fasting and morning bg

[Petrel]

Please may I have your input on my problem.

I planned to fast 18/6, having lunch and supper. On the first morning bg was 6.5 Over the next fasting 3 hours it crept up to 9.5. I lost my nerve and had breakfast. In 2 hours' time it was 7.8

I am an overeater and food makes me peckish. My worst snack time is mornings. Snacks are all low carb and bg veers between 6 and 7 although calory count is high. By afternoons my appetite dies down.

I thought fasting in the morning would work because food triggers my hunger while fasting doesn't. I planned to have lunch and as an early sleeper, after supper I would go to bed.

But oh the scary climb of morning bg on a fasting stomach.
what can I do?

 

[ce81ar]

Hi Petrel,
I have similar issues to you but am type 1. If I don't eat by 8am then my blood sugars rise steadily until late morning or until I eat. If I eat something carb free then they stay steady at whatever I woke up with i.e basal amounts are correct.
It's hugely frustrating as if I delay breakfast for any reason (like going to the gym) then I'm then playing catch up through the day to get my blood sugars back down to where they should be.

Are you still peckish if you have something high in protein?

 

[bulkbiker]

Did you have anything at all when you got up? Drinks?
You could maybe try a coffee with cream. Just a thought.
I understand exactly what you mean about food leading to more food and find it easier not to eat than limit intake once started.
Was this the first day you started?

 

[Bluetit1802]

The only thing that has stopped me rising between getting up and lunch time is a coffee with cream as soon as possible after getting out of bed - before dressing etc. Followed by some time sitting down at the computer with my coffee. Just water after that, and maybe a cup of tea mid morning. Any form of strenuous exercise will make me rise again.

 

[chalup]

I also keep rising in the morning if I don't eat. NO carbs for me in the morning though, it must be something zero carb and high fat. I usually eat a stick of gluten free pepperoni and my BG will go down.

 

[Chook]

This is an on-going problem for me, too. I like fasting (sounds silly, but I do) and its only the Dawn Phenomenon rise that makes it difficult to fast because as soon as I eat breakfast it stops rising and starts dropping.

There is a point (and I have reached it in the past) where your liver doesn't have lots of stored glucose to pump out to give you a helping hand to face the day (Dawn Phenomenon) , but its about two stone lower than I am right now. Fasting gets rid of the liver's glucose stores faster than just about anything else but unfortunately to reach that point using fasting I will suffer with DP. Catch 22 situation really.

Coffee with cream doesn't work for me to stop DP. It needs to be protein and fat rather than just fat for me.

 

[kokhongw]

@Petrel Instead of skipping breakfast...why not consider skipping supper? Start your fast after lunch.

Skipping 2 dinner in a row was the beginning of near normal fasting bg of 5.5mmol reading for me.

 

[Petrel]

Thank you all for your helpful comments. This is a great forum, where we have a place to gather and the advice is from people who know what they are talking about.

This is what I have learned from you:
1.To start the day with high bg messes up glucose readings for the rest of the day.
2. Try meat first thing to see if it will curb snacking pepperoni first thing might help if creamy coffee doesn't. Or any sort of protein with fat. (3 recommendations)
3. Try coffee with cream on waking to see if bg will stay down. (2 recommendations)
4. Perhaps because that was the first day, morning readings might settle on subsequent days
5. Strenuous exercise may cause a hike
6 at enough weight loss, high morning bg does not happen anymore.

As Chook says, catch 22 situation really. Since eating provokes more eating for me.

The reason why fasting in the mornings is so important to me is because I'm putting on weight from my morning hunger demon. If I can lose some weight by not eating all morning, my readings which are 6/7 might go to 5/6.

coffee and cream does not work for me. Nor does 2 walnuts on waking. Today I tried a bit of mince with butter. Eureka, ate 5 hours ago and incredibly no snacking this morning. Lunch is coming up grilled lamb chops and salad. And I'm careful to lol around a lot - no exercise for me. Perhaps kokhongw is right that I try fasting breakfast and lunch.

Oh my gosh! Thank you everyone for helping me get going.

 

[Petrel]

Did you have anything at all when you got up? Drinks?
You could maybe try a coffee with cream. Just a thought.
I understand exactly what you mean about food leading to more food and find it easier not to eat than limit intake once started.
Was this the first day you started?

Knowing that you know that food leads to more food, it is great that you have lost so much weight. Congrats and it is nice to know it can be done.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I think you have learnt something else. That it is all trial and error, and that it takes time to find out what is best for you rather than what is best for anyone else.

 

[Chook]

Knowing that you know that food leads to more food, it is great that you have lost so much weight. Congrats and it is nice to know it can be done.

Personally I find eating CARBS leads to eating more carbs but if I eat a protein + fats meal with minimal or no carbs, I can easily go many hours without getting the munchies.

 

[VivD]

I think we might be worrying too much about the blood sugar readings, not as if they are very high and as long as one id losing weight and dependency on drugs. Spent the last day or so catching up on the wisdom of Jason Fung very interesting.