IF and Type 2 diabetes

sarena kopciel · 11-11-2007, 05:45 AM

Hi, I am a CFer for a year now. I am a formerly fat/obese woman who was at one point 225#. I exercised, dieted but all the wrong way. Within months of following CF and adjusting my nutrition to being a carnivore (from 14yr veg), adopting zone/paleo principles I am now 138# (225 was several yrs ago) with abt 18.5%bf! I look great and feel great and at 45 just became a grandma which no one can believe!!
I am a obsessive compulsive type though. I was recently overseas for the birth of grandbaby for 10days, ate solely paleo without regard to portions and only CFed 2x but did walk abt 5-10mi daily and schlepped a lot up several floors too. Basically worked without exercising. Point being my weight dropped a bit--perhaps lost muscle?
Am thinking to start IFing since I am so fed up with weighing and measuring constantly but am diagnosed with type2 diabetes which is totally controlled with lifestyle modifications. I know if I go too long w/out eating I get headaches. What would your thoughts be on my trying IF? I vary my workouts time wise but its usually either at 7am or 1230pm. I also teach CF and yoga to spec ed kids 2x week, full days from 830-230. And then I also teach 2 yoga class a week. I am constantly busy and feel currently that I need food a bit before workouts to keep me functioning and sane.
Thanks
looking forward to your response!

Garrett Smith · 11-11-2007, 05:59 AM

Sarena,
In your situation I'd try slowly dropping the carbs (shooting for finishing at half the standard Zone allotment) before fully jumping into IF.

Or you could do the gradual "moving back" of the first meal of the day, meld it into your midmorning snack, then push both those back into melding with lunch, and then get both meals within your predetermined window.

Either way, do it stepwise and gradually so you can observe all the changes. Maybe you'd like to keep a log here so we can keep an eye on it.

sarena kopciel · 11-11-2007, 07:59 AM

OK Garrett thanks for your reply and so quick. Will give it a few more days for body to adjust since I traveled and am still dealing with jet lag. In the meanwhile I uploaded my fitday log in signature.

Stuart Mather · 11-11-2007, 03:05 PM

Hi Sarena, a few of the people doing Low Carb/IF (usually 23/1) on Active Low Carber Forums are type 2, and are seeing better blood sugar control than low carb alone. Low carb itself being a considerable improvement on the mod- high carb/exercise dietary approach to managing diabetes. All exercise only lightly.

Even non diabetics seem to report blood sugar fluctuation/energy level improvements from IF, but the best results seem to be from combining both IF and lowcarb. That has certainly been my experience. I did the 'gradual ramping up of the fast length' that Garrett suggested. It took me six months to get to daily 20 hr fasts (about 2 months to get to fifteen). I'd already been (< 60g) low carbing for nearly 4 yrs when I started extending my overnight fast. Now after a year, I alternate between 19, 20, 21 hrs on a three day cycle.

Apart from the host of subtle health/body comp benefits I have noticed from adding IF to low carb, the most astonishing thing for me has been how much less food (both fat and protein, carbs were already low) I need to eat to maintain body comp. And my appetite is completely satisfied by that much lower calorie intake. Some people may well not necessarily see this as an advantage. Food is fun, right?

Stuart