Intermittent Fasting Helps Psoriasis?

Today is Day #5, which really just means that I've done my two fast days this week, and I can eat like I normally do. 

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I will confirm that fasting on Day #4 was WAY more manageable than fasting on Day #2.  I really didn't feel terribly hungry, and I definitely didn't have hunger pangs yesterday, the way that I did on Day #2.  I felt completely fine.  Also, I thought to check my blood glucose at the end of yesterday's fast, and confirmed that I had a perfect reading of 103.  Not even close to hypoglycemic (which was one concern that I had). 

Have I realized any benefits of IF yet?  I would say yes. 

1. I haven't weighed myself (there is laundry on top of my scale, and I've been too busy to put it away).  I feel slimmer, and I am wearing a fitted top today of a non-stretchy material, and I can see that it fits more loosely around my middle than it did when I wore the same top last week.
2. I am deeply in ketosis. 
3. On Tuesday, while fasting, I felt like I had an abundance of energy, and felt the desire to exercise.
4. I do have a feeling that it is easier now to avoid evening snacking.  Even on the nights where I could eat as much as I wanted to after 6:30 p.m., I didn't.  The fullness from my dinner really held me through and I did not want to eat. 
5. Dermatological improvement.  I haven't changed anything about my scalp psoriasis treatment, but this week, I am less inflamed and flakey than I have been in recent weeks.  There is a tangible difference.  My skin seems to have cleared up all of a sudden.  I had a zit on my chin that has lingered for weeks.  I woke up today and it was gone.  My skin texture has improved (smoother). 
6. However, on the downside, my BMs were very loose last night.  For months, I have been very regular and comfortable.  Now, I'm not sure what's going on - can it be attributed to the fast, could it have been what I ate (homemade thai red curry with chicken and peppers), or do I have a touch of something? I went this morning, and it was more solid.  I feel fine, otherwise.

We will see what happens on Sunday at weigh in/measurement.  If all goes well, I may incorporate one 24 hour fast per week into my regimen. 

Honestly, I have to say that the dermatological improvements alone would make it worth it, even if I don't lose a lick of weight this week.  I have read anecdotal evidence that IF helps to alleviate the symptoms of autoimmune disorders (that is what psoriasis is).  My scalp psoriasis has been pretty uncomfortable the past few weeks (at its worst - imagine the sensation of your entire scalp burning and itching - like sunburn and chicken pox combined).  Today, I have no flakes and a normal scalp.  I'm still using my meds, but maybe over time I can ratchet them down a little.  Stress can really cause a flare up, and life has been stressful recently.  If IF works and could help clear up my psoriasis over time, that would be amazing.

Intermittent Fasting - Day 4 Update (Fast Day)

Okay, it is 12:30, and I’m not hungry.  That means that I am 18 hours into my 24 hour fasting period, with none of Tuesday’s discomfort.  I still have 6 hours left to go, so who knows what will happen.

Here are some observations on the difference between this fasting period and the previous fasting period:

• Its early in the day yet, so I haven’t reached the same point I did on Tuesday, at about 3, when I thought I would poke someone’s eye out.  I could still repeat Tuesday’s symptoms.
• I didn’t push myself to eat more food yesterday night at dinner, right before I began the fast at 6:30 p.m., as I had on Monday, prior to the first fast period.  Notably, one article I read indicated that loading up on food prior to starting a fast is counterproductive because it causes hormonal imbalance and the body’s reaction is increased hunger.
• I am busier today, so I am not thinking about food, as I had been fixating on it on Tuesday.
• I am drinking unsweetened, decaf iced coffee today.  It has a heavier taste, and the coffee itself is French vanilla flavored.  I wonder if drinking flavored stuff tricks you into thinking you are getting calories, when you are really not.
• I am wearing a belted dress today, which is somewhat constricting.  Maybe that helps decrease the desire to eat.  I don’t know. 
• Today, I am slightly asthmatic and getting a little wheezier as the day progresses.  It is distracting, too. 

Intermittent Fasting - Day 3 (Eat)

I started eating last night at 6:30 p.m., as planned. I would be pretty impressed with my willpower, except the hunger dissipated once I left the office, strangely enough. I think that my hunger combined with being very ready to leave work at around 4, and left me desperate. I drove home, picked up my daughter at daycare, brought her home and made her a snack, then sat on the couch with her as she ate it and we watched a cartoon and talked about our days. It was not hard at all to restrain myself from snatching the cheese-its away from my kid.

We went out for dinner at 6, ordered our food at 6:15, and started eating at exactly 6:30. It was very well timed. I ordered a veggie salad with blue cheese, plucked off the croutons, and dove in. It was great. I expected to feel immense satisfaction, like I was finally filling my belly with the sustinence it craved. There was no such sensation. I felt totally normal. Unexpectedly, I didn't feel desperate to fill my face as I ate and I wasn't hungrier than I would usually be at dinner time. I ate all of my salad (minus croutons), then finished my 10 wings and celery. I felt comfortably full, not stuffed. This feeling continued throughout the evening. I observed that, now that I could eat, I really didn't feel the need to. I had little interest in my usual late night snacking activities. At about 9, I grabbed some left over meat from the fridge to nosh on – not because I was hungry, but because it was in the fridge, I knew it, and thought I'd like some. I took a couple of bites, but wasn't interested in it. I still felt pretty full, and was sure I wouldn't feel well if I finished it. So, I threw the rest of it away.

I had a bacon and cheddar omelet at 7:30 this morning, with a cup of coffee (cream, too). It was good, it was filling. I am still full.

I'm not disappointed that I'm not hungrier during the eat period, just a little surprised. I thought that after yesterday, I would want to eat more throughout the day than usual. I don't. In fact, I am not interested in snacking at all.

My desire to eat has definitely decreased from the norm.

I plan on going forward with Day #4, and start my fasting at 6:30 tonight (I am going to stick with 6:30 to keep consistent 24 hour periods) and continue on through 6:30 tomorrow.

If I have any other observations about Day #3, I'll throw them out there. But, "eat day" is a pretty normal day for me, so I don't expect too much to happen.
I do feel a little different, GI-wise (my schedule is a little off), but I'll save comment on that for later.

Intermittent Fasting Experiment - Day #2 (Fast Day)

I am in my 22nd hour of this 24 hour fasting period right now.  As you can guess, I was obsessed by food and my feelings of hunger.  I found that the following has helped me get through the day (1) drinking a lot of liquids; (2) taking fast walks (all the exercise I can get in while at the office).  The liquids helped to alleviate the hunger, and the fast walks helped to get rid of some of the ridiciously high energy I had today (I was pretty antsy in the late morning and afternoon and felt the need to move).  Strange as it is, I have so much energy, I could probably go for a run right now, even though I'm so hungry, I could eat my shoe, and I'm a terrible runner.  I am actually craving intense cardio right now, and I feel like I could just go and go and go.  I may, if given the chance, go to the gym and give this a try before I eat at 6:30, but that may not work out with childcare and all.

 

If you are interested, here are my notes for the day.  Sorry if they are a little random.  Here goes:

 

 

10:45 a.m.  It is Day #2, my first fasting day.  Hunger struck at 10:30 a.m.  I realized, when the sensation hit me, that I can't recall ever feeling hungry before.  I am acutely aware of how my chest, belly and abdomen feel.  I am not queasy.  Instead, I feel clenching in my lower abdomen, and as if there is an empty path stretching down the front of my torso.   I feel tense.  I want two things right now: food and a quick walk to stretch out.  I will take the latter, and grab some more water.

 

11:00 a.m.  I'm back.  That didn't really do much, but it was somewhat distracting.  I did some research on the topic of how to make intermittent fasting easier.  See, Adam Steer's article, where he suggests that one of the biggest mistakes to make is to eat a huge meal before starting a fast to avoid "starving", because you may set off a cascading cycle of hormonal imbalance that causes you to feel "hormonal hunger" (as distinguished by true, physical hunger experienced due to need for nutrients/energy).  So there is more to hunger than I thought?

 

Noon: Just took a brisk walk to the other side of the office to grab a fresh iced tea.  Walking very quickly felt good.  I have a lot of excess energy at the moment.  I feel antsy.  Unfortunately, I don't have walking shoes on, so I can't very well go outside and walk briskly during lunchtime, as I would return to the office with my feet completely destroyed (these boots are made for strolling).  Next fast day, I'm definitely bringing my sneakers.  Also, I think that drinking the unsweetened iced tea alleviates hunger better than drinking water.  I noticed that I'm not as hungry as I was.  Maybe the hunger is dissipating and it is not the iced tea having an effect?  Or maybe flavor helps trick you into thinking that you're getting calories.  I wonder what sugar free gum would do?  Let's google that.  Okay, results are mixed.  I think that for my first try, I will avoid chewing gum. 

 

12:12:  Hunger feelings are gone.  It is almost 18 hours without food.  Is it the iced tea, or have I hit a point where your brain stops torturing you?  Am I just super awesome?  That may be the case.  I am planning my next iced tea from my office keurig: it will be caffeine-free lemon.  I have to be careful with caffeine, because it can make me jittery if I have more than 2 cups.  Plus, the lemon is super strong, so it won't taste as diluted when I dispense the tea over ice.

 

1 p.m.: Okay.  The lemon flavor sucks.  It tastes like faux-lemon, even ice cold and diluted… I imagine that it tastes the way lemon Pledge smells.  Sweet Jesus. 

I was just going to write that I still didn't feel hungry, but suddenly, I got an uncomfortable abdominal cramp, and now I may be hungry again.  Wait, I'm okay. 

 

2:05 p.m.: Still okay.  Just a little hunger, not too much discomfort.  Still have a lot of excess energy.  I am almost 20 hours in.  This is not too awful. 

 

2:50 p.m.: I am starting to feel uncomfortable.  I just grumbled. 

 

3:20 p.m.: Am I uncomfortable?  Yes.  Is it unbearable?  No.  I am trying to focus on other things, but obviously my mind keeps coming back to this, because here I am, typing away.  I can't wait until 6:30 rolls around, because I am going to eat the heck out of some food.  We're having wings.  Executive decision!!

 

4:07 p.m.:  I have started having some more intense clenching feelings in my belly.  I am somewhat uncomfortable.  It ha abated since 3:20 p.m.

 

Observation: I feel uncomfortable now, but not as shitty as I did on Saturday during the "Fat Fast".  I was miserable and mean on Saturday, and got a little lightheaded.  Today, no such issue.  What's the difference?  Today, no food, maybe the body realizes that it shouldn't give you too much heck because how can you accomplish the tracking, killing and eating of a beast if you feel horrible; Saturday, not enough food, but pretty regular grazing, maybe the body realizes that food is present but you're just not eating it, and you need a little push?  So strange.  Honestly, I had more to distract myself with on Saturday, by going to the gym, shopping, doing stuff, so that I didn't obsess about food the whole time – and I only did that for 7 hours.  Today, I am constantly thinking about eating, and I have some abdominal discomfort, but no writheing headache, hair-trigger temper, or dizzy feelings – and I've been at this for 21 hours.  How to account for this, I do not know.   I know this – if I am not in ketosis by 6:30 p.m., I am going to jump in a lake.  Honestly.  (I'm out of ketosis again due to taking cold medicine with HCFS in it… no conscious cheating).

Intermittent Fasting Experiment (24 on / 24 off)

So far, so good. Yesterday was Day #1 – an eating day – and I had no complaints. I didn't manage to finish eating by 6 p.m., though, because dinner (takeout) arrived late. I was done by 6:30 p.m., so I don't think that it is a huge violation of the IF protocol I established. Plus, Dr. Eades was flexible about the timing, and would just wait to eat until 24 hours had passed, in my case, until 6:30 p.m. today. I ate more at dinner than I otherwise would (I was comfortably full, but not stuffed), thinking that my predecessors of 40,000 years ago would have glutted themselves on the meaty bounty before me, because they ate heartily when food was plentiful. Plus, I knew that [self-inflicted] lean times were ahead for me, and I wanted to make sure I gave myself the best possible chance for surviving my fast day. (I just reread this last sentence; what a dramatic choice of words!!)

The fasting period started last night at the end of dinner. It was not easy for me, because I am, in particular, a late night snacker. So, relaxing on the couch, reading a book or watching TV, did not prove to be conducive to fasting. I kept thinking about grabbing a bite of cheese or roasted chicken, or nibbling on some almonds. So, I moved to the family room – a room with no late night snacking connotations – sipped a big glass of iced water and began to read Art Devaney's New Evolution Diet (well written, novel approach, and I will review in the future). I was fine until I woke up at 2:30 a.m., and for reasons unrelated to this fast, was unable to get back to sleep until about 4:30 a.m.

So, the beginning of Day #2 – a fasting day – started off at 6:30 a.m. I was a little sleep deprived, and definitely felt it. It has gotten better since then. I am not hungry. I have good energy. I am in a good mood. I am at work, and my brain seems to be functioning well. I am drinking water and unsweetened iced green tea. So far, I have no desire to eat. I actually still feel like some of last night's dinner is still kicking around inside of me.

Hopefully, being here at work will make fasting easier, since I am more distracted, there is less opportunity to eat anything (unless you bring it, or buy it during the window that the cafeteria is open), and all of the fresh, ice cold water I want is only 40 feet from my office.

Intermittent Fasting

Well, thanks to some thought provoking responses to my "Fat Fast" posts, I have started researching Intermittent Fasting ("IF").  I came across an article written by Dr. Mike Eades on his blog, promoting IF as a way to improve numerous aspects of your health (weight loss being the least of the positive results seen with IF).  Studies seem to indicate, at least in rodents and primates, that IF also, among other things, increases longevity, improves insulin sensitivity, reduces blood pressure, and increases the amount of a substance called BDNF, which "protects against stress and toxic insults to the brain".

 

So, my interest is piqued, and I seem to be in an experimental mood.  I've seen a lot of IF schedules out there.  Dr. Eades' and his wife, MD Eades, tried out IF for a week, and recommended the following schedule:

 

• On Day 1 and odd # days: eat until 6 pm

• On Day 2 and even # days: fast until 6 pm

 

The benefit of this schedule is that, while you alternate eating and fasting for 24 periods, you are able to eat either breakfast and lunch OR dinner each day.

 

So, what the heck.  I am going to give it a try.  Today is Day#1, the eat day.  I'll try it Monday through Friday, still eating low carb on eat days.  Then, I will eat normally on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

I'm going to give it a week.  As with the "Fat Fast", I will give this a fighting chance, but if it proves to be completely horrible, I will consider bowing out early.  If it proves to work out well, and improve my health, well, then maybe I will incorporate IF into my regular life. 

 

Tonight, I'll make sure that I have a huge, early dinner with lots of meat!!