NOOB IF/SLOW carb question

Sabine_Stroehm

For those who don't know my "way". I've been eating SLOW carb, which turns out to be lower carb than many. I didnt count carbs while losing etc. Just focused on eating low glycemic/ slow carbs. This was about 14-15 years ago. Long before Tim Ferris's "trademarked" (cough) slow carb diet. What I did was what was very close to what was ultimately branded south beach diet, but was before it was a thing, when it was just some blogs.

fast forward. I maintained easily for 10-11 years maintaining a slow carb approach. Then peri-menopause. Now menopause.
All of my pubmed etc research suggests that for many or most menopause leads to varying degrees of insulin resistance. Hell, menopause may BE insulin resistance for all I know. I'm still maintaining +- but "easy" isn't there any more.

For the last while I've been playing around with carbs a bit more trying to figure it out. All the while maintaining by the skin of my teeth (+-5).

Now, along the same lines, I'm NOW experimenting with IF, with some favorable early results. Again, basing this on the idea that menopause leads to or IS insulin resistance and now the idea that IF can improve this.


Now my question. I've been doing a 14 or 16 hour fast, for the last few weeks and I've been having water, and then broth during the last few hours of the fast. I've had some promising results.

What I think would make this a "lifestyle" is if I could have my tea latte. I love a green tea latte or a london fog. If I did it with almond milk, do we see any issues? Ie, if I had a london fog with almond milk (under 50 calories) or a green tea latte with under 50 calories of almond milk... any issues?

Alternatively: what would make a great under 50 calorie "milk" for a green tea or earl grey latte.

I sorta feel like THAT would be the thing to make this a "oh hey, this life long 6am breakfast eater could do this".

TL;DR: can i have almond milks toward the end of a fast, if it's under 50 calories?

Thoughts?

neohdiver

I saw something recently that suggested that (as far as fasting), women are built differently than men & 14 hours is sufficient. That might give you a bit of leeway.

Personally, I'm not worrying terribly much about being precise about fasting. I tend to eat very late (often midnight or slightly later). That means I break my 16-18 hour fast pretty late in the day. If I feel like eating at 2 PM, rather than 4 PM, I do. Usually I check my BG - since my goal is to regularly exhaust my liver's glycogen stores. If my BG is between 60 and 80, I figure I'm pretty close to it.

So - whether eating 50 calories during your fast matters may depend on your goals.

Now - my current unmentionable calorie limit I'm pretty precise about, since I do think that is key to reversing diabetes.

kirkor

Unfortunately we just don't have the data to be able to specifically say XXX calories over XXX hours preserves fasting benefits A,B,E,etc.
"In general", ya, <50 calories is the most common number you see bandied about, but it's not based on anything.
Do your tea and watch your markers. If they're moving in the direction you want, keep it up.

The "n=1" thing gets used a lot, but I think it's particularly true with IF (in terms of the nitty gritty details).

Foamroller

Agree with @kirkor. Just try it out Then adjust or experiment as needed.

When it comes to details, we're all very individual. But I think you'll be OK.

The main thing with IF is to let the tummy rest for longer from digesting. Especially if you're interested in the part that's about autophagy. Broth is considered Ok during fasting, and it has more calories than almond milk. Try to avoid snacking. Please remember you need more salt during fasting hours, especially when exercising as much as you do.

When I started out, I tried each experiment for some weeks. But I always stayed flexible enough to tailor IF to my life, not the other way around. If you're able to build up to an 18 hrs fast, that has greater benefits than 14, IME.

The longer you're able to let glucagon (fat burning hormone) do it's job, the better for fat loss. Surfing on the glucagon wave after overnight sleep is the far easiest, IMO. This is the reason BPC didn't work for me. It stalled me right away. Sadly, cause I like it. YMMV.

Keep us posted how you're doing!

Sabine_Stroehm

Thanks guys, all good points, especially about the salt, which makes the broth a good option. Perhaps I'll do broth for the next, say, month, and see how it goes. Thanks!