Time restricted eating in T2?

[Rick B]

Question for Type 2 sufferers who monitor their glucose levels at home: have you tried time restricted eating (say 16-8hrs) and has this improved post-meal glucose level readings per se.

Or put another way, is it possible time restricted eating compensates for the occasional eating of high carb foods (breads, potatoes, pasta etc.)

I'm at the beginning of my journey and I'm recognising that the regime I've been following (low carb/ time restricted eating) might need a degree of latitude to make it long lasting.

 

[Docb]

@Rick B - Answer to your first question is no, I haven't tried time restricted eating so cannot comment directly.

That said, I have settled into a consistent regime of three meals a day and those meals are generally variations on a theme. I am pretty sure that the key to keeping my blood levels in range is basic carbohydrate control, does not matter when I eat or whether it is a while since I last ate. If for some reason I eat more carbs than usual in a meal then I get a bigger increase in blood glucose than normal.

 

[Drummer]

Question for Type 2 sufferers who monitor their glucose levels at home: have you tried time restricted eating (say 16-8hrs) and has this improved post-meal glucose level readings per se.

Or put another way, is it possible time restricted eating compensates for the occasional eating of high carb foods (breads, potatoes, pasta etc.)

I'm at the beginning of my journey and I'm recognising that the regime I've been following (low carb/ time restricted eating) might need a degree of latitude to make it long lasting.

I found that my levels were lower eating every 12 hours.
I also lost a lot of weight with no effort.
After diagnosis I started off eating lunch and dinner as I was taking Metformin and could not go anywhere after lunch. When I stopped taking the tablets I used my meter and found that eating early and late kept things very even.
I am approaching 5 years from diagnosis and have been classed in remission for some time now. I can eat something higher in carbs - but I would not be interested in bread potato or pasta - moderately high carb desserts however - and I don't see shockingly high BG levels - but what I do find is an increase in weight by next morning which takes up to a week to reverse.
I have always found the same thing, that carbs cause weight gain which is difficult to lose, right from my late teens.
Fasting never ended well - nor did eating low calorie.

 

[Rick B]

@Rick B - Answer to your first question is no, I haven't tried time restricted eating so cannot comment directly.

That said, I have settled into a consistent regime of three meals a day and those meals are generally variations on a theme. I am pretty sure that the key to keeping my blood levels in range is basic carbohydrate control, does not matter when I eat or whether it is a while since I last ate. If for some reason I eat more carbs than usual in a meal then I get a bigger increase in blood glucose than normal.

@Docb Thanks Doc. Carbohydrate management does seem to be key.

Can I take it from your post that you don't snack? From what I've read, snacking is not advised for T2 management due to it stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin (with insulin resistance being cited as being a primary cause of T2 diabetes).

 

[Rick B]

I found that my levels were lower eating every 12 hours.
I also lost a lot of weight with no effort.
After diagnosis I started off eating lunch and dinner as I was taking Metformin and could not go anywhere after lunch. When I stopped taking the tablets I used my meter and found that eating early and late kept things very even.
I am approaching 5 years from diagnosis and have been classed in remission for some time now. I can eat something higher in carbs - but I would not be interested in bread potato or pasta - moderately high carb desserts however - and I don't see shockingly high BG levels - but what I do find is an increase in weight by next morning which takes up to a week to reverse.
I have always found the same thing, that carbs cause weight gain which is difficult to lose, right from my late teens.
Fasting never ended well - nor did eating low calorie.

@Drummer Thanks Drummer. FWIW, carbs have always caused me weight gain, even in childhood.

From what you have said, namely eating with a 12 hour interval, you are applying the tenets of time restricted eating (12-12), which is likely why your glucose levels remain well balanced. Do you do this at weekends too?

I must confess to applying more latitude at weekends. 😉

 

[Docb]

@Docb Thanks Doc. Carbohydrate management does seem to be key.

Can I take it from your post that you don't snack? From what I've read, snacking is not advised for T2 management due to it stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin (with insulin resistance being cited as being a primary cause of T2 diabetes).

No, I don't snack but since I eat my evening meal in the late afternoon I might have some cheese with a cracker in the evening.

Learned my lesson on snacking a while ago. Went out and had a brew in a local garden centre cafe where they are wont to put a bite size piece of one of their cakes on the saucer. Casually ate both mine and MrsB's - couple of sq cms of flapjack should be OK I thought. Got home an hour later, felt a bit odd, so tested and found blood glucose in double figures.

 

[Drummer]

@Drummer Thanks Drummer. FWIW, carbs have always caused me weight gain, even in childhood.

From what you have said, namely eating with a 12 hour interval, you are applying the tenets of time restricted eating (12-12), which is likely why your glucose levels remain well balanced. Do you do this at weekends too?

I must confess to applying more latitude at weekends. 😉

I eat the same way every day - I go out at weekends, in normal times, and it is much easer to eat early, then be out all day - I take water and sometimes a flask of coffee, then eat again when I get home. It means I don't have to worry about taking or finding food out of the house.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I’ve moved your post and its responses to its own thread so your replies don’t get muddled with the other topic 🙂

I think @ianf0ster uses Intermittent Fasting alongside a lower carb way of eating.

 

[Rick B]

I’ve moved your post and its responses to its own thread so your replies don’t get muddled with the other topic 🙂

I think @ianf0ster uses Intermittent Fasting alongside a lower carb way of eating.

Thanks Mike. Much appreciated.

 

[ianf0ster]

Yes, I do. I have done so since I became 'fat adapted' meaning my body can switch between using carbs for energy and using fat for energy.
When this happened I was no longer hungry in the mornings - so there was no point in eating breakfast just because I normally ate at that time of da, when I could easily wait until lunch or even dinner.
On weekdays I normally start eating between 12:30 and 13:00 and then a dinner around 19:30, but on weekends I just eat a (larger) single meal starting between 15:30 and 16:30.
Due to a genetic polyp problem (HYG associated Polyposis) I have regular colonoscopies with polyp trim. The emptying out and fasting for these is now less of a problem and I'm now fine on just clear liquids for 3 days or more without severe hunger or loss of energy.

I don't know if this had an affect on my HbA1C over just eating Low Carb, but it can't have done any harm.

 

[Sharron1]

I stick to three meals a day all low carbs. Although I do.have porridge for breakfast and so far that and a cracker return a 5.5 when i test. I try not to snack, but if I must it is almonds, olives, a bit of cheese and a few slices of watermelon. But I do keep an eye on the snacking front.It is way too easy to overdo it.