Fasting and blood sugar not going down

[salehman]

Anyone had the experience of blood sugar actually going up a bit on a fast. If so, is there an explination?

[J_A-M]

Here are some links

Fasting and High Blood Sugar

Agreeing with the releasing more fat and generating more glucose theory. This may be the lowest insulin level your body has seen in years and there’s an increase in lipolysis (fat exiting adipose) because of it. Your liver will produce both ketones and glucose from the extra fat in circulation. Check your glucose later in the day and see if it’s gone back down. Otherwise, KCKO.

Why High Fasting Blood Glucose on Low Carb or Keto? – Diet Doctor

[Capnbob]

I think I’ve seen that mentioned… from what I understand, the body doesn’t fear BG per se and doesn’t attempt to reduce BG to the lowest possible level. It seems to prefer a lower insulin environment, even if it means a higher BG number (as long as it isn’t dangerous levels). This is shown in long-lived T1Ds who generally show higher BG (even at “Diabetic” levels) but the lowest insulin levels.

In your fast you are creating the lowest possible insulin environment but still producing as much glucose as you need from GNG so one could imagine that BG could go up but the body is worried about it since it is ultra low insulin.

I wouldn’t worry about it unless it is looking dangerous… e.g. fasting BG > 140?? (though I have no real idea of what is high for you)

[4dml]

Even without dietary stimulation, BG varies throughout the day. It is the body’s primary fuel and produced in accordance with physiological demand. In non diabetics, the body will self regulate so that true hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia is avoided.

I’ve found that my first morning BG during a multi day fast can vary by 15 mg/dL without identifiable factors (like sleep or stress) and by up to twice that much when impacted by exercise. The level is still below what could be triggered by diet.

Lastly, many glucometers have a relatively large standard deviation. Make sure the differences in readings are statistically significant…

[salehman]

This is great info, thank you, I Will continue to monitor it . Anne I will most certainly keep calm and keto on

[ctviggen]

Listening to this podcast:

At about the 45 minute point or so, one of the hosts says that when he fasts >24 hours, his blood sugar goes up, from around 80 to over 100. He then stated that when he eats (a steak), his blood sugar will plummet into the 70s.

He theorized that glucagon caused the blood sugar rise, then insulin came along after eating and – before being counteracted by a number of hormones including glucagon – caused the blood sugar rise.

Has anyone seen the effects of (1) higher blood sugar while fasting and/or (2) lower blood sugar after eating (meat/keto)? I have not experienced either of these.

Also, they said many people had extreme hunger for about 30 minutes to an hour after/during their first meal after fasting. They attributed this to higher insulin and lower glucagon. Has anyone experienced this? (I have not.)

[golfpsycho]

I would say that model pretty much describes my experiences since going LCHF/keto. Right up to the over-nite fasting numbers as high as 144. I thought I had turned a corner a couple months ago, but it was short-lived, and FBG is back bouncing between 110 and 125. For the longest time, it would drop immediately after eating, and then rise throughout the day until my next meal. I had more than a few 24 to 48 hour fasts, during which I experienced BG continuing to rise through 180, when I would panic and eat, because it would immediately send me back down to 110-115. I never saw numbers below 100 when fasting as so many describe. (2 beers, or a couple shots of bourbon will send me into a bone rattling low very quickly) I have been a diagnosed diabetic for a longer period than most of the people that report reversals, but I am hopeful if i can drop a bit more weight I will see better numbers. Weight loss has been painfully slow for me, and inflammation from heavy lifting seems to cause fluid retention, but does give me lower numbers later that day. Unfortunately, my BG begins to rise in the evening. I have attempted evening workouts, in an attempt to manipulate my BG, but it was ineffective. My situation I would call evolving, because it changes regularly, without me being able to identify what is causing it.

[ctviggen]

You might want to listen to part of this just after about the 45 minute mark. One of the interviewers (often, it’s hard to tell which one since there are two) said he often gets blood sugar spikes when exercising, but he did some particular exercise (names the person and machine/exercise routine), and that exercise did not cause his blood sugar to move at all.

I get conflicting info for exercise. Most often, blood sugar goes up, but not always. Ketones sometimes go down, sometimes are stable. I’m doing lifting to failure + HIIT.

I believe your continuing to fast will help over time. This helps the liver and pancreas, which are a really big part of the issue.

Oops:

He theorized that glucagon caused the blood sugar rise, then insulin came along after eating and – before being counteracted by a number of hormones including glucagon – caused the blood sugar rise. (NOT rise, but plummet).

[Annja]

I did a 5-day fast last August. BG rose on the last day (blue points in the graph below). I do not know why it rose. I’d like to understand.