5:2 Intermittent Fasting -- In Reverse

[JBHoren]

I just completed my first 14-day water fast… went into ketosis quickly, and stayed at a steady level throughout the fast; blood-glucose level fell from 119 to the mid-80s during the first few days, and then dropped to the mid-to-low 70s for the remainder. Hunger became an issue only at the very end.

During the fast I read a lot of NIH (National Institute of Health) articles about extended fasting, and, in this one (https://bit.ly/2nCQxky) I came across a different 5:2 fasting plan… it’s the reverse of the “normal” one – 5 days water fasting, followed by 2 days eating (with calorie restrictions).

I like the concept: it seems easy-to-do/stick-with, and, given the nature of refeeding, provides a clear path to minimal-if-any exit from ketosis. So, here’s my question:

During my eating window, what “macros” (carbs, proteins, fats) and in what proportions, should I be consuming in order to stay in ketosis?

[Talk2me]

Congratulations! You are a great example for us. Your blood sugar readings were taken in the morning, right? Do you carry extra weight? It seems you have a bit of insulin resistance. Is your blood pressure elevated? But I bet it’s Great after fasting.
I suspect having good blood pressure will be the trick now. With insulin resistance a day of eating has quite a dramatic effect on both your weight and your blood pressure. But if you’re able to calorie restrict on those 2 feeding days and especially if you seek low insulin responses on those days your blood pressure ought to excite you! Mark Sisson seems to believe aging males should seek out collagen (a protein) supplements while getting to the gym to maintain muscle mass.
However, I have noticed that collagen and or gelatin in abundance leads to the “expressing” of pain about the joints. It seems that all that gelatin finds its way to forgotten scar tissue. Nowadays I’m only getting protein from ground beef and taking proteolytic enzymes for the golfer’s elbow. I think it’s going to work.

[JBHoren]

Thanks for replying!

I test my blood sugar twice-a-day: 9am and 9pm
Extra weight? You bet!
Elevated blood pressure? Yup

I broke my fast late last night… ate a bowl of frozen strawberries; later, a few spoonfuls of full-fat sour cream; still later, a few spoonfuls of full-fat cottage cheese. This morning, my blood sugar was 74. It’s going to take more than a 14-day fast to make any real changes to my blood pressure; and that’s OK – “quick fixes” are always for the short-term, and it’s long-term that I’m after. This is a WIP.

[Talk2me]

Wow. That 74 morning reading is fantastic! I never had a 74. Do you feel differently with that low reading?
Dr Bernstein http://www.diabetes-book.com/ says 85 is optimal, but I’m sure you’ve got good thing going.
How about exercise? I’m just now catching on to the fact that exercise about 30 minutes after eating really lowers your post-prandial reading (which you aren’t measuring anyway. This is just info for when you start eating again.) It’s a phenomenon called, “Insulin Independent Glucose Uptake”.
Do you measure BP?
You got a good thing going. Keep updating us with this good news.