Just a word of caution.
Dr. Taylor’s work is what inspired me to start this diet – so I am here because of his work.
Unfortunately, I believe he is now extending his declarations about reversing diabetes beyond the strength of his studies. His studies (2 of them completed and one ongoing) were based on 600-800 calorie diets consisting of shakes + up to 200 grams of real food (primarily low carb veggies). He constructed that diet based on a 97% remission rate for diabetics post-bariatric surgery. The theory had to do with a dramatic decrease in calories to a level far below maintenance being key to losing the fat around the liver and pancreas.
He now talks about personal fat thresholds, and weight loss being the key -at whatever rate is convenient for you. This is the really old (successful for only a very few) theory (10% loss should bring your blood glucose under control) – beefed up to make it personal (i.e. failures are explained because you just haven’t lost enough weight to get to your PFT), and a more significant weight loss (he suggests generally 15% – again, you just didn’t lose enough before). Nothing in his studies supports that – and since I’ve lost nearly double what he suggests is sufficient with no change in insulin resistance I am a huge skeptic of his new (unsupported) insights.
That triggered me to do more research. What I have found supports his studies – that there is something in the 800 calorie diet (and/or fasting) that triggers reversing the diabetic spiral, in part by decreasing the glycogen stores in the liver. That same effect is not achieved (for most) by merely reducing weight.
That research is why I am losing the last 19 lbs using the fast 800 diet. It is consistent with Dr. Taylor’s actual studies, not his current theories (unsupported by quality data).
Prior to shifting to the fast 800 diet, combined with 16:8 fasting, I could not tolerate more than 20 grams of carb in a sitting and maintain normal blood glucose. I’ve been regularly testing my limits. This past week (nearly 2 weeks into the changed diet) I was able to eat 33 grams in a sitting with a normal BG response. My fasting BG levels have been dropping, and I’ve even had a couple of days where I stayed below 5.8 the entire day. Either I coincidentally hit my PFT at the exact time I changed my diet OR it is the severe calorie restriction and/or fasting that is shifting something. I believe the latter.