oliviasgrannie wrote: »

cstehansen wrote: »

oliviasgrannie wrote: »

I started fasting 16/8 a few days ago but I am having trouble getting enough nutrients and calories eating 3 meals a day. How is it possible to do it all in 1 or 2 meals? I should mention I had a Gastric Bypass 2/9/15 and my pouch doesn't hold much food. I started Keto about 2 months ago because of a 21 pound regain following my dietitian's orders eating lowfat. I had lost 156 pounds the first 2 years. With Keto I have lost the regain but seem to have it a plateau so I thought IF would help. So far I've lost another 3 pounds. Any suggestions on the correct amount to eat - calories, fat, fiber, carbs and nutrients? I love eating Keto and don't have a problems fasting. Dr. Berg said to eat only when hungry and if I wait I probably won't eat much at all. I worry at age 66 I'll make my medical issues worse. Help please.

Unfortunately, I think doing regular 16/8 fasting may not be the best idea post gastric bypass for the reason you gave about getting enough of the micronutrients. However, you may be able to do some type of fasting periodically.

Your body does store many micronutrients which is why people can do long term fasting without harm. It is also why many vegans don't show the negative effects of having no B-12 for months or even years after switching diets.

It is difficult to find a doctor that won't just spew the standard line of eating 5-7 times a day and low fat, but if you can find a doctor to give guidance, that is what I would recommend.

I would also recommend reading The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung if you are interested in fasting. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on it but still learned quite a bit reading it. I was able to get it digitally from my library and read it on my phone during lunch and other odd times which made it very convenient.

kpk54 wrote: »

I would think the better Dr. Fung book for someone interested in fasting would be The Complete Guide to Fasting. Yes? No? I've read The Obesity Code but not the other. Is The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung about something other than fasting or full of irrelevant info? As stated, I've not read it.

Thanks so much guys. I will check out both books as I can use all the help I can get. Might 14/10 be better for me? Two extra hours of eating time will help me to feel less stuffed. I've been trying to follow Dr. Eric Berg's guidelines but haven't been able to eat 2000 calories and 7 cups of vegetables. I've managed 1350-1500 and follow 70% fat, 20% protein and try for 10% carbs but usually end up 5-7%. While I have many doctors who agreed for me to try Keto none really care about the details as long as I lose the regain and my blood tests come out ok. My bariatric surgeon, cardiologist, nephrologist and primary care doctors are cheering me on without any help. I appreciate your advice.

Glad both books are on your list. I suggested Obesity Code because I think it is good to understand the reasoning behind fasting as well as what got so many of us metabolically damaged in the first place. I always want to get to root cause first, then take action.

If you decide fasting is an option, then The Complete Guide to Fasting is the "how to" portion.

If we were all metabolically healthy, just going 12-14 hours between dinner and breakfast would keep us that way just as it did for the vast majority of people up until about 100 years ago. The more metabolically unhealthy one is, the more dramatic the change needs to be.

You have to work with what you have. Given you can't eat much at a sitting, I can see needing 10-12 hours for an eating window each day to get full nutrition. I know that is something my mom has struggled with since she had this surgery back in 2002.

I really don't like the idea of counting calories at all. I have been in weight maintenance for over a year now. I will track my food occasionally just to make sure I haven't gotten too lax. The funny thing is my calories will vary significantly from day to day, but as long as my carbs are low enough and I don't go crazy high on the protein, my weight doesn't really change. It really has to do with keeping insulin low enough to get your weight set point down. Once it gets established at the right point, your body will work as hard to keep the weight off as it used to work to keep you from losing it.