5 ms·

IF has really saved my life. I definitely feel like i reverse aged a few years as a result of it. I enjoy food more now, weight is in check, I look younger.. ha

IF has really saved my life. I definitely feel like i reverse aged a few years as a result of it. I enjoy food more now, weight is in check, I look younger.. hard to beat the benefits.

fokinsean 7y ago
What's your regimen? Do you restrict what kinds of food you eat? What about alcohol? I've been interested in starting it.
- uptownfunk 7y ago
  Mostly plant based (occasional pizza or gelato maybe once a month), I do alternate day fasting, something like 40:8, fast 40 hours eat for 8.. try to avoid night eating, it makes me feel worse the next day.. maybe a bit much for some but I feel so much stronger as a result. Low caffeine.. probably too much fake meat/soy products for my own good..
  - fokinsean 7y ago
    Oh wow that's an intense fasting schedule (at least to me)! I've been trying to be consistent about 16:8 during the week. Weekends usually mess me up due to alcohol... I've noticed feeling more tired this year and am exploring ways to fight it. Maybe I need to kick down the caffeine as well.
    - uptownfunk 7y ago
      Since I’ve started fasting it’s hard for me to sleep past 4-5am, which is nice because at least in my culture, it’s supposed to be a good time to get up and meditate and think.. it’s not so intense but I don’t do intense physical activity, maybe 30 minutes of ashtanga yoga a day..
eatmyshorts 7y ago
As it turns out, insulin resistance, like that associated with type-2 diabetes, is also related to inflammation (apparently due to cytokines: https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/inflammation-and-diabetes https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/inflammation-and-diabetes), which in turn is correlated with heart disease. As I understand it (disclaimer: I'm not a doctor), the inflammation results in damage to the blood vessels, which your body repairs by using cholesterol, among other things, that are in your blood. When LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind of cholesterol) is used in this way, it calcifies over time, leading to hardening of the arteries. As someone with a high CAC score and premature calcification of my arteries, my doctors have advised me to move to a low-carb diet and combine that with statin drugs to lower my LDL cholesterol. Low carbs generally means lots of meat and lots of saturated fat, which is the opposite advice that doctors traditionally have given for patients at risk of heart disease. Lately there have been lots of studies that show that dietary LDL cholesterol is only very loosely correlated with LDL cholesterol in your blood--primarily because the cholesterol in your blood is produced in your pancreas, not ingested/absorbed from your stomach. So I did a self experiment--go on a ketosis diet for 3 months before I started taking my statins and test to see if my LDL cholesterol changed. It didn't--it went slightly down in my case. Then I went on statins--now my LDL cholesterol is at "normal" levels. So, basically as I understand it, low carb diets can help prevent your body damaging your arteries in the first place, such that they don't need repair. Then, the statins lower my LDL cholesterol such that when my arteries do need repair, the cholesterol that is used doesn't calcify over time. Basically I'm attempting to address my heart disease from both sides: prevent the damage in the first place, and remove calcifying LDL cholesterol from my bloodstream when arterial repair is necessary. Note that this is all pretty cutting edge stuff, and we don't have good studies to demonstrate its effectiveness yet. If you have issues with calcification of your arteries, it is best to work with your doctor to find a program that works for you.
- cageface 7y ago
  Dietary cholesterol is very directly correlated with blood cholesterol levels. You can feed someone cholesterol and directly watch their levels spike. But your body will clear it if you give it time which is why your fasting cholesterol may not show this if you have naturally low levels. But during that window if time that cholesterol is active in your blood it's not doing you any favors. This is why heart attacks very often follow shortly after a meal.

IF has really saved my life. I definitely feel like i reverse aged a few years as a result of it. I enjoy food more now, weight is in check, I look younger.. hard to beat the benefits.

fokinsean 7y ago

What's your regimen? Do you restrict what kinds of food you eat? What about alcohol? I've been interested in starting it.

uptownfunk 7y ago
Mostly plant based (occasional pizza or gelato maybe once a month), I do alternate day fasting, something like 40:8, fast 40 hours eat for 8.. try to avoid night eating, it makes me feel worse the next day.. maybe a bit much for some but I feel so much stronger as a result. Low caffeine.. probably too much fake meat/soy products for my own good..
- fokinsean 7y ago
  Oh wow that's an intense fasting schedule (at least to me)! I've been trying to be consistent about 16:8 during the week. Weekends usually mess me up due to alcohol... I've noticed feeling more tired this year and am exploring ways to fight it. Maybe I need to kick down the caffeine as well.
  - uptownfunk 7y ago
    Since I’ve started fasting it’s hard for me to sleep past 4-5am, which is nice because at least in my culture, it’s supposed to be a good time to get up and meditate and think.. it’s not so intense but I don’t do intense physical activity, maybe 30 minutes of ashtanga yoga a day..

eatmyshorts 7y ago

As it turns out, insulin resistance, like that associated with type-2 diabetes, is also related to inflammation (apparently due to cytokines: https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/inflammation-and-diabetes https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/inflammation-and-diabetes), which in turn is correlated with heart disease. As I understand it (disclaimer: I'm not a doctor), the inflammation results in damage to the blood vessels, which your body repairs by using cholesterol, among other things, that are in your blood. When LDL cholesterol (the "bad" kind of cholesterol) is used in this way, it calcifies over time, leading to hardening of the arteries. As someone with a high CAC score and premature calcification of my arteries, my doctors have advised me to move to a low-carb diet and combine that with statin drugs to lower my LDL cholesterol. Low carbs generally means lots of meat and lots of saturated fat, which is the opposite advice that doctors traditionally have given for patients at risk of heart disease. Lately there have been lots of studies that show that dietary LDL cholesterol is only very loosely correlated with LDL cholesterol in your blood--primarily because the cholesterol in your blood is produced in your pancreas, not ingested/absorbed from your stomach. So I did a self experiment--go on a ketosis diet for 3 months before I started taking my statins and test to see if my LDL cholesterol changed. It didn't--it went slightly down in my case. Then I went on statins--now my LDL cholesterol is at "normal" levels. So, basically as I understand it, low carb diets can help prevent your body damaging your arteries in the first place, such that they don't need repair. Then, the statins lower my LDL cholesterol such that when my arteries do need repair, the cholesterol that is used doesn't calcify over time. Basically I'm attempting to address my heart disease from both sides: prevent the damage in the first place, and remove calcifying LDL cholesterol from my bloodstream when arterial repair is necessary. Note that this is all pretty cutting edge stuff, and we don't have good studies to demonstrate its effectiveness yet. If you have issues with calcification of your arteries, it is best to work with your doctor to find a program that works for you.

cageface 7y ago
Dietary cholesterol is very directly correlated with blood cholesterol levels. You can feed someone cholesterol and directly watch their levels spike. But your body will clear it if you give it time which is why your fasting cholesterol may not show this if you have naturally low levels. But during that window if time that cholesterol is active in your blood it's not doing you any favors. This is why heart attacks very often follow shortly after a meal.