*** FULL DISCLOSURE and WARNING: This diet is NOT recommended for people with Type 2 Diabetes. When purchasing the ProLon Meal Program, there is a warning telling the purchaser of this fact. You must consult your doctor before attempting to do the Fasting Mimicking Diet.
Out the door by 5:30 this morning for a 40-minute walk of 4,300 steps that measures in at exactly 2 miles. Before leaving, I had a glass of water with a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, which some people believe helps lower blood glucose levels. My weight was again 226.8 and my glucose reading was 115mg/dl. The “Fasting Mimicking Diet” – FMD is supposed to help reduce belly fat, so on that side of things, my measurement came in at 48.5 inches around my midsection. My ketones were measured at 0.5.
Breakfast of 1.6oz (46g) L-Bar made of nuts with a cup of Lemon-Spearmint tea was taken at 7:15 along with the 2-gel caps of Alga Oil which supplies Omega-3’s. The L-Bar is a great start to the diet and not too sweet at all. I’d read from someone else that they thought it was on the sweet side; I’d disagree. Trying my best to push having a coffee out as long as possible, and while the guidelines allow for one, it is recommended to try and stay away from caffeine, so I’ll see what I can do.
It’s two hours after breakfast, and my glucose reading is an unfriendly 128, which I kind of expected, considering that the L-Bar is loaded with honey. As I said, it’s not too sweet, but it is the second ingredient. At 9:30 here, I’ve already gotten 6,170 steps in 2.87 miles or 4.6km.
Shortly before noon, I went out for another short walk, bringing my step count to 8,100 or 3.8 miles/6.1km. My glucose reading was at a more normal 99 mg/dl. Time to make lunch, which consists of butternut squash soup, kale crackers, a small package of olives, and a couple of multivitamins. I felt the soup needed a bit of salt and pepper to bring it around, but the crackers and olives rounded things out so that I felt I was offered a mini-feast before starvation starts tomorrow.
The top photo is the box the diet is delivered in, with everything except water included for the five days. In the next photo, you can see each day’s menu plan is isolated by a package clearly labeled so you can follow the diet without any ambiguity. And right here in this photo, you can see what an entire day’s worth of food looks like.
As I’m writing this, it’s approaching an hour after lunch, and I’m very satisfied, but then again, I’ve already been eating a calorie-reduced diet for the past few weeks, averaging about 1,400 calories per day. So, at 1,100 calories, this isn’t having a big impact yet; tomorrow is the precipitous drop to 800 calories, which, at little more than half of what I’m accustomed to, I’m thinking might make the adjustment a bit of a challenge.
It’s two hours after lunch, and my glucose is a worrisome 132mg/dl. The spike was enough that I contacted the makers of ProLon FMD, where I was told that the diet is not recommended for people on diabetes medications. Of course, I didn’t know that as I didn’t place the order, nor had I seen anything on the site nor heard anyone such as Dr. Longo speak about this caveat. I’m waiting for a call back from one of their advisors, but I feel confident that I’ll push forward as I’ve certainly had higher glucose levels, and I’m 100% certain I can pull them back down should they remain elevated while I’m on this diet that is skewed towards higher carbs than my normal heavy protein-centric diet. Time to go walk and help bring down my blood sugars.
Now, at 10,000 steps so far and an hour after I last checked my glucose level, I’m at 100mg/dl. So, of the five readings taken so far today, I’m averaging about 115mg/dl, which is still okay. I’ll have another couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with the hope it might help nudge my levels lower as I move into the end of the day.
After my elevated glucose readings, I did a little more research and learned that after clicking purchase on the ProLon website, the buyer was warned that this diet is NOT recommended for people with diabetes. My friend who bought the three boxes didn’t share that information with me before I decided that I wanted to try FMD. The warning on the L-Nutra website, which is the company that makes the ProLon package, is unequivocal in their warning (now that I’ve checked out their site, too) that you SHOULD NOT do this diet without the supervision of your doctor and that “THE COMBINATION OF THE FMD AND INSULIN BUT ALSO OTHER DRUGS COULD CAUSE SEVERE PROBLEMS AND EVEN DEATH.”
While I appreciate the abundance of caution, I’m still determined to follow through with the fast. I was already familiar with fasting prior to starting this “experiment” today. From family history, I know firsthand the implications brought on by diabetes that can debilitate and kill people. As I evaluate my blood glucose levels my energy levels, listen to my body, and recognize the nutrient and calorie implications of what I’m eating, I cannot see as of the time that I’m writing that I’m introducing anything into my body chemistry that is contrary to what led to my diabetes in the first place. I’m familiar with the effect of too many carbs on my blood glucose and am taking Metformin for that. I’m not on insulin. Should I feel sense or measure anything out of the ordinary, I will cease the FMD immediately, eat a normal meal, and, if need be, visit my doctor immediately.
More important to me than some minor elevation in glucose levels is that I lose weight, especially around my midsection. Eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) is no longer an option for me with my diabetes. My obesity makes me incompatible with any convenience of eating a restaurant meal that is portioned for a healthy lifestyle. Avoiding sugars, flour, rice, and potatoes while dining out is nearly impossible. Unless I lose weight and reverse my diabetes, I will forever be susceptible to the life-threatening effects of my malady. Every day I remain obese, I’m shortening my lifespan.
So, while there may be an inherent risk in going forward with this diet, I could simply do what so many other Americans do and disregard all medical advice and go ahead and eat cake, ice cream, and bread (all in moderation, of course) and end up on insulin and sooner or later lose my legs, eyesight, and then my life. I don’t mean to be careless or disregard the abundance of caution rightfully being exercised by those involved with the FMD, but at 56 years old and likely not being invited to participate in a clinical study, I have to make the decision to my best right now to combat my ailment. Anybody else considering this Fasting Mimicking Diet who has diabetes, please heed the warnings and do NOT take lightly the warnings to NOT try this diet without doctor supervision.
Spent part of this afternoon learning why FMD is not recommended for people with diabetes, and it has a lot to do with those on insulin. The major problem appears to be hypoglycemia, which is the condition where blood glucose goes too low, which can lead to death. To date, I’ve never experienced hypoglycemia to the best of my knowledge, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Going into this diet it was always my plan to test my glucose levels at least seven times a day in order to know my levels after I wake up, before and after I eat, and what it is before going to bed.
Dinner time. It’s 6:00 p.m., and my pre-meal glucose level is at a healthy 80mg/dl. My resting heart rate is at a calm 56. I have 86 active minutes clocked so far, and things feel great. I’m hungry but not starving. My ketones level is measuring 1.0 and will be measured one more time today before I go to bed.
The minestrone soup took 15 minutes to prepare and, like lunch, required some salt and pepper for my taste. I had been considering skipping the L-Bar to avoid the sugar spike, but once I got to eating, momentum took over my brain, and I didn’t so much as leave a crumb. I’m considering two walks here after dinner, with one shortly after I finish and another mile 20 minutes before I check my blood glucose again. I’ll be back to report my final numbers of the day before calling it a night.
It’s now a couple of hours after dinner and my vitals are as follows: blood glucose is 83mg/dl. Ketones have pushed up to 1.5 so I’m feeling better that I should be gathering some good fat-burning momentum. My step count for the day is roughly 15,500, which is 7.18 miles or 11.55km, and it racked up 136 active minutes. If my glucose goes any lower when I check before bed, I’ll be setting an alarm for about 1:30 in the morning so I can check my levels in the middle of the night. With the stern warning I learned about earlier in the day, I can’t take any chances that I could fall into a hypoglycemic zone. I don’t want to worry too much, though, as I look back over the previous ten days and see that my running average has been 104mg/dl while today’s average comes out to 103mg/dl. With the first day done, I’m feeling great about the overall impact and look forward to Day 2.