2: Fasting Benefits, Starvation Mode, Diarrhea, Raised Blood Sugar, Bone Broth Fast

Veteran health podcaster, blogger, international speaker, and bestselling author Jimmy Moore from "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" teams up with Toronto, Ontario Canada-based nephrologist Dr. Jason Fung from IntensiveDietaryManagement.com and Dr. Fung's Clinical Director at his Intensive Dietary Management Program clinic Megan Ramos on this podcast dedicated to answering YOUR questions about intermittent, alternate day, and extended fasting. Jimmy and Dr. Fung are the coauthors of the 2016 international bestseller The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting and, along with Megan, are happy to provide this podcast as an additional resource for anyone curious about going on a fast to improve their health. We love hearing from our listeners with new questions--send an email to Jimmy at [email protected]. And if you're not already subscribed to the podcast on iTunes, then you can do that and leave a review HERE. Listen in today as Jimmy and Megan are here with practical answers to your best questions on fasting in Episode 2. And if you missed our special Episode 0 or Episode 1 with Dr. Fung last week, get caught up now!

GET YOUR COPY OF THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO FASTING

Here’s what Jimmy and Megan talked about in Episode 2:

- HOT TOPIC to discuss: What Are The Primary Benefits Of Fasting?

1. Will intermittent fasting with less than 1,000 calories send my body into starvation mode? And will unsweetened coconut milk in my coffee technically break the fast?

I’ve been doing some intermittent fasting, mainly by skipping breakfast on weekdays, for the past couple of months. My concern, however, is that when I intermittent fast, and also eat no starches, I'm worried that this is similar to a crash diet, because I'm often eating maybe 800-900 calories a day because it's all vegetables and proteins. But eating these things make me full after dinner.

I'm 37 years old and and only 5'2" tall and I have maybe 20 pounds more I want to lose. I've spent years being told by experts warning me about not getting starvation mode. How do I know I'm not negatively affecting my metabolism by doing this fasting? By the way, when I do eat breakfast, I'm hungry all day, even when it's just a protein shake.

My second question after the metabolism concern is that although I skip breakfast, I do have a small cup of coffee with unsweetened coconut milk in it. Is this technically preventing me from getting the benefits of intermittent fasting or is that ok?

Thanks!

Tara

2. What’s the best strategy for breaking an extended fast to avoid problems?

Hey guys, I definitely appreciate all your work on The Complete Guide To Fasting. I have done intermittent fasting in the past but I'm concerned about coming off of my two to three day extended fast. Other than using a small snack before a meal coming off too fast, are there any other issues that I should be aware of? Thanks again for this awesome book and podcast.

James

3. What can I do about diarrhea when I attempt an extended fast? What’s causing this to happen?

I've been very interested in doing an extended fast, but at approximately the 72-hour mark I get frequent diarrhea. I'm looking for specific information that can help with my situation. This doesn't seem to be a topic many people want to discuss. Will this go away and get better at some point? Is there such a thing as too much water? Is there anything I can do to control it? Working in an office setting, this feels like a disaster waiting to happen and has always stopped me from progressing further in an extended fast. I want to know how other people handle it.

Jay

4. Why did my blood sugar levels skyrocket when I engaged in fasting for a few days?

Thank you for this new Fasting Talk podcast. I am an avid listener to The Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show and Keto Talk, so this new show will be added to my regular podcasting playlist. I have been eating low-carb for about a year now and have really seen an improvement in my blood tests. I haven't really tracked blood glucose consistently during the year but it has always been below 100. 

Recently I tried a couple of extended fasts (60 and 96 hours) about three weeks apart.  My goal was to get deeper into ketosis as I have not been successful in maintaining ketosis with a carb level of 30 grams per day.  I know it is probably my protein intake keeping me out of ketosis where I am consuming around 150 grams per day. I thought the fasts would help me with this. But after each fast, I measured my blood ketones and blood glucose. Ketones never registered above 1.5 and my blood glucose was 155 to 170.  Have you ever seen this high blood glucose in folks after moderate length fasts like I’ve done? I have no history of diabetes and am a bit concerned about these numbers.

Thanks,

Dan

5. Can I do a 500-calorie bone broth fast and get all the benefits of fasting? How about adding a prebiotic in almond milk to my fast?

Hi guys! Thank you for taking time to help me out with my fasting question. In The Obesity Code, Dr. Fung discusses doing 24 hour fast has no food.  He said coffee with milk is okay. In the 24 hour fast in the book by Dr. Kellyann Petrucci called The Bone Broth Diet, she says 300 to 500 calories per day of bone broth is okay. Dr. David Perlmutter of Grain Brain fame endorsed the book, but he also recommends a water-only 24 hour fast in his books.

Is the 500 calorie bone broth diet correct? Would it interfere with ketosis, weight loss, and all the other health benefits that come from fasting? I’m also using a prebiotic in almond milk that totals about 80 calories. Should I skip this on fasting days?

Thank you so much for your help with my questions.

Maryann

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LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 2
- JIMMY AND DR. ADAM NALLY'S NEW SUPPLEMENT LINE: Try the KetoEssentials Multivitamin and Berberine Plus ketogenic-enhancing supplements
- Start tracking your health markers for FREE at HeadsUpHealth.com
- SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR: Become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association at NutritionalTherapy.com
- Jimmy Moore from "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb"
- Dr. Jason Fung from Intensive Dietary Management
- Megan Ramos from Intensive Dietary Management
- The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting
- Get the full audiobook read by Jimmy on Audible
- Fung Shweigh Facebook page