NO QUOTE If by intermittent fasting you mean the same pattern day after day after day

Posted on May 6, 2021 by David Kueker

David Oliver Kueker
If by intermittent fasting you mean the same pattern day after day after day, you might try ADF or alternate day fasting.
Your comment leads me to wonder: “6 day on Intermittent Fasting 22:2”. A consistent daily pattern could be harmful to your metabolism. (I’ve never read of people fainting, though.)
The eating day between fasting days is very important to reset. Perhaps your body needs that, or perhaps it needs that at this time. The body learns how to fast and adjusts over time.
It’s also good to eat definite meals rather than spread eating over a two hour window.

David Oliver Kueker
Here’s an image of how alternating can work … it’s rather ambitious!
Just eat your “once a day” supper on MWF for lunch the following day. Same calories, different timing, significantly better results.
The goal is consecutive hours in the “hormonally fasted state” … after all nutrients are consumed along with all sugar and glycogen from the liver. Eating every day, you only get a few hours of this. 18 hours your way vs 66+ hours in the diagram below.

Danjela Serjani
David Oliver Kueker I am trying to do Omad every day

jela Serjani, OMAD is not recommended in Dr Fung’s fasting philosophy.

Quote:
OMAD is a good fasting strategy if you are:
Healthy and are fasting for longevity and disease prevention
Have reached your health goals and are looking to maintain your results
Trying to lose 10-15 pounds of weight
During a holiday weekend when you have multiple functions to attend over the span of a few days

You should avoid doing OMAD if you are:
Trying to lose more than 15 pounds of weight
Looking to improve symptoms of metabolic syndrome and high insulin levels, such as type 2 diabetes (DMII), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Still in the process of working on your health goals

Why it isn’t for everyone
Most people report a huge reduction in appetite within the first month of fasting. Suddenly skipping breakfast and lunch doesn’t seem so overwhelming, in fact it’s easy to do! You think you can do this all the time since you’re not too hungry – and wouldn’t fasting for 24 hours every day be a great strategy for reaching your goals? It’s more fasting than if you do a 36 or 42 hour fast, three times a week, right? The answer to both those questions is no.

The key to fasting is it tricks your body. It’s unpredictable, and unpredictability is the magic! If you do the same thing every day, your body will adapt. That’s what happens with OMAD if you’re trying to lose weight and eating from dinner-to-dinner or lunch-to-lunch every day. Your body adapts. It won’t put so much effort into burning body fat because it knows you’ll be eating again at the dinner or lunch hour. It knows how much food to expect and will slow things down to adjust to the new caloric intake.

Megan Ramos
.
https://thefastingmethod.com/omad-should-you-eat-one-meal-a-day/

Danjela Serjani
Is that wrong?

Danjela Serjani , not wrong, but likely unhelpful. You are not wrong, but learning what is best for your body.

OMAD helps many people. Many praise it for helping them.

But there are possible complications with your metabolism decreasing – the famine response where your body regains weight, and more. Please research this for your own satisfaction.

And the focus of fasting with Dr Fung is hours in the “hormonally fasted state” -AFTER your body has consumed all nutrients in your digestive system and all sugar and glycogen from the liver, it switches over to a different metabolic process of burning your own body fat for fuel. This decreases insulin and has many health advantages.

This happens after 20 hours or so into your fast and stops the minute you eat something. So with OMAD you have perhaps 3-4 hours in the hormonally fasted state per day – for a large man my size, that burns about a tenth of a pound. But 24 hours in that fasted state burns almost a pound of my body fat for someone my size – 20+24 hours = 44 hours of not-eating.

QUOTE (emphasis mine):

[1]

NOTE (my commentary)

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1] 

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72 Alcohol while fasting …

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

Sweetened dessert wines are obviously full of sugar and are not recommended. However, moderate consumption of red wine does not raise insulin or impair insulin sensitivity and therefore may be enjoyed. Up to 2 glasses a day is not associated with major weight gain and may improve insulin sensitivity. The alcohol itself, even from beer, seems to have minimal effects on insulin secretion or insulin resistance. [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

There has beeen concern about the effects of alcohol on insulin resistance. There are studies that show that excessive drinking increases insulin resistance as well as causing a host of other problems. Binge drinking, which is defined as the consumption of five drinks of alcohol within 2 hours in men or four drinks in women, once a month or more often is associated with an increased risk for developing the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes … Moreover, in one study, binge drinking was associated with type 2 diabetes in individuals that binge drink as rarely as once a month. It is therefore possible that binge drinking induces metabolic derangements that persist after alcohol has been metabolized and cleared from the system. [2]

… moderate consumption of red wine does not raise insulin or impair insulin sensitivity …

Dr. Fung, however, does not see a harm in up to 2 glasses a day of red wine. “Up to 2 glasses a day is not associated with major weight gain and may improve insulin sensitivity.” More alcohol, however, is not recommended.

STRATEGY: As I don’t actually drink very much this will probably not be a concern for me. I read that red wine can be good for you, but I’m just not that interested.

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 225.

[2] Binge Drinking Induces Whole-Body Insulin Resistance by Impairing Hypothalamic Insulin Action by Claudia Lindtner, et al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3740748/

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71 Artificial sweeteners that raise insulin should be expected to be harmful, not beneficial.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“Despite reducing sugar, diet sodas do not reduce the risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, strokes or heart attacks. But why? Because it is insulin, not calories, that ultimately drives obesity and metabolic syndrome. The important question is this: Do artificial sweeteners increase insulin levels?

Sucralose13 raises insulin by 20 percent, despite the fact that it contains no calories and no sugar. This insulin-raising effect has also been shown for other artificial sweeteners, including the “natural” sweetener stevia. Despite having a minimal effect on blood sugars, both aspartame and stevia raised insulin levels higher even than table sugar.14

Artificial sweeteners that raise insulin should be expected to be harmful, not beneficial. Artificial sweeteners may decrease calories and sugar, but not insulin. Yet it is insulin that drives weight gain and diabetes.”[1]

NOTE (my commentary):

The issue with gaining weight is too much sugar and too much insulin in the bloodstream.

Because the sugar is not needed for metabolism because the cells are full, the extra insulin happily works to make the excess sugar into fat.

… it is insulin, not calories, that ultimately drives obesity and metabolic syndrome. The important question is this: Do artificial sweeteners increase insulin levels?

The problem with sweeteners is the increase of insulin in a person whose blood sugar is already high, and the insulin is happy to add to your weight using the excess sugar in the bloodstream to make more unhealthy fat.

If insulin is high, then the body’s set point for weight will also be high, and the body will automatically feel pressure to regain weight to that point of obesity. If insulin is consistently low, then the set point of the body will lower itself as well. Even though sweeteners do not increase blood sugar, they do increase insulin and lead directly therefore to gaining weight rather than losing it.

Artificial sweeteners that raise insulin should be expected to be harmful …

I have a habit for decades a beginning my day with a large mug of coffee with milk and artificial sweetener in it. This obviously is a major problem not only for weight loss but also for recovery from my diabetes. I need to find some way to break my preference or addiction to the use of artificial sweetener in the morning.

My other primary consumption of artificial sweetener is through diet soda pop, and over the past nine months I have been able to stop drinking it. I stick with coffee, iced tea or even just plain water. I’m not sure why it was so easy to give up soda pop but not give up using it, artificial sweetener, in my coffee.

STRATEGY: Ideally, I could learn to drink my coffee black; perhaps with flavored coffee.

Coffee with milk only is sufficient for eating days. But if my blood sugar is already high, am I that concerned about the release of insulin due to artificial sweeteners?

I can switch to unsweet iced tea on fasting days.

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 172.

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69.5 But what happens if the liver is already crammed full of fat?

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“INSULIN IS NORMALLY released when we eat. It directs some of the incoming glucose to be used as energy and some to be stored for later use. In the short term, glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver, but the liver’s storage space for glycogen is limited. Once it’s full, excess glucose is stored as fat: that is, the liver begins manufacturing fat from glucose through de novo lipogenesis. After the meal, as insulin levels fall, this process reverses. With no food energy coming in, stored food energy must be retrieved. Glycogen and fat stores in the liver are turned back into glucose and distributed to the rest of the body for energy.

The liver acts like a balloon. As energy comes in, it fills up. As energy is needed, it deflates. Balancing feeding and fasting periods over a day ensures that no net fat is gained or lost.

But what happens if the liver is already crammed full of fat? Insulin then tries to force more fat and sugar into the liver, even though it’s already full of fat and sugar. Just as it is more difficult to inflate a fully inflated balloon, insulin has more difficulty trying to shove more fat into a fatty liver. It takes higher and higher levels of insulin to move the same amount of food energy into a fatty liver. The body is now resistant to the efforts of insulin, since normal levels will not be enough to push sugar into the liver. Voilà—insulin resistance in the liver.

The liver, like an overinflated balloon, will try to expel the sugar back into circulation, so continuously high insulin levels are also required to keep it bottled up in the liver. If insulin levels start to drop, the stored fat and sugar comes whooshing out. To compensate, the body keeps raising its insulin levels. Thus, insulin resistance leads to higher insulin levels. High insulin levels encourage more storage of sugar and fat in the liver, which causes even more over-cramming of fat in the already fatty liver, causing more insulin resistance—a classic vicious cycle.” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Fatty liver is already a major concern for insulin resistance, but it’s also a disease in its own right. Dr Fung mentions the reality that the pancreas also becomes clogged with fat, like a fatty liver, and that this is a major problem with insulin production. It’s not that the insulin-producing cells become tired and exhausted, it’s that they are unable to function because the pancreas is clogged with fat particles just like the liver.

Insulin then tries to force more fat and sugar into the liver, even though it’s already full of fat and sugar.

These fat particles are fuel for consumption, and when the body burns fat for fuel they will be consumed by preference. Studies related to people with bariatric surgery indicate that it is the loss of this organ fat which leads directly to the reversal of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Bariatric patients recover from diabetes before they have lost a great deal of weight. Therefore it is the fat in the liver and pancreas which is a significant cause of both insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

If insulin levels start to drop, the stored fat and sugar comes whooshing out.

This “whooshing out” explains the Dawn Phenomenon. But it’s positive – sugar comes out from where it was hidden in the liver and now is visible in the blood. When it is gone, fat burning will begin.

STRATEGY: Do not be perturbed by unexpected increases in blood sugar while fasting. If you are not eating, and increase, by definition, comes from sugar in hiding. It, too, must be consumed.

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 165.

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70 N+S Experiments proved that fructose caused the development of insulin resistance in humans.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“At the liver, fructose is rapidly metabolized into glucose, lactose and glycogen. The body handles excess glucose consumption through several well-defined metabolic pathways, such as glycogen storage and de novo lipogenesis (creation of new fat). No such system is present for fructose. The more you eat, the more you metabolize. The bottom line is that excess fructose is changed into fat in the liver. High levels of fructose will cause fatty liver. Fatty liver is absolutely crucial to the development of insulin resistance in the liver. 

That fructose directly causes insulin resistance was discovered long ago. As far back as 1980, experiments proved that fructose (but not glucose) caused the development of insulin resistance in humans.16 Healthy subjects were given an extra 1000 calories per day of either glucose or fructose. The glucose group showed no change in insulin sensitivity. The fructose group, however, showed a 25 percent worsening of their insulin sensitivity—after just seven days!” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text The bottom line is that excess fructose is changed into fat in the liver.

High levels of fructose will cause fatty liver.

Text

experiments proved that fructose (but not glucose) caused the development of insulin resistance in humans.

Text

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 164.

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69 N+S Obesity is a hormonal, not a caloric imbalance.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“The simple truth is that weight loss comes down to understanding the hormonal roots of obesity. Insulin is the main driver. Obesity is a hormonal, not a caloric imbalance. There are not one, but two main considerations for proper food choices: 

What to eat 
When to eat 

In considering the first question, there are some simple guidelines to follow.
Reduce intake of refined grains and sugars,
moderate protein consumption and
increase natural fats.
Maximize protective factors such as fiber and vinegar.
Choose only natural, unprocessed foods. 

In considering the second question, balance insulin-dominant periods with insulin-deficient periods: balance your feeding and fasting.

Eating continuously is a recipe for weight gain. Intermittent fasting is a very effective way to deal with when to eat. 

In the end, the question is this: If you don’t eat, will you lose weight? Yes, of course. So there is no real doubt about its efficacy. It will work.

There are other factors that affect insulin and weight loss such as sleep deprivation and stress (cortisol effect). If these are the major pathways of obesity, they must be directly addressed, not with diet, but with techniques such as proper sleep hygiene, meditation, prayer or massage therapy.” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text

The simple truth is that weight loss comes down to understanding the hormonal roots of obesity. Insulin is the main driver.

Text

balance insulin-dominant periods with insulin-deficient periods: balance your feeding and fasting.

Text

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 250.

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68 N+S Instead of skipping a meal, we concoct all sorts of intricate rules:

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

ASK A CHILD how to lose weight, and there’s a good chance he or she will answer, “Skip a few meals.” This suggestion is probably the simplest and most correct answer. 

Instead, we concoct all sorts of intricate rules: 
Eat six times a day. 
Eat a big breakfast. 
Eat low fat. 
Keep a food diary. 
Count your calories. 
Read food labels. 
Avoid all processed foods. 
Avoid white foods—white sugar, white flour, white rice. 
Eat more fiber. 
Eat more fruits and vegetables. 
Mind your microbiome. 
Eat simple foods. 
Eat protein with every meal. 
Eat raw food. 
Eat organic food. 
Count your Weight Watcher points. 
Count your carbs. 
Increase exercise. 
Do resistance and cardio. 
Measure your metabolism and eat less than that. 

The list of intricate rules is virtually endless, with more coming every day. It is mildly ironic that even while following this endless list, we’re getting fatter than ever.” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text

ASK A CHILD how to lose weight, and there’s a good chance he or she will answer, “Skip a few meals.”

Text

The list of intricate rules is virtually endless … It is mildly ironic that even while following this endless list, we’re getting fatter than ever

Text

The rules are great rules for eating. But what is needed are periods of not eating – eating NOTHING – alternating with periods of wise eating. What makes the difference is the not eating, not how we eat when we are eating.

Just turn the eating now switch to OFF.

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 249.

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67 N+S Increasing the timing of meals has a far more detrimental long-term effect on weight gain.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“The reverse is also true. Does increasing meal size or frequency contribute to obesity? A recent randomized controlled trial comparing the two demonstrated that only the group with increased eating frequency significantly increased intrahepatic fat.36 Fatty liver is instrumental in the development of insulin resistance. Increasing the timing of meals has a far more detrimental long-term effect on weight gain. Yet, while we obsess over the question of what to eat, we virtually ignore the crucial aspect of meal timing.” [1]

In other words, feasting must be followed by fasting. When we remove the fasting and keep all the feasting, we get weight gain. This is the ancient secret. This is the cycle of life. Fasting follows feasting. Feasting follows fasting. Diets must be intermittent, not steady. Food is a celebration of life. Every single culture in the world celebrates with large feasts. That’s normal, and it’s good. However, religion has always reminded us that we must balance our feasting with periods of fasting—“atonement,” “repentance” or “cleansing.” These ideas are ancient and time-tested. Should you eat lots of food on your birthday? Absolutely. Should you eat lots of food at a wedding? Absolutely. These are times to celebrate and indulge. But there is also a time to fast. We cannot change this cycle of life. We cannot feast all the time. We cannot fast all the time. It won’t work. It doesn’t work. [2]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text

only the group with increased eating frequency significantly increased intrahepatic fat.

Text

Increasing the timing of meals has a far more detrimental long-term effect on weight gain.

Text

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 247.

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66 N+S INTERMITTENT FASTING AND CALORIC REDUCTION

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“INTERMITTENT FASTING AND CALORIC REDUCTION

THE ONE CRUCIAL aspect that differentiates fasting from other diets is its intermittent nature. Diets fail because of their constancy. The defining characteristic of life on Earth is homeostasis. Any constant stimulus will eventually be met with an adaptation that resists the change. Persistent exposure to decreased calories results in adaptation (resistance); the body eventually responds by reducing total energy expenditure, leading to the dreaded plateau in weight loss and eventually to weight regain. A 2011 study compared a portion-control strategy to an intermittent-fasting strategy.33 The portion-control group reduced daily calories by 25 percent. For example, if a person normally ate 2000 calories per day, he or she would reduce intake to 1500 calories per day. Over a week, he or she would receive a total of 10,500 calories of a Mediterranean-style diet, which is generally acknowledged to be healthy. The intermittent-fasting group got 100 percent of their calories for five days of the week, but on the other two days, got only 25 percent. For example, they received 2000 calories for five days of the week, but on the other two days they would receive only 500—a structure very similar to the 5:2 diet championed by Dr. Michael Mosley. Over a week, they would receive 11,000 calories, slightly more than the portion control group. At six months, weight loss was similar between the groups (14.3 pounds, or 6.5 kilograms)—but as we know, in the short term, all diets work. However, the intermittent fasting group showed significantly lower insulin levels and insulin resistance. Intermittent diets produced far greater benefits by introducing periods of very low insulin levels that help break the resistance. Further studies34, 35 confirm that the combination of intermittent fasting with caloric restriction is effective for weight loss. The more dangerous visceral fat seems to be preferentially removed. Important risk factors, including LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins), size of low-density lipoproteins and triglycerides, were also improved.” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text

what differentiates fasting from other diets is its intermittent nature. Diets fail because of their constancy.

Text

Intermittent diets produced far greater benefits by introducing periods of very low insulin levels that help break the resistance.

Text

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 246.

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65.5 N+S Decreasing food intake is matched by decreased energy expenditure.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Kueker

QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine): 

“There are, in fact, no species of animal, humans included, that have evolved to require three meals a day, everyday. It’s unclear to me where this myth originated. Daily caloric restriction does, in fact, lead to decreased metabolism, so people have assumed that this effect would be magnified as food intake dropped to zero. It won’t. Decreasing food intake is matched by decreased energy expenditure. However, as food intake goes to zero, the body switches energy inputs from food to stored food (fat). This strategy significantly increases the availability of “food,” which is matched by an increase in energy expenditure. 

So what happened in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment (see chapter 3)? These participants were not fasting, but instead eating a reduced-calorie diet. The hormonal adaptations to fasting were not allowed to happen. Adrenalin was not increased to maintain total energy expenditure. Growth hormone was not increased to maintain lean muscle mass. Ketones were not produced to feed the brain. Detailed physiologic measurements show that total energy expenditure is increased over the duration of a fast.19

Twenty-two days of alternate daily fasting created no measurable decrease in total energy expenditure. There was no starvation mode. There was no decreased metabolism. Fat oxidation increased 58 percent, while carbohydrate oxidation decreased from 53 percent. The body had started to switch over from burning sugar to burning fat, with no overall drop in energy. Four days of continuous fasting actually increased total energy expenditure by 12 percent.20 Norepinephrine (adrenalin) levels skyrocketed 117 percent to maintain energy. Fatty acids increased over 370 percent as the body switched to burning fat. Insulin decreased 17 percent. Blood glucose levels dropped slightly, but remained in the normal range.” [1]

NOTE (my commentary)

Text

as food intake goes to zero, the body switches energy inputs from food to stored food (fat)

Text

These participants were not fasting, but instead eating a reduced-calorie diet. The hormonal adaptations to fasting were not allowed to happen.

Text

STRATEGY:

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?

SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1]  “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss” by Dr. Jason Fung, Timothy Noakes, page 244.

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