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Pre-diabetic: Conflicting advice on Intermittent Fasting
I'm pre-diabetic, slightly overweight by about 10lbs. My PC doctor suggested I try an intermittent fasting regime (8/16) ....which I have done for about a month now.
I understand the benefits, and positives, and a lot makes sense. However, in doing some diabetes research, I've come across more than one article written by credible medical people, that say when you're hungry. eat, don't skip breakfast, which I do, under this program, and many of us will tend to over-eat after fasting ....to make up for it.
So I'd like to hear some thoughts, and opinions from those would are doing, or have done IF, as a diabetes, or weight lose program.
And what has worked for you. Thanks
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I eat from 7 or 8 am to 5 or 6 pm, sporadically, grazing with some actual meals. I do this due to GERD. I am sometimes hungry late at night but don't find I need to eat a lot in the morning. I have never thought of this as intermittent fasting. Perhaps you could do a gentle version similar to mine. (I will say that morning lab tests seem to show blood sugar in the 60's...)
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2 ReactionsKnowing how to feed and treat a condition like diabetes can be challenging. This is even more difficult if there are more than one condition to consider (weight loss, GERD, gastroparesis, diverticulitis ….. etc.) That is because the diets and treatments involved interact and can sometimes be conflicting. There is no “one size fits all” remedy. People are individuals. The best plan is a customized one. Could the PC doctor that suggested intermittent fasting also recommend a dietician / nutritionist to help you design a tailored plan?
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5 ReactionsI am type 1, but have utilized a form of fasting to lose weight and improve my A1c. I started on my own, but then I got good input from the nutritionist at my endocrinologist’s office. They are very informative, imo. I settled on eating a mid morning breakfast, exercise at lunch, but no food, then early dinner and evening liquid snack that I call my third meal. This is with carefully planned protein, carbs, healthy fats, calories, etc. I rarely get hungry and have lost a substantial amount of weight. The nutritionist actually advised me to increase my calories and I have.
It’s very individual though. It seems like there are many opinions on diet. My endocrinologists have always been in favor of moderation.
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5 ReactionsThanks.....I'll look into that.
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1 Reaction@rntichauer, I am also in the prediabetic category and have been most of my adult life. Intermittent fasting and sometimes one meal a day has worked really well for me. There's a great discussion on the topic that you might want to read through here where I shared how/why I started with intermittent fasting. I'm now doing mostly 20/4 intermittent fasting with a few 18/6 or 16/8's mixed in when I need to accommodate family or friends outings:
--- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/
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4 ReactionsWord of caution to folks who are using insulin and are considering any kind of fasting. Make sure to get instruction on how to safely fast so your blood sugar doesn’t tank. No one should experience a dangerous low blood sugar episode (hypoglycemic reaction)!
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5 Reactionswhat do these numbers 20/4, 18/6, 16/8 mean? i am a type 1 diabetic that takes insulin 4 times a day. but i eat 2 main meals a day. breakfast & supper. with light snacks in between. fruits & such.
Sorry, 20/4, 18/6, 16/8 - first number is hours fasting, second number is your hours you can eat based on the 24 hour day.
The original poster here is pre-diabetic. Making sure to mix carbs with protein or fat helps stabilize blood sugars and of course low carb is an option. I don't see why intermittent fasting would be necessary for pre-diabetes (I limit eating after 5 due to GERD).
My daughter has type 1 and is on a pump and CGM that are looped. She can eat whenever she wants and whatever she wants as long as blood sugar is okay. Exception is breakfast when she avoids high glycemic index foods. And she has celiac so that is another limitation.
Mixing posts about prediabetes, type 2 and type 1 diabetes seems to be a bad idea 🙂 Very different, and potentially dangerous!