Hi, my name is Jennifer -- new here

[JenniferG]

Just lost another pound in past day. (peeing out retained water.. my insulin levels must be improving.. blood sugar is slightly past few days).

375 pounds now (26.79 stone)

 

[JenniferG]

Breakthrough! I've just had the lowest fasting blood sugar since I've been off insulin: 115 mg/dL (6.4 mmol/L) .. previously lowest was 121 mg/dL (6.7 mmol/L). [This I attribute to my ketogenic state.. cutting the already low carb diet I was on to a VERY low carb diet, and introducing a bit more intermittent fasting than I was already -- mentioned above.]

Additionally I lost another 1 pound of weight, since yesterday. Now I weigh 374 (26.71 stone).

 

[Debmcgee]

Update: Well I have some good news, broke my 3 week plateau and now peeing out all the water I retained. I was 385 pounds the other day, 380 last night, 377 at 4am and 376 at 8 am. Lost 2 pounds since last lowest weight of 378.

Averaging just over 3 pounds (.21 stone) weight loss per week for the past 11 weeks. Which sounds exactly right. That's a loss of 1500 calories per day. I am eating 1600 calories per day so that sounds about right. I am burning 3100 calories per day being a sedentary 27 stone.

I've lost 46 pounds (3.29 stone) since May 9th.

Just started my 5:2 Dr. Mosley style fasting schedule today. I'll be doing it on Monday and Thursday. Eating just 800 calories (10g net carbs, 50g protein) per day on these two days per week, in a 1 hour window. The remaining 5 days I'll continue as I have at 1600 calories (20g net carbs, 90g protein) per day, in a 6 hour window.

As is, the 18:6 fast every day is allowing me to maintain 110-135 mg/dL (6.1-7.5 mmol/L) all day, without any medications. (Coming from A1C of 10-11% for the past four years). I imagine adding this 5:2 into the mix will give my blood sugars and insulin levels some help.

This will be the first time I'll be consuming so little calories in one day but I am sure I can do it since it is all within a one hour window. So I'll feel full for a few hours from that.. and then since I am already used to fasting, and already in great ketosis, I'll stay in ketosis and I won't get hungry the next 23 hours. I'll let you all know how it goes. But I predict I can handle it pretty easily and it'd be nice if my blood sugars drop lower than they've ever been without any medications (dropped the 120 units of inulin per day months ago and no more Metformin either for the past 3 weeks).

Hi Jen

Well done on breaking through plateau- it's a great feeling isn't it?!!

Sounds like the fasting is going well too - sometimes we just need to change things up a bit to encourage the body to use the fat. I like Fung's analogy about the fridge/freezer and how the body will always go for the fridge which makes total sense.

Keep seeing how you go with this new routine and give yourself a while to get used to it. I found the psychological aspect of not eating the hardest part - especially when nudging toward the 23rd hour but we can break through that mindset. Definitely doing low carb is the perfect partner with IF.

Please don't worry too much about the calories. Like Fung said, weightloss is about lowering the insulin and we need to aim for foods that have minimal insulin impact.

You can do this. We can do this!

Keep going xxxx

 

[JenniferG]

Hi Jen

Well done on breaking through plateau- it's a great feeling isn't it?!!

It sure is! Awesome feeling! I hope it keeps going strong for a while .. at least to get me into the 360's That's my next goal: 369 lb.

Sounds like the fasting is going well too - sometimes we just need to change things up a bit to encourage the body to use the fat. I like Fung's analogy about the fridge/freezer and how the body will always go for the fridge which makes total sense.

Keep seeing how you go with this new routine and give yourself a while to get used to it. I found the psychological aspect of not eating the hardest part - especially when nudging toward the 23rd hour but we can break through that mindset. Definitely doing low carb is the perfect partner with IF.

On my 18:6 fasting days I eat at 8:30 AM (shortly after I wake up) and then at around 1PM.
On my 23:1 fasting days I eat breakfast at 9 AM (about 800 calories 10g carbs 50g protein) and that's it for the day.

So the 8 hours of sleep before the breaking of fast actually helps me out quite a bit--makes 23 hour fasts easy. And I feel great all afternoon up until I go to bed. In ketosis, and fasting state.. happily burning fatty acids and keytones. No hunger at all. If I do get a little hunger, I drink water. Or make a cuppa. Or mug of coffee. Or a cup of homemade chicken broth (keep it frozen in baggies in the fridge). Those always do the trick for me.

Also, skipping dinner works out great for me because my boyfriend works from like 4PM to 2AM. So we get to eat breakfast and/or lunch together every day -- homemade healthy whole food meals. He's losing weight as a side effect of my diet.

I actually feel liberated from food and don't even think about it. Last thing I ever ever think of is a refined carb of any sort.. if I do end up snacking on something (which I don't when I fast) is blueberries maybe with some heavy cream. But like only 10-15 blueberries or so.

Please don't worry too much about the calories. Like Fung said, weightloss is about lowering the insulin and we need to aim for foods that have minimal insulin impact.

I don't worry about calories at all. I use an app that tracks everything I eat: all the carbs & protein grams (which I am concerned about). And it gives me the calories as well. I have eaten without looking at total calories and it is always usually right around my goal calorie limit due to satiety alone. So I am all good there.. not starving myself.. never feel hungry. No worries. I feel better tracking my calories to make sure I don't overdo it. Also, remember I'm fasting on ketogenic diet.. so calorie restriction can't hurt me. And if I do absolutely feel hungrier for some reason a particular day, I will eat an extra couple hundred calories above my usual, with no worries at all. Again, the main thing I'm tracking is carbs & protein, which are very important to track.

You can do this. We can do this!

Keep going xxxx

Yes we can. Keep goin' as well!

Jennifer

 

[JenniferG]

Well I have some good news. I saw my new endo for the first time today, this morning. I had been waiting 2 1/2 months to see her.

I typed up 3 pages of all the info about me (along with the last 4 blood tests) for her to read before she walked in to see me. She did read it. She came in smiled and introduced herself, sat down and said : "It looks like you are doing amazingly well, what exactly did you need me for?"

(Well at the time I scheduled the appointment with her 2 1/2 months I was in more need, but have since improved more.. I still need her though.. we talked about a lot of things for like an hour.. blood test results etc.)

Wow Anyways, she wasn't critical of my ketogenic diet nor the intermittent fasting. She was really impressed with all the improvements: 48 lbs lost in 3 months, dropping insulin & all diabetes meds, normalized blood sugars, improved lipids, 1/2 the feeling back in my limbs etc..

She looks about 40, and I am glad she is open minded and not "old school". She told me she's not concerned about the diet because it's only shown major improvements to my health and metabolic markers.

She told me to keep it up and I'll see her again in 6 months.

She made a referral for me to see a podiatrist that specializes in diabetes care, for my foot that' a bit sore on the bottom (bone/muscle not ulcer), and for my chronic non-insertional achilles tendonosis.

 

[Debmcgee]

That's great she's supportive. X

 

[JenniferG]

Another pound lost since yesterday: 373 lb now. (26.64 stone). Just a week ago I was 14 pounds heavier. I started my intermittent fasting routine after about 10 days of LCHF grazing (2500 calories), just about a week ago. The past several days I've been losing 1 lb per day of water. Wonder when it is gonna stop. I'll never get depressed again when I plateau for weeks (just broke a 3 week spell recently) -- I'll just know it's all water retention and will eventually come off.

By the way I don't feel dehydrated, skin isn't dry looking, eyes aren't sunken, not dizzy nor headache. I am getting a bit concerned lately about getting dehydrated, and drinking extra water, and deliberately consuming more salt.

 

[Debmcgee]

That is amazing!!!

 

[Brunneria]

I take my hat off to you Jennifer. Your progress is nothing more than magnificent.


It is like your body has been desperately hanging on, and struggling with your old way of eating, and can now relax and move towards where it actually wants to be, with this new way of eating.

Love it!

 

[JenniferG]

I take my hat off to you Jennifer. Your progress is nothing more than magnificent.


It is like your body has been desperately hanging on, and struggling with your old way of eating, and can now relax and move towards where it actually wants to be, with this new way of eating.

Love it!

Yeah, my insulin levels are way down and so boatloads of fatty acids are freed. My blood sugar is 110 to 135 mg/dL all day (which is higher than normal) but I am guessing from bunches of glyceral backbones of the triglycerides, which I believe amounts to 10% of the calories in glucose? i.e. liver converts glyceral to glucose.

Since insulin levels are way down and I am highly insulin resistant, the small amount of glucose produced by the glyceral (and leftover protein) just can't get into the muscles so the muscles thrive off fatty acids. And the brain thrives off glucose in the blood (alogn with red blood cells and kidney medulla).. I am peeing out lots of ketones: acetoacetate.. highest was 8 mmol/L in one reading but I think I might of been sligthly dehydrated.. usually max of 4 mmol/L in urine). At the same time I had that 8 mmol/L in urine, I did a bhb ketone blood test and it measured 0.8. But later the urine ketones dropped to like 2 or 3 mmol/L and bhb in blood went up to 1.1 mmol/L.

Can't wait for the Ketonix 2015 --- measures breath ketones (acetone).

I wonder how many days this is going to go on, where I lose 1 pound per day? Last time it was 14 days for 14 pounds. I imagine it's going to stop soon? I dunno. It abruptly stopped last time and went into 3 week plateau after I drank a glass of salt water (muscles were cramped) for some reason. (Also had started magnesium when I got the cramps).

I can't wait for 369.. that's my next goal.. so wanna be in the 360's.

 

[Debmcgee]

How do you measure insulin? Id love to know what mine is. All I know is my insulin is rubbish at absorbing carbs hence why my FBG takes so long to come down after being naughty!

I think if you plateau again, try some alternate 24hr fasts. This usually helps me get back into losing.

X

 

[JenniferG]

How do you measure insulin? Id love to know what mine is. All I know is my insulin is rubbish at absorbing carbs hence why my FBG takes so long to come down after being naughty!

I think if you plateau again, try some alternate 24hr fasts. This usually helps me get back into losing.

X

Deb, well I used to inject insulin to maintain my blood sugar. I injected both basal insulin and calculated corrective & bolus doses as well (with regular insulin).

I know both my insulin-to-glucose (mg/dl) ratio and my insulin-to-carb (grams) ratio.

I have to inject 1 unit of regular insulin to bring down my blood sugar 2 mg/dL. In Bernstein's book, he says, a non-overweight, non-diabetic individual only needs 1 unit of regular insulin to cover 40 mg/dL. So my insulin resistance is twenty times greater than a non-overweight non-diabetic. But the last time I came off my intermittent fasting and started eating 2400 calories again, I had to temporarily start injecting again (40-50 units a day). And at first I noticed that 1 unit covered 2.6 mg/dL. So my insulin sensitivity has improved a bit since then.. but within a few days it went back to 1 unit covering 2 mg/dL. Ultimately went back to intermittent fasting a week ago and got off the temporary 40-50 units per day of insulin.. and right after that I dropped 14 pounds in one week (water retention due to insulin).

Hope that all makes sense.

Another way to determine your insulin resistance I guess is to get a LipoProfile NMR blood test? I haven't done this yet.

 

[Debmcgee]

Hi Jen

How's it going? X