intermittent fasting

[CarnationLily]

hi- I’m thinking of trying this- specifically the 16:8 method. I believe not eating between say 11am and 7pm could work well for me.

However the only problem is when to take the pred. I have experimented before with splitting the dose which didn’t give me any ill effects. But I’ve always taken at least some in the morning by 8 at the latest.

I wonder if anyone else has done this and how they got on?

Oh and I should say I couldn’t do it by eating say between 8 and 4 - that wouldn’t suit me at all and I don’t think I could manage it.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

You just have to try it and see how you get on. I pretty much do 16:8, I rarely eat before early to mid afternoon, tea is at 8-ish. I am lucky to be on a form of pred that I take late evening, within 3 hours of eating. Many people take their pred with a few spoons of natural yogurt - I doubt that would make that much difference to your blood sugar level.

However - what dose are you on? How did you split it? The advantage of splitting is you can arrange the dosing to cover 24 hours whatever time you take it so morning can still be OK. You could take the bulk of the dose at 11am and some later enough to be sure the morning is OK up until then as well.

[CarnationLily in reply to PMRpro]

Am on 9 but hoping to be a 8 soon

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to CarnationLily]

I would try taking it at 11am and see how that works for you the following morning. If it doesn't, you could take say 6mg then and the other 2 or 3mg a few hours later, say 3pm. And fiddle about until you have 24 hours pain-free.

[Potemkin]

I'm trying to do a fast overnight but due to taking pred am doing 7pm -9am. I'm on a nutrition programme and the nutritionist says that the important thing is to try not to eat 3 hours before going to bed. This gives your body a chance to process the food before you sleep.

I did wonder if a bullet coffee (which wouldn't break the fast )in the morning might be enough to take pred with but haven't found out. I think a couple of spoons of yoghurt would break your fast.

Are you doing it because of the inflammation benefits or weight loss or something else ?

[CarnationLily in reply to Potemkin]

For both weight loss and inflammation benefits

[Potemkin in reply to CarnationLily]

I'm sure it will help if you can make it work.

[pmr_nikola]

"hi- I’m thinking of trying this- specifically the 16:8 method. I believe not eating between say 11am and 7pm could work well for me."

My understanding is that 16:8 method implies that you would NOT eat for 16h and only eat during 8h period, not the other way around.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to pmr_nikola]

Wasn’t sure when I read it if it was a typo or a misunderstanding…but I think you are right in the latter.

[CarnationLily in reply to pmr_nikola]

That was a typo - I am aware how it works. It should have read “ only eating between say 11 and 7”

[SusyTe]

I do IF - I started with 16:8 and progressed to 18:6. It has helped me lose inches and weight and I believe it has also helped my health in general. It was recommended to me by the Head Nutritionist at Grayshott Health Spa many years ago and then I read a book called Fast, Feast, Repeat to understand more. It is now a way of life for me and my husband. We love the flexibility of it - if we want to go out for supper, for example, we just open our eating window later that day and the next.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to SusyTe]

There is actually study evidence to show it helps balance BS levels in diabetes of all sorts.

[S4ndy]

I always take my pred at 7am with some yoghurt. I have had some success with Michael Mosely's method of having 2 days on very low calories. This enabled me to eat to take my meds but be very low calories 2 days a week. I did start to lose weight. Unfortunately I hurt my back and needed an operation which I had last year. I haven't tried to lose weight again but just kept an eye on my diet. I hope to start back on the plan after Xmas and see if I can lose some more. I am currently on 4mg of prednisolone a day and plan to do Dorset lady's slow taper in February to try to go too 3mg.

[cranberryt]

Eating or drinking anything other than plain water or plain coffee can interrupt your fast. Anything that the body associates as a food flavor can cause your body to release insulin to prepare for food and basically turns off the benefits from the fast. So having a spoonful of yogurt or bullet coffee will actually end your fast. Even lemon in water can do that. Some people can handle a little for a period of time but are likely to either stall their weight loss or feel quite ill when their body is triggered and ready for food and doesn’t get it. Research clean fasting for more details on it. I tried IF for about a year in various forms but couldn’t tolerate it. I would inevitably end up with migraines in the evenings. I was basically eating in the am to take my prednisone and not eating after lunch. I am toying with trying again now that I am down to 1.5mg and can skip breakfast and make it to mid day before the aches kick in. But do look into clean fasting. A lot of people fail with IF because they are not fasting clean.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to cranberryt]

Whatever "clean" is supposed to mean?

[Excelsior80]

I was doing that 16/8 before pmr diagnosed and found it easy then to not eat till 2, and even felt more alert in mornings .... and makes total sense to me to give the liver/digestive system a proper rest not constantly snack .... but stopped because of needing morning food with pred, youve reminded me to try and adjust it 🙂.