My Intermittent Fasting Experience

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Let me start by saying I am not well versed in the science of intermittent fasting (IF).  There are plenty of people out there who can give you a lot more information in regards to what is supposed to happen when you fast, so I would ask that you direct those kinds of questions elsewhere.  What I do know about, though, is how my body has responded to condensing the amount of time I eat every day from about 17 hours to right around 8 hours, effectively having a 16-hour window every day where I "fast".

I've been following this IF regimen for just under two weeks now.  Not a huge amount of time for sure, but nevertheless I have already noticed some pretty drastic changes, particularly in the stability of my blood glucose levels.  For years my blood glucose levels were usually maintained between 140-160 throughout the day.  If I got below 100 I would start feeling like I was dropping into hypoglycemia.  This was contrary to the standard recommendations that stated my blood glucose level should be between 80-120.

After about 5 days of IF I noticed my average blood glucose levels had dropped throughout the day and I was right within the recommended 80-120 range throughout most of the day.  The other thing I noticed was that I could keep my blood glucose levels in the 80's and 90's not feel like I was going to drop lower, which is always a concern I have had.

Because of these lower blood glucose readings I am taking less insulin throughout the day due to both fewer blood glucose spikes requiring additional insulin and a lowering of the basal level of insulin I receive consistently throughout the day.

As far as my weight goes, the first three days I was following the IF process I went from 238 lbs to 231 lbs.  Now, for someone like me who has traditionally had a difficult time putting on weight, this was not pleasing to see.  But once I figured out how to effectively eat more in that 8-hour window I have put back on four pounds.

So up until now my eating schedule has been trying to start at 12 noon every day and concluding around 8 PM.  There is usually an hour or two kind of mid-morning where I get really hungry, but otherwise I feel fine.  I have also noticed that, despite feeling completely depleted the first time I tried to train while fasted, exercising usually helps take the edge off, as does tea and water.

The idea of IF had been proposed to me before, but I wasn't really sure what to make of it.  In Engineering The Alpha the authors talk a bit about IF and they brought up some interesting points as far as increasing growth hormone and improving insulin sensitivity.  I'm not sure if insulin sensitivity can be improved in a Type-1 diabetic, but I figure it is worth a shot so I decided to try it out.

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I'll post updates on my IF experience every few weeks to this blog so be on the lookout if you want to follow along.  Additionally, if you want to try out IF for yourself, check out Engineering The Alpha as well as the multitude of other resources online.

Your body.  Your training.

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