Intermittent fasting. : Good morning ladies. I... - My Ovacome

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Intermittent fasting.

Desertrose62 profile image
20 Replies

Good morning ladies.

I have a family who are very much into intermittent fasting and they’d like me to consider doing it. Quite frankly the thought of not eating for 14 or 16 hours scares me 😂 but it is something I’m willing to consider for a whole host of reasons

Has anyone here tried it?

Sorry, eta, I’m stage 1A and no further treatment was needed but I am being monitored for 5 years

Thank you

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Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62
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20 Replies
Cropcrop profile image
Cropcrop

Hi, I personally don’t believe we should fast unless it’s under medical observation and if it’s a necessary course of action ie prior to surgery or medical procedures. I believe our body is a finely tuned ‘machine’ and, as such, needs the best fuels to help it perform at optimal levels.

Obviously other people believe fasting is a good thing so you may get conflicting opinions but you should be guided by a medical opinion so seek advice from your doctors.

Stay safe ❤️xx Jane

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to Cropcrop

Hello Jane, thank you for your reply.

Intermittent fasting isn’t about going without food for long periods of time so I wouldn’t be starving myself. I’d just be eating my normal meals of about 1400 calls per day within a certain time period everyday. I would still be having optimum nutrition and eating as I do now and have done for quite some time - absolutely no processed food and two meals a day are vegetarian or vegan with animal protein being fish most days and chicken a few times a week. Everything is homemade and when I do eat out I’m very choosy about where I’d go.

Dr wise, I have my son in law who’s a physician, he’s also an intermittent faster as well as being someone who does total fasts apart from water and rehydration salts a few times a year - he does it for about 4 or 5 days at a time.

I also live in a country where people observe Ramadan and it’s been very obvious to me for decades that fasting can indeed have many health benefits when done properly.

I think when asking about intermittent fasting I was cackhandedly asking if anyone did it by way of reducing the inflammation in their body as inflammation is said to play a large part in developing cancer.

I hope you’re staying safe where you are too. I actually did have Covid way back in Feb, I caught it either in Italy or Switzerland when on a winter holiday. I can’t say that I had it in a serious form but it really did knock me for 6 for 3 weeks.

Regards

Sharon ❤️

Lizzieanne profile image
Lizzieanne

I am considering doing this. Have several friends that do this, they dont have any health issues. Have read quite a few posts about fasting before chemo and that you have less side effects doing this. Dont think you have to not eat for days but leave out breakfast and lunch and have a light evening meal. Drink plenty of fluids (not tea and coffee). What benefits have your family found. I am very open to this if i can be strong willed. My daughter very keen for me to drink kombucha tea which she makes. Have tried some and it seemed to help with my sluggish system. Am going to ask my oncologist is she is ok with me drinking this before I drink it on a regular basis.

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to Lizzieanne

Hi Lizzie, how are you?

I’d kind of dabbled with Michael Mosley’s 5:2 plan by way of trying to tame my pre diabetes a few years so it was 5 days of a decent amount of food and 2 days of very low calories - about 400 per day. It was really hard for me mentally though as I was rather overweight and food was very much a part of my being. I did lose a bit of weight and it prompted me to really think about my health and as a result I then had weight loss surgery which has been the best thing I ever did for myself.

If I go ahead and do the intermittent fasting I won’t be doing it to lose weight because I don’t need to lose any. It would be about giving my body a rest period every day and hopefully get any inflammation under control.

My daughter does it as she had IBS as well as Rosacea and her tummy is now back to normal and she’s been able to stop treating her rosacea. I also have a friend who’s almost eliminated her reoccurring thrush.

Wherever you are I hope Covid restrictions aren’t too bad and that you’re not restricted to any great extent.

Regards 😊

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to Desertrose62

Sorry Lizzie, forgot to say I’m also dabbling with Kambucha.

Lizzieanne profile image
Lizzieanne in reply to Desertrose62

I am in Uk and in lockdown at moment. Think I will give fasting a try. Will just do one day at a time. I always look at animals who when unwell dont eat for maybe a couple of days and I think maybe they instinctively know what to do. I do like my food and really want to try it to help my body cleanse itself. Mind you its so cold at the moment and that weakens my resolve. Take care and let me know if you give it a try.

Lyndy profile image
Lyndy

I would agree with Cropcrop. By all means fast if you feel sick but if you are hungry, your body wants you to eat something xx

I don’t think I could fast. It would be difficult for me, because I have a good appetite. I’m not overweight, so the nurses just tell me to keep eating. They know that much of this medicine causes weight loss. We just need to be careful so we get the right nutrition. Maybe you could fast, but I would ask my Dr. first.

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to Pianoplayer731021

Hi there 😊

you’ve hit the nail on the head and basically I so enjoy my relationship with food nowadays that I don’t want to restrict myself - not that I actually would be in the real sense.

🙄🤪

Ruebacelle profile image
Ruebacelle

Hello. There is a current study in germany on light fasting with chemo but thst is not applicable to you However you can resesrch fasting in general to see if it is interesting there is evidence it works to cleanse and energize the system.

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to Ruebacelle

Thank you Rue. I much appreciate your sound advice. 😊

citrine profile image
citrine

Do what you feel is best for you. I think your body is telling you this wouldn’t suit you. People mean well but you know your body better than anyone else. Also, I think we’ve suffered enough 😆 x

Desertrose62 profile image
Desertrose62 in reply to citrine

I’m laughing at you saying we’ve suffered enough 😂

But the truth is I think this would be good for me even if it’s from the point

(perhaps further down the line) oh well the bloody thing is back but at least I tried everything to stop it coming back.

Regards

Sharon ❤️

Just to say that the night is wearing on where I am but I’ll be back in the morning to reply to everyone else who replied to me. Thank you ❤️

citrine profile image
citrine in reply to Desertrose62

Yes, I totally understand that. X

27-359 profile image
27-359

I have used fasting during chemo and believe it can be useful for general health. If you want to learn more, Dr Valter Longo has done research and animal studies that make interesting reading.

Jenny

C1audia profile image
C1audia

Hi Desert Rose :)

I have just finished 6 rounds of chemo (second time around), and have decided to fast the day before and day of chemo. I've found that it's reduced the side effects of chemo, and the weight that I've lost is recovered within 1-2 weeks. The more I read about Intermittent Fasting, the more I think I'd like to incorporate it into my routine. Here's an interesting article from Oncology Nursing News, with a quick summary of recent IF studies in cancer patients.

oncnursingnews.com/publicat...

Sending strength to you, whatever you decide to do.

claudia

mizpurple profile image
mizpurple

I'm in a somewhat different situation to what you describe, but I do a version of intermittent fasting that works for me, and have done it for about two years now. Due to a side effect of Keytruda I developed type 1 diabetes and am now totally dependent on insulin. To simplify my eating/dosing routine, I eat two meals, one at about 11 am and the other at 7 pm. I will often have a small high protein low carb snack in the middle but will skip it if not hungry. This minimizes the number of times I have to test via finger stick and then give myself an insulin shot. Plus since I am making all my meals from scratch, it cuts down on meal prep and clean up time. People do intermittent fasting in different ways and (assuming you don't have a problem with getting sufficient nutrition) I don't think it would hurt to experiment with it and see it it works for you. I did run my plan past my oncologist and my diabetic care specialist just to be on the safe side and neither has any problem with it. Hope this is helpful info for you - listen to your own body and consider your own preferences and nutritional needs. All the best! Deb in Colorado

bamboo89 profile image
bamboo89

I'm not sure you should try fasting just because other people think it's a good idea. I suggest you do your own research (on the science of it, not on Facebook or similar) to see what (if any) health benefits it might bring. Fasting is not something I can cope with because my body doesn't respond well - my blood pressure drops too low, I feel somewhat faint and dizzy, and I have a dodgy gall bladder,which means if I don't eat when I'm really hungry, when I do eat, I will get biliary colic unless I stick to nothing with fat in it, which basically means lettuce or tomatoes. What I try to do is leave 16 hours out of 24 when I don't eat - so all food is consumed in an 8 hour window, but I can't say I'm particularly successful at it because I know what happens if I ignore being very hungry. Generally, I eat when I'm hungry, and don't eat if I am not, regardless of what the clock says.

If you have a health reason why you want to try fasting, then some research on the health condition and any effects of fasting might be the place to start, but my personal feeling is that eating whole foods prepared from scratch and avoiding too much sugar, microwave pre prepared dinners and other processed foods is a better approach to improve overall health.

Miriam

Kayadiana profile image
Kayadiana

Hi DesertRose. So much depends on your current weight, health status etc. Your family sounds very health-conscious, and clearly want the best for you, but what suits them may not be right for you. As regards intermittent fasting, aka time-restricted eating, there’s quite a lot of evidence that it has benefits for a lot of people. If you want to try your family’s approach you could try postponing breakfast and bringing your evening meal forward - a gentle introduction and probably not too difficult.I know some oncologists are concerned that OC patients shouldn’t set up a vicious cycle with weight loss, loss of appetite, inability to gain weight etc. I haven’t found this to be true for me.

My choice, which you may prefer, and which your family may support as an alternative to IF, is to change my way of eating, cutting out alcohol, take-aways and most factory-made and high GI food, with the aim of getting my blood fats and sugar levels down. (There’s a lot of research indicating that both higher end blood fats and unstable or high blood sugar levels are not good for cancer patients). A helpful side effect is that I’ve gradually lost quite a lot of weight. Even though I wasn’t overweight (by current standards) when diagnosed (3c), I was at the top end of normal for blood fats and 15lbs heavier than in my 30s. I’m now back to the same weight I was all through my 30s, with a significantly reduced fat %, and feel healthier for it (Professor Roy Taylor has written a convincing book on the benefits). I’ve also found that this weight seems to be stable for me.

Good luck with whatever you choose and best wishes.

ellseybellsey profile image
ellseybellsey

Hi i tried it from Feb 2020 to July 2020 although i lost to much weight, i was also diagnosed with 2nd recurrence on my liver and in my pelvis, so don't think it helped me.Ellsey xx

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