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I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I have been on the intermittent fasting thing for about 6 months. I started with 14 hours then 16 hours and now 18-20 hour fa

I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I have been on the intermittent fasting thing for about 6 months. I started with 14 hours then 16 hours and now 18-20 hour fast. I dropped 10 pounds. I have a history of diabetes in my family. I took the 28andME DNA test and it said i have a predisposition to diabetes. The doc said to me. You have pre-diabetes just continue to workout and watch what you eat and your insurance does not cover a dietician and then that was it. It was VERY HARD to not eat in morning (black coffee) and after 1 month i got used to , it was very hard to skip lunch and after a few weeks i got used to that. Now now my feeding window is 4pm-8pm. I was pigging out at 4pm but have learned to control that. I workout in a fasted stated 12-1pm ( body weight , pullups. push-ups. 1 mile sprint HIIT and planks) I still get hunger pangs around 3pm its as if my body is getting ready to feed / knows food is coming around 4pm. Another thing that has happened is water tastes "sweeter" very unusual to actually taste water. The result for me is EVERYTHING has improved. I am 48 years old. No more carb fog. No more headaches. I think, i don't know buy i have this clarity i think my eye site has improved too. I mean Im still experimenting but i just feel fantastic. I will be getting blood work done again soon. It's working for me , i don't know if it will work for others. I tell everyone about it. Good LUCKY! :-)

imglorp 7y ago
You can get some of these benefits on keto, including steady energy levels, reduced brain fog, and no morning carb hangover headaches. The good news is you can eat what you want, the bad news is basically no carbs ever which makes eating out difficult. I'm surprised a narrow IF feeding window gives the carb benefits, but sounds worth a try for sustainability long term.
- maroonblazer 7y ago
  This was my experience when I jumped on the Paleo bandwagon about 10 years ago. Prior to that carbs were a substantial part of my diet. English muffins, bagels, toast and cereal in the morning, sandwiches for lunch and bread as part of every dinner, along with more cereal as a nighttime snack. After cutting all that out my energy levels were much more even. It was like night & day. I also dropped several pounds over the course of the first month. I'll occasionally treat myself to bread/carbs but nowhere near to the degree I used to.
- acconrad 7y ago
  Experiences are highly biased and individual. Counter-example: I was on Keto for 2 years and my blood levels became prediabetic (105 and 100 in 2 blood tests over the course of 2 annual doctor visits). As soon as I reintroduced carbs to normal levels (I bought a glucosometer) my blood sugars went back down to optimal (85). My most recent blood work was at 90. Your mileage may vary and everyone's GI responds differently to different foods.
uhtred 7y ago
So do you have to consume the 2000 to 2500 calories that the average person needs, in that 4 hour window? What food do you eat?
- adamqureshi 7y ago
  I don't calorie count. 4pm meal can be a cheese burger, Chinese food or paki food ( like chicken Karahi) I do an evening workout around 7pm with kettle bell swings to burn the sugar. Then i have a snack after. But Its very odd I am NOT hungry just like "used" to eating as if it's a memory. I am still getting used to this. I can't explain it clearly. I guess you just have to try it. My whole family has diabetes even my little brother who is 10 years younger than me. Could be the bad south Asian genes ( Pakistani) , I don't know. lol. I try to stay away from carbs such as white bread ,no ice cream / sugar etc... or i limit the amount of naan breads i have to like 1 when eating with a curry dish but i do love a chicken bryani once in a while but the portion size is less , i just can't eat like i used too before i started the IF diet.
  - throwaway_tech 7y ago
    >4pm meal can be a cheese burger, Chinese food or paki food (like chicken Karahi) I do an evening workout around 7pm with kettle bell swings to burn the sugar. If I can make a suggestion...if possible continue the fast into the workout. If you find you don't have the energy to get through the workout or performance suffers try replacing the meal with a sugarfree pre-workout to get through, then eat the carbs with some protein post workout. The general idea is the sugar/carbs you eat at 4 will not truly be available to burn at 7, but you will have probably spiked insulin so your body is trying to store energy while you are in the gym trying to access the energy. Whereas if you can make the workout fasted, you will be in ketosis burning fat and have naturally spiked you HGH from the fast, then after the workout while you are catabolic you will eat carbs/protein to trigger anabolism (recovery/repair) of the muscles while filing up your depleted glucose/glycogen aided by the carbs/insulin.
    - uhtred 7y ago
300bps 7y ago
How was your diet before you started intermittent fasting? When I read anecdotal accounts like this, I often wonder if your previous diet was so poor that doing anything to change it would've made it better. In other words, without a control group that switched from high carb to low carb without intermittent fasting it's hard to know if the benefits you've seen are from intermittent fasting or just from eating better generally. You and I are about the same age and I've been the same weight the past 30 years. I know what you mean about non-sweet things tasting sweeter - I gave up obvious refined sugar about 6 years ago and the bag of plain raw vegetables I eat every day for a snack tastes amazing.
- becausecombi 7y ago
  Not denying IF has an important role, but daily strength & cardio training are surely confounding also.
- adamqureshi 7y ago
  I was a long distance runner from like 25-36. I ate whatever i wanted. You know what they tell you, Carb loading etc… Then i went through a vegetarian phase. A paleo phase , An atkins phase etc... Then i went through broke phase at 39. I really didn't get the pre-diabetes diagnosis until after 46. I stopped the long distance running and shifted to a more of a calisthenics workout. Pull ups and HIIT training more functional muscle type stuff , ( 2 mile run consisting of sprinting then pull ups / push ups / dips. After the DNA test and the pre-disposition to diabetes after 45 i went to the doctor got blood work and thats when the doctor said my AC1 is high and Im pre-diabetic. I ate a LOT of choc-chip cookies in youth ( lol) and LOVED me a good brownie a la mode with a LOT of fudge . Now after this IF diet and the predisposition to diabetes and had to give up all that. This IF diet is working great for me now. Hopefully i can stay with it. I have dropped weight but do not want to be below 165. I think the ideal weight for me is around 170 lbs. I suggest everyone at LEAST give it a shot and get a 23andME test as you get older to find out if you have a pre-disposition. Then take some action or you will be on meds. Doctor never prescribed IF to me they don’t have time for it. Doctor never prescribed cross fit either. They just prescribe meds.
becausecombi 7y ago
Glad it's working out for you! I tried IF a couple years ago, for a 4 month period. After an adjustment period of about 2 weeks, which included short periods of intense hunger and mild head aches, I felt great! I wasn't in bad shape before the IF, so I only lost about 6lbs/3kg, but my energy levels where much more consistent throughout the day, focus was easier to achieve and maintain, and I just had a joie de vivre. Like you, I started off with a wider eating window, of about 4 hours, and I started without really caring what I ate. But I slowly reduced the window to about 1-2 hours and a strange thing happened. Avoiding unhealthy food became a very easy act of will. Maybe it was just the realization that the only thing I was putting in my body for the entire day, the only thing that it would use to repair and refuel itself, was what I was eating at that very moment. I've never really had New Year's resolutions, but this December I've been slowly weaning myself off my morning coffee, anticipating an early January start to my new IF schedule! I'm also really excited to continue this experiment to see where it goes!
acconrad 7y ago
So did you reverse your pre-diabetes? It's hard to tell from this message. You mention that you feel better and that it's "working for me" but how can you know unless you get that blood work done? You may subjectively feel better but it may not be making a dent in your health. Honestly, what most likely will reverse your prediabetes is that you are now working out more, eating less, and dropped 10 pounds. The IF was simply a compliance tactic to help you achieve that goal. Just something to keep in mind... it's okay if you eventually stop doing IF, what's more important is you maintain the healthy eating and active lifestyle.
- adamqureshi 7y ago
  I Definitely "FEEL" better. Getting the blood work done next month. They use some A1C test, this is for type 2. I did loose weight and doc did say this status "can" be updated if you loose weight. Let's see. wish my luck! :-)

imglorp 7y ago

You can get some of these benefits on keto, including steady energy levels, reduced brain fog, and no morning carb hangover headaches. The good news is you can eat what you want, the bad news is basically no carbs ever which makes eating out difficult. I'm surprised a narrow IF feeding window gives the carb benefits, but sounds worth a try for sustainability long term.

maroonblazer 7y ago
This was my experience when I jumped on the Paleo bandwagon about 10 years ago. Prior to that carbs were a substantial part of my diet. English muffins, bagels, toast and cereal in the morning, sandwiches for lunch and bread as part of every dinner, along with more cereal as a nighttime snack. After cutting all that out my energy levels were much more even. It was like night & day. I also dropped several pounds over the course of the first month. I'll occasionally treat myself to bread/carbs but nowhere near to the degree I used to.
acconrad 7y ago
Experiences are highly biased and individual. Counter-example: I was on Keto for 2 years and my blood levels became prediabetic (105 and 100 in 2 blood tests over the course of 2 annual doctor visits). As soon as I reintroduced carbs to normal levels (I bought a glucosometer) my blood sugars went back down to optimal (85). My most recent blood work was at 90. Your mileage may vary and everyone's GI responds differently to different foods.

uhtred 7y ago

So do you have to consume the 2000 to 2500 calories that the average person needs, in that 4 hour window? What food do you eat?

adamqureshi 7y ago
I don't calorie count. 4pm meal can be a cheese burger, Chinese food or paki food ( like chicken Karahi) I do an evening workout around 7pm with kettle bell swings to burn the sugar. Then i have a snack after. But Its very odd I am NOT hungry just like "used" to eating as if it's a memory. I am still getting used to this. I can't explain it clearly. I guess you just have to try it. My whole family has diabetes even my little brother who is 10 years younger than me. Could be the bad south Asian genes ( Pakistani) , I don't know. lol. I try to stay away from carbs such as white bread ,no ice cream / sugar etc... or i limit the amount of naan breads i have to like 1 when eating with a curry dish but i do love a chicken bryani once in a while but the portion size is less , i just can't eat like i used too before i started the IF diet.
- throwaway_tech 7y ago
  >4pm meal can be a cheese burger, Chinese food or paki food (like chicken Karahi) I do an evening workout around 7pm with kettle bell swings to burn the sugar. If I can make a suggestion...if possible continue the fast into the workout. If you find you don't have the energy to get through the workout or performance suffers try replacing the meal with a sugarfree pre-workout to get through, then eat the carbs with some protein post workout. The general idea is the sugar/carbs you eat at 4 will not truly be available to burn at 7, but you will have probably spiked insulin so your body is trying to store energy while you are in the gym trying to access the energy. Whereas if you can make the workout fasted, you will be in ketosis burning fat and have naturally spiked you HGH from the fast, then after the workout while you are catabolic you will eat carbs/protein to trigger anabolism (recovery/repair) of the muscles while filing up your depleted glucose/glycogen aided by the carbs/insulin.
  - uhtred 7y ago

300bps 7y ago

How was your diet before you started intermittent fasting? When I read anecdotal accounts like this, I often wonder if your previous diet was so poor that doing anything to change it would've made it better. In other words, without a control group that switched from high carb to low carb without intermittent fasting it's hard to know if the benefits you've seen are from intermittent fasting or just from eating better generally. You and I are about the same age and I've been the same weight the past 30 years. I know what you mean about non-sweet things tasting sweeter - I gave up obvious refined sugar about 6 years ago and the bag of plain raw vegetables I eat every day for a snack tastes amazing.

becausecombi 7y ago
Not denying IF has an important role, but daily strength & cardio training are surely confounding also.
adamqureshi 7y ago
I was a long distance runner from like 25-36. I ate whatever i wanted. You know what they tell you, Carb loading etc… Then i went through a vegetarian phase. A paleo phase , An atkins phase etc... Then i went through broke phase at 39. I really didn't get the pre-diabetes diagnosis until after 46. I stopped the long distance running and shifted to a more of a calisthenics workout. Pull ups and HIIT training more functional muscle type stuff , ( 2 mile run consisting of sprinting then pull ups / push ups / dips. After the DNA test and the pre-disposition to diabetes after 45 i went to the doctor got blood work and thats when the doctor said my AC1 is high and Im pre-diabetic. I ate a LOT of choc-chip cookies in youth ( lol) and LOVED me a good brownie a la mode with a LOT of fudge . Now after this IF diet and the predisposition to diabetes and had to give up all that. This IF diet is working great for me now. Hopefully i can stay with it. I have dropped weight but do not want to be below 165. I think the ideal weight for me is around 170 lbs. I suggest everyone at LEAST give it a shot and get a 23andME test as you get older to find out if you have a pre-disposition. Then take some action or you will be on meds. Doctor never prescribed IF to me they don’t have time for it. Doctor never prescribed cross fit either. They just prescribe meds.

becausecombi 7y ago

Glad it's working out for you! I tried IF a couple years ago, for a 4 month period. After an adjustment period of about 2 weeks, which included short periods of intense hunger and mild head aches, I felt great! I wasn't in bad shape before the IF, so I only lost about 6lbs/3kg, but my energy levels where much more consistent throughout the day, focus was easier to achieve and maintain, and I just had a joie de vivre. Like you, I started off with a wider eating window, of about 4 hours, and I started without really caring what I ate. But I slowly reduced the window to about 1-2 hours and a strange thing happened. Avoiding unhealthy food became a very easy act of will. Maybe it was just the realization that the only thing I was putting in my body for the entire day, the only thing that it would use to repair and refuel itself, was what I was eating at that very moment. I've never really had New Year's resolutions, but this December I've been slowly weaning myself off my morning coffee, anticipating an early January start to my new IF schedule! I'm also really excited to continue this experiment to see where it goes!

acconrad 7y ago

So did you reverse your pre-diabetes? It's hard to tell from this message. You mention that you feel better and that it's "working for me" but how can you know unless you get that blood work done? You may subjectively feel better but it may not be making a dent in your health. Honestly, what most likely will reverse your prediabetes is that you are now working out more, eating less, and dropped 10 pounds. The IF was simply a compliance tactic to help you achieve that goal. Just something to keep in mind... it's okay if you eventually stop doing IF, what's more important is you maintain the healthy eating and active lifestyle.

adamqureshi 7y ago
I Definitely "FEEL" better. Getting the blood work done next month. They use some A1C test, this is for type 2. I did loose weight and doc did say this status "can" be updated if you loose weight. Let's see. wish my luck! :-)