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Default Dec 29, 2020 at 01:08 AM
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The reason that intermittent fasting can help with type 2 diabetes is that it lowers blood sugar and insulin levels. I know that sounds counter intuitive but low blood sugar and low insulin levels allows the cells to burn the glucose stored in them which in turn increases your insulin sensitivity. In terms of a way to cure or improve diabetes you have to look at it as a lifestyle change and not a diet. If you see it as a diet all the benefits go out the window once you return to your normal eating habits.

Ok on to my life story, or at least the last decade or so of it abbreviated to only the pertinent bits.

I was never a big person growing up, pretty much the definition of scrawny. Never underweight just not a big person (I'm only 5'4"). All that would eventually change because metabolisms appear to have half lives and me and my then wife had a child.

I'm sorry for the novel, I'm trying to lay out all the important bits so that it all makes sense to you when we get to the IF/bipolar part.

One day I saw 200lb on my scale and decided something had to change. Over the course of YEARS and by trying to live a better lifestyle one step at a time, I managed to get my weight down to 160.

Now this part some people may find harsh or brutal but honestly it was almost the beat thing that was ever said to me. I had a doctors appointment and my family doctor flat out told me, your fat and you need to lose weight. I'm thinking to myself damn I managed to lose 40lbs and keep it off and while I knew I could still lose some weight I was kind of happy with myself. It was a rude awakening as they say, if my doctor is telling me to lose weight it's most likely in my beat interest. I managed to get down to about 155 then I got diagnosed.

As I'm sure most of you have experienced, not quite knowing what your getting into in terms of new medications/diagnosis is a whole new form of stress. I was provided several websites I could visit as resources, and then I looked up online what people had experienced.

I was prescribed lithium, a lot of the comments I saw from people stated that it cause weight gain in them. After over a decade of trying to get my weight down I was doubling down on my commitment and making sure I don't gain weight because of new medications. What could I do to try and prevent this.

Say hello to 16:8 intermittent fasting, the new fad that's been around since well forever. I decided to practice IF. I didn't really have anything to lose, was still in a quasi manic state and was not accepting that I could maybe gain weight.

For me, it works and it works really well. I have to take my pills with food before bed so I have a late eating window 3pm to 11pm. The first week or two were the hardest, this has more to do with bad eating habits then it does hunger. You are bored and get up and walk to another room, you pass by the kitchen and go "oh may as well grab a snack", etc. Those are the bad eating habits, someone described it to me perfectly when I was trying to explain to people how I can do this. I eat to live and no longer live to eat.

So here is the fun part, you can eat whatever you want. IF is not a diet it is a lifestyle, there are plenty of heath benefits and honestly I feel a lot better. I know some may say you feel better because of the medication but I still have some ups and downs bipolar wise, when I say I feel better it's really a to the core kind of feeling.

Some people see IF as a way to lose weight, yes you can lose weight while practicing IF (in fact it even makes it easier to lose said weight), but you are still required to have a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight.

I've lost a lot of weight since I started IF, I'm eating healthy, exercise a lot (walk an hour or more a day, I also don't drive so walk everywhere I need to go the 1 hour daily walk is just that a 1 hour or more daily walk that I take everyday), have more energy and am actually proud of myself for the discipline I exert. Nothing wrong with patting your own shoulder once in a while. I'm now very close to being considered lean by the US military BMI measurement, I saw 12 as the first two numbers on my scale since I started high school again and even do I didn't really have. negative body image in the past, I'm happier with the way I look.

So how does my medication (lithium) fit into all of this? Well as anyone who is on it should know, lithium being a narrow index drug the name of the game is all serum levels. Luckily for us, studies have already been made for this. Granted it was on rats and not humans, they wanted to see if fasting affect serum levels because of the Muslim tradition of Ramadan. The answer is that the difference was statistically negligible. So we know it won't mess with our serum levels, that's good. The only thing it it changed for me was that my eating window had to be later to accommodate eating as I take my pills.

On to all the fringe benefits that are tied to IF in some direct or indirect way.

1) There are some studies showing a link between bipolar disorder and circadian rhythm, this is why a lot of people will tell you that having a set routine greatly helps with bipolar disorder. From personal experience I agree with this. Having your meals on a set routine just helps establish a steady and constant circadian rhythm.

2) Better eating habits. You will break the habit of eating out of boredom or eating as a coping mechanism. You will most likely end up with an eating schedule that you follow pretty much everyday, this also helps the circadian rhythm because your body eats at the same time everyday. For the first two weeks I would start getting hungry anywheres between 10am and 3pm, now if I'm hungry and I look at a clock it will most likely be 3:30 or later. It took about two weeks for my body to adapt and realize what it's new eating window was.

3) Healthier food choices. Remember how you can't lose weight without a calorie deficit? Well you can't really track your calories unless you take the time to track them and measure out portions. When you are planning your meals and snacks and see that you could eat either 1 banana (90 cals) plus 1 medium apple (52 cals) plus 1 small greek yogurt (100 cal) plus 1 fruit cup (80 cal) and finally one granola
bar (120 cal) (so a total of 440 calories) or you can eat one Big Daddy brand double chocolate cookie (440 cal). You start seeing food as fuel and not as a treat, sure I'd like that cookie but I'd much rather have the first option since I know that for the calories they provide those foods will provide me more nutrition then the other option. Don't get me wrong I can still go out and buy and rat a chocolate bar or bag of chip, the urge to do so just isn't the same anymore. It's really a treat now and not something I crave or want everyday.

I'm sure I could find more benefits but I feel as if this is too much of a long post already. I just want to quickly say that my biggest problem is trying to tell people why I'm refusing their food or offer of food. I found that telling them I control my condition with medication PLUS my diet. It's the only way some people will accept that you will
not be eating at that point and time.

Last edited by bluekoi; Dec 31, 2020 at 11:28 AM.. Reason: Move post to own thread.
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