FMD – Day 3

Middle of the hump. Today will bring me to the halfway point of this Fasting Mimicking Diet. Woke with a glucose reading of 111mg/dl, and following a 2-mile walk, it was down to 108mg/dl. Time to start the rest of my routine.

I skipped breakfast which was another L-Bar of nuts, and instead had half of it as dessert after lunch. The soup became a bit bland as it was already familiar from day 1. The kale crackers that accompanied lunch were only half-eaten, so I could have some with dinner, which was also when I finished the L-Bar. Lethargy followed me around today, and it took everything in me to get to 10,000 steps. Ketosis is barely here, with a reading between 0.5 and 1.0, but that might be wishful thinking and me squinting to see what I want to see. Before dinner, my glucose has averaged 104mg/dl for the day. My weight loss as of this morning is a meager 1.9 pounds.

I’m starting to get the idea that my diabetes and this Fasting Mimicking Diet that is heavy on carbs are producing enough glucose that my body is getting enough energy from its sugars instead of going into heavy fat-burning mode. Well, I have two more days of this, and then on Saturday, I’ll kick over hard with a push into ketosis by only eating avocado, bone broth, and maybe some green drink. I cannot almost sense a kind of obsession coming to drop weight, but little motivation to write, think, or do anything else besides being mindlessly entertained or asleep.

FMD – Day 4

This FMD day was a drift into the oblivion of low-energy boredom. Other than monitoring my vitals, I had little to no motivation at times. Mindless entertainment via YouTube with an emphasis on food videos added sparkly bits to my imagination while I drifted into dreams of eating anything except what I’m limited to. Torturing myself physically seems to require a complimentary amount of mental anguish to accompany and balance things.

My blood glucose continued its trend down, letting me end the day with an average of a mere 96mg/dl, which is down 7mg/dl from the previous three days, which all happened to average 103mg/dl. I’ve walked 24 miles during these four days and eaten only 3,370 calories. Regarding my caloric intake, it’s strange to think that I’ve certainly eaten meals where I’ve consumed more than that in a single sitting.

Offering other details of the day just wasn’t going to happen here on my blog, but then, towards the end of the day, I found a burst of inspiration that let me spend a moment exploring a few things on the synthesizer.

FMD – Day 5

Never in my wildest hopes did I ever think I could lose more than 20 pounds in less than a month, but that’s exactly what I did. It wasn’t through illness, though it was to combat diabetes that has been treated with Metformin and not a drop of insulin. I didn’t lose the weight by amputation or poverty that stopped me from being able to eat. There are no dramatic photos of the before super fat John and a now ripped version; I am far from ripped with my one-pack.

I lost these 22 pounds through sheer determination, effort, sacrifice, and a change of lifestyle. I’ve been so effective that I can see a continuation of my grueling endeavor, removing another 20 pounds before the end of the year as being within my grasp.

What’s been the motivation? On Friday the 13th, back in September, after weighing in with my doctor at 242 pounds, I was reminded of the need to take my diabetes seriously. While I thought things were “more-or-less” managed, I found out that the previous 90 days saw me falling off the boat of compliance. There was also another consideration flirting with my imagination.

I’ve often imagined that someday Caroline would be put in the situation of having to summon emergency services for her fat and bloated husband, who may or may not be dead. Her having to plead with the strapping-fit firemen to save her husband, who has to be taken downstairs with all of his blubber oozing off the sides of the stretcher. I groan and beg them not to drop me as I start spilling out of their grasp while heading down to the street.

Life is precarious enough with all of the potential pitfalls that can creep into our lives at any moment. My complicity in carrying the extra load that could contribute to heart disease, stroke, or multiple amputations due to untreated diabetes has reached the breaking point. I started fearing that if I didn’t make a better effort while I could, I might reach the point where something would happen, and trying to repair things from that debilitation would prove too difficult to surmount.

So, off with the weight seemed to be the most practical thing I could commit to. What started with simply trying to reduce and monitor my caloric intake quickly spun into results that were shocking, and I have to admit that I thought were unsustainable. Here I am, though, a month later and over 20 pounds lighter. In another couple of months, I hope that another 20 pounds of loss will bring me to 199 pounds, which, in my mind becomes manageable for a healthier future.

Stats for the week:

• Blood Glucose average was 100.2mg/dl
• Blood Glucose change over the week: down 7mg/dl on average
• Weight loss per day average was 1 lb 4 oz (.57kg)
• Total weight loss: 6.4 lbs (2.9kg)
• Step count average: 11,121
• Miles walked: 25 (40.2km)

Day two begins with the exact same blood glucose level of 115mg/dl as I woke up yesterday. Strangely, I slept like a log and woke up shortly before my alarm still in the same position I went to sleep in. I know you might be wondering how do I know what I did during my 6.5 hours of sleep last night? Well, it’s because I sleep with a giant wedge-shaped pillow under my legs to alleviate sciatica pain, and normally, around 1:30 – 2:30, I kick it out of bed so I can sleep on my side, but not last night.

Weighing in, I’m at 225.2, down 1.6 pounds in 24 hours. Before eating half my L-Bar, Caroline and I went for a two-mile walk to get things going. At 10:00 this morning, I have a visit scheduled with my doctor as I asked for some extra visits during this period I’m trying to lose so much weight. My goal this week would be complete if I only lost three more pounds, as that would mean I’d lost 20 pounds of fat in less than 30 days.

Just before heading out to add another mile to my step count, I’m feeling great, having only eaten half my L-Bar, and I should note that I skipped yesterday’s scheduled afternoon snack of a Choco Crisp L-Bar that pared 90 calories out of my intake.

Everything looked good at the doctor’s office, except she couldn’t agree about the efficacy of fasting for a diabetic, though she couldn’t disagree with the results either. My next visit isn’t for another month when she plans on having full blood work done to see where all my levels have gone after two months of dieting, fasting, and exercising with the goal that by that date, I’ll be down between 25 and 30 pounds.

Lunch was a small packet of olives and some tomato soup that I made with extra water. It wasn’t my intent to dilute the soup, but wanted to increase the volume so I could trick myself into thinking I ate more. The other thing was that it was only 11:30 when I started preparing lunch because I was hungry. My blood glucose was 120mg/dl before lunch and 114mg/dl after. Though I slept well last night a nap crashed into me after eating.

Waking again, I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t have a mind to participate in anything that might otherwise have interested me. After yet another walk, I passed 11,000 total steps and expected to see another 5,000 in order to ward off the carbs that were messing with my blood sugar. I was a bit bored, really, and may be preoccupied with trying to find a strategy to cheat, but I didn’t want to. Maybe it was time for a coffee?

Coffee on an empty stomach hit hard, encouraging me to exercise my jaw more than I should have.

At dinner time, I was famished, but that’s in part because I only ate half my L-Bar today, and I missed that the second pouch of olives was meant for a mid-day snack. So, by dinner time, I was missing nearly 200 calories from my limited 800-calorie meal plan for the day. The olives and butternut squash & quinoa soup were both amazing, likely made more so because of how little I’m eating. My pre-dinner glucose reading was a comfortable 83mg/dl, so I’m happy there. Time for a walk to bring me up to my goal for the day.

With 15,800 steps, I walked 7.3 miles or 11.8km, giving me 130 active minutes on my Fitbit. After dinner, glucose measures in at 79mg/dl, so I’m finishing my L-Bar with an average glucose reading for the day coming in at 106mg/dl I feel that while my carb intake is a higher percentage than I’d prefer, my sugar levels are within margins I’m comfortable with. Onward to day 3.

*** 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.