaner and drove to St. Moritz. That is always a lovely drive (in the right car) through the Alps on the Julier Pass. We set up shop at the Suvretta House, which was lovely—just up and off the main drag of town by a few kilometers, but a world away. The skiing was perfect, the sun was out, and the beer and rosti (think giant buttery hashbrown) were plentiful. At every alpine restaurant, I filled my belly with their specialties from leberkäse with rosti, to sausages with rosti, to sunnyside up eggs and bacon with rosti, to the national dish of cheese fondue (yes, with rosti). Washed down with Swiss white wine and drafts of beer. Why was I stuffing myself with all this delicious food? Well, Yolanda and I had decided, after talking about this for some time, to check out Buchinger Wilhelmi fasting clinic on the shores of Lake Constance in Germany. It would be two weeks of a medically supervised fast. That’s right: no solid food, no coffee, no booze. Just water, tea and brothy vegetable soups, paired with long hikes, rest, and the occasional hydro-colonic. We have friends that have been going for years and love it—French friends who know their way around rich pâtés and red wine. To be honest, after around two years of travel, Covid, overeating and drinking, not saying no to anything, it was time for a hard reset. My tailoring was not fitting—I was buying bigger pants and was just not feeling my best (despite a daily routine of exercise)—it was time for a more dramatic shift in my lifestyle. But first there was the “last meal” before the Buchinger car collected us in Zurich for the one hour drive to the clinic. Zurich is the home of one of my favorite restaurants in the world—the Kronenhalle. If there was ever to be a last indulgent meal it was going to be there. We met some friends (Frank and Frank) at the glorious bar with Giacometti touches and cold martinis. We settled into dinner, ordered more Swiss wine, and ordered my favorites; schnitzel, sliced veal in gravy, and of course rosti. The wine flowed, the rosti was shoveled in, and Frank ( I forgot which one) ordered chocolate pudding with cream for dessert, a course I normally don’t care much about, but did not refuse on this occasion!

The car picked us up at 1pm sharp and we made the drive a with a bit of a hangover from all the rich food and booze. We arrived in Überlingen, a sweet historical German town on Lake Constance. The clinic did not disappoint with its Bondish 50’s exterior of clean modernist lines and glass. The staff was efficient and kind and we were showed around the facility, where the treatments were, where the fasters ate and the solid food restricted dieters ate. (Yes they are kept separate from each other.) Our room was modern and white, and very well appointed with amazing views onto the lake. I was excited to be there. We met with our doctors and the nurse that we would check in with each morning to weigh us in, check our blood pressure and temperature. We just loved our Nurse Uli who also brought us tea, swaddled us with hot water bottle liver packs, tucked us in, and administered enemas—all with good humor. My initial check up, where they did a a full run of bloods, revealed some startling things like higher than expected blood pressure, overweight by 15 pounds, and a waist measurement that would make my tailor cry. The reality was that I knew most of this news anyway, which is why I was there. I needed to take back some control of my life and go for the hard reboot.

Each day went like this: wake, see nurse to check vitals, get schedule for the day, go back to the room for herbal tea and a small dish of raw honey (to be eaten throughout the day for energy), go to appointments like massage, nutritionist, hydro-colonic, or the osteopath. Lunch at 11:30—a brothy vegetable soup (no seasoning, no salt) with some chopped fresh herbs, and bottles and bottles of mineral water and cups of tea. Then a warm hot water bottle liver pack meant to aid your hardest working organ during this detox, followed by rest for one hour. In the afternoons, we sometimes took a walk into town, along the lakefront which was beautiful. I would stop and ogle at German butcher shops, and of course we found an antique store to browse in (where I bought a very nice 80’s Porsche designed watch). The clinic also organized daily hikes for all the guests—a bus took us to the most spectacular locations—in foothills with apple orchards, vineyards, or wooded trails—most overlooking the lake. All outings were two hours and always ended with cups of hot tea. (I never drank so much tea in my life.) We met some incredible people on the hikes, mostly returning European guests, with backgrounds ranging from Swiss financiers to Italian gin makers. Dinner was at six, another bowl of another vegetable soup and bottles of water and tea. Next day: repeat.

After a couple days I fell easily into the routine. The pounds started dropping, my blood pressure normalized. I had no inflammation, morning puffiness or joint pain. My acid reflux disappeared. I started daily gym workouts of cardio and weight training (thanks to a great app my trainer Alex Rosen sent me) and I started to feel strong again. I was clear headed, well rested and feeling very good. The hard reset had begun.

The two weeks passed quickly and honestly, once I got into the routine I could have easily stayed and continued for another week. At my final doctor review my stats were all checked again. All my blood tests looked perfect and the big reveal was I had lost 13 pounds and 8 cm off my waist. I have never felt better, clearer, lighter or lean. There was also a change in my food cravings and palate. How do I say this—I was craving simple whole foods. The apple that was given to me to eat as I began my re-entry into the world of solid food tasted incredible, like no apple I had had before. My instinct was NOT to run down to the local wurstl stand, but to savor the fruits, veg and whole grains that were beautifully prepared and presented in the Buchinger dining room. Now that I am back in my normal routine outside the austere walls of the clinic I have not fallen off the wagon. I have to say I did miss a good drink at the end of the day, and I cherish my coffee a lot more now. I have not had much tea, but I have maintained my routine of workouts and fitness. My diet has definitely made a dramatic shift: more fish and veg paired with up to16 hours of intermittent fasting. The weight has stayed off and it feels good to put on clothes that fit the way they should. Sure, there was a big vanity motivation in all this, but the fast did reset me into a healthier, more aware self. I am certainly no monk and I did not refuse the invitation from Clara for a steak frites lunch, but somehow I don’t need that 6 days a week. So, stay tuned, let’s see how it goes, so far so good. I don’t see any #vegpics in my future but I do like my clearer, leaner, healthier self.