Questions for Jason Fung and Megan Ramos

(Chris) #61

Just eat to satiety and don’t stuff yourself. Your body knows how much food it wants unless you confuse it with sugar. In which case it doesn’t know when to stop.

(Nicole Sawchuk) #62

HAIR LOSS! As woman, my hair is my pride. But 6 months into fasting and my long locks now look thin and straw like! The shedding has been going on for 3 months now with no signs of slowing down (I didn’t see this kind of shedding after giving birth to kids). I hear its “normal” and I understand why it happens but I have not found no real answer on how to stop it (without some doctor trying to sell expensive supplements). Everything I read is that it is temporary yet time and time again I hear people who a year or so later claiming their hair is still thin and their hair loss is still persistent. Why is there not more information? How do I stop it? I’ve heard things like and tried:

  • Increasing your calories (hard to do when fasting but I FEAST when its time to feast so while I do not measure my food, I am VERY conscious of eating wholesome nutritious food to satiety).
  • Increasing your protein.
  • Adding biotin (I was taking this prior to my weight loss so that did nothing)
  • Potentially due to nutrient deficit (but what? I don’t want to start adding zinc and throwing off my copper balance etc). Plus I eat so much healthy vegetables (more than I ever did as a carboholic) - how can that be the issue now?

What else can I try so even when my new hair starts growing - it doesn’t break and fall out immediately?

FYI my massive weight loss stopped about two months (about 4 months ago) after I started adding fasting to my keto diet (I had been keto about 2.5 years with no weight loss success up to that point). I now only lose 1 - 2 pounds per month now and am really close to my ideal body weight. I fast to improve my blood glucose levels and just because it makes me feel amazing! I am not diabetic and was only slightly overweight when I started. But I knew I was insulin resistant and knew I was headed down that path.

(Ross) #63

Question about being in ketogenic state caloric surplus.

Do our bodies preferentially burn body fat rather than the fat we eat?

If not, how do we explain why many lose body fat while eating very high keto caloric diets?

#64

Same! And in my case you can’t blame it on massive weight loss because I only lost 20 pounds in the course of a year. For me the shedding started after a couple of extended fasts, and, like you, it is still going 3 months later, and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to stop it. I enjoy fasting, and it has provided many benefits, but this is driving me crazy. Oh, and btw, I didn’t have any hair loss on keto alone.

Fyi,I have tried not doing any extended fasts for a whole month and it didn’t slow down the shedding, I feel like I broke something that I can’t put back together.

So i guess what I am trying to say is I second that question :):grin:

(What The Fast?!) #65

Question!!! (On energy, blood sugar, and fasting)

Many people talk about the “high” of fasting but I experience the opposite. I have low energy, have a hard time focusing, and just feel all-around not great. I try and work out fasted, depending on my energy level. My longest fast was 96 hours, but I sometimes feel this way as early as day 2. My blood sugar goes very low while fasting (usually mid 60’s, long fasts get into the 50’s) but my ketones are high. I take lots of salt, some potassium and magnesium as well. I have plenty of body fat (32% per my last DEXA). I am also hungry during these fasts. My fasting insulin is also very low (2.2) and I do not show signs of Insulin resistance.

TL;DR Is there a reason why (or a solution to) one might experience low energy, consistent hunger, and low blood sugar on a fast, even when consuming salt/electrolytes?

#66

I understand that Dr. Fung is a nephrologist so my question is ideally directed to him.
I was diagnosed 1.5 years ago as stage 3b CKD eGFR 41, creatinine 149 ( my guess is from long-ignored high BP)
I then discovered the science behind LCHF diets and have been able to easily optimise my my blood glucose and ketones easily, following this protocol. One of the warnings given to me by several medical professionals is that a keto diet may be harmful to my kidneys. I would like to know if there are factors I should be aware of as I move ahead with plans to become fully fat-adapted and then cycle in and out of ketosis. Most of what I read about a keto diet revolves around weight loss and T2D, neither of which are my concerns. I would be so appreciative of general advice vis a vis a keto diet and kidney function. The response from my nephrologist suggest no current awareness of research in this area.

(Bacon for the Win) #67

just wondering…do you happen to know what your a1c was during this time? DM2 and CKD go hand in hand.

#68

Hmmm… I don’t think I’ve been tested for that. I’m looking at a blood test just taken and under “Hematology” I see no term A1c. I’ll look back to previous tests Thank you!

(Sally Veum) #69

Keto with hashimoto- fasting ok? How to loose fat. Is extended fasting ok.

(Bacon for the Win) #70

If you’ve listened to Jason Fung before, you know the reason he got into the business of curing obesity and DM2 was because of the effect on kidneys. Would be shameful of your doc to not have at least looked at your a1c while drawing blood. Might be listed as hgbA1c.

#71

Thanks NelleG,

I just found a blood test from 6 months ago showing A1c of 5.8%

I have no idea of what that signifies, though, according to the chart, it indicates within some sort of range.

Thanks.

(Arlene) #72

I don’t do well with fasting either. What’s worse, I push through all the discomfort, believing I’m doing something good for myself, and believing things will just get better, but the longer I fast, the worse I feel. Lastly, when I finally break the fast, I can hardly keep from binge eating. All I think about is food, and not healthy food either.

(VLC.MD) #73

What does Dr. Fung think about “Resistant Starches”

(KCKO, KCFO) #74

Considered pre diabetic range by most labs. So you have Insulin Resistance. Keto should help a lot. If you have been keto for a few months, you should get another A1c test done to see if you’re improving.

#75

“Considered pre diabetic range by most labs. So you have Insulin
Resistance. Keto should help a lot. If you have been keto for a few
months, you should get another A1c test done to see if you’re improving.”

Thanks for that. A1c wasn’t on my blood test last week because my docs didn’t request it. Its been a revelation to me that I have to be much more proactive with health care providers to make sure ALL my health metrics are covered!

(carl) #76

Listen to the latest episode. The last question is exactly yours:

http://obesitycodepodcast.com/questions-for-idm-part-1/

#77

Keto rash, is it a hormone thing? I have a case around my eyes, so its pretty difficult to hide it, I love being in ketosis but this part sucks!

#78

Thanks Carl. Just listened to the podcast. I think its clear that moderate CKD is not adversely affected by a LCHF diet and that moderate protein consumption will have no negative effect. Thanks!
I would like to have heard whether anything about the LCHF diet might have any effect on high serum uric acid, which also shows up on my blood tests. Maybe I should pose that question to Dr. Fung.

(What The Fast?!) #79

A common question I’ve seen here and in lots of FB groups regarding refeeding. I’ve heard Jason and Megan talk about making sure you eat enough on your feasting days - can they talk a bit more about that? How much is enough? Can you do a single meal and dive back into a fast, or is it better to have 2-3 meals feasting?

(Nicole Sawchuk) #80

I’ve been fasting for 6 months. Its took about 5 months to really get that high everyone is talking about. My body had to get used to fasting. The key is on feasting days…you have to show your body that you will provide it the nutritious food you need and it will not starve! Once I put more focus on providing more nutrient dense food and making sure when I ate that I ate a lot - than I started feeling better on fasting days!

Here’s a weird tip I just discovered is doing wonders for my energy levels…I don’t due bulletproof coffees on fasting days as they stoke hunger for me but I had always heard people taking a teaspoon of coconut oil straight with salt (pure fat has no insulin response). I personally hate the taste of coconut oil, but one day in a fast I was dying but didn’t have time to cook and eat a proper meal so I did it. I have never had so much energy!! I’ve repeated it a few times since with the same results.

As a bit of history on me - I am now at the point where my ketone levels are low (below 1.0 daily) even on fasting days (except on EF).