Anyone tried Jason Fung's fasting protocol?

cpea

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Type 1
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Hi all. Got switched on to Jason Fung by a link on some kind soul's signature as their inspiration (Sarah Hallberg also mentioned). Was really inspired by '2 lies about diabetes' presentation and bought his book!

Managed 48 hours, BG great but motivation dwindled, broke fast with cauliflower, veg and cheese (LCHF) and had 10.9 BG 2 hours later!!

Would be interesting to hear if anyone has had greater success than this and how! X
 

Jamesuk9

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Hi, Don't be disheartened, it takes time. You will not get fantastic results immediately but you will notice incremental reductions over time.

As Jason says, it is neither good or bad, it just means you have more work to do.

You may find it better to start with daily intermittent fasting, allowing your body to adjust over a period of time before you start introducing long periods of fasting.

I find 23/1 extremely beneficial, where I fast for 23 hours and then have a 1 hour window where I eat to sustain myself for the next 24 hours. This promotes only 1 insulin response a day, which in turn improves insulin resistance. It is a great way to lose weight fast if you have weight to lose too. I have done this successfully daily over months and it gives me very good control over glucose.
 

13lizanne

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I'm tagging @bulkbiker for you @cpea He's our very own Dr Fung and fasting expert :) I use fasting myself both intermittent and longer fasts so understand where you are coming from. There is a wealth of free information available to you but I'll ask bb to show you how
 
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Art Of Flowers

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Maybe it was my signature. I discoved the Sarah Hallberg video when someone said that fat makes food taste great and I googled fat and diabetes and found a link on a forum here to her video. This video inspired me to look seriously at LCHF as it clearly explains how the body process the three type of nutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat and as the carbs spike your blood sugar, then you need to eat less of them and eat more fat to get your energy from a more benign source for your blood sugar.

I have lost a lot of weight using LCHF and my blood sugars have dropped considerably. Seeing Jason Fung's video made me realise that getting rid of all that visceral fat around the liver and pancreas is going to massively help reverse the symptoms of diabetes and that intermittent fasting is a useful tool to help you do that and lose weight. I started fasting by just skipping breakfast at the ŵeekend and have extended that to also skip lunch and just eat one meal a day over the weekend. Fasting turned out to be easier than I thought and helps keep the momentum of weight loss going.

I would like to eventually come off Metformin if I can normalise my HbA1C blood sugar levels. Hopefully I can achieve that later this year.
 
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After a year and 1/2 of poor control (for various reasons we need not go into), I decided to get back on track. I was diagnosed in 1985 so I've been at this a while. I resumed being very careful about carb intake, which, along with Meteormin, is my method of treatment. After a few days I began adding a fast. The way I did it was to eat whatever I was going to eat in an 8-hour window. Though most people find it easiest to skip breakfast in this scenario, I decided it would be best for my morning fasting blood sugars to skip dinner (giving my sugars 16 hours to settle down). I did it about 4 days a week when I started but have now completed 12 days in a row. The results have been quite dramatic. In the three weeks period that I have eaten carefully and fasted, my morning blood sugars have dropped to the low 80s (80 = 4.44) from 160. I also have lost 10 lbs. To further enhance the effect, during the time we would have been eating dinner, my wife and i walk for a mile and a half. The one thin I am not sure about is that when I saw the doctor 3 weeks ago, she recommended that I begin Victoza and take it at least until I retire at the end of the year, to help me while my eating was not under good control. I did start at the preliminary dose, which, according to the manufacturer is not effective for glycemic control, but only to develop a tolerance for the gastric side effects of the drug. My readings were advancing so rapidly that I never upped the dose to the level that is supposed to be therapeutic. So there may be a possibility that some of the success is due to the Victoza, even though I am not on a therapeutic dose. I'll talk to my doctor about it when I see her next (in May). If I continue to improve, I will probably wean myself off the drug to see if it is contributing or not. I have read Fung's book. He seems to recommend one of the longer period fasting regimens for type 2, but I think combining the 8 hour eating window with low-carb and exercise is working well. If that changes, I can always twerk the way I fast. I believe the key would be to do whatever you are willing to do to make it work for you. As he said in the book, there are no rules.
 

AndBreathe

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Hi all. Got switched on to Jason Fung by a link on some kind soul's signature as their inspiration (Sarah Hallberg also mentioned). Was really inspired by '2 lies about diabetes' presentation and bought his book!

Managed 48 hours, BG great but motivation dwindled, broke fast with cauliflower, veg and cheese (LCHF) and had 10.9 BG 2 hours later!!

Would be interesting to hear if anyone has had greater success than this and how! X

@bulkbiker and a number of others are great fans of Jason Fung. I haven't followed his regime at all, but his rational when creating the regime sounds sound.
 

cpea

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Thank you @Jamesuk9 Do you eat a lot in that 1 hour? What exercise do you do? Thanks for your positive response. I was just shocked at such a massive BS rise with cauliflower!
 
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cpea

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm tagging @bulkbiker for you @cpea He's our very own Dr Fung and fasting expert :) I use fasting myself both intermittent and longer fasts so understand where you are coming from. There is a wealth of free information available to you but I'll ask bb to show you how
Wonderful @13lizanne - thank you so much, how do you find your results? X
 
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cpea

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Maybe it was my signature. I discoved the Sarah Hallberg video when someone said that fat makes food taste great and I googled fat and diabetes and found a link on a forum here to her video. This video inspired me to look seriously at LCHF as it clearly explains how the body process the three type of nutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat and as the carbs spike your blood sugar, then you need to eat less of them and eat more fat to get your energy from a more benign source for your blood sugar.

I have lost a lot of weight using LCHF and my blood sugars have dropped considerably. Seeing Jason Fung's video made me realise that getting rid of all that visceral fat around the liver and pancreas is going to massively help reverse the symptoms of diabetes and that intermittent fasting is a useful tool to help you do that and lose weight. I started fasting by just skipping breakfast at the ŵeekend and have extended that to also skip lunch and just eat one meal a day over the weekend. Fasting turned out to be easier than I thought and helps keep the momentum of weight loss going.

I would like to eventually come off Metformin if I can normalise my HbA1C blood sugar levels. Hopefully I can achieve that later this year.
Thank you @Art Of Flowers - on my phone so can't see signatures at the mo, but if it was you, thank you for your inspiration x
 
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cpea

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
After a year and 1/2 of poor control (for various reasons we need not go into), I decided to get back on track. I was diagnosed in 1985 so I've been at this a while. I resumed being very careful about carb intake, which, along with Meteormin, is my method of treatment. After a few days I began adding a fast. The way I did it was to eat whatever I was going to eat in an 8-hour window. Though most people find it easiest to skip breakfast in this scenario, I decided it would be best for my morning fasting blood sugars to skip dinner (giving my sugars 16 hours to settle down). I did it about 4 days a week when I started but have now completed 12 days in a row. The results have been quite dramatic. In the three weeks period that I have eaten carefully and fasted, my morning blood sugars have dropped to the low 80s (80 = 4.44) from 160. I also have lost 10 lbs. To further enhance the effect, during the time we would have been eating dinner, my wife and i walk for a mile and a half. The one thin I am not sure about is that when I saw the doctor 3 weeks ago, she recommended that I begin Victoza and take it at least until I retire at the end of the year, to help me while my eating was not under good control. I did start at the preliminary dose, which, according to the manufacturer is not effective for glycemic control, but only to develop a tolerance for the gastric side effects of the drug. My readings were advancing so rapidly that I never upped the dose to the level that is supposed to be therapeutic. So there may be a possibility that some of the success is due to the Victoza, even though I am not on a therapeutic dose. I'll talk to my doctor about it when I see her next (in May). If I continue to improve, I will probably wean myself off the drug to see if it is contributing or not. I have read Fung's book. He seems to recommend one of the longer period fasting regimens for type 2, but I think combining the 8 hour eating window with low-carb and exercise is working well. If that changes, I can always twerk the way I fast. I believe the key would be to do whatever you are willing to do to make it work for you. As he said in the book, there are no rules.
Thank you @Cedartop that is so useful - I am so new to this I don't know what Victoza is. Sounds like you have suppotive doc. I don't particularly- well they are but still saying carbs and low fat so want to have quick results to prove them wrong! What exercise do you do? X
 

13lizanne

Expert
Messages
8,262
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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The Gym, + unkindness and rudeness
Wonderful @13lizanne - thank you so much, how do you find your results? X
I fast for more than one reason, I have another medical condition which means I can't always eat lchf Then, rather than eat low residue food, which impacts my BG levels, I fast and semi-fast (clear soups, water and tea) I control my type 2 with diet (when I can) and exercise, no meds. I did take metformin for almost 10yrs until I found this forum. So I fast not for the diabetes so much as to help the other condition. My bloods go up slightly when fasting then drop nicely when the fast is over. When @bulkbiker appears he'll explain the science behind what happens with our bloods, I would make a pig's ear of it :D
 

Jamesuk9

Well-Known Member
Messages
504
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you @Jamesuk9 Do you eat a lot in that 1 hour? What exercise do you do? Thanks for your positive response. I was just shocked at such a massive BS rise with cauliflower!

I eat a meal and desert. I always have a few berries and double cream to hike up the calories as the cream is almost 500 cal and I need to maintain my weight as I'm at 20.8 BMI and 15% bodyfat. So I guess if you add on the calories from cream in coffee during the fast, I get as close to 2000 cal a day as possible.

I was walking around 25 miles a week for excercise but gain nothing from it now so I am just about to embark on some strength training and high intensity interval training. Both are regarded as good for glucose metabolism.
 
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kokhongw

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Dr Fung's fasting protocol works particularly well for those who have extra fats and weight to lose. And especially if you have difficulty exercising because of various weight related issues. Due to my lifestyle, I walk less then 1000 steps a day.

It took me only 2 sessions of skipping dinner 2 days in a row to bring down my fasting glucose from 7.0-8.0 mmol to around 5.5mmol. And have maintained that for over a year.

While it may have been very successful for many of us, it is often important to keep in mind that not all of us will get the same results. It may take some longer, and other factors may come into play.

But the general idea is that fasting 16-120 hours is to allow our body to clear away damage cells, exhaust our glucose store, goes into a protective mode, lower insulin levels, re-enable its ability to access/utilize fats for energy. Then with the correct refeeding of fats/proteins regenerate new cells and maintain healthy metabolic levels.

Keeping this fast/refeeding cycle monthly, weekly, daily as it suits you...It is the cyclical nature of it that helps to restore and maintain balance. Just as with seasons.
 

bulkbiker

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Hi @cpea
Sorry been out for dinner.. not fasting today.
Did you just try 48 hours straight off?
That's quite hard core..
I started with skipping breakfast then extending my fasting from there. It also helps if you are eating very low carb before you get into fasting.
You say your bloods shot up when you ate but what were they before the meal and what were the other veg apart from the cauli?
 

AndBreathe

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There is more than fasting when you get on his email list. Latest one was talking triglycerides and death risk

I don't believe I was inferring Jason Fung to be a one-trick pony.
 

cpea

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @cpea

You say your bloods shot up when you ate but what were they before the meal and what were the other veg apart from the cauli?
Hi @bulkbiker my levels were 4.5 before eating, I had spring onion, red pepper and mushroom with the cauli? Never been called hardcore before