Should I be fasting every day if I'm prediabetic?

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I've been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I really hate pharmaceutical meds, so I'm rigorously using the keto/paleo diet and high end supplements to bring my numbers to a normal range. It's been successful. Every 2 weeks, The numbers are cut in half, and I'm losing weight, steadilly. I'm very quickly going back to normal. Well, actually normal for me is lifelong hypoglycemia. But it seems my blood sugar doesn't drop when I eat a ketogenic diet. I don't get as dizzy or confused as often.

My question is about fasting. I've found that since I've gone keto, that I'm rarely hungry anymore. For those of you who have had prediabetes or the real deal, is it safe to intermittently fast every day? I only eat one large, nourishing meal most days. And that holds me full for about 20 hours, quite often. I'll have a little snack like jerky and celery juice if I get hungry throughout the day. But that's it.

I used to eat 3 meals a day with snacks in between, as needed, for hypoglycemia. Now I only get hungry around dinnertime each day.

Is this healthy for someone with prediabetes? Will it sabotage my progress? Is it dangerous?

My doctor says she doesn't want me fasting. I don't own anything like a blood sugar monitor, so I don't know what my numbers are, but I feel very normal and healthy even though I fast a lot.

 

[mysterionz]

I’m not diabetic, but I wish you good luck in your journey

 

[Aspychata]

My close friend lost a lot of weight. Got off insulin but he finally is back on it because he is predisposed to it. I too am interested, since l need to know how to feed him and keep him happy. I know he eats very small for breakfast or big breakfast, small dinner. Hope to learn what works also.

Good you stayed on top of this. And l am glad your new eating habits are working out for you. I right now am on a delicious new protein powder and l am just loving it.

The ingredients are organic fermented pea protein, organic hemp seed protein, organic goji berry, organic vanilla cinnamon cookie flavor, coconut oil, acacia gum, sea salt, organic guar gum, organic stevia leaf extract., organic cinnamon.

Zero sugar, keto friendly, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, non-gmo.

100 calories scoop, 2 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein, 5 mg of iron.

Flavor: l just tried the pumpkin spice flavor. I am in love. I think they have a original flavor. 12.99 for 6.17 Oz which is 7 servings. So that it's cost effective and doesn't go bad like other things. It's called Sunwarrior protein warrior blend. They are out of Utah. The Smoothie King uses their powder in my state. They are at CVS and nutrition stores, so they have a presence. I remember you were looking for food ideas earlier. I throw in yogurt, water, protein powder, and blend. They now carry 90 servings for 89 dollars which l might buy. Shelf life is two years. I am shocked how high food prices are, and the supply chain is lagging.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Its safe once your body is used to burn fat as the main energy source.

And may be hard on your digestive system, like the stomach if you dont do it progresively.

I have been years just doing breakfast and lunch, I tested my blood sugar even doing some ligth training and It was stable all day.

You may want to slowly get to your goal so all your system get used to it. Also checking your blood sugar, specially if you practice some sport.

We are genetically made to burn fat, but some caution never hurts.

Edit: Also take into account that fat is where many toxins and heavy metals are stored so they dont damage the body. Try not to burn all your fat. Having a healthy 20% of body fat is advised.

2nd Edit: I was never able to put 2k cal in a breakfast with paleo food. Please be sure that you eat enougth.

 

[GypsyMoth]

I don't know.

I've been prediabetic for...over ten years? I tried keto this summer & gained weight. But since July, with all the stress I've been going through, I haven't had an appetite. I've also returned to a wheat-free diet (I did very well on it several years ago), have cut down dairy, and am trying to eliminate sugar. I have also been trying to exercise, although it's somewhat hit-or-miss, due to the stress. You could say I lost most of my weight because I didn't feel like eating, but really, I think it's a combination of all the above. Since July I have lost over 40 pounds.

I feel great (physically, if not emotionally), my knee has stopped hurting, and I am getting to sleep faster & staying asleep, which is nearly a miracle. I also have more focus -- but that comes and goes, due to the stress.

I have no idea how this works out medically, but I'm going to continue this until I lose all of the weight. I have, however, promised a friend I would eat a little better. She's concerned I have been losing the weight too fast. So maybe that's what I have to offer here. Be careful about losing the weight too fast. You don't want it to come back and you do want to be healthy when it's gone.

 

[Au Naturel]

I've been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I really hate pharmaceutical meds, so I'm rigorously using the keto/paleo diet and high end supplements to bring my numbers to a normal range. It's been successful. Every 2 weeks, The numbers are cut in half, and I'm losing weight, steadilly. I'm very quickly going back to normal. Well, actually normal for me is lifelong hypoglycemia. But it seems my blood sugar doesn't drop when I eat a ketogenic diet. I don't get as dizzy or confused as often.

My question is about fasting. I've found that since I've gone keto, that I'm rarely hungry anymore. For those of you who have had prediabetes or the real deal, is it safe to intermittently fast every day? I only eat one large, nourishing meal most days. And that holds me full for about 20 hours, quite often. I'll have a little snack like jerky and celery juice if I get hungry throughout the day. But that's it.

I used to eat 3 meals a day with snacks in between, as needed, for hypoglycemia. Now I only get hungry around dinnertime each day.

Is this healthy for someone with prediabetes? Will it sabotage my progress? Is it dangerous?

My doctor says she doesn't want me fasting. I don't own anything like a blood sugar monitor, so I don't know what my numbers are, but I feel very normal and healthy even though I fast a lot.

You should exercise and cut out concentrated sugars and highly refined products from your diet. Watch your glycemic index.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-...in-depth/low-glycemic-index-diet/art-20048478
Otherwise, eat a normal well-balanced diet with protein sources and grain products, fruit, and vegetables. Some people report benefits from fasting, but the benefits could be caused by the weight loss that fasting produces rather than the fasting itself. If you are at a healthy weight, fasting is counterproductive.

The exercise is important. Regular exercise has more impact on prediabetes than almost anything else. Studies recommend 1–2 days of resistance training in addition to aerobic exercise at moderate intensity for about 150 minutes weekly. Replace the fat with muscle and build up your cardiovascular system. But exercise itself can reduce your blood sugar even with inadequate insulin or insulin resistance.

Intermittent fasting probably wouldn't hurt you, but there is a risk of hypoglycemia. (I feel weak and have hot flashes when that happens to me.) Too much fasting could lead to diabetic ketoacidosis. If you are used to eating one meal a day, you're used to eating one meal a day. I don't consider that fasting. Your body adjusts to any regular eating schedule, whether one meal a day or continual snacking. Fasting is when you don't eat when you normally would.

 

[Aspychata]

You should exercise and cut out concentrated sugars and highly refined products from your diet. Watch your glycemic index.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-...in-depth/low-glycemic-index-diet/art-20048478
Otherwise, eat a normal well-balanced diet with protein sources and grain products, fruit, and vegetables. Some people report benefits from fasting, but the benefits could be caused by the weight loss that fasting produces rather than the fasting itself. If you are at a healthy weight, fasting is counterproductive.

The exercise is important. Regular exercise has more impact on prediabetes than almost anything else. Studies recommend 1–2 days of resistance training in addition to aerobic exercise at moderate intensity for about 150 minutes weekly. Replace the fat with muscle and build up your cardiovascular system. But exercise itself can reduce your blood sugar even with inadequate insulin or insulin resistance.

Intermittent fasting probably wouldn't hurt you, but there is a risk of hypoglycemia. (I feel weak and have hot flashes when that happens to me.) Too much fasting could lead to diabetic ketoacidosis. If you are used to eating one meal a day, you're used to eating one meal a day. I don't consider that fasting. Your body adjusts to any regular eating schedule, whether one meal a day or continual snacking. Fasting is when you don't eat when you normally would.

If you read her other posts, she can't exercise because she has gone through extremely serious health issues.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I've been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I really hate pharmaceutical meds, so I'm rigorously using the keto/paleo diet and high end supplements to bring my numbers to a normal range. It's been successful. Every 2 weeks, The numbers are cut in half, and I'm losing weight, steadilly. I'm very quickly going back to normal. Well, actually normal for me is lifelong hypoglycemia. But it seems my blood sugar doesn't drop when I eat a ketogenic diet. I don't get as dizzy or confused as often.

My question is about fasting. I've found that since I've gone keto, that I'm rarely hungry anymore. For those of you who have had prediabetes or the real deal, is it safe to intermittently fast every day? I only eat one large, nourishing meal most days. And that holds me full for about 20 hours, quite often. I'll have a little snack like jerky and celery juice if I get hungry throughout the day. But that's it.

I used to eat 3 meals a day with snacks in between, as needed, for hypoglycemia. Now I only get hungry around dinnertime each day.

Is this healthy for someone with prediabetes? Will it sabotage my progress? Is it dangerous?

My doctor says she doesn't want me fasting. I don't own anything like a blood sugar monitor, so I don't know what my numbers are, but I feel very normal and healthy even though I fast a lot.

Yes, it is safe to do intermittent fasting. There is a dietary regimen called "one meal a day" (OMAD). Most people think nothing of fasting between, say 6pm and 6am,...and then, there are those that simply don't eat breakfast,...myself,...and wait until 12 noon,...so, 18hrs or so is the norm for me.

For all practicality, the vast majority of human beings, until very recently, only had one meal a day. Only the wealthy, aristocracy could afford to eat more than one meal a day. If you go back even 150-200 years,...this was the norm. For the very poor or indigenous tribes,...they could go for a few days without a meal.

Now, the caution here,...probably more of your doctor's concern is that once the cells in the body have adapted to a certain level of blood sugar and insulin,...you can't just start an intermittent fasting regimen without some guidelines. Your body has to get used to that "physiologic stress",...and then adapt,...and this takes time. So, if you are used to eating something every 3hrs during the day,...then push towards 4hrs,...and then later to 5,...6,...7,...and so on. If you have to make a little chart to keep track of it all, this would be helpful.

I am glad the keto/low carb regimen is working. This will definitely help with your ability to progress with an intermittent fasting regimen.

Dr. Eric Berg on YouTube has some great, educational videos on fasting, diabetes, pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome. Easy to understand,...he's a great instructor.

 

[Jeff T]

I was prediabetic for 20 years, and diabetic for the last year. My brother died of it at age 48.
My way of dealing with my diabetes is to limit the amount of carbohydrates to about 30 grams a meal. People react differently to foods, so testing the blood glucose an hour after eating different meals can help you to learn which foods cause greater problems. Potatoes don't cause my blood glucose to rise anywhere near the same amount of oatmeal, but the reverse may be true for you?
About three months ago I started a medication to control the diabetes. It really works! The A1c dropped a full point in that time, and the positive effects seems to be continuing: Had half a family sized pizza a few days ago (a deviance for special occasions), and the blood glucose was 90 two hours later.
But yes, some people seem to have unpleasant reactions to the meds.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Instead of the usual meds that people take, these are the supplements I am taking to help treat my prediabetes. They were prescribed by my Naturopath. I have found that a low carb diet, combined with these supplements has really reduced my blood sugar, and taken away the symptoms as well.

Berberine has been shown in multiple studies to work better than metformin, when taken properly.

The S.A.T. is a liver med. Chemo screwed up my poor, pretty pink little liver. And this helps me have less pain.

The Glycemic manager is like magic. I eat pretty much the same food every day, and get my blood sugar checked every 2 weeks. Every time I get checked, I'm rushing more and more toward a healthy blood sugar. And as someone who has had hypoglycemia since childhood, I never had normal blood sugar before. I don't get as dizzy anymore.

I mean, they're not perfect, by any means at all. In fact, I have a lot of chronic health problems. And they're not a cure. But these supplements have been a true Godsend.

 

[Aspychata]

Instead of the usual meds that people take, these are the supplements I am taking to help treat my prediabetes. They were prescribed by my Naturopath. I have found that a low carb diet, combined with these supplements has really reduced my blood sugar, and taken away the symptoms as well.

Berberine has been shown in multiple studies to work better than metformin, when taken properly.

The S.A.T. is a liver med. Chemo screwed up my poor, pretty pink little liver. And this helps me have less pain.

The Glycemic manager is like magic. I eat pretty much the same food every day, and get my blood sugar checked every 2 weeks. Every time I get checked, I'm rushing more and more toward a healthy blood sugar. And as someone who has had hypoglycemia since childhood, I never had normal blood sugar before. I don't get as dizzy anymore.

I mean, they're not perfect, by any means at all. In fact, I have a lot of chronic health problems. And they're not a cure. But these supplements have been a true Godsend.

View attachment 88409

Thanks for posting those homeopathic aids. My friend has lived of off white rice his entire life which isn't great for blood sugar. But it was all his mother could afford raising 4 young sons.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Just putting this out there - the keto diet suuuuucks, and it's only really necessary for a small minority of people. For most of us, cutting out the refined crap is enough to promote health throughout the body, and for a lot of people who have actually done it, that just tends to be most of the grains they normally consume.

I went keto and lost my gallbladder, so... just a word of caution. I'm at a healthy weight now and I eat loads of fruits and vegetables. You do you, though.

 

[Au Naturel]

Just putting this out there - the keto diet suuuuucks, and it's only really necessary for a small minority of people. For most of us, cutting out the refined crap is enough to promote health throughout the body, and for a lot of people who have actually done it, that just tends to be most of the grains they normally consume.

I went keto and lost my gallbladder, so... just a word of caution. I'm at a healthy weight now and I eat loads of fruits and vegetables. You do you, though.

Yeah... I don't know that it causes gallbladder issues, but there are definitely side effects. The Keto diet can cause some really serious problems for some people. I would not advise it unless you got your doctor's approval.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dangers-of-keto-diet

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Don't worry. My doctor was the one who put me on this diet. It's to normalize my blood sugar. And also she says it starves certain bad kinds of cells.

I'm actually feeling very healthy doing keto. And it's being very closely medically managed. I have doctors appointments sometimes twice a week.

It's more the fasting that I'm doing that I'm curious about. I suppose I'll just send her an email about it.

Because this diet really keeps me full all day. Well, today I had a salad. But other than that, I just had my dinner.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

As with any diet program, you must have some education around the potential adverse effects. Keto diet is no different,...the "keto flu", electrolyte imbalances, drops in blood sugar, a loss of citrate, gut microbiotic disturbances,...all of this can be prevented. Adjusting your diet slowly, take electrolyte supplements, take a probiotic, and drink lemon water a few times a day,...and most people will never have any issues. It's not what you do, but rather how you do. The keto diet is not "bad" per se,...the reason it is popular is that many people have positive results with it,...how you go about it can alter your results though.

Having said that, there are people who,...genetically,...are more healthy on a carbohydrate, fat, or protein-based diet,...and if they wander away from what their body wants, then their health suffers. There's a reason why some people have fantastic results with a particular diet,...and some others, they can actually have health issues. This falls under the category of "to each, their own".

So, whenever anyone is making a dramatic change in their dietary habits, it is also good to educate yourself and if there are ways to counteract some potential transient side effects or dangers,...then be proactive and try to prevent it.

 

[Hypnalis]

@Yeshuasdaughter

From personal experience: there's a genetically-influenced metabolic factor that can affect your blood-sugar level when you eat less often.

I know this because for most of my life I was able to go without eating without feeling hunger for much longer than normal. I figured it out at about 40, when I started putting on bodyfat for the first time, and played around with my diet (switched to something like LCHF) to deal with it.

In my case, my body is naturally able to use stored fat for energy more easily than normal, so I get less "low blood-sugar hunger" than most people. As I understand it, there's a kind of threshold after which your metabolism starts using fat for energy, and mine is lower than normal.
Perhaps the same is thing is true for you.

Everyone uses stored fat for energy regularly of course (it's how you get energy while sleeping), but most people use food for energy during the day. Back then:
* I could start the day with water rather than breakfast, and stay on the fat -> energy cycle. I used to do it deliberately if I'd had a lot to eat the day before (i.e. a big evening meal)
* If I was doing something that kept me occupied (teaching a class, gaming, interesting work activity) the same thing often happened "spontaneously", and I wouldn't get hungry.

Note that this is what weight-loss diets are supposed to do, and indirectly it's probably good for avoiding type-2 diabetes.

It might be nice for you if it turns out that your body is doing something similar - i.e. converting enough fat to energy "on demand" so your body operates normally on one meal per day. Less so if you're getting sugar highs and sugar crashes, but not noticing - that's likely to stress your insulin system.

So the message is that it's possible what's happening to you is fine.
But IMO it's not something you should guess at - the sugar rush / sugar crash cycle is almost certainly what you're trying to avoid. I don't think you should take any risks.

Why not borrow, rent, or buy something to track your blood sugar for a week or two? You medical advisor should be able to help. There are plenty of options, because e.g. it's very useful for Type 1 diabetics.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Never mind the thread. I discovered that I'm not hungry because I have some kind of tummy bug.

I'll be back to my normal, hobbit-like, nosh-happy self soon.

 

[Au Naturel]

@Yeshuasdaughter

From personal experience: there's a genetically-influenced metabolic factor that can affect your blood-sugar level when you eat less often.

I know this because for most of my life I was able to go without eating without feeling hunger for much longer than normal. I figured it out at about 40, when I started putting on bodyfat for the first time, and played around with my diet (switched to something like LCHF) to deal with it.

In my case, my body is naturally able to use stored fat for energy more easily than normal, so I get less "low blood-sugar hunger" than most people. As I understand it, there's a kind of threshold after which your metabolism starts using fat for energy, and mine is lower than normal.
Perhaps the same is thing is true for you.

Everyone uses stored fat for energy regularly of course (it's how you get energy while sleeping), but most people use food for energy during the day. Back then:
* I could start the day with water rather than breakfast, and stay on the fat -> energy cycle. I used to do it deliberately if I'd had a lot to eat the day before (i.e. a big evening meal)
* If I was doing something that kept me occupied (teaching a class, gaming, interesting work activity) the same thing often happened "spontaneously", and I wouldn't get hungry.

Note that this is what weight-loss diets are supposed to do, and indirectly it's probably good for avoiding type-2 diabetes.

It might be nice for you if it turns out that your body is doing something similar - i.e. converting enough fat to energy "on demand" so your body operates normally on one meal per day. Less so if you're getting sugar highs and sugar crashes, but not noticing - that's likely to stress your insulin system.

So the message is that it's possible what's happening to you is fine.
But IMO it's not something you should guess at - the sugar rush / sugar crash cycle is almost certainly what you're trying to avoid. I don't think you should take any risks.

Why not borrow, rent, or buy something to track your blood sugar for a week or two? You medical advisor should be able to help. There are plenty of options, because e.g. it's very useful for Type 1 diabetics.

From my late teens to my late 20s, I rarely ate more than one meal a day and never ate breakfast. Food in the morning just slowed me down. It never occurred to me that this was some kind of fasting.

I get a kick out of the "paleo diet." A true paleo diet includes long periods of involuntary starvation interspersed with gorging on whatever they were lucky enough to find. Maybe find a tree or bush with fruit or nuts, and that was all you had until it ran out. Or scavenging the rotting flesh of a recently dead wildebeest. Once in a while, the tribe would get lucky and drop some big game, and everyone would eat until their stomach felt like bursting because this meal will only last until a large carnivore smells it and tries to take it away. And the next game you drop might not be for a very long time. In the meantime, grubs and insects are on the menu today.

Paleo humans often died from starvation, malnutrition, and foodborne illnesses. Their diet is not to be imitated.