I am looking at the 5:2 or 16:8 to reverse some insulin sensitivity I’m experiencing.
Has anyone had any success with the 5:2 or 16:8 ?
I’m already quite low carb (avoid white flour, potatoes etc), but not Keto. I did Keto for about a year, 3 years ago, and found it hard to do long term. It did bring my blood glucose down to normal, but in other areas didn’t do me much good.
Anyway, has someone got an opinion on intermittent fasting and type 2 insulin resistance?
theory is you eat healthly for 5 days, but 2 days a week, say Mon and Thu, you restrict yourself to 500 calories for those two days.
Did you mean insulin resistance you’re experiencing?
Lowering blood glucose does a lot of good in many areas all by itself, not to mention the benefits of lowering insulin as well.
Intermittent fasting is fine. People do it every night, between supper and the first meal of the next day. If you are just re-starting keto, I’d suggest not worrying about any kind of fasting. Wait until you are hungry to eat, stop eating when you stop being hungry, and don’t start eating again until you are hungry again. As long as you keep your carb intake low, and you keep listening to your body, you don’t particularly need to worry about calories. If you find you need a snack, have something low-carb, and then eat more at the next meal.
That sounds too gimmicky to me. No reason to “trick” your body.
IF will be a natural progression and not something to enforce or manage.
You have been on this board since 2018 and in 2021 had an a1c over 11… And most of your questions over the years indicate you keep trying to make it too hard, focus on insignifcant carbs or details…
Just stick to keto and your a1c should come down and don’t worry about fasting until it comes naturally from being fat-adapted. 16:8 is what most people who stick to keto long term end up with - skip breakfast because you aren’t hungry, then eat a keto lunch and dinner with no bedtime snacking.
If your a1c hasn’t come down after 6 months of strict keto then you may have another underlying health problem because this works for the majority of people as many here on this board can attest to.
You misunderstand, I stuck to Keto faithfully for one full year (a couple of years ago). My A1C did come down to normal level. But Keto caused other health issues so I had to come off it.
Recent studies have shown Keto to not be as healthy as was thought a couple of years ago.
I’m aiming to do 16:8 , but in the 8 window I will eat healthy, but not Keto level carb input.
I think that should work for you. I would limit my carbs to real food like potatoes and corn, not processed like rice, bread and pasta, but that is me.
What is your a1c now?
I have done a lot of fasting or time-restricted feeding, including extended-day fasts over the last 13+ years that have been successful for my intended purpose. I no longer do the extended days as I do not feel the benefit is worth the risk at my age. Keep in mind that there is not a lot of scientific data on humans and fasting, especially females.
Some new research has suggested it’s better to eat in the am and fast in the pm. It goes further to suggest 30 grams of protein within the first 30 minutes of being awake.
Dr. Jason Fung uses IF and sometimes extended-day fasts combined with a keto protocol for his worst patients. Keep in mind that his patients do not fast every day. 2-3 times per week to address their issues.
Eat healthy can mean different things for different people under different dogma.
I can tell you what helped me, but we’re all different. I kept low carb, even though like you I also had to stop doing keto. But eating healthy for me still means limiting carbs. I cut also a lot on all the saturated fat I was eating. I still eat sat fat, but a lot less. My fat comes from some cheese, salmon, eggs, olives and nuts, mainly. I don’t add fat to my food, unless really necessary, like when I fry eggs, or to make a mug cake.
I avoid rice, pasta, wheat things (cakes, normal bread, cookies, pancakes, pizza) and also potatoes. But I eat grains and seeds in moderation.
My lab fasting glucose went from above 110 to high 80s. It took time to bring it back down after quitting keto and carnivore.
I also keep my weight healthy (BMI 22-23) and do exercise, like walking, running and mountain biking.
I’m a menopausal woman who don’t have an uterus (hysterectomy many years ago) and going on topical estradiol also helped.
Good luck!
Corals, this makes perfect sense to me. There is a standard “template” for optimal keto. There is no such template for us humans.
As we age, we may face new challenges and situations that require us to modify our diet.
Study, act, observe, repeat.
Seems to be the way life in general proceeds for us.
Glad you have found your groove and it’s working.