we were promised flying cars and all we got were apps

thoughts on Big Sky Health's recent raise, and what it means to me

It's easy to be cynical about Big Sky Health's recent funding announcement. The narrative writes itself: another Silicon Valley health trend catches favor with the Tim Ferris crowd and scores a few million in funding.

I'm not in the business of litigating if this reaction is correct. I don't know the company, its founders, or anyone doing the financing. But I do know that Zero, Big Sky Health’s fasting app, is the single most important piece of software I've used in a decade.

When I began working on the company that has dominated the last few years of my life, I was sitting at 300 pounds. Calorie restriction, running, and exercise had made little impact on that. I was on a one-way train to a health disaster.

I started using Zero in January of that first year. I was skeptical of intermittent fasting, but the increased focus it promised seemed worth chasing.

Within weeks, the added focus was clear in my day-to-day work. Within a year, I was down 100 pounds with only limited lifestyle change. I was also feeling better than I ever had.

Now two years later, that figure is closer to 120 pounds, with 438 fasts completed. My resting heart rate is half of what it was.

Just occasionally, an app is enough to make a major change in someone’s life. This one sure made a change in mine. Congrats to the Big Sky Health team, and hopefully this new funding allows many more stories like these.