INTRO: After a seeming endless 6 week plateau with my weight barely budging, I decided to do some serious intermittent fasting and lower my carbs and bingo – my weight is dropping nicely! Not only that, my fasting blood sugar is the best it has been since I was diagnosed as Diabetic ~10 years ago. Here’s an update.
Yesterday was my third day of intermittent fasting (IF) this week – where I didn’t eat anything after supper at night, until supper the next day. This is my second week of doing intermittent fasting Monday to Friday and eating a regular, low carb high healthy fat supper at night.
Here’s an example of what I ate on one night, to give you an idea. It was some Thai chicken thighs that had been marinated in coconut milk, red curry paste and curry and grilled on the barbecue, along with a huge mixed green salad, with some shaved Parmesan, raspberries, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and homemade raspberry vinaigrette (great thing to do with over ripe berries!) that was made with Dijon mustard, wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. To start with, I also ate about a cup of snap peas with ~ 1 1/2 Tbsp of taramasalata (Greek carp roe spread) that didn’t have any of the usual bread in the recipe.
Keeping in mind that I am only a “sample set of 1”, here are my results;
Last week, which was my first week of regular IF, my fasting blood sugar, which had been stuck at the high to mid- 6 mmol/L (117 mg/dL) range for weeks, dropped to the mid- 5 mmol/L range (~99 mg/dL) for several days in row.
Yesterday, which was my third day of IF this week, my blood sugar just before dinner was the lowest it has been since I was diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic ~10 years ago.
While I felt totally fine and had been working a full clinical day, I knew it was time to eat something! I ate about 10 salted almonds and went about preparing dinner.
I should add, that last week I also started walking daily ~ 2-3 km (1 1/4 -2 miles) around a local man-made lake (I posted a video below, so you can see it). The first two days I could only go once around, as I had fractured a rib last Friday and it was still quite painful. I starting walking daily because it was supposed to be good to alleviate the muscle pain accompanying my injury and I found it helped a lot, so I kept doing it each morning. Then I realized how great it felt to be walking in such a beautiful place, so now it has become a morning routine.
My blood pressure is doing amazing now.
It had stalled between Stage 1 hypertension and pre-hypertension for about a month, but when it creeped back up to Stage 2 hypertension for two days in a row, I decided to go see my doctor and get prescription for a ‘baby-dose’ of Ramipril (2.5 mg).
There is a strong family risk of heart attack and stroke, and a blood pressure that hit 160/90 was not something to fool around with.
I plan to staying on the meds until I lose another 20 pounds, or until my blood pressure becomes too low – whichever comes first.
Look at my blood pressure now.
The only day that was high (Stage 1) was last Friday, before I started on the lowest dose of Ramipril.
The rest of the time I am in pre-hypertension and one day was totally normal! I am looking forward to seeing the continued dietary changes, bring it down even further.
As I planned to do 3 months after I started eating low carb, I have a requisition for blood work and an appointment for mid-July to have that done. I will be getting my HbA1C checked and my cholesterol, along with some liver and kidney function tests as well as electrolytes (important on this hypertensive medication).
One of the other dietary changes that I made, besides the intermittent fasting, was that I cut my carbs considerably. I was not doing well on 50 gm of carb per day, my weight loss had been stalled, my blood pressure as well and it had been a month of no significant progress, even though I was in low stage ketosis. I cut my carbs down to 35 gms per day (sometimes a little less), but making sure to have lots of non-starchy vegetables and protein and of course, plenty of healthy fats in the form of olive oil, coconut milk and nuts.
In short, I feel amazing.
The weight is dropping, the inches are dropping, my blood sugar is approaching more normal values and my blood pressure is being kept in check, while I continue this process of eating low carb high healthy fat and daily walks. I’m not hungry during the day even though I am not eating, because my body is happily accessing my own fat stores for energy. I think the limiting factor at this point is that my body is not quite used to synthesizing the enzymes needed for it to make glucose from my stored fat (a process called gluconeogenesis), so I will be monitoring my blood sugar closely, to make sure it doesn’t get too low.
I want to encourage you, that if your weight is staying stable for longer than you’d like, I’ve posted some things on the blog that would be helpful (located under the Food For Thought tab). One article is on tracking carbs, and the next one is on where calories factor in.
If your weight has plateaued, and you’ve been eating low carb high fat and your not losing weight as you’d like to, these two articles should help.
If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you accomplish your own weight loss or insulin-resistance lowering goals, please send me a note using the “Contact Us” form above.
Keep in mind that for the month of July only, I am offering a substantial savings on taking both an assessment package and a weight management package, so please visit the front page to find out more about the Canada Day special.
To our good health!
Joy
If you would like to read well-researched, credible ”Science Made Simple” articles on the use of a low carb or ketogenic diet for weight loss, as well as to significantly improve and even reverse the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol and other metabolic-related symptoms, please click here.
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Note: I am a "sample-set of 1" - meaning that my results may or may not be like any others who follow a similar lifestyle. If you are considering eating "low carb" and are taking medication to control your blood sugar or blood pressure, please discuss it with your doctor, first.
Copyright ©2017 The Low Carb High Fat Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd). LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without regular monitoring by a Registered Dietitian and with the knowledge of your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing something you have read in our content.
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