Intermittent Fasting Advice

[MrsGruffy]

Yes, I'm on metformin SR 1000mg x 2 daily. I also take 2 drugs for hypertension, one of which is a 2 in 1 with a diuretic. One good thing is seeing my bp drop from an average of 180/90 to 100/60 in the last 2 months and according to my app, my 3 month average BG is 6.6 mmol/l. I'm due to have my second HBA1C done on Monday so it's actually 3 months, not 2 months. 4 kg weight loss in 3 months of working really hard at it - it's very de-motivating. I was diagnosed with 2 consecutive fasting BGs of 19 and 20mmol/l (pathology results) and a "high" on the meter that my GP used. My 1st HBA1C was 8.9% or 11.2mmol/l if I recall correctly. I'm going to ask for print outs of all of my results when I go back to see the quack end of next week.

 

[MrsGruffy]

I'd highly recommend the Breckenridge video by Megan Ramos as she covers refeeding syndrome (I think, it's been a while since I watched it):

Well that was very interesting. She did touch on refeeding syndrome, but not what it actually is. I'm guessing it's people who basically guts themselves once the stop fasting and lose any benefit from the fasting?

 

[Indy51]

Well that was very interesting. She did touch on refeeding syndrome, but not what it actually is. I'm guessing it's people who basically guts themselves once the stop fasting and lose any benefit from the fasting?

It can actually be fatal:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refeeding_syndrome

 

[rab5]

Yes, I'm on metformin SR 1000mg x 2 daily. I also take 2 drugs for hypertension, one of which is a 2 in 1 with a diuretic. One good thing is seeing my bp drop from an average of 180/90 to 100/60 in the last 2 months and according to my app, my 3 month average BG is 6.6 mmol/l. I'm due to have my second HBA1C done on Monday so it's actually 3 months, not 2 months. 4 kg weight loss in 3 months of working really hard at it - it's very de-motivating. I was diagnosed with 2 consecutive fasting BGs of 19 and 20mmol/l (pathology results) and a "high" on the meter that my GP used. My 1st HBA1C was 8.9% or 11.2mmol/l if I recall correctly. I'm going to ask for print outs of all of my results when I go back to see the quack end of next week.

Ok my strong advice is to get something to eat straight away. You need to speak to your doctor about fasting while on the medication your using. It could cause you to go hypo. You will have plenty of time to sort this out but multi day fasting straight off I don’t think is a good idea

 

[MrsGruffy]

I quit my fast after 3 full days and have eaten a low carb smallish sized meal each day for the last 2 days ( 2 lamb chops with 3 teaspoons of extra fat from the pan; 2 pieces of slow roasted brisket with some pan juices and green veg). I feel so lethargic. Everything else is good - BP, BG. I'm wondering if it's psychological. I put off having my HBA1C this morning because I just couldn't be bothered dragging my lardybutt 200 metres down the road to the doctors. That's not like me. I will go tomorrow morning! Is it normal to be tired/lethargic? To be honest, it feels like body is saying "uhoh let's turn down the lights and switch into standby mode until she flips into some other random eating pattern". All I've read tells me people generally feel full of vim and vigour and sharp as tacks while fasting. I also gained 1 kg back this morning, which I'm sure is normal, but I was hoping with keeping my intake limited, I might not. I'm going to suss my doctor out about supervising me fasting just to check I'm not running short on anything vital. I'm worried about taking electrolyte drinks because I'm on 2 drugs for hypertension and for one of them, I think potassium supplementation is contra-indicated.

 

[Indy51]

@MrsGruffy - I've done only 1x 3 day fast and by the middle of the last day, I felt like shi!te, so haven't been tempted to do that again. The headache was the worst. I've happily gone back to my 2 meals a day, time restricted (16:8) feeding window. I'm not in active weight loss phase (in fact, no matter what I do, I don't seem to either lose or gain weight anymore). I'd give yourself a bit more time to adjust to LCHF before getting too carried away with finding more extreme ways of trying to speed up weight loss. Remember, you need to be in this for the long term - the goal should be long term sustainability rather than quick fix weight loss, JMO.

 

[bulkbiker]

I quit my fast after 3 full days and have eaten a low carb smallish sized meal each day for the last 2 days ( 2 lamb chops with 3 teaspoons of extra fat from the pan; 2 pieces of slow roasted brisket with some pan juices and green veg). I feel so lethargic. Everything else is good - BP, BG. I'm wondering if it's psychological. I put off having my HBA1C this morning because I just couldn't be bothered dragging my lardybutt 200 metres down the road to the doctors. That's not like me. I will go tomorrow morning! Is it normal to be tired/lethargic? To be honest, it feels like body is saying "uhoh let's turn down the lights and switch into standby mode until she flips into some other random eating pattern". All I've read tells me people generally feel full of vim and vigour and sharp as tacks while fasting. I also gained 1 kg back this morning, which I'm sure is normal, but I was hoping with keeping my intake limited, I might not. I'm going to suss my doctor out about supervising me fasting just to check I'm not running short on anything vital. I'm worried about taking electrolyte drinks because I'm on 2 drugs for hypertension and for one of them, I think potassium supplementation is contra-indicated.

We’re you having extra salt? Essential when fasting.

 

[MrsGruffy]

We’re you having extra salt? Essential when fasting.

No I didn't have extra salt. I wasn't sure how I could possibly drink salty water without puking. Do you think not having salt would make me feel so washed out? I'm still not quite right. I woke up again this morning feeling super tired and just lethargic, but I did go get my blood test, and I'm really excited about getting the result. I've worked so hard on beginning to fix myself up this past few months. I really am a "renovator's special"! My BG this morning was 8, which is very disappointing after the last 5 days of effort. I really thought I would at least see that it stayed in the 4 - 6 range. I was so surprised, I rewashed my hands and tested it again, and on a different finger. Same result each of those 2 times. I'm not hungry though, so I figure I'll eat when I get hungry.. that seems sensible, right? How can I get some salt in? Would it work to just eat it? I don't know if I can, but I'll try. I don't normally eat any salt at all because I have Meniere's disease, which is a sort of episodic vertigo and gradual hearing loss and the occasional terribly embarrassing instant fall to the ground with no warning. I wish I could ask Dr Fung if he thinks the stuff about salt is also fallacious in relation to Meniere's disease.

 

[Indy51]

@MrsGruffy - I can't remember where I saw it, but pretty sure Meniere's disease is another condition related to insulin resistance. Tinnitus apparently is as well.

 

[Indy51]

Re. salt - just remember that you were probably getting way more than you are now eating packaged food. I don't go out of my way to eat heaps or drink salty water etc, however some people add it to coffee. I just add a bit more than usual to my home-cooked meals. I think you can also get salt tablets from the chemist - might be worth trying.

 

[MrsGruffy]

@Indy51 Wow, that's really interesting. My tinnitus has been super loud since I started metformin. I'll dive back in to google scholar to see if I can get any hits on Meniere's and insulin resistance. I will try to up my salt, although I've never really eaten much packaged foods except lollies and chocolate! Especially during the last couple of years, when I spent a full year living very remotely and there was just no easy access to any junk food so I cooked everything from scratch. I guess that's why this is really disappointing - I've probably been living cleaner and healthier than I ever have in the past, but it seems as if my naughty past has caught up with me anyway. The irony of considering cannabis as a potential therapeutic agent is most definitely not lost on me!

 

[bulkbiker]

No I didn't have extra salt. I wasn't sure how I could possibly drink salty water without puking. Do you think not having salt would make me feel so washed out? I'm still not quite right. I woke up again this morning feeling super tired and just lethargic, but I did go get my blood test, and I'm really excited about getting the result. I've worked so hard on beginning to fix myself up this past few months. I really am a "renovator's special"! My BG this morning was 8, which is very disappointing after the last 5 days of effort. I really thought I would at least see that it stayed in the 4 - 6 range. I was so surprised, I rewashed my hands and tested it again, and on a different finger. Same result each of those 2 times. I'm not hungry though, so I figure I'll eat when I get hungry.. that seems sensible, right? How can I get some salt in? Would it work to just eat it? I don't know if I can, but I'll try. I don't normally eat any salt at all because I have Meniere's disease, which is a sort of episodic vertigo and gradual hearing loss and the occasional terribly embarrassing instant fall to the ground with no warning. I wish I could ask Dr Fung if he thinks the stuff about salt is also fallacious in relation to Meniere's disease.

It can be a big prob when fasting and also cutting out processed food ? I add it to my coffe (sometimes tea too) or dip a bit of butter in salt and eat that. Surprisingly yummy.

 

[derry60]

Re. salt - just remember that you were probably getting way more than you are now eating packaged food. I don't go out of my way to eat heaps or drink salty water etc, however some people add it to coffee. I just add a bit more than usual to my home-cooked meals. I think you can also get salt tablets from the chemist - might be worth trying.

I found that out when I was getting leg cramps at the beginning of my LCHF way of eating. I forgot that my salt intake was less on this way of eating. So I now add some salt to my meals and leg cramps went away

 

[nitabug]

Yes, I'm on metformin SR 1000mg x 2 daily. I also take 2 drugs for hypertension, one of which is a 2 in 1 with a diuretic. One good thing is seeing my bp drop from an average of 180/90 to 100/60 in the last 2 months and according to my app, my 3 month average BG is 6.6 mmol/l. I'm due to have my second HBA1C done on Monday so it's actually 3 months, not 2 months. 4 kg weight loss in 3 months of working really hard at it - it's very de-motivating. I was diagnosed with 2 consecutive fasting BGs of 19 and 20mmol/l (pathology results) and a "high" on the meter that my GP used. My 1st HBA1C was 8.9% or 11.2mmol/l if I recall correctly. I'm going to ask for print outs of all of my results when I go back to see the quack end of next week.

I quit my fast after 3 full days and have eaten a low carb smallish sized meal each day for the last 2 days ( 2 lamb chops with 3 teaspoons of extra fat from the pan; 2 pieces of slow roasted brisket with some pan juices and green veg). I feel so lethargic. Everything else is good - BP, BG. I'm wondering if it's psychological. I put off having my HBA1C this morning because I just couldn't be bothered dragging my lardybutt 200 metres down the road to the doctors. That's not like me. I will go tomorrow morning! Is it normal to be tired/lethargic? To be honest, it feels like body is saying "uhoh let's turn down the lights and switch into standby mode until she flips into some other random eating pattern". All I've read tells me people generally feel full of vim and vigour and sharp as tacks while fasting. I also gained 1 kg back this morning, which I'm sure is normal, but I was hoping with keeping my intake limited, I might not. I'm going to suss my doctor out about supervising me fasting just to check I'm not running short on anything vital. I'm worried about taking electrolyte drinks because I'm on 2 drugs for hypertension and for one of them, I think potassium supplementation is contra-indicated.

 

[nitabug]

have 100 pounds to lose i have already lost over 100 i was stuck guys i mean like a year of no weight loss. so i was on youtube and saw a video talking about this fasting. i was like no cause Im going to be hungry and i like eating breakfast. But out of pure desperation I tried it and it went bad. I tried it about four times and finally after months of reading and watching the information success!!!!!!!!