Type 2 Reduced carbs and fasting

[Gravadi]

I am 78 years old, and have Type 2 diabetes. Two weeks ago I decided to lower my carb consumption in an effort to lower my blood sugars to hopefully 'normal' levels. Since then I have been eating about 60g of carbs each day.

I have also started to fast for 16 hours per day. My last meal of the day is at 4pm and I don't eat again until 8am the following morning. Since starting this regime, my blood sugars have fallen dramatically, until this morning, when my fasting blood sugar was 4.3 which I was delighted with as it has never been lower than about 5.5.

I have been handling the fasting quite well, but the problem is, I now feel ravenously hungry during the day, and I would like to know, whether this will pass in time, or is there a danger I have reduced my carbs too much? I am 5' 5” tall and weigh 8st 8lbs so I cannot afford to lose any weight.

Thank you for any help or advice

David

 

[bulkbiker]

I am 78 years old, and have Type 2 diabetes. Two weeks ago I decided to lower my carb consumption in an effort to lower my blood sugars to hopefully 'normal' levels. Since then I have been eating about 60g of carbs each day.

I have also started to fast for 16 hours per day. My last meal of the day is at 4pm and I don't eat again until 8am the following morning. Since starting this regime, my blood sugars have fallen dramatically, until this morning, when my fasting blood sugar was 4.3 which I was delighted with as it has never been lower than about 5.5.

I have been handling the fasting quite well, but the problem is, I now feel ravenously hungry during the day, and I would like to know, whether this will pass in time, or is there a danger I have reduced my carbs too much? I am 5' 5” tall and weigh 8st 8lbs so I cannot afford to lose any weight.

Thank you for any help or advice

David

Hi David
Sounds like you are having great success.. if you are hungry then eat more.. maybe try meat/fish based meals as the protein and fat will keep you feeling fuller for longer. Are you drinking anything during the fasting period? I found that coffee with double cream helped a lot with hunger pans so much so that it is now part of my daily routine.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I am 78 years old, and have Type 2 diabetes. Two weeks ago I decided to lower my carb consumption in an effort to lower my blood sugars to hopefully 'normal' levels. Since then I have been eating about 60g of carbs each day.

I have also started to fast for 16 hours per day. My last meal of the day is at 4pm and I don't eat again until 8am the following morning. Since starting this regime, my blood sugars have fallen dramatically, until this morning, when my fasting blood sugar was 4.3 which I was delighted with as it has never been lower than about 5.5.

I have been handling the fasting quite well, but the problem is, I now feel ravenously hungry during the day, and I would like to know, whether this will pass in time, or is there a danger I have reduced my carbs too much? I am 5' 5” tall and weigh 8st 8lbs so I cannot afford to lose any weight.

Thank you for any help or advice

David

In all likelyhood there's a combination of factors here... You're used to more carbs, so your body may be protesting their absence. That's a matter of getting used to less. Secondly, have you upped your fats? You have to fill up on something. What do your meals look like now? Lastly, well... If you have no weight to spare, IF isn't really a good idea imo... You'd be better off with three low carb meals a day, possibly 3 no to low carb snacks in between. Otherwise you might be losing pounds you want to keep.

 

[Gravadi]

Hi David
Sounds like you are having great success.. if you are hungry then eat more.. maybe try meat/fish based meals as the protein and fat will keep you feeling fuller for longer. Are you drinking anything during the fasting period? I found that coffee with double cream helped a lot with hunger pans so much so that it is now part of my daily routine.

I tend to get up about three times each night to urinate, so I have stopped drinking anything after 6pm.

 

[Gravadi]

In all likelyhood there's a combination of factors here... You're used to more carbs, so your body may be protesting their absence. That's a matter of getting used to less. Secondly, have you upped your fats? You have to fill up on something. What do your meals look like now? Lastly, well... If you have no weight to spare, IF isn't really a good idea imo... You'd be better off with three low carb meals a day, possibly 3 no to low carb snacks in between. Otherwise you might be losing pounds you want to keep.

I will normally have sardines or cheese on wholemeal bread at lunchtime and in the evening I will usually have meat or fish with vegatables, and small amount of potatoes.

 

[xfieldok]

Bread and potatoes won't be doing you any favours. When first diagnosed I couldn't touch bread. Now,a couple of years down the line, I can eat a slice of hovis lower carb seeded. 9.9g carbs, half my daily allowance.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I will normally have sardines or cheese on wholemeal bread at lunchtime and in the evening I will usually have meat or fish with vegatables, and small amount of potatoes.

Those spuds and the bread could be keeping your carb cravings going (also known as "Hunger".). Might want to ditch those for the time being... Just have extra veggies, meat, poultry or fish instead, maybe?

 

[Resurgam]

Ah - I suggest that rather than fasting eating every 12 hours, approximately, could be a better option.
I found that eating first thing and then later in the day kept my blood glucose levels steadier.
Rather than eating high carb foods look for vegetables and fruits with under eleven percent carbohydrate and have salads, stirfries and roasted veges, as there is no need to have small meals - in fact it seems that they just don't work as well.
I drink either water or coffee with cream, and I eat small servings of fruit with cream as dessert after dinner a couple of times a week. My weight is stable now.

 

[Member496333]

Ah - I suggest that rather than fasting eating every 12 hours, approximately, could be a better option.
I found that eating first thing and then later in the day kept my blood glucose levels steadier.

I used to find the same thing, but this was when I was still experiencing some dawn phenomenon and the early breakfast helped smooth out the bumps in the road. These days I don't overthink it and just eat when I'm hungry until I'm not. My personal mantra;

Eat food. Mostly animals. As much as you want.

 

[aealexandrou]

I am 78 years old, and have Type 2 diabetes. Two weeks ago I decided to lower my carb consumption in an effort to lower my blood sugars to hopefully 'normal' levels. Since then I have been eating about 60g of carbs each day.

I have also started to fast for 16 hours per day. My last meal of the day is at 4pm and I don't eat again until 8am the following morning. Since starting this regime, my blood sugars have fallen dramatically, until this morning, when my fasting blood sugar was 4.3 which I was delighted with as it has never been lower than about 5.5.

I have been handling the fasting quite well, but the problem is, I now feel ravenously hungry during the day, and I would like to know, whether this will pass in time, or is there a danger I have reduced my carbs too much? I am 5' 5” tall and weigh 8st 8lbs so I cannot afford to lose any weight.

Thank you for any help or advice

David

What do you eat in the morning?
if you eat any processed carbs in the morning, e.g. bread, cereals, porridge, etc., you may be triggering a sugar demand during the day. If you feel hungry in the morning then, if you have not already, concentrate on fats and protein, e.g. an old fashioned breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages, etc., or perhaps something more modern, eggs and avocado or salmon.
If your not hungry in the morning, then skip breakfast, just have a tea or coffee without milk and wait until you do get hungry. You might find that your 16 hour IF turns into 20 or more hours, which will give your autophagy a real boost.

 

[Deleted member 475901]

Don't worry about eating fat, butter, double cream, cheese, eggs - the old advice about avoiding fat has been debunked. High carb plus high fat is bad for us, but low carb and medium/high fat actually leads to better blood fat profiles as well as reduced blood sugars.
You need to replace the calories from carbs with protein and fats if you don't want to lose weight - and eat until you are full. Low carb does not mean we should be feeling hungry (although our bodies might lie when suffering carb cravings).

Replace the bread with salad or veg, maybe add some egg or cheese to fill you up, or try the 90 second bread or a very low carb bread like livlife (but I only have a single slice if any). Replace the potatoes with extra meat/fish/chicken and more veg, apart from green leafy veg try mushrooms, cauliflower, etc.
I have full fat greek yogurt with a few fresh raspberries for dessert.
How much milk do you have? avoid skimmed milk and go for full fat, or even just double cream in drinks.