This topic contains 140 replies, has 39 voices, and was last updated by Alia 9 years, 3 months ago.
jermaschinot, unless you are on insulin you are very unlikely to suffer hypoglycaemia as a type II diabetic. Our problem is that we cannot lower our blood sugar because we do not make sufficient insulin.
If you are worried about it, check your blood sugar during the fast day. And if you take insulin, monitor how the blood sugar is and adjust your insulin accordingly.
Hi,
I too have type 2 diabetes and have severe insulin resistance ie I have way too much insulin floating around if I eat any carbs. My initial advice was to eat low GI foods and that is how I went from insulin resistant to diabetic, following the dietary advice I was given to the letter but testing in the diabetic blood sugar range didn’t stop my overproduction of insulin, if anything it is worse.
My medication is Metformin slow release 1000 mg in the evening.
I have no problem with any symptoms at all when I fast…except hunger.
My friend is using 2 types of insulin and I am taking her this week to my GP who agreed she will supervise her to do 5:2 and help her to gradually reduce her over-medications which in my uninformed opinion are making her blow up like a balloon.
I have recently sat her down and shown her some videos on Youtube…so now she actually understands the danger she is causing herself with her runaway eating and is finally willing to do something about it.
We are pretty much opposite in our approach…I monitor closely and query everything. I’ve twice lost 20 kilos…once with Optifast and once with Dukan, so I have no problem with discipline, I have a problem in knwing how to eat not to aggravate my insulin resistant diabetes. I regained the weight both times because neither diet was possible to continue long term and I am pretty sure the low fat caused me inflammatory problems which I can’t shake yet.
My GP was thrilled when I told her I was going to try 5:2 now, she is 100 percent behind it and is willing for me to bring my poorly supervised friends along to get their diabetes sorted out using 5:2. Anyone who is seeing a doctor who is not supporting them, IMO needs to find a much better informed and more pro-active doctor working for their health not their illness…it isn’t good enough for a doctor not to support you in the 21st century and a basic requirement is a pharmacist who will give me all the information I need to really understand how my medications work.
My doc gives me a comprehensive care plan for recovering and managing my health (in writing) and that is a minimum I expect from a GP…a plan to recover. She hasn’t written me off into the “chronic” basket and is working as hard as I am to reverse my diabetes and I am hoping that this diet will help me do that.I’m in Australia and all this is available as part of the medical system here if one looks for it and asks for it.
Thank you all for being here and sharing your information!
I am anticipating we can all get much better than we are currently. 🙂
Hi Matrika:
You can eat/drink anything you want on a diet day – just 5/600 calories or less of them: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Thanks simcoeluv…have just discovered the book has an index and went looking for the coffee info…so coffee with no milk.
You are very kind to respond to my inane question. 🙂
I have the book but haven’t read it yet.Have been following a trail of Youtube info that led to the ketogenic diet and am wondering if that is something I need to be exploring to get my inflammation markers down (HSCRP over 20 for over a year). Will do 5:2 for 3 months and revisit the HSCRP test…with luck it may come down on this brilliant diet.
Hi Matrika:
The ketogenic diet is a low carb diet. IF helps with that because you do not eat many carbs on diet days by definition. If you do 5:2 and try not eat any carbs on your diet days and eat low carb on your non diet days, you will be close to the ketogenic diet. The promise of a ketogenic diet is quite good, so if you are interested in trying, it might be worth it.
Good Luck!
Thanks simcoeluv…I’m going to give 5:2 or maybe later 4:3 a red hot go because it looks very do-able.
Was just looking at this article and wondered if anyone knows much about it?
I was in Japan for 20 years, very healthy, came back to Australia and have been really unwell ever since…the only really huge difference was wheat…no wheat or dairy when I was there and that is obviously omnipresent here.
On my fast attempt days this week, I have had cravings for blue vein cheese..not part of my normal diet…went out and bought some to eat ahead of all the other foods I had prepared to keep on track with my 500 cals.
I’m not sure if I need to be eating low fat yoghurt/dairy or full fat…am just starting the book so am doing things backwards really (sorry) but am looking for anti-inflammatory and insulin inhibiting effects. 🙂
My previous serious low carb high protein efforts have landed me with a consistently high CRP. Don’t know if there is a link but I discovered the high numbers whilst doing Dukan and have no explanation for them but have thought the low fat may be the culprit…or the high protein because no-one has located any explanation or source for it…no infection etc.
My carbs currently are organic quinoa alternate days and green veggies.
Matrika, when I started I restricted myself to one meal on the fast day in the evening but I was not willing to forgo my white morning coffee. Within weeks of fasting I noticed changes in my diet on non fast days, my preferences seemed to change from a carb based foods to protein based foods. I lost a lot of weight quickly and my diabetes control improved significantly (HbA1c in January 63 mmol/mol, in July 44 mmol/mol, Metformin ditched in early March).
I am not following a low carb approach, bread and pasta are just too tasty. But my body can now handle small amounts of carbs in a meal which is what a healthy, non diabetic body can do. I fully understand that you could not continue with Dukan or shakes, these diets are just too restrictive to be sustainable long term for most people. IF is different, I only restrict myself two days a week and the mindset that I can have what I want the following day is tremendously powerful. I never feel deprived because I can have it tomorrow, and that often means I do not actually want it the next day.
I hope your friend also embraces IF. If you look at Dr Jason Fung’s blogs (http://intensivedietarymanagement.com/) you come to realise that diabetes is not the answer for us, the weight gain your friend experiences is a typical side effect of insulin. The patient profiles on his side show that even people on high levels of insulin can come off their medication if they are willing to put the work in. This might encourage your friend to put the work in and make the changes required to kick diabetes in the back side.
Edit: I just realised you had written another reply. There is a connection between high protein and levels of inflammation. If you go low carb you should keep the protein pretty steady and get the energy from fats. The diet would be moderate protein, low carbs mainly from vegetables to give you fibre and vitamins, and then most calories from fats including saturated fat. If I remember correctly the percentages of energy in the daily diet on a low carb regime is 20-30% from protein, < 10 % from carbs, the rest from fat, but you might want to look that up in a specialised book or website. For me, this diet would not be sustainable long term.
There are also suggestions that the modern wheat is more diabetogenic than other carbs, and that the omnipresence of wheat and sugar has a lot to answer for regarding obesity and diabetes.
Wow Dummerchen, fantastic you were able to ditch the Metformin, that is one of my goals too!
I have 2 friends on board…the seriously insulin dependent Type 2 for 20 years one (showed her the fabulous Jason Fung talks and terrified her into understanding/motivation/out of denial) and a neighbour who I’m pretty sure has insulin resistance (so far undiagnosed) and I am accompanying both to my GP on Tuesday. After that it is over to them. I know how hard it is with the mass of information to filter what is helpful when you are in the middle of the fog..and I want to give them the best chance possible of succeeding…(me too)!
It is great to hear from someone who has succeeded in reversing their diabetes with 5:2. Good for you. 🙂
I eat no wheat or wheat products at all these days and eat no sugar or fructose. Seem to have some sort of wheat intolerance…my mother does too, so I guess it is genetic but I’m not coeliac according to blood tests.
Interesting that protein can cause inflammation…didn’t know that when I was dropping all the weight by eating half the cows in the world. Have largely switched back to fish now.
Give it a go, Matrika. Beating diabetes is perfectly possible as long as we stop thinking along the beaten path of established treatment. Your goal to ditch the Metformin is attainable, just go with the fasting and you will get there. I am glad that you have a GP who supports your new lifestyle. Mine had heard about it but never used it to treat someone, so the support they could give me was limited although they encouraged me to try and see what happens.
You might be more sensitive to wheat than I am, and if you find that wheat spikes your blood sugar severely your approach is probably the best for you. Who knows what time will tell, maybe you can have some “real” pasta in the future again; if not, well there are Japanese rice and buckwheat noodles as well. We are all different and have to experiment a bit to see which foods suit us best.
Good luck and let us know how you get on!
Hi Matrika:
The key to your comment is ‘high protein’. If you eat too much protein you get sick. As Dummerchen says, fat is the answer. Fat has been given a bad name by decades of teaching its evils – but all of that teaching has been proven wrong. You have to eat a diet high in (saturated) fat. Protein has been proven to raise blood sugar levels and insulin intolerance – fish protein is particularly bad.
Given your wheat intolerance, as you do not have celiac disease, it is probably the FODMAPs (wheat and dairy are high in FODMAPs, but so are many other foods). A lower FODMAP diet might be in order (check with your doctor to make sure it is OK with her/him): http://fodmapliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Stanford-University-Low-FODMAP-Diet-Handout.pdf
Good Luck!
Thanks!!!
Dummerchin, The only flour I’ve tried (so far) that doesn’t raise my blood sugar is coconut flour, and almond meal is okay too.
simcoeluv, I had no idea fish protein was inflammatory.
I am taking fish oil as an anti-inflammatory…so counter-intuitive to think of fish as inflammatory, I’ve not come across that info before but I sure eat a lot of fish.
Have just been reading that red meat may be inflammatory.
Will check out the fodmap info.
Thanks again.:0
Matrika, fish oil is not protein so don’t worry.
That all flours raise your blood sugar levels is no surprise, after all, they are all forms of carbohydrates and break down into sugars. Almond and coconut flour are different, they are protein/fat mixtures and contain very little carbs. As your diabetes improves you can hopefully eat starchy foods again without spiking your blood sugar into unhealthy reaches. However, you might find that you tolerate some better than others. Time will tell.
For now, try to avoid refined carbs, watch your blood sugar and bake muffins from almond flour. If you like the shiritake noodles you can still have your spaghetti bolognese and enjoy them.
Matrika:
If you are interested in protein and insulin resistance check this out. The specific info starts about minute 40 and goes to about minute 51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbnshVO4PRM
simcoeluv…Thank you. My missing link. Very, very grateful to you!
This confirms what I had figured out…I have very high background insulin levels which of course are not tested for, everyone is obsessed with BGL in diabetics.
I am going to follow up with this and will get back and let you know how I go.
Thanks again, this information is really important for me as I am sure you know. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Got to love the internet…I would not have had access to this information without the contact with you and without the internet.
Hi Dummerchin
“if not, well there are Japanese rice and buckwheat noodles as well”
No.
The labels of buckwheat noodles available in the west show WHEAT flour and rice flour added and anyone with insulin resistant diabetes type 2 should definitely avoid them.
I cannot eat rice of any kind anymore…BGL skyrockets with half a cup of rice of any kind…and I love rice, believe me I have well and truly tested this for myself.
I had a Head of a diabetes unit in Sydney thump the desk and tell me “a calorie is just a calorie ten years ago” in response to me telling him I definitely respond differently to different food groups, weight-wise and blood glucose-wise. Some of the medicos I have seen are so far behind the eight ball it is not funny, particularly senior doctors. I changed my GP when the one I was seeing told me in response to my request for a fasting insulin test level that it wasn’t worth doing and wouldn’t give me any information And this person is paid to help manage my health? I don’t think so.
About 95% of what Type 2 diabetics have been told is actually fallacious nonsense, particularly from dieticians who have led us down some very foolish paths to the extent that I have personally given up on them completely and am now relying only on research data to make my decisions which I then check out with my GP who invariably supports me. She’s given up on dieticians too…almost impossible here to find one who is broadly informed…their training is very limited by the department they study in and the emphasis there… very narrow parameters.
Dieteticians in diabetes units have harmed my health, with Optifast and some very bad leads. So my advice would be, don’t believe it just because you’re told it, check it out so you don’t have problems down the track. I’m 64 and had excellent health til I was 45 when it became apparent I had insulin resistance. It is only now after 19 years of false leads that I am getting some quality information and believe me, in that time, my health (medically supervised) has deteriorated in a major way, not because I am stupid or lazy but because my medicos did not question the wisdom of the advice they dispensed which very clearly wasn’t working.
Have read the book now and am looking forward to the next one.
I have been trying 5:2 for a month, somewhat erratically but with increasing accuracy in the 500 calorie window…and thought had better weigh in… have reduced 3.4 kilos (6 and a half pounds) so that is pleasing.
I am wondering if anyone else has a lot of aches and pains at this stage? I am not sure if it could be related to the insulin resistant diabetes…I have had headaches on each of the days I’ve fasted but keeping track of my blood sugar levels they haven’t dropped too low, so that isn’t an explanation. It’s kind of odd, I guess I had expected from my reading here that I would not have any pain associated with the fasting but I have, my arms and head have ached, I’ve just carried on, drinking more water than usual though.
I am due to have a lot of blood tests for the endocrinologist in the next week or so and will be interested at this early stage to see how the numbers are looking. Very hopeful of good shifts.:) Have a comparison from six months ago prior to 5:2.
Will come back and post if there is anything very notable. Best wishes to anyone just getting started.
My friend Barb is doing better…has cut out her 24 hour insulin and halved her pre-meal injections under the guidance of her new GP.
I involved myself after she mentioned she had not felt hungry for 24 years (since her insulin started) and she has just taken very high doses of insulin and never allowed herself to feel hungry…she ate every two hours whilst awake and ate way too much simple carbohydrate (as instructed to do).
She is now walking when her blood sugars are high but has only just started to actually “get” the relationship between insulin and her diet and her weight gain.
I have been really shocked by this interaction…she actually, with the right information, doesn’t need insulin as far as I can tell…she just really needs to get a handle on food groups and what they do to her blood sugars…all the dollars spent on her diabetes “education” gave her the take home message to eat constantly, eat carbs at every 2 hourly meal…and it was pretty much killing her.
She’s a neighbour and I have way overstepped the boundaries I would keep normally with her, because I do really like her and when I realized the extent of her misunderstanding of what insulin does and how it may be affecting her, I started hand holding her through a transition that will hopefully allow her to lose some weight and eventually get onto 5:2 if the doc will support her to do that.
My concern is there was no-where for her to get this within the medical system…the information she was given in diabetes “education” totally misled and confused her and led to increasing doses of meds, not control.I sat in on her GP consult and asked the GP to write her instructions down. Afterwards, I corrected the misunderstanding she still had regarding higher insulin when her blood sugars were down…she was actually increasing her insulin shots when her sugars were low. So, before she can try 5000 cals a day, I need to help her get to really understand the relationship between her blood sugar, her insulin and her meds…that the system providing these drugs to her hasn’t done that in my opinion is really awful.
Good news is she had a BGL of 5.5 yesterday for the first time, so she will make it, but by golly, what an eye opener for me of how the medical system (in Australia) is really killing off diabetics. She’s currently 114k. Because my GP has taken her on, she will make it and reverse all this. The irony to me is she has a much stronger underlying health profile than I do, I work hard at it and she has done the opposite of what would work and has no arthritis, no underlying health conditions
Very very grateful to the people on this thread sharing their information and particularly grateful to Michael Mosley for the program and the book, the forum and the information here. I just wonder about the millions of other type 2 diabetics, how many of them are overmedicated and gaining weight as a direct result of the meds.
It’s like the disbelief the medical establishment demonstrated with the information that linked helicobacter and stomach ulcers. I don’t understand the delays and obstructions in the face of clear facts.
To be fair to the medical profession, the teaching since the 1970’s has been that we need to eat a grain based diet to get energy. This is due to the ill-fated combination of an American politician and a fraudulent researcher.
If you cannot eat fat to get energy because fat will kill you what other source of energy is there? The answer is: carbohydrates. So they did not have a choice but to advice the patients to eat starch based diet, all they could do was to advise to avoid sugars and refined carbs, and up the amount of fibre which seemed to help regulate blood sugar.
Tight blood sugar control with the help of insulin was thought to be the key to good diabetic treatment in the 1990’s until studies showed that the more insulin patients used, the more complications they developed.
Intermittent fasting was never taken that seriously, it has always been done with an esoteric or religious explanation which made it sound ridiculous to even the most open minded scientist. Only in the last few years has it attracted more serious attention, initially in the research into longevity. When you look at Michael’s documentary and the book, he still advises against diabetics trying it.
Doctors have guidelines of good treatment; if they want to ignore them they better have good evidence to defend their action or they might find themselves struck off the register for malpractice if anything goes wrong. But this evidence has only emerged in the last two or three years, and it is only now that fasting is being seriously researched as a possible treatment for type II diabetics. It will be several more years until treatment guidelines are changed. Until then we will have to be Guinea pigs and show people that it works and is safe.
I am glad for you and your neighbour. With the guidance of your new GP you can improve your diabetes and should be able to reduce or stop your medication within a few weeks. Dr Fung, whose blog has been linked here a few times, uses various approaches from 5:2 to ADF with zero calorie intake on fast days to achieve rapid improvements. Most of his patients are off insulin within 6 to 8 weeks regardless of complications or other conditions . If you stick to 5:2 I would imagine it takes longer to achieve this but it should be possible.
Dummerchin, osteopaths for years have recommended fasting for type 2 diabetes (I did it for a month in the US in the 90s to try and rout my insulin resistance).
Dr Atkins (a cardiologist?) a few decades ago was a lone voice recommending protein and nonstarchy veg in the first edition of the Atkins diet book and he also spelled out extremely clearly and simply the 4 stages of Diabetes Mellitus starting with insulin resistance.
So it isn’t like there has been no information at all…it’s just that the medical establishment has got away with ignoring it. The advice that was clearly not working kept being repeated…whilst type 2 diabetics such as my neighbour were actually dying from the poor/bad advice to eat carbs.
Hi all
Doing a reread of this thread, I don’t think I have discussed my husband’s 5:2/ Type 2 diabetes journey. I have referred to it often on other threads.
He was a healthy, young man until his late 30s when he began to put on weight. Interestingly, he tried the Atkins Diet then and managed to get back to 68kg. He was also moving about more on a farm.
With the ravages of time and more sedentary occupations, he gained weight. Some time in his mid 40s he was diagnosed diabetic and eventually put on insulin. Over the years his weight increased until last year he was 100kg. He no longer ran anywhere and did not like his body image. He was very concerned about the many associated health problems which develop with Type 2. He also developed significant skin reactions.
April 2013, Eat Fast and Live Longer was shown on Australian tv. We started the next morning. From the beginning I took charge of his menu. I threw out all foods which had high calorie counts and calculated a TDEE of 1800 for him. He started each fast day with a ham omelette, took a couple of felafels and lettuce to work and we ate less than 200 cals at night. Usually a little fish with lots of veg.
On non fast days we were very strict about not eating snacks and keeping to 1600-1800 cals. We ate no rice, potatoes, flour, pasta, cheese (except a little parmesan) and only 1 glass of wine on non fast days. We introduced berries, lots more fish and interesting flavours in everything we ate. We still thoroughly enjoy our food, just keep the cals down. The weight peeled off..1 kg a week for many months.
OH quickly realised that he could reduce, then stop his insulin on fast days. Then, eventually on other days. He tested his BS many times every day and recorded every detail (he’s a scientist). Our GP was totally supportive. He has fasting blood tests at regular intervals with fabulous results.
After a year he had lost just over 30kg (I lost 27) and had introduced long walks into his daily regime. He stopped all insulin injections after about 15 months and now (18 months down the track) he has had only 2 1/2 Metformin tablets, total, in 8 weeks! His body appears to have healed itself.
Three things seem to keep the bs levels stable:
. 2 fasts a week, every week (now only an evening meal of 350 cals)
. Very low carb diet and lots of leafy veg
. Walking at least 10000 steps every single day
Not a difficult way to save your health to enjoy your future. His skin issues aren’t cured, but we are working on that now.
I agree totally that most of the medical fraternity are too scared to recommend this wol. It is completely criminal what is happening to people’s lives (one friend has gone blind) when fasting can have such an effect.
Hope this helps PVE
It helps me PVE. 🙂
What a lovely story you tell and what a fortunate marriage…it is a delight to read of you counting the calories for your husband…what a caring thing to do and I loved the mention of “only one glass of wine on non fast days”.:).
My friend came by today and has lost 5kilos in a fortnight just by halving her pre meal insulin injections and removing the 24 hour insulin she was taking.
I can only imagine her previous doctor was extremely busy, cause if I as a layperson can figure it out, I don’t know why her previous doctor couldn’t. This poor woman was on medication for OCD and thought she was obsessed with food. She actually was over-insulin-ed and is having no difficulties regarding food at all now. Eating well and containing her appetite just fine. I reckon she will make it to 5:2 in a month…but that will be supervised by her new GP.
She had a test today to distinguish whether her body is producing its own insulin, which to me is the crucial missing piece in the puzzle.
Most miraculous to her, she no longer experiences the voracious hunger that constantly bedevilled her previously…the way-too-high doses of insulin were driving her appetite leading her to be diagnosed as having obsessive compulsive disorder.And she actually doesn’t.
I am glad for your friend, she is fortunate that you bundled her off to a new GP.
That she was ravenous on insulin is no surprise. She would have had reasonably high levels of insulin all the time. Once the carbs are digested, the body still needs fuel but due to insulin it cannot get into the stored fat. What’s left to do? – Eat.
It’s a vicious cycle that has been used as treatment for very undernourished children in the 1920’s and 1930’s when insulin was known as the fattening hormone.
PVE how do you know whether its the fasting or the low carb much improved diet that is making the difference. Or are you saying he was diagnosed as diabetic while still properly following a low carb diet? If that were the case, that would be quite alarming to me because that would contradict most of the claims made by low carb proponents from atkins to Volek and Phinney and everyone else in between I think. I know you can do low carb and not lose weight (because ultimately to lose weight you have to cut calories).
I would suggest that a 5:2 diet without calorie restriction non fast days leading to weightloss and changing the types of foods one eat would be close to useless for control of diabetes.
A third factor that would be vital for improving diabetes but which is almost automatically part of a low carb diet, is increasing fibre intake but worth watching for its own sake in order to take on as much as reasonably possible (I’m not suggesting people go and shovel spoonfuls of oat bran down the hatch). Check out the show catalyst – gut reaction.
Friend has now dropped 6 kilos in a fortnight and is coming off insulin completely next week, currently reducing the doses and going soon onto a different medication to control her insulin resistance. Her triglycerides are perfect and her total cholesterol is the best it’s ever been,so was able to drop the statin and she is a very happy lady.
GP is really happy with her progress.
Thinks she will be able to start 5:2 in about three weeks…:)
Ditching the wheat and oats, cereals, has made a big difference for her but primarily getting off the insulin. The more I learn the more I dislike insulin as a drug of treatment for us Type 2s.
If everyone who has this problem and has successfully addressed it/reversed their diabetes… took just one friend still in the fog and misinformed by the pharmaceutical industry, and supported them through the changes…that would save a huge number of people.
It does take brave doctors too, willing to rely on common sense, not biased research results and misinformation. I think we really should be demanding our doctors stop drugging us and start really looking at food.
Coming on well thank you Dummerchin.:)
Had a setback the past few days being up close and too personal with a paralysis tick but am recovering.5:2 is showing slow progress for me but progress nonetheless. For me it is a long term proposition cause I am not losing weight fast but am very interested to see how my next round of blood tests go.
I postponed blood tests ’cause of the paralysis tick which I think would have thrown my results out a bit (CRP and so on)…my tongue went numb and my face was very swollen (the tick was on my eyelid for 17 hours) so I am giving it another week for my tests hoping they will be more indicative of how I am doing without the tick’s interference.
My blood sugars have been mostly perfect.:)
Bad luck re the tick Matrick. There are a lot around this year.
Reversing diabetes is a long slow process, after all it probably took nearly a lifetime to develop, and it will never be completely gone, just managed. But what a wonderful thing to know you can control it yourself.
All the very best, don’t get frustrated by negative attitudes, remember the end goal. Cheers PVE
Thanks guys!
Dummerchin, I have never taken insulin have always stayed controlled with diet and metformin…I have eaten very few carbs and no sugar, little fruit, for many years now.
Have twice in the past ten years lost 20 kilos but regained it…am hoping can keep it off permanently this way with 5:2 OR MAYBE 5:3.
Have a good week everyone.
My arthritis and aches and pains are getting better. 🙂
Weightwise am dropping very slowly…3.5 kilos in 6 weeks.
I am tightening up my calorie counting and making sure I keep within the recommended TDEE on the ordinary days.
Blood sugars continue perfectly…have held off on a big batch of blood tests I am due because I got a paralysis tick and it has had all sorts of uncomfortable effects. I suspect when I get them the bloods are all moving in the right direction because the reduced aches and pains seem like a very good sign.
My friend is completely off insulin from Wednesday and going onto a drug that is supposed to be pancreas protective for insulin resistant folks. So, hopefully other type 2 diabetics in the neighbourhood will have the message filter out.
Just discovered that although the weight loss is slow, which is pretty normal for extreme insulin resistance I think…I have lost 7cm from my bust (nothing from my waist!) so there is definite change happening.
I thought it was the dangerous fat round the middle that disappeared with this 5:2.
I think mine has gone from my back…doing bra clips up on the tightest one. Interesting process. 🙂
Thanks simcoeluv, I will enjoy it now you have reminded me to. 🙂
I have just put my glasses on and looked at my tracker here and I have lost 13 cm around my hips, which seems impossible for just a few kilos…but I got out the tape measure again and it is correct…nothing from the waist yet which is where I thought it would go from, so I have been measuring but not paying any attention to the hip numbers which have really surprized me now.
This is very motivating! For me, that is a large shift in a very short time and I am not exercising yet, other than random short walks.
I have given up the metformin and my dibetes is entirely diet controlled now.
In truth, all my diagnosis of diabetes type 2 meant was that I had poorly controlled blood sugar levels due to insulin resistance.
At this stage, sadly, I understand far better the causes and aetiology of my diabetes than my GP does.
I love her but she hasn’t got time to read as much as I do (in my own self interest) and I suspect what she reads is from drug companies who see me as a cash cow from now til forever. The message she has is that my pancreas needs drugs for protection. My belief is I need no drugs, I just need way less food! No way am I opening my mouth for anymore drugs!
Am losing weight slowly and my BGL is staying steady. I manage by mostly eating home made bone broths.
I have had no metformin since I had to stop it for a CT scan recently…I have been doing finger prick readings regularly and BGL is constant, even when fasting…not rising, not falling.
Wish I had known this ten years ago.
Thank you Michael.
I have received solid benefits from fasting way beyond weight loss.
Diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic a few years ago I was taking 2 metformin per day. I have also struggled with hypertension for about 40 years. Two years ago I had a mild stoke as well. I have been taking all kinds of medication to deal with the hypertension. A year ago August I saw the Michael Mosley documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer and my wife and I started the 5 and 2 program we both lost weight. I went from 182 pounds to 162 but back up a bit lately to around 165 -7.
I had also been suffering from a frequent urination problem that I had sort of concluded was linked to the diabetes. Doctors had no advice that was of any help with the constant peeing. This was particularity a problem at night when I would have to get up from 3 to 8 times a night to urinate and change pajama tops from night sweats. Most nights I was up 5 times with a pajama change every time I got up. It makes it very hard to get a good nights sleep.
In attempting to track this problem I started recording in a spread sheet how often and what times I urinated. After a few months of recording times of urination I noticed a pattern emerging. I was fasting on Thur and Fri and noticed my urination frequency on Sat and Sun was pretty normal. When telling a friend about this pattern she responded well you will just have to fast more often. So I thought I would try an experiment and switched my fasting to 3 days a week and found that by fasting on Mon, Wed and Fri I completely eliminated the night urination problem. I now rarely get up at night to pee even once and never need to change pajama tops as I no longer have any night sweats.
I also tried to go on Monday with a complete fast taking in only water and green tea. I discovered that a complete fast was no more difficult than the 600 calorie limit so about a month ago I switched to complete fasting on Mon, Wed & Fri. Now I also should point out that I eat very well on the other 4 days with no restrictions on items normally frowned upon (Chocolate, Ice Cream, Potato chips, Beer, etc) Fortunately eating all the junk food on my 4 eating days does has no impact on my urination frequency.
I also made a decision (yet to be discussed with GP) that since I don’t eat on Mon, Wed, & Fri I don’t need to take Metformin (Diabetes Medication)or my cholesterol medication Crestor on fast days. Since no food is being consumed I figure I don’t need the mediaction to deal with it. I still take my medication on feed days. My last blood work had the best results (Completely normal) that I have had in years. I now also struggle a bit with very low blood pressure and have started to reduce my HP medication a small amount. I have discussed that with my Doctor and she concurred.
So needless to say, at age 71 I have become a complete fanatic about the benefits of fasting
My bet is, if you didn’t eat all that junk food, you wouldn’t have a peeing problem at all. To be honest it makes me a bit mad to read that someone with a history of type2 diabetes, would ignore basic healthy diet advice for diabetics and eat so much of this stuff. It would seem that your interpretation of the fast diet in sofar as you think you can fast one day and eat anything you want to the extent that you are on the next day is wrong. I know its what MM seems to say but your interpretation is not what he meant. He means to eat normally in a healthy manner on non-fast days. Your diet is neither normal nor healthy. They are common but not what is meant by normal.
I presume in all this that you doctor has ruled out prostate issues. And kidney issues though i know nothing really about the kidneys.
Probably what you don’t know is that when you fast, you flush out a lot of water. When you stop fasting and start eating carbs again you start holding a lot of water again. So this frequent peeing, if its not caused by a health issue, is caused by your fasting practice. The fact that it doesn’t happen when you think it should happen has no bearing on the matter. The fact that you pee so very much is due to your food choices on eating days. Its the carbs!
You really should reduce (i’m not saying quit) your carb foods all the time but avoid those REFINED carbs almost all the time. You do not need to fast more often or change the days you fast. You can monitor your carb intake on a site like My fitness pal. Presumably you are eating over 200 carbs a day and more if its making you pee 8 times during the night during fasting times.
So again in conclusion, try cutting back your carbs and see what difference it makes. Eat protein and fats instead. Eat more vegetables and fruit. These are healthy carbs. Dairy is a healthy carb. Icecream and hot chips are not.
Well perhaps my eating habits on feed days are not the best but it helps deal with 3 days of complete fasting. According to the Mosley documentary from the Chicago trials it seemed that what you eat on feed days did not seem to have an impact. I might be inclined to have a chocolate bar or ice cream and an occasional beer but I never eat a big Mac or other fast foods just sweats and deserts but only on feed days.
As a point of interest when I was first diagnosed with Type II Diabetes I tried eliminating virtually all sugars and as many carbs as possible from diet and that had absolutely no impact on my night pees and night sweats. It did help keep my blood sugar levels down very nicely but no impact on the frequent urination.
I have seen a urologist who tells my there is some enlargement of my prostrate but very little considering my age of 71. I only have one Kidney as my other was thought o have a cancerous growth that turned out not to be the case after removal. I see a Nephrologist on a regular basis to keep an eye on the performance of my remaining right kidney. Since fasting my one kidney is performing better than at any time since the left kidney was removed. My last lab results had better readings on all factors measured. Cholesterol was great and well within normal ranges. Glucose was normal. So I am quiet comfortable that the balance I have worked out on eating and complete fasting is working just fine for me. Fasting has solved a major issue for me and I am very thankful for that.
I don’t think I could do 3 days of complete fasting without the knowledge that I can eat tomorrow and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner followed perhaps by a bowl of ice cream for desert
I do not have diabetes (thankfully) but am in the “At risk” band of the population and have been told to “Do something about it”. This particular health issue has been well documented over the last couple of years on this site. Simply click on the forum links at the top of the page and then medical conditions and you will get thousands of hits. Many previous posters have literally sweated blood in their attempts to reverse Type 2. One poster, WILTUSA, now a distant but remembered memory was typical poster along with many others who were very impressive. I urge you all to check them out. Simcoeluv (a very impressive and lasting commentator on this site) on a recent post gave a link that is also worth checking out.
In terms of fasting and diabetes it seems there is a well proven link. The most effective and medically researched is “The Newcastle Diet”, an 800 cal a day diet over a number of weeks has it is claimed by the Newcastle University researchers been very effective in reversing Type2 diabetes. Google it and also check in the web site of DIABETES UK which comments on this. Basically it consists of an 8 week programme of 800 cals daily. 600 of which are taken up with OPTIFAST and the remaining 200 cals with non starchy veg. Now who could last 8 weeks on 800 cals?.
I note what Matrika (Well done Matrika on your efforts and success.) said about Optifast in one of her posts but this, like many comments shows that we are all different, have many different health issues and should always seek medical advice before making any personal decisions about our health. According to recent newspaper reports, a diet heavy in vegitarianism is also a very effective dietary response to combating diabetes.
Kbooks, like you I have prostrate and weight issues hence the timing of this post in the early hours of the morning. I have just visited my consultant and am on a regular close observation programme for possible serious issues. I also have found out that a bed time chocolate hit is my down fall and impacts on my quality of sleep. Will have to avoid it in future…damn.
To all of you out there with health problems and those who merely are on the “Fast Diet” Good Luck.
Well then it seems after all that you have underlying health problems or conditions that are the cause of your peeing so then its not diet related.
My dad has prostate issues and i’ve seen him go through the disturbed sleep stuff that you’ve described though he has all his kidneys and as far as i know has not been pre-diabetic or have hypertension.
That said, when i’m fasting i pee a lot and it settles down on non-fast days. But it never wakes me up in the middle of the night. This is a normal part of low carb dieting (which fasting is since that many carbs is less than usual. But carbs aren’t helpful on a fasting day anyway.
MM’s eat anything advice is for ordinary people without health problems like diabetes or metabolic syndrome. He said it like to make it a palatable idea to everyone. Of course its things open for misunderstanding because people always interpret things the way they want them to be. “oh now that i am fasting two days a week, i can eat a diet of green peas all day if that’s my predilection. Or i can eat as much dessert as i always do even though its too much and has contributed to my current health problems. Or i can drink as much beer as i want without guilt. Well the truth of the matter is that you can’t. Not if you want the results.
I’m not saying you can’t ever eat dessert or chocolate or a pizza or a big mac if that’s what you like. But i am saying if you eat this stuff in the quantities that you ate it before that got you overweight in the first place, you won’t solve any of your problems.
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10 Sep 14