Hosted by the Institute for Human Evolution
IHE Intermittent Fasting Group
Presented by Dr. Jerry Lanier
Dr. Jerry Lanier started this group to work on a harder problem than fasting itself: sticking with a behavior you have chosen for yourself. It is not a diet challenge. It is a small, structured group built on education, accountability, and consistency, hosted by the Institute for Human Evolution.
Founding session
Saturday, September 12
9:00 to 10:00 AM Pacific · Online
Led by Dr. Jerry Lanier. Meeting access and dial-in details are sent after registration.
From Dr. Lanier
Why Dr. Lanier started this group
Dr. Jerry Lanier is a practicing physician, but this group did not start in a clinic. He kept noticing the same pattern in his own patients and friends: people already knew how to fast, they just did not have a way to stick with it. So he started a group. IHE is hosting it and helping him build the structure around it.
Why fast together
Knowing what to do and doing it are two different problems
Most people who try intermittent fasting already understand the basic idea. What breaks down is not the concept, it is the follow-through: the Tuesday when a meeting runs long, the night everyone else is eating, the week that starts strong and quietly stops.
That gap between understanding and doing is exactly what Dr. Lanier wants to work on with this group. Fasting opens a clear window into it: a behavior with a defined start, a defined stop, and a result you can report on the same day. The group adds the three things research on habit formation keeps pointing to.
Structure
A defined practice with a beginning and an end, instead of open-ended willpower.
Commitment
An intention stated out loud, in specific terms, to other people who will ask about it.
Social accountability
A group that checks back in every week, without judgment and without letting it slide.
What the group is actually watching for
Fasting is the practice ground. These are the patterns the group pays attention to, week over week.
- Adherence
- Impulse regulation
- Hunger perception
- Habit formation
- Self-efficacy
- Social accountability
- Environmental triggers
- Relapse and recovery
- Behavioral consistency
- Voluntary constraint
How the program works
A weekly loop, repeated on purpose
Each week moves through the same seven steps. The loop is the program, not any single week's result.
Learn
A short weekly session covers one concept in fasting physiology or behavior: hunger signals, habit triggers, recovery from a slip.
Commit
Each participant states a specific, personal fasting practice for the coming week. There is no group mandate.
Fast
The practice happens in daily life, on the participant's own schedule, using the approach they chose.
Report
Participants record what actually happened: adherence, obstacles, how hunger and energy felt.
Reflect
The group looks at what supported follow-through and what got in the way, without judgment.
Adjust
Each person revises the timing, the constraint, or the environment based on what they learned.
Repeat
The cycle runs again the following week, building a record across time instead of a single attempt.
Learn → Commit → Fast → Report → Reflect → Adjust → Repeat
Dr. Lanier's group
You would be joining his first group, not his thousandth
This is the first group Dr. Lanier is running through IHE. The format and the questions are still taking shape, and the people who join now help shape them, just by showing up and saying what actually happened each week.
No one is claiming proven outcomes yet. This is Dr. Lanier building something in the open, with IHE providing the structure behind it.
Founding session
Saturday, September 12
9:00 to 10:00 AM Pacific · Online
Register to receive the introductory video, preparation notes, and meeting access.
What participants do
The rhythm of a typical week
None of this requires special equipment, a doctor's office, or prior fasting experience. It asks for about an hour a week of attention and a willingness to be honest about what happened.
Attend
The weekly session, online or by phone.
Select
A fasting practice that fits your life. There is no single required protocol.
Commit
To a specific plan for the coming week, stated to the group.
Practice
That plan during the week, on your own schedule.
Record
A few simple notes: what worked, what did not, what got in the way.
Participate
In accountability with the rest of the group.
Return
The following week, and reflect on the pattern.
Adjust
Your approach, and begin the next cycle.
About Dr. Lanier
Dr. Jerry Lanier
Founder of the group
Dr. Jerry Lanier is a practicing physician, and this is his group. He started it after noticing the same pattern over and over: people who wanted to fast already knew how, they just did not have a way to stick with it. IHE hosts the group and provides the structure around it, but the group itself, the format, the weekly rhythm, the way it feels to show up, is his.
Registration
Join Dr. Lanier's Group
Registration takes about two minutes. Once you register, you will get the introductory video, preparation notes, and meeting access for September 12.
Safety and suitability
Intermittent fasting is not appropriate for everyone
This program provides general education and behavioral support. It does not provide individualized medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice, and it is not a clinical trial or a research study. If any of the following apply to you, please consult an appropriate healthcare professional before beginning a fasting practice.
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- You have a diagnosed medical condition, including diabetes or a history of disordered eating.
- You take medication affected by food timing or fasting.
- You are under 18, or you have any other health concern relevant to changing your eating pattern.
About the Institute for Human Evolution
One program inside a larger question
IHE is an independent nonprofit working on the science and practice of intentional human development: behavioral science, emotional regulation, relationship science, and cognitive skill-building, turned into practice people can actually learn.
The Intermittent Fasting Group sits inside that same mission. Fasting is a clean, well-bounded example of a chosen biological behavior, which makes it a useful place to study adherence, self-regulation, and voluntary constraint more broadly. What we learn here informs how IHE designs future behavioral programs.