🩸 When Numbers Tell Stories: My Annual Blood Report Meets Twice a Month Fasting (Part 3 of “A Journey to Outsmart Blood Sugar”)

For most people, November means pumpkin pies, Diwali sweets, or early-bird Black Friday deals. For me, it’s a combo of Halloween hangover and health homework.

While everyone else is finishing leftover candy and bragging about their costume photos, I’m opening my LabCorp report which, let’s be honest, is scarier than any haunted house. 🎃

This is my version of a Halloween sequel: “Return of the Lab Report. Except the ghosts here have names like LDL, Triglycerides, TSH and they never fail to haunt me every November.

This year, though, I had reasons to be hopeful. For over a year, I’ve been fasting twice a month (36–44 hours each time) and, for the last two months, I’ve downsized from three meals a day to two.

Basically, I’m running a low-budget metabolic startup, testing whether patience, not pills, can fix my biochemistry.

The Good, the Bad, and the Boring (data do not lie)

The Sugar Story: A Quiet Victory

Dr Robert Lustig famously says, “It’s not about calories — it’s about insulin.”
Looks like my pancreas agrees.

By sticking to two eating windows and giving my body longer rest periods, my HbA1c fell from 5.9 to 5.5. No drugs, no supplements, just restraint (and a stubborn streak).
Fasting Glucose held steady at 92 mg/dL, which means fewer glucose spikes and more stable energy.

If there were a Fitbit for insulin, it would’ve thrown confetti.

The Fat Files: Where LDL Thinks It’s the Hero

Here’s where the comedy begins. My LDL climbed from 154 to 162, nudging total cholesterol over 220.

Before anyone panics, let’s borrow Dr Lustig’s metabolic math:

• It’s the TG : HDL ratio, not total cholesterol, that hints at insulin resistance.
• Under 2 is great, 2–3 acceptable, over 3 = metabolic traffic jam.

Mine? 2.6. Not bad, just a polite nudge to “keep running / hiking /walking /Swimming or whatever you like to move your body for.”

So while LDL strutted around, my triglycerides stayed low and HDL didn’t desert me. Lustig would likely pat me on the back and say, “Your liver’s still got its act together — just stop feeding it fructose.”

The Liver Whisper

My ALT and AST stayed normal, meaning my fasting didn’t stress the liver.
Lustig often points to the ALT : AST ratio — when ALT > AST by a lot, it hints at fatty liver.
Mine were well-balanced, so the internal refinery is functioning efficiently — probably because I stopped supplying it with midnight snacks to process.

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The Vitamin D Drama

Now, the real underachiever: Vitamin D 16 ng/mL.
Apparently, fasting indoors does not stimulate solar synthesis.
Even Dr Lustig’s “sunshine hormone” can’t thrive on willpower alone.
Note to self: step outside occasionally or buy those elusive D3 capsules that keep showing up in the Amazon cart.

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What the Trends Whisper

Improved

• HbA1c ↓ 5.9 → 5.5 : Stable glucose, better insulin sensitivity
• B12 creeping upward

Holding the Line

• Liver, kidney, PSA — quiet performers doing their job

Needs Nudging

• LDL ↑ 162 mg/dL (watch the cheese board)
• Vitamin D low → get more sunshine
• TG : HDL 2.6 → keep fasting rhythm steady

Lessons (with a grin)

1. Two Two Meals > Three Temptations
   Who knew eating less often could feel more freeing? My glucose graphs now look like calm sine waves instead of jagged ECG spikes. Apparently, the body runs smoother when it isn’t treated like a vending machine.

• Ratios > Raw Numbers
  As Dr. Lustig says, numbers lie but ratios tell the truth. The TG : HDL and ALT : AST ratios are like health’s debugging logs. They reveal what the pretty dashboard won’t.
• Sunlight > Supplements
  Vitamin D taught me that even the most data-driven person can’t photosynthesize under fluorescent lighting. Step outside. The sun’s API is free.
• LDL Needs Coaching, Not Condemnation
  My LDL may be stubborn, but maybe it’s just trying to protect me from my own enthusiasm for buttered toast. In engineering terms: it’s running in “defensive mode.”
• Discipline > Perfection
  Fasting isn’t a punishment; it’s scheduled maintenance. Like a system reboot — brief downtime, smoother performance afterward.
• Curiosity Never Retires
  It took me decades to realize that biology is just another operating system except you can’t replace the hardware. So I tinker gently and debug patiently.

Final Reflection

Fasting, to me, isn’t punishment — it’s pressing “Reset” twice a month.
Going from three meals to two made my metabolism hum instead of wheeze.

From 2017’s sugar roller-coaster to 2025’s metabolic jazz, the trend is clear: discipline outperforms diet fads.

Twice-monthly fasting has stabilized my glucose, sharpened focus, and kept inflammation quiet.

Now, the plan is simple: keep the sugar steady, charm HDL into rising, convince LDL to behave, and maybe — just maybe — step out into the Californian sun before sunset.

Because as Dr Lustig might say,

“You can’t hack biology — but you can negotiate with it, one fast at a time.”

⚠️ Author’s Note

These reflections come from an engineer who started learning human biology far too late in life — mostly out of curiosity, partly out of necessity. What began as an attempt to outsmart blood sugar turned into a crash course in metabolism, ratios, and resilience. I’m not a doctor, and this isn’t medical advice. Please consult your physician before experimenting with fasting, diet tweaks, or supplement changes. Think of this as a mid-life engineering project on the body’s operating system — one where trial, error, and humility are all part of the lab work. 

A Review of David Sinclair's "Lifespan" - Why Aging Might Be Optional

 

Dr. David Sinclair, a Harvard geneticist and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (2014), doesn’t just study aging , he’s trying to bully it into submission. In Lifespan, he argues that aging is a disease, and more importantly, that it’s treatable. Yes, Mother Nature might file a complaint, but Sinclair’s case is compelling.

The book unfolds in three acts  of Past, Present, and Future chronicling how humanity has viewed aging through time. He weaves hard science with personal anecdotes and philosophical musings to build a daring idea: that humans could live 120–150 years of healthy life, and even beyond, with minds sharp enough to remember why we walked into the kitchen. Remember the mythological ageas of sages in India living to 1000 years or so.

The Thesis, Without the Jargon

• Aging drives most chronic diseases. If you slow aging, you delay the parade — cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease.
• Personalized medicine is here. Thanks to cheap DNA sequencing, wearable sensors, and AI, we’re moving from “what works for most” to “what works for you.”
• Funding still lags. Only a handful of nations treat aging as a legitimate medical target. It’s like discovering fire but deciding sweaters were enough.

The Science (in Plain English)

The author’s core idea is what he calls the Information Theory of Aging.
Our DNA, the “hardware,” stays largely intact throughout life. But the “software”, the epigenetic code that tells our genes what to do, becomes corrupted over time, like scratches on an old CD. As a result, cells forget their identities: liver cells start acting confused, nerve cells forget their duties, and tissues lose harmony.

The Repair System That Saves Us

Every cell comes equipped with a survival circuit, powered by genes known as sirtuins, AMPK, and mTOR. These genes spring into action when the body faces stress — fasting, cold, heat, exercise.
When life is too easy (constant food, comfort, and warmth), these genes go on vacation.
Ironically, mild hardship keeps us young.

The author highlights how today’s medicine is already experimenting with futuristic tools like:

• CAR-T therapy: Doctors engineer immune cells to hunt down cancer, giving your body its own precision army.
• Single-cell sequencing: Scientists can now read the full DNA of individual tumor cells, mapping how they mutate over time — a leap toward true personalized cancer treatment.

He also reveals that many chronic illnesses share a common root cause: aging itself. Treat the aging process upstream, and you may prevent a dozen diseases downstream.

Five Ways to (Politely) Annoy Death

(Sinclair’s practical, research-grounded tactics you can start now — no immortality ring required.)

1. Fast — Strategically

Not starvation, not malnutrition. Intermittent fasting nudges your cells into repair mode, activating genes that clean up damage. Hunger might make you cranky, but so does arthritis.

2. Eat Less Often (Not Necessarily Less Food)

People in longevity hotspots like Ikaria, Greece, often skip breakfast and eat modestly, saving large meals for evening. The result: a community where turning 90 is just halftime.

3. Favor Plants Over Meat

If longevity had a mascot, it would be a rabbit, not a lion. Studies show replacing animal protein with plant protein reduces all-cause mortality. Don’t worry  as nobody’s confiscating your barbecue tongs.

4. Exercise Like Your Telomeres Are Listening

Those who jog or walk briskly for 30 minutes a day can have telomeres , the caps protecting DNA  that look nearly a decade younger. Move it, or lose it, literally.

5. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Cold showers, ice dips or winter walks  - any short bursts of discomfort awaken your longevity genes. Your future self will thank you; your present self will scream in the shower.

Sinclair’s Longevity “Stack” (Not Medical Advice)

Sinclair admits he’s his own lab rat and shares what he is doing, but his regimen mirrors emerging longevity science:

• Supplements: NMN, resveratrol, metformin, plus vitamins D and K₂, and low-dose aspirin.
• Diet: Mostly plant-based, minimal sugar. Dessert is a once-in-a-blue-moon heist.
• Routine: Regular bloodwork, daily steps, weekend gym sessions, sauna and cold plunge rotation.
• Lifestyle: Cooler rooms, lean body mass, plenty of mental and social stimulation.

The Subplots: Politics, Society, and the Future

The author draws surprising links between aging and politics, noting that nationalist movements often resonate with older demographics clinging to the past. When most politicians are well past their biological warranty, policy can suffer the same senescence as their cells.

He also speculates on the future of a world where lifespans extend dramatically:
Will inequality deepen if longevity tech is expensive?
Will retirement disappear?
And how will we handle the moral challenge of having more life and more responsibility?

The Vision Ahead

The future, the author paints is provocative but plausible:
With advances in epigenetic reprogramming, gene therapy, and AI-driven health monitoring, humans could one day reset their biological clocks. His lab even managed to restore sight in old mice by rejuvenating optic nerves (one of the nerves that cannot be regenerated if lost), a glimpse of what reversing age might mean.

He doesn’t promise immortality; he promises more time spent healthy, curious, and mobile.
The goal is not to live forever but just long enough to enjoy the ride without the brakes giving out.

Final Thoughts

Lifespan isn’t just a book about biology. It’s a wake-up call about our choices, a roadmap for extending not just years but quality of life. It challenges the fatalistic notion that aging is inevitable and reframes it as something we can study, slow, and perhaps one day, reset.

You can’t negotiate with death,
but thanks to science, you can renegotiate the terms. Loved reading this book.

When Fasting Met Blood Donation — An Accidental Experiment

Part 2 of my ongoing experiments in fasting — connecting data, discipline, and a dash of curiosity.
What happens when fasting meets a blood donation drive? A small experiment in curiosity, restraint, and how the body adapts.

In my previous story, I wrote about experimenting with fasting, exercise, and lifestyle tweaks to outsmart my blood sugar, not as a health guru, but as an engineer curious about how the body responds to small system changes.

I’m still waiting for my next set of blood tests on October 28 to see if some of those biomarkers have actually improved. But while I wait for data, another unexpected event added a fresh chapter to this ongoing exploration.

An Overlap I Didn’t Plan

It began with a scheduling coincidence. I had signed up to donate blood on October 17, only to realize later that it was also Ekadashi, my fasting day.

My first instinct was to reschedule. But then the little engineer in me whispered, why not observe what happens?

I’ve always believed that real understanding comes from first-hand data, not assumptions. So I decided to let fasting and blood donation meet — purely for the sake of curiosity.

At the Church Lab (Also Known as the Blood Drive)

The Red Cross had set up a donation camp at a local church. After the standard checklist — travel, medications, iron levels, caffeine intake, and possibly whether I’d recently lived on Mars — I mentioned casually to the nurse:

“By the way, I’m fasting today. Is that okay?”

She gave me the kind of look nurses reserve for over-confident donors.
“Yes, but you might feel dizzy. You can always come back another day,” she said gently.

That was all the encouragement my inner tinkerer needed.
“Let’s try it,” I replied. “You can keep me under observation. Worst case, I pass out gracefully.”

She smiled — the professional mix of concern and amusement — and agreed to keep an eye on me.

The Outcome (Spoiler: I Survived)

Everything went smoothly.
No dizziness, no tunnel vision, no dramatic Bollywood-style faint.
I rested for ten minutes, sipped some water, and then drove home — feeling oddly light and focused.

By the time I have completed this post, I’d been fasting for around 48 hours, drinking only water. No hunger pangs, no weakness. Just a steady calm as if the body had tuned itself to a more efficient frequency.

I even managed nine rounds of Sun Salutation this morning, which might explain why the nurse kept checking if I was still upright.

What I Learned

Donating blood while fasting, at least for me, felt no different from donating on a regular day. That said, our bodies speak in different dialects and it’s wise to listen closely for signs of distress.

For me, this experience became another data point in my ongoing fasting experiment. I’ve now completed three 48-hour Ekadashi fasts in the past two months. The pattern is becoming clearer:

The busier I stay, the less I feel like eating.

Fasting, I’m realizing, isn’t about deprivation, it’s about redirection.
Energy, focus, and even curiosity seem to reboot when the digestive system takes a break.

No medical advice here, just one engineer’s continuing fascination with how the body behaves under simple constraints. This time, the “test” involved missing a few meals and donating a pint of blood.

Next up: those post October 28th blood test results. Let’s see if the system shows measurable improvement or just more interesting data.

So far, the system’s stable. No warning lights yet. Let’s stay curious and stay connected. 

A Journey to Outsmart Blood Sugar (Before It Outsmarts Me)

 An engineer’s experiment with fasting, food, and fitness sprinkled with dark humor and a dash of sugar paranoia.

A midlife engineer and lifelong foodie tries to hack his way out of blood sugar trouble, one fast, one squat, and one sarcastic thought at a time.

Let’s be honest — who doesn’t love sugar? Whether it’s the comforting sweetness of chai, a post-meal dessert, or that innocent-looking cookie that somehow disappears by the dozen, sugar is that one friend who makes everything better… until it doesn’t.

The problem is, sugar addiction is as real as it gets. The more you have it, the more your brain craves it. And giving it up? That’s no small feat. I sometimes think quitting sugar might be harder than quitting smoking or drinking — at least nobody offers you a slice of cake for refusing alcohol.

So here I am, a lifelong foodie and dessert enthusiast, trying to make peace with a hard truth: if I want to keep enjoying food without turning my bloodstream into syrup, I need to understand what’s happening inside me.

Maybe it’s my engineering background, but I like to approach these things rationally and proactively — more like a system to optimize, not a crisis to react to. I believe in data, logic, and a fair bit of curiosity. If my body’s running a complex biochemical network, I might as well treat it like one and see what tweaks improve performance. On top of this, a short call from my daughter once from her before visiting her physician to list who in our line of generations have been inflicted by this metabolic disorder.

That’s what led me down this rabbit hole: a personal experiment to understand and manage blood sugar before it manages me.

Like many folks sliding gracefully or, let’s admit it, reluctantly into their mid-50s, I’ve developed a new hobby to worry about aging. But instead of buying expensive supplements or quoting wellness influencers, I decided to do what any sensible, slightly reckless person would do and that is experiment on myself.

Before you imagine a Frankenstein setup with beakers and wires, let me clarify: I’m not a doctor, not a health guru, and certainly not offering medical advice. I’m just a curious human trying to see how long I can keep my blood sugar in check without giving up my favorite foods or my sanity.

The Fear of the Sweet Monster

I’ve always dreaded blood glucose. I don’t have diabetes (yet), but at 55+, I’ve watched too many friends fall victim to the “sweet curse.” Suddenly, their lives revolve around labels, carb counts, and saying no to gulab jamun. And it is also reasonable to say that most of them have been managing this beautifully with the right medicines and diet control.

For a lifelong foodie like me, that sounds like a culinary nightmare. If life’s worth living, it’s worth tasting, right?

My family history doesn’t exactly ease the paranoia. My late father never struggled with blood sugar until very late in life (thanks to some steroid use), while my mother has been managing diabetes for years — with the help of good old metformin.

Flirting with the Borderline

Last year’s blood test told me I’m skating on thin ice: an A1C of 5.5, sitting smugly at the edge between “normal” and “pre-diabetic.”

I’ve been a regular hiker, biker, and occasional runner (these days, running mostly means chasing Wi-Fi signals). For over 15 years, these activities have kept my numbers in check — without forcing me to say goodbye to biryani or pizza. But lately, I’ve hit a wall.

Despite my efforts, my regular morning fasting sugar floats between 85 and 100. Occasionally, I have seen it around 103 as well. Technically, under 100 is recommended, but I want to aim for the golden number — around 80. Because who doesn’t love a clean score, especially when your body’s the report card?

My Own Experience

Everything that follows — these lessons, experiments, and plans — comes from my own personal journey of trial, error, and occasional triumph.

Some are lessons I’ve learned the hard way, others are ongoing experiments that I’m still refining (or surviving). Think of them as field notes from one man’s attempt to outthink his metabolism.

I’m not promising miracles or medical breakthroughs — just honest observations and a desire to understand what truly works. My hope is that if you’ve ever stared at your blood test results with mild panic, you’ll find a bit of hope (and maybe a laugh) in what follows.

Lesson One: Exercise Is Great — Until It Isn’t

Here’s the first thing I learned: exercise works only up to a point.

If you’re in your 30s or 40s, you might outrun sugar with enough jogging and spinach smoothies. But in your 50s, especially if you’ve got a diabetic parent in the mix, the game changes.

At some point, exercise alone stops working. You plateau. Your sneakers still move, but your sugar numbers don’t. That’s when you realize that it’s not about “controlling food,” it’s about avoiding excess food.

A painful truth for foodies, yes, but denial spikes blood sugar faster than dessert.

Lesson Two: You Can’t Overstate the Power of Weight Training

My second discovery is brutally simple: incorporate weight training, especially once you cross 50. People tend to give this a passing look but of late many of us are realizing the physiological impacts behind such workouts.

I’ve learned that building muscle isn’t just for gym bros or selfie enthusiasts — it’s one of the most effective ways to lower blood glucose. Bigger muscles act like glucose sponges, soaking up sugar from your bloodstream.

It’s my personal experience that a simple set of 20 squats can drop your glucose by nearly 20 points. Thanks to my friend Naresh who initiated me in to this. Add 30 push-ups, and you can see a similar dip. The larger the muscle group you work, the more dramatic the immediate drop.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the gym (too much equipment, too many mirrors). So I’ve made peace with home workouts. My routine includes 9 rounds of Sun Salutations for flexibility first thing each day in the morning, and on alternate days, I switch between push-ups and squats.

I started with 20 reps of each at the top of every hour (which, honestly, was ambitious). These days, I’ve settled into a more sustainable rhythm — 3 sets of 15 reps, done at least three times a day. It’s simple, effective, and, most importantly, doesn’t require me to leave the house or tolerate gym music.

Lesson Three: The Dinner Deadline

My third realization is elegantly boring but incredibly powerful: eat dinner early.

Ideally, 3–5 hours before bed.

When I eat by 6:30 p.m., my fasting sugar behaves the next morning. When I push dinner to 9 p.m., my glucose throws a tantrum. Turns out, our bodies hate midnight snacks more than our dentists do.

Lesson Four: Two Meals Are Enough (Most of the Time)

I’ve recently started eating just two meals a day. It sounded impossible at first — like expecting a Bollywood movie to end in 90 minutes — but surprisingly, it feels great.

The first few days were tough. My stomach made noises that could scare a raccoon. But soon, I noticed sharper focus, better energy, and most importantly, less guilt compared to when I did eat. It’s like telling your body, “Hey, I’m the boss here.”

Lesson Five: Rediscovering Grandma’s Wisdom (and My Sense of Humor)

Now, here’s the fun part — or the fasting part, depending on your perspective.

Twice a month, I do a 24-hour water fast, usually on Ekadashi (try to find the meaning of this word on a lunar calendar), a tradition my maternal grandmother followed religiously. I used to tease her for it as a kid, joking that skipping meals was her secret way of trying to find me-time.

Now I realize she was onto something profound.

Skipping two days of meals a month means avoiding 6 out of 90 meals, giving your body about a 6.5% break from constant digestion. I’m now planning to stretch it to a 48-hour fast, doubling that to about 13% “meal-free” livingwithout compromising any routine day to day activities of work, exercise etc

It’s like giving your digestive system a weekend off — from you.

The Experiment Continues

My next annual blood test is on October 28, and I’m oddly excited. I’ll find out if these eight months of twice-monthly fasting have actually nudged my biological markers in the right direction — or if I’ve just been glorifying hunger with scientific jargon.

Either way, I’ve learned something valuable: aging doesn’t have to mean surrendering. It’s about curiosity, control, and the occasional dark humor to keep it all digestible.

I plan to continue sharing my progress or lack thereof here on Medium. My ongoing adventures (and misadventures) in taming blood sugar will unfold as honestly as possible, with all the data, doubts, and desserts that come along the way.

So if you’re curious, struggling with the same questions, or just here for the occasional sarcastic health update, keep following my journey. I promise to make the science relatable, the lessons practical, and the hunger… mildly entertaining.

Congratulations!!

Our daughter Tanya has been awarded the fellowship for the 2022-23 Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at New York University in 3rd year law. Listed below is a brief profile of Tanya at NYU

Tanya Raja (she/her) is an immigrant and third-year law student who was born in India and mostly grew up in the Bay Area, California. She is passionate about advancing economic justice, immigrant rights, and racial justice. Tanya spent her 1L summer working at the New York Civil Liberties Union and interned at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice during her 2L summer. At NYU, she advocated for low-income tenants in New York City through the Legal Aid Society’s Housing Clinic. She is also a public interest co-chair of the South A

sian Law Student Association, along with a board member of Law Students for Economic Justice and the Coalition for Law & Representation. Tanya is an editor for the NYU Law Review, a Dean’s Scholar, and a member of the Rose Sheinberg Committee. She enjoys going to concerts and watching movies with low Rotten Tomatoes scores.

You motivate all of us with your hard work, dedication and passion. Keep shining!

Trail Blazer

Happy Birthday, Didi! If my memory serves me right then after a long time, we are celebrating your birthday in your absence. I have been trying to think of different gifts that you may like on your birthday but because of analysis-paralysis could not focus on one and hence writing some thoughts for you. 

Law School by itself may not be harder than other equivalent disciplines but getting into law school by scoring in 99th percentile takes some natural talent, commitment and hard work. When I told you earlier that let me also write LSAT, it was just a joke 😀. You are a trail blazer in our immediate and extended family. You are doing something that is difficult, if not impossible to do and is definitely not a beaten path. You are travelling a path less travelled especially by people having our background. Most of us likes to quickly settle and enjoy life but what the heck, you only get one life  - that everyone lives for themselves. There are very few who gets a chance to live for others. I hope you eventually become that chosen few that genuinely is of help to people less fortunate. 

 “कौन रोता है किसी और की खातिर,

सब को अपने ही किसी बात पर रोना आया |”

 

Your decision to leave schools like Columbia, UPenn and settle for NYU law speaks about your abilities to analyze the pros and cons. At a surface level, these seems to be normal decision that many individuals take in their career but digging deeper and understanding your point of view during such decision-making made me more appreciative of your decision. I wish in your life you do not ever compromise and settle against your wish and intuition. 

 

When you are into doing things you may underestimate your worth or your abilities but looking from outside, I can say without hesitation that you have got some serious talent to bring change in people’s lives, if you continue to back yourself up. Talent is good to have but one needs to continually polish that talent every day to be able to use it otherwise there are 99% of the world’s population that has talents but cannot leverage it just because they are not harnessing and polishing their talent every day. Focus is invaluable!

 

I learnt from you the perspective of earning money vs being happy in what you do even if you earn lot less. I have hardly seen anyone in my contacts who has happily pursued the path of sacrificing money to be happy first in their career. I too was initially a bit skeptical about your goals but have now become your greatest admirer. It is good to earn money but it is far better to be able to do to pursue something that may bring some change in the lives of people that need help! You are destined to do bigger things. This strength of your character to stay focus on what you like to pursue, have the discipline to back your decision and the ability to stand by your decision gives me courage and hope to look beyond the regular life for you.

 

"आज आग हैं, कल पानी हो जाएंगे,

आखिर में हम सब कहानी हो जाएंगे | "

We all come to this life, play our character and one day go back from where we came but there are few who are destined to blaze trails. You are already a trail blazer for me and will remain such for me, ever. Keep dreaming and keep achieving your dreams!

where ends the logic, there begins the magic