So i saw my blood results yesterday, and my Hba1c got up from 6.2 to 6.9 in around 7-8 months. I did intermittent fasting for about 5-6 months and then stopped for 7-8 months. Currently, i have been practising it for 2 weeks(16:8). I work early mornings so i skipped breakfast for like 3 years. My friend who is diabetic told me that it is very bad for me to skip breakfast because of the fluctuations in the glucose or sugar level in the body.
I would appreciate any advice on whether I should continue with my current routine or make any changes to it. Thanks in advance.
He probably doesnt know type 2 is reversible.
Not sure how it would be an issue if you are pre diabetic, you arent diabetic so, I wouldnt act like one. Carnivore can reverse it, and I bet fasting can as well.
Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another. It’s always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your diet or routine.
Here’s a paper on skipping breakfast that did show higher HbA1c values https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24094031/
but intermittent fasting has been shown (in one study) to significantly decrease blood sugar levels in people with type 2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33826120/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5394735/
TLDR: Talk to your doctor
It isn’t the fluctuations of glucose in blood causing problems, it’s the glucose level in the blood causing problems.
my father followed diabetic guidelines .. eating 6 times per day to keep a steady level of glucose in blood. As you can guess it only got worse.
So you’re on a good path with fasting/intermittent fasting.
edit:
ps. My father BGL is better now he’s eating keto/ very low carb and his sugar level is finally down from very high (20+) to 6 - 7. It did take a long time to come down, because he was untreated and eating the wrong stuff for a long time.
Make sure your morning caffeine has no calories as well or you won’t get the benefits of fasting. Also a lot depends on what you eat during your window. What’s your vegetable consumption? How many whole fruit/day? Do you eat a lot of fiber? All these work together to bring down your A1C. You might also try a slightly longer fast to re-sensitize your body to insulin.
ETA: fluctuating blood sugar isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve seen diabetics who feel horrible at anything below 90, mine regularly goes into the 60s when I’m fasting and I feel fine because my body is used to it—metabolic flexibility.
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(22)00042-8/fulltext
Also take a look at “Fasting for Survival” on YouTube, it’s a lecture and very informative. Keep skipping breakfast. Eat more whole fruits and vegetables.
When I had gestational diabetes it was my experience that I could not skip breakfast or my numbers would be out of range for the rest of the day. Like someone else said, 16:8 seems to be the best fit for diabetes and likely pre-diabetes as well. Three meals that are protein dominant but include a fat and carb as well. Then a blood sugar friendly snack before bed if you can fit it in, like 70%< dark chocolate or cheese and crackers. Your pancreas is sensitive so you won’t really see huge results from just fasting. You will have to be really diligent about what you’re eating during your wake windows as well. You basically need to retrain your pancreas so simply not eating as some other people are implying here is not the answer.
TL;DR: Get a glucose meter, have a good talk with your doctor, do some research, post in appropriate subs with more data and more focused questions.
Are you overweight? Do you have Metabolic Sydrome? A1c goes back 3 months, so doing IF for 5-6 months has no direct effect, only if it reduced fatty liver or whatever that changed your metabolism. Going back to IF for 2 weeks may only have muddled the water. I would recommend getting a glucose meter, so you can get an idea what your response is, rather than a 90 day average. This information will help you figure out what is going on. Then, try and discover why your A1c is high. Insulin Resistance? Fatty Liver/Pancreas? Something actually wrong with your insulin production? What is your diet like? IF won’t do you any good if you are loading up on fructose and ‘healthy’ whole grains when you do eat.
My fasting blood sugar tended to be about 140 for a long time before keto/IF. If I ate a little (1 oz cheese, or some nuts), it would drop to around 100. I guess this might affect my A1c, which was high fives/low sixes. YOUR A1c seems to be telling you you are heading towards diabetes; but it’s a symptom not a problem.
Many people (Fung, etc.) believe there is no evidence that eating/skipping breakfast has no real impact health-wise. I suspect your friend is wrong, and probably follows a lot of ‘conventional wisdom’ about diabetes that has a poor track record (meds, insulin, ulcers, amputations), you will have to judge whether what he is doing is effective for him.
I went from pre-diabetic to normal blood glucose levels and have maintained that. Are you considered overweight? I think getting my BMI down from 25 to 20 was the biggest factor in halting the disease process.