When I first started fasting, I’m not sure I would have even named it “fasting.” I cut out snacks after dinner and delayed or skipped breakfast, but I wasn’t especially regimented about it, nor did I do any overt tracking. With time and repetition, I saw success: I lost weight.
However, I didn’t lose all of the weight I wanted, so eventually I decided to get more fastidious. That’s when I started using Zero. With the app’s help, I began lengthening my overnight fasts to a full 16 hours and became more mindful about what I ate right before and right after my fasts. And what happened? I lost those final pounds.
Experience Converges with Science
Fast forward to mid-2023, when the Zero team convened to plan our next major feature. As we reviewed the scientific literature alongside the billions of Member data points we’ve collected, what stood out were those final hours of a fast — they appeared to be the key drivers of weight loss. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), this aligned with my own experience of losing those last stubborn pounds. The final hours of my fasts seemed to be what made the difference between hovering just above my goal weight and reaching it.
As our Chief Medical Officer Naomi Parrella tells it, these final fasting hours are key because, guided by a number of variables (e.g., your body size, fast length, activity, and sleep), they’re the hours when your body is primarily fueling itself with fat. Therefore, we decided to create a feature that motivates Members to reach what we’ve termed Fat-Burning Mode — those vital fat-burning hours of each fast. Our goal is to help you get there faster, stay there longer, burn more fat, and of course, celebrate your progress!
Burning Fat with Zero
The result is that you (and I) are no longer “just completing a fast.” You’re getting real-time feedback on when your body reaches Fat-Burning Mode, and you can see just how long you stay there. If you’ve synced your wearables, you’re discovering how the ways you move, sleep, and manage stress impact your body’s ability to reach peak fat burning. All it takes is a glance at your Calendar: A bad night of sleep might delay fat burning. That extra bout of exercise might get you there sooner.
The purpose is to give you more knowledge about what is happening inside your body. This way, you can make choices that help you burn fat, lose weight, and achieve your goals. You can get all of this in the app, but if you want a deeper dive, check out The Complete Guide to Fat Burning with Zero — our latest eBook that collects everything you could possibly want to know about fat burning in one place.
As always, we want to hear what you think! Was the eBook helpful? Are you already seeing results in the app? Drop me a line or send our customer-service team a note with your thoughts and reactions. It’s the best way to help us make the Zero experience even better for you.
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