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G’day Rogw. Mood and food, eh. Dr Mosley probably knows what is going on at the molecular level but for us poor bunnies we just have to make it up as we go along. You have motivated me to re-watch the ‘gut’ episode because I’m sure there will be a clue in there somewhere about these highs and lows. I have ‘crashes’ as I call them when I feel like someone has just pulled the plug out. They don’t last long, so I just give in to them and have a nanna-nap. I must say that over all, as my weight reduces, I seem to have more energy and fewer crashes.
Good luck with 5:2 – I’ll keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone comes up with any magic …
Hi Rogw, I had a similar experience and filed it under Reactive Hypoglycaemia. I am not sure but think eating ‘normally’ after fasting causes too much insulin. The body celebrating!
I know that a highly reactive pancreas may indicate diabetes approaching and I simply do not know what to do. I wonder if it is dangerous to keep trying? I am trying higher fat, medium protein, low carb routine to see if I can ‘train’ my body to burn fat and calm down. Carbs have always been a problem for me, fat round the middle, thin everywhere else. Would just like to be healthy and not panic when travelling and not knowing when next meal is. I only have a few pounds to lose.
I am assuming it is low sugar crashing but I am not testing blood. Agree with RoBa it would be great if Dr Mosley would comment.
My Mum, who has lived with t2 diabetes for twenty years, always tells me that the way to avoid it is to live like you already have it.
She is an amazingly fit and healthy 88yo so I’m taking her advice. My Mum has her rituals of porridge and prunes for breakfast that I might not strictly adopt but overall her eating strategy to control diabetes is a good one.
My guess would be that its carbs that are the problem – and as Rabbitfood says, its reactive hypogycaemia. Either you are affecting insulin resistance so much by fasting on that one day, that a normal (for you) production of insulin the next is enough to send you into a crash, or if your poor pancreas is normally exahausted, a day’s rest is enough to get it producing more insulin than you otherwise can, causing a shock to the system. Either way giving yourself a sugar boost would be the wrong thing to do, so good for you, not falling into that trap!!
There’s nothing wrong with using the cookbook recipes, but to give yourself slightly more freedom, you could just go low carb. So no added sugars, fruit juice, sweet fruits, and no carb rich foods, ie grains and potato. It takes a while to learn how to live carb free, but for me its really paying dividends. I always find breakfast is the sticking point, because we are so used to eating carb rich cereals or toast. But its also the way to set yourself up for the insulin/sugar roller-coaster for the day.
I now don’t eat grains at all, if I can help it! Ocasionally a tiny bit of corn turns up in a sauce, but that is about it. And I do my best to avoid spuds as well. In your situation I would probably avoid quinoa as well for a while, since it may not actually be grains at fault, so much as starchy stuff.
I got there via a different route – first told to go gluten free by the gastro, and then realised that the GF stuff gave me heartburn.
It IS a big change, mostly because people seem to think I will starve if I don’t eat starchy food. I get my carbs from vegetables (root veg other than potatoes release their carbs much more slowly) and pulses, but its nothing like the carb load of a normal allegedly healthy diet with whole grains and potatoes. And I get my calories mostly from increased fat consumption, from nuts and seeds and by avoiding all that low fat c**p!
Read Dr Davis and ‘The Wheat Belly’ to put you off grains!
But I disagree with him about sweeteners, and try to avoid them too.
I am T2 diabetic, i have the low blood sugar reaction occasionally. Less often now that I have figured out that carbs are problem. I use a modified form of the Adkins diet on none fast days. I limit my carb intake and it helps. The ketosis low carb type diet has been around for people with diabeties since the late 18th century. You may find that not eating carbs with you diabeties meds and for about 3 or 4 hours after also helps. I hope this helps.
Hi again
I think the full fast with the 500 cal supper was just too much for me to begin with. I have been experimenting and going low carb to try and train my body to burn fat. I used to feel fine years ago on the Eat Right for Your Type protocol, I am a Blood type O. I just lost too much weight and drifted away.
So recently I started pushing breakfast later and later and exercising in the morning as usual. This means I am fasting overnight so with an early supper it is almost 16 hours without food. Weight is falling off, bit worried I will lose too much as at my age (70) I do not want to be gaunt!! I keep experimenting. Have not had a crash in the afternoon or too much hunger. Will keep experimenting. Would love to be able to just do the 5:2 like my daughter, for my health’s sake, lose about 2 lbs more, then stabilize. Must check other posts re keeping at a weight once it is satisfactory but am not sorted completely yet re the blood sugar.
Hi Rogw: awesome to read going gluten free is working for you – added incentive for me this week as I have committed to this coming week being gluten free to set myself up for a successful first weigh and measure day. For me going gluten free is easy as I don’t eat much processed food, and have found recipes really easy to adapt. It also makes it a very clear choice in situations I might be tempted (birthday cakes at work for example) it makes it much easier to say no!
Well, I say ‘easy’ but mean ‘easy in theory’. Living in a household with this fantastic kids’s cereal which is wheaty pillows filled with chocolate, chocolate digestives and various other glutony treats sure tests my commitment! At least it gets easier, and it’s fantastic to read of your success 🙂
Glad its working for you RogW! How easy, relatively speaking anyway, is that? Are you eating gluten free stuff and potatoes?
I’m in the UK too, and hadn’t actually attempted to buy the book yet, I just read his blog. It makes such a lot of sense, but mind you, most crackpot diets seem to make sense to start with. I knew I had ‘grown up’ when I read Dukan and thought ‘what a load of rubbish!’
I rarely crack on the gluten, although the odd mouthful doesn’t seem to make that much differnce. Its when in France that the croissants wink at me!!!
Hi Rabbitfood,
The beauty of 5:2 is that you don’t need to eat the 500 cals in one meal. You can have a small breakfast and then skip lunch and eat the rest of your cals at dinner. Or you can skip breakfast and eat lunch.
I have found that the right thing for me is to find a sustainable way to eat my 500 cals over a 34-36 hour period. That way I get most of the benefits of the fast and so far have not decided that I just can’t stick with the 5:2.
Experiment a bit with your eating pattern. I know you will find a way that works for you.
Quick
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