Monday, March 17, 2014

MODIFIED INTERMITTENT FASTING AND DIABETES

If you've heard of the 2 day diet for diabetes, you are right up with the current thinking.  Clinical trials have shown great benefits in fasting glucose, A1C, cholesterol, and insulin resistance.  You can look up these trials on the net.

I am starting to do a modified fast 2 days per week.  The other days, I stay on my balanced protein and carb diet.  And of course, I exercise, but it is gentle - 30 or 45 minutes walking each day.

The dietary rules are this:  you still get your 4 servings vegetables, 2 servings fruit, dairy, and minimal use of whole grains on your fast days 2 days per week.  I use Calorieking Software to get the nutritional values of the food I eat on fast days.  I shoot for 650 calories, although that varies.

My first two days on the 2 day diet produced a 4 pound weight loss.  I hope to maintain this with my balanced protein and carb diet the other 5 days of the week.

I also try to get at least 60 low-glycemic carbs on my fast days.  It is the brain that needs those 60 carbs, and I also get 60 grams of protein.  I can eat pecans, and fruit, a real treat.  They recommend a cup of bouillion soup daily to fill you up and replace sodium lost through water loss. 

As all results are highly individual, work with your doctor if you want to do this.

And here is a transcript of  a very informative program on intermittent fasting:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-01-09/latest-research-intermittent-fasting-0/transcript

I will report back with my results.  It is not hard, and I am not hungry.

5 comments:

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Martha Katona said...

I have decided that modified intermittent fasting is not for me. I have a routine as a diabetic, in order to manage my blood sugar. When fasting is inserted into my routines, the food changes and blood sugar changes are too much for me to handle.

Think I will stick with balanced protein and carb, five small meals per day, and consistency.

Unknown said...

After reading your article can’t stop myself to comment. Really great work done by you guys. I have done an extreme searching on intermittent fasting. And I am looking for some worthy Intermittent fasting diet plan, that will work for me. After reading your article I think I got the right place to start my dietary plan.

Charlotte said...

Do you think being on diabetes meds such as Metformin may have contributed to your blood sugar swings? Perhaps the modified fast? When I read about this program, I got the impression that it was a total fast.

Martha Katona said...

There are several forms of intermittent fasting. One is to limit your eating to eight hours per day. Another is to fast totally one or more days per week.

In my case, since I test my blood sugar 6 times per day, the consistency is far more important to me.

You can get the same results as intermittent fasting, by following a low fat, balanced carb and protein diet. The net result is the same, by cutting calories down to around 1200 for a female. Because of the protein (100 gm for me daily) you won't be hungry, yet you are living on a 30% reduction in calories, which qualifies for a life-extension diet.