Success With Intermittent Fasting

Success at Last!

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I’m continuing on my journey with intermittent fasting (IF).  Since I started this journey on December 11th, I have lost almost 10 pounds (from 160 to 150.8). I’m also noticing that my tummy is becoming a little flatter (so nice!).   But the best result is that my insulin requirements have dropped dramatically.  From taking my former regiment of:

Lantus 1/x 70 units
Novalog 30/42/40 (breakfast/lunch/dinner)

Total Insulin = 182 units

I’m now taking between 20-50 units total each day. I modify my amounts depending on the number of meals I expect to eat the next day and my blood glucose levels when I test. At this point if my bgl is >180 I’m taking 5 Novalog units.  As for my long term Lantus, each evening I take 30 units w/2 meals next day; 25 w/1 meal next day; 20 w/no meals next day.  I’m really not doing days with 3 meals at the present time.  Its very easy for me to do just the 2 meals a day and surprisingly enough, having only 1 meal a day is pretty easy in itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is so amazing that I have decreased my insulin injections so much in just 15 days.

Getting Support During Fasting

I’m finding that having support during my fasting is truly motivating and helping me a lot.  I’ve been reading lots of posts in several different Facebook fasting groups and the assistance I’m receiving from Dr. Manny (Dr. Manuel Lam) on the Wefast FaceBook group is totally amazing.  He is monitoring my bgl levels and insulins very carefully and encouraging me to continue.

Its so nice to have encouragement and not criticism.  I’ve found that over the years and my many attempts at losing weight (all fails), my husband has become very much a skeptic.  I do get encouragement from my sisters and my daughter; although they too have questions about the fasting and is it “healthy”.

I have a long way to go before my body becomes a true “fat burning machine” and this 100 extra pounds goes away, but right now I’m pretty pumped about the results I’ve had so far and I’m going to continue on.

Dr. Jason Fung’s book which started me on my “journey to a cure” is:

The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting

While I have not experienced a lot of really hungry moments, I have had some temptation moments and periods when I feel not so great.  During those times of temptation, I’m making sure I drink more water, tea or coffee.  I’m increasing my water consumption and I notice the pounds are coming off faster as I do that.  Whenever I’m feeling slightly queasy or hungry, I’m eating a spoonful of coconut oil or occasionally drinking a cup of bone or organic broth.  I’ve always felt better after I do that and can continue with my fast.

So far, I’ve only had one bad experience.  I broke my first 46 hour fast by eating 3 meals the next day totaling over 1800 calories.  That was too much and I was sick at my tummy that evening. Since then, I’ve been eating more modestly after breaking a fasting period and I’ve felt fine.

Overall, I must say that my energy level has increased and I feel better each day.  I’m also finding it easier to get up from my chair or my bed.

Recordkeeping My Journey

I’m doing some recordkeeping of this journey, including this blogsite to record my experience/success with IF.  I have set up a spreadsheet on a google drive and record my bgl testing (up to 5 times a day – waking/breakfast/lunch/dinner/bedtime).  Also weighing each morning and recording my weight,  In addition, I record my hunger level at each testing time (on a scale from 0-10), my insulin amounts and my calorie consumption each day (I use myfitnesspal.com to determine this). Dr. Manny has added his own sheet to mine and created the cool graphs.

When I consider I’ve been able to do this over a holiday period, I’m very much surprised and happy.  Its going to take months for me to get where I want to be, but I now know its possible and one day I may have to change the name of this website from “Growing Old With Diabetes” to “Growing Old after Diabetes”….Ha, Ha!

Comments

Thanks for looking at my site and coming to this page. I would love for you to leave any questions or comments below.  In addition, I’m open to new topics to research and comment on as they pertain to my own health and experience living with diabetes.  Please share your interests and questions in your comments.  I also love to hear others stories about how they handle their own diabetes issues.

– Shirley