A Different Way to Fast

I am not the originator of this idea so I’m going to refer you to other resources in this post, but I wanted to let you know about something I’ve been doing to help my gut heal.

If you’re new here, a quick recap: I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease about 13 years ago after a very long, frustrating time of being very, very sick and no one knowing why. I started healing with surgery (emergency and by necessity to save my life) and then followed by biologics and other immune-suppressing drugs. A couple years later, I learned about the Paleo diet for healing autoimmunity and have never looked back.

I am extremely thankful to that person who told me about this alternate way of dealing with my disease because I have had many years now of good health without any pharmaceutical interventions or flare-ups. However, I do sometimes not feel my best. I would say that I have a touchy digestive system. Somethings definitely make me feel unwell.

After many years of strict paleo, I was feeling so great that I loosened up my diet to include gluten free treat foods (packaged things like crackers and bread, even pizza) and probably way too much dairy.

I found intermittent fasting a few years ago and that has worked well for me. I eat a very flexible diet, but always 100% gluten free. At home, we’re still mostly paleo, but I definitely enjoy more gluten free treats than I used to.

Blame it on perimenopause or maybe it’s the Crohn’s, but my digestive system has been particularly touchy lately. Sometimes I think I can pinpoint what has set me off and other times I have no idea. What I ate one day without incident seems to cause issues the next.

Enter the Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF). The general idea here is that you eat high protein, low fat and very low carb a few days a week. I don’t believe most proponents of this diet recommend combining it with intermittent fasting, but frankly, the food is so filling, you will likely end up doing that in combination anyway.

I highly encourage you to visit Maria Mind Body Health to learn more. She has a macros calculator and tons of recipes that are very helpful. You can get fancy and make all sorts of breads and treats, but I find that simpler is best. On my PSMF days, I just eat chicken breast, whole eggs, ground beef and her PSMF noodles in some combination. One or two meals is all it takes to keep me very full and feeling amazing. What you see pictured with this post is a serving of those PSMF noodles with pork teriyaki pineapple meatballs (recipe coming soon).

The best part is that I feel really, really good when I eat this way. I know it is not an every day sort of eating plan, but if I can manage to eat PSMF a couple days a week, my digestion is much better.

I know the conventional wisdom says that you must eat a lot of fiber, probiotic and prebiotic foods in order to have a healthy gut, but that simply is not true for every person. There are many of us who do very well on a carnivore diet, which a PSMF diet in essence, at least it is the way I do it.

If you’re one of those people who has “tried everything” and still have days of not feeling well, have indigestion, heartburn, bloating, etc. the PSMF diet might work well for you. It’s easy to try, doesn’t require any weird ingredients or special cooking equipment. It does require some willpower to not eat any carbs on your PSMF days, but just make sure you’re eating enough of the allowed foods and I really think you’ll be so full, you won’t even think about eating anything else.

A few caveats:

• Consider carefully and consult with your medical team if you plan to embark on a major dietary change.
• Do your own research. I’ve linked two good websites in this post for you to reference.
• You must be in tune with your body and honest with yourself if you want to see real change. Is it working? Really? Is it not working? How do you feel? Do you notice any changes with your digestion, your skin, your sleep? You have to pay attention to all the details.

If you want to talk more about the Protein Sparing Modified Fast, Intermittent Fasting or the functional medicine approach to managing autoimmune disease, I’d love to talk with you. Simply go to the Services page and follow the instructions for making an appointment.