Hi guys,
Here's me after 7 days of fast + 1 day of trying unsuccessfully to eat....
What a mess....
I think I owe an explanation....
Let me get back to the basics, 6 months ago I weighted 139.6 Kg and was diagnosed with Metabolic syndrome which means: Diabetes, Hypertension & Morbid obesity. I decided to follow Dr. Fuhrman's nutritarial diet basing my diet on his book - "The end of diabetes". I lost weight, my Hb1aC went down from 7.2 to 5.8, my fasting glucose went down from 126 to 98 and of course all the rest of the parameters are extra ordinary better than they used to be.
But the big question is -
Am I still diabetic?
What is the definition of being diabetic? Well according to the american diabetes association it's enough if your fasting glucose was measured twice, on two separated days 126 or above. It's like if ANY time during your past you measured like this then you diabetic no matter what, no matter if you removed all symptoms, no matter if you are thin, muscular, can run a marathon. It doesn't matter if you are sorry about your nutrition in the past - you are diabetic.
Am I diabetic?
Read on!
My 7 day fast started on Friday 24/Jan/2014 at 17:04 and ended on Friday 31/Jan/2014. During my fast I ate nothing and drank water as much as I wanted. I did this fast in order to let my body rest. I wanted to give my body a long period w/o having to digest food. During this time the body can detox, fix, and do whatever it needs to do w/o energy being wasted on digestion. Many chronic illnesses were reversed with fasting because at last you give your body opportunity to deal with the problems. For example during this specific fast my body fixed an eczema that I had in my right foot. It's totally clean now and only in one week.
Specifically I wanted to help my cells become more sensitive to insulin. When we eat food containing glucose such as sugar, ice cream, bread or rice insulin is being secreted. Insulin is helping the glucose molecules get into the cells. When we flood the body with too much glucose then over the years the cells are becoming resistant to insulin, when the insulin is knocking on the rusty doors of the cells - they don't open and the glucose stays in the blood. My thinking was that if I deprive my body from food then the cells will try to get their glucose, they will beg for glucose and maybe become a little bit more sensitive to insulin.
Did I succeed at this plan?
Read on!
The third goal for this fast was to expedite my weight loss - yes I am still over weight, yes there's still visceral fat that I can get rid of and this fat is blocking the way of glucose to the cells - this fat is promoting insulin resistance, so I am going to get rid of it to the point that I shall be so thin and ugly that even my mother is not going to recognize me.
I did all of this fast while working normally. And when I work normally - it means lots of brain power, debugging, solving engineering problems, dealing with customers problems - lots of concentration and focus and I did this while the brain has no glucose....
You see? On the first day of the fast - there's still some glucose in the blood, in the liver, in the muscles stored as glycogen, that's still fine. On the second day the body starts burning fats & muscles in order to get glucose. After 3 days of this - the body says 'enough is enough' and the liver starts producing ketones. These little puppies are the alternative energy source for our body and especially the brain. Research is indicating that when the brain is working on ketones the cognition is raised by 25%!! So that's why I could play Lumosity and break my records even if I was deep into the fast.
My glucose levels went down. I was so happy... I mean before this fast I was measured 98 after 8 hour fast, I measured myself at all sorts of numbers from 82 to 106 and all of a sudden I past by the 82 mark and I continue lower, lower, lower. About one day of fasting I measured 61, 2 days after starting the fast I measured 65, after 3 days I measured 58, after 4 days I measured 51 and I stayed there. And indeed normal people's glucose level is 40-65 during such long fasts.
During the fast I was not hungry, was not fatigue, maybe a little bit dizzy when getting out of bed for the first 10 seconds but that's all - but still there was this uncomfortable feeling, especially on the last fasting day.
I already explained that normal people have this false hunger and therefore they always need to eat something, they are in a vicious cycle, they are in a trap that will lead to their death. I am not. I am over it, I had it in the first days of July when I started my diet and it's gone. So going into this fast was very easy and smooth for me.
But going OUT of this fast... was quite... dramatic.
In his book "Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease" Dr. Fuhrman explains that it's very important to go out of the fast verrrry slowly. For his 3 week fasters he provides additional 5 days of recuperation until they are able to go home...
Well I decided to do it slowly and to monitor my blood glucose every hour.
I started drinking half a cup of a lemon drink - Guys I swear to god this was the best drink I have EVER drank in my life. WOww.... it felt sooo good. After one week of not eating anything your taste buds are becoming sooo sensitive that you learn to appreciate anything - even lemon.
Then I waited one hour and measured my glucose - it went up from 52 to 56 so I told myself - that is a very calm and slow awakening. And indeed some calorie restriction practitioners are breaking their fast with such a teaser drink. The idea is to tell the pancreas - 'hey, get your insulin pumps going, there's gonna be some more'.
I ate 200 grams sweet potato puree with 1 tbsp coconut oil + 1 tbsp olive oil and it was SO GOOOD... I almost fainted with joy. Wow you learn to appreciate the little things, the good things, your body becomes sensitive.
I waited one more hour and I measured my glucose - it was 72 and I was delighted, wow that's nice, I am sensitive, I really got rid of my diabetes, I can eat small amounts and still have my glucose at 72 after one hour.
I then drank a vegetable soup and waited one more hour.
When I measured my blood glucose this time I was absolutely astonished to find out that it was no less than 149 !!!!! How come that from such a smooth transition I get this? I think it's the carrot. For some reason some of Dr. Fuhrman's soup recipes contain carrots although they are notorious for their super high glycemic value. This is scary - this jump from 72 to 149 and for nothing - it wasn't a cake, it wasn't coffee with sugar - it was soup with cooked carrot juice. If my body reacts like this then something must be wrong.
I decided to wait exactly one more hour.
I measured again - 156 !!!!
Do you understand what's going on here?
I am after 7 days of fast where my body is not 'trained' in digesting food yet, the enzymes are still not active so much and here I am with glucose in my blood that I can't get rid of. It's either that the pancreas doesn't release enough insulin, which I doubt, or it is that the cells are still telling me - you and your fasting and your Doctor Fuhrman and all the vegan and nutritarial stuff - can kiss our ass - we are NOT opening the doors.
I was in panic.
I decided to go outside for a brisk walk, it was Friday night, the streets were empty and I was pacing briskly, running up up the stairs, down the stairs, trying to make my cells that they don't have any option but to get the glucose in because I don't have any medications for this crap - I need those cells to be good girls and to open up.
I measured exactly after one hour - it was 79! That's what I call hypoglycemia at its best - after letting all the glucose into the cells, the insulin is still walking in the corridors of your veins telling all the glucose "who wants to mess with me?".
I read again the relevant chapter of Dr. Fuhrman's book - he meant to do it VERY slowly... so I am now under the following regime: every 2 hours, if my blood glucose is below 100 then I am allowed to drink exactly one cup of either fruit juice or one cup of vegetable juice.
Today, 14 hours after I broke my fast, I woke up with a glucose level of 82. That was great. Two hours after that I drank one cup of vegetable juice. Two hours after that I drank one cup strawberries+bananas+pineapples juice. I had to wait 3 hours till my glucose could go down below 100 and measured 95 - it means that I am still insulin resistant, no matter all my efforts, I just can't consume glucose like I used to. At 15:00 I drank one cup of vegetables, waited two hours and yes... my glucose is at 93, so that's good - after such a fight, I am in control again - I can eat a little, make sure it doesn't blow my glucose level and then wait a little and so on, and my glucose level goes back to 93 which means I am sensitive... as long as I don't wake up the lion....
So that's it for now, I am still trying to get out of this fast w/o harm but had to write about it cause I get so many questions.
I just ate one banana, and in two hours I shall measure again....
And what's the conclusion for you out there? DON'T GET DIABETIC !!! :)
Aviel.
