INTERMITTENT FASTING & DIABETES MANAGEMENT

HOW I DISCOVERED INTERMITTENT FASTING

When I saw my doctor in March 2018, I weighed 225 pounds and my A1C was 9.4. I was put on weekly shots of non-insulin Trulicity; 2000 mgs Metformin; Benazipril and Atirvastatin. I had turned 63 in June 2018. I am 5’9”, a former cop, Army veteran and K9 handler.

MY EATING SCHEDULE AFTER MEETING WITH MY PHYSICIAN MARCH 2018

I adjusted my food intake and eating habits, cut down (not cut out!) on the ice cream with peanut butter, cookies and daily pieces of cake and stuck with my walking and medication regimen. I was diagnosed with adult onset Type II Diabetes in 2000.

PRE-VACATION DIET • 0700 hrs - whole grain bread and cold cereal for breakfast

• 1030 hrs - piece of cake for break w/coffee

• 1300-1400 hrs - A sandwich w/chips for lunch

• 1700 hrs - mixed nuts on my way home

• 1900 hrs - dinner with Patricia after our evening walk with Randa.

By September 2018, I had lost 10 pounds and weighed-in at 215 pounds. My A1C was tracking downward, around 7.something, and I seemed to be on the right track. It’s important to note that I was slowly accomplishing the weight loss by cutting calories at breakfast and lunch but still eating three meals per day with not-so-healthy snacks in between and simply walking daily with Patricia and Randa. I thought this would be enough to continue my weight loss journey and my struggle to get diabetes under control.

EATING ON VACATION IN EUROPE SEPTEMBER 2018

Patricia and I are fortunate enough to have vacationed in Europe several times since we’ve been together. In September 2018, we traveled to France and Spain and enjoyed every minute! We eat well in both countries and ate whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

Breakfast in Europe is generally croissants, yogurt or pastry with coffee.

We had lunch if we had time, but usually we just had a snack of some kind while we were site seeing! In Paris dinner is a 3-hour ordeal which includes, charcuterie, a meal, bread, dessert and wine. We enjoyed lots of wine and cheese in Paris and Sangria and paella in Barcelona!

Basically, we were intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast and lunch in the traditional American sense and eating well for dinner and walking 3-10 miles per day for 14 days. I lost 4 pounds on vacation!

AFTER VACATION 2018

When I went to see my doc in early October 2018, just after returning from vacation at 206 pounds with A1C at 6.2, my Nurse Practitioner asked me what I was doing to control my weight and I told her my vacation story. She told me to keep doing what I’m doing. By the end of 2018 and after the holidays, however, I was back up to 210 pounds even though we were still walking, although not as many miles as vacation. I didn’t really understand what was happening in my body, but coming from police academy & military training background, I thought, I must train harder to make more weight loss gains! “Must be the cardio," I thought, no pain, no gain! Run, Forrest, run! But I was wrong! By January 1, 2019, my body plateaued at 210 pounds and I didn’t know why.

DR. JASON FUNG & INTERMITTENT FASTING

I first heard Dr. Jason Fung in December 2018 on the radio and made a mental note to research him after the holidays. As “luck” would have it, I heard Dr. Fung on the radio again in January 2019. I looked him up on YouTube and found the answers I was seeking. I found the key to reversing diabetes is weight loss, not blood sugar control, and the key to weight loss was intermittent fasting!

On January 15, 2019, I started a one-week experiment with intermittent fasting and never looked back. Over the course of the next 4 months I lost over 30 pounds and my A1C at last check was 6.1.

Today, January 3, 2020, I weigh 183 pounds at approx. 20 % body fat. I am off Trulicity, Atirvastatin and I take 1000 mg Metformin as an anti-aging medication not for diabetes management (this is another blog coming soon!).

I will be updating this blog next week with new lab results.