In 2019 I got sick. Twice. Like, had to take a week off work and couldn’t move sick. After a few doctor visits, a specialist, a somatic movement educator, and some time I started to recover. This was life with Polycystic Kidney Disease. Previously I’d had very few symptoms, but they’d all come at once and hit me like a truck. I was quite literally K.O’d. While I was recovering I became aware of patterns of behavior I’d been oblivious too. Notably my lack of appetite. I realized, that for quite a while, I’d been eating because it was “time” rather than hunger. Due to nausea in the morning I began skipping breakfast. Had my body been telling me to change my dietary habits? Was intermittent fasting going to help? Here’s what I learned from 6 months of intermittent fasting.
Why Intermittent fasting for PKD?
I’m not going to go in depth as to what PKD is, the PKD foundation is an amazing resource for that. In summary, it’s a genetic disease where cysts grow in and on the kidneys. As the cysts grow, the kidney function decreases. And the kidneys get larger. So far there is no cure. As kidney function declines the options are dialysis then transplant.
While there is no cure for PKD I’m diligent about being proactive with my health and while sick in July, I began reading some of the new research. I happened upon a paper about PKD and intermittent fasting. In studies, intermittent fasting, combined with a slight calorie reduction, had been shown to help PKD. As I’m always down to test things myself. And as my appetite in the morning was already non existent, now seemed like a good time to try this out. I started officially intermittent fasting September 1st.
What is Intermittent Fasting? & Struggles.
Nowadays most people have an idea what intermittent fasting is. Largely due to our crazy schedules, and technology. No longer do we have 3 meals a day, instead we snack all day. Those who follow IF typically follow the 16/8 method. Fasting for 12 hours, then eating within an 8 hour window. Whether that’s 8am-4pm or like me 12pm-8pm. Skipping breakfast came naturally for me as I wasn’t hungry at all in the mornings anymore. This would be a breeze!
If you’d asked me 5 years ago to skip breakfast I may not have been so eager to try IF. But not eating breakfast was way easier than I thought it was going to be. What was more of an issue was managing the expectations of others. Want to go for breakfast/brunch? I can’t. I fast till 12. While there is a little wiggle room, I try and stick to 12 noon being the end of my fasting window. Through the last 6 months I was on vacation (twice), changed time zones, and had Thanksgiving, a birthday, Christmas and New Years. None of those broke my intermittent fasting.
How I related intermittent fasting to yoga!
One of the yamas in the 8-limb yoga path is Aparigraha. Roughly translated as non-greed or non-attachment. Oh boy, did intermittent fasting lead me down a path of non-attachment and non-greed. As I mentioned I was dealing with nausea and not eating breakfast. In EVERY nutrition manual and training I’d been told breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Letting go of this belief was a huge stepping stone (and continues to be) on a path of non-attachment of knowledge. What’s right for one person isn’t right for everyone. The very name implies to break a fast, it’s just my fast lasts till lunch.
Aparigraha is also non-greed. As I dealt with kidneys that were growing and expanding I found I could only eat small meals. Learning to eat when I was hungry, and eating smaller meals, was essential to avoid nausea. Do you leave food on your plate after meals? Maybe consider practicing Aparigraha and serving smaller portions? As a nation America is over fed and undernourished. We need to eat more real food, at a table, with company. Rather than fast food, in your car, or at a desk. This whole experiment was a big game changer for me. Letting go of existing beliefs and beginning to question what my body needed. And recognizing what it was trying to lead me towards.
What I learned…
It’s been 6 months, what have I learned? For me this is a very sustainable and natural way of eating. Honestly it’s been super easy to keep my fasting window, and some days I do a longer fasting window than others. However, I always maintain at least a 16 hour intermittent fasting schedule. Not eating after 8pm can occasionally be a challenge if I work late, but it’s absolutely fine with some planning. What I learned from intermittent fasting is that it’s something that is very easy for me to do, and I feel great doing it. I’d highly recommend trying it.
In December 2019, I became aware of a study showing the benefits of the Keto Diet and PKD (Keto is usually paired with IF). I spent much of December researching recipes, and on January 1st I became my own test subject for Vegan Keto, combinedwith intermittent fasting. I’ll be sharing more on this in the near future.
Questions
- Have you tried intermittent fasting?
- Do you snack during the day?
- If you have PKD have you seen the latest dietary research?
Practicing Ahimsa – Reusable grocery and produce bags
Jackie
Hi,
Interested to know if your cysts shrank after fasting & doing vegan keto for 6 mths. Was your waist smaller? What’s your thoughts on no caffeine to help shrink cysts?
Di Hickman
Hi Jackie
I don’t know if cysts shrank as I didn’t get an ultrasound/CT but yes my waist was smaller on keto. Stomach flatter in general and less bloating. I don’t do caffeine and haven’t for about 5 years. I never liked coffee anyways. Tea is decaf. The only cafeine I get is the small amount of dark chocolate I eat daily.
Jamie Lynn
I have PKD. I’ve been a vegan or vegetarian for most of my life and have been fasting for the past 6 months. I’ve been considering vegan keto, paired with IF, and would love to know more about what you’ve learned!
Elizabeth O
The beauty of our world is that we get to choose and try things that could help us. IF might not be for everyone but, I’m glad it’s working well for you.
Di Hickman
Totally. And it depends where we are in our journey. I never thought I’d do IF or keto. Yet here I am! lol!
Christa
I haven’t tried intermittent fasting yet but it’s something I’m very interested in. I love how you related aparigraha to your journey. As a fellow yogi, it really resonated with me.
Di Hickman
Right? Makes so much sense! We need to LIVE yoga!
Flossie McCowald
I try not to snack during the day, but I sometimes do – I also try to do an overnight fast of AT LEAST 12 hours (though usually not much more than that). Interesting that this has helped with your PKD – I have several friends with PKD, and I know how much they’ve struggled with what/when/how they eat over the years…
Di Hickman
Yeah. The morning nausea has gone since implementing IF, and I feel so much better with my kidneys. Correlation not causation, but the Keto thing I’ve been doing for the last 10 weeks has been much different!
Patricia Chamberlain
I have heard of intermittent fasting, but do not know a lot about it. This is a super interesting post. I didn’t know it had health benefits besides weight loss.
Di Hickman
Me either honestly. Since researching my disease Im Finding out IF can help a lot of health issues
aisasami
I do snack during the day, especially between 3-5 pm because I am with kids from 10 am to 7 pm. I need the energy. I haven’t thought about fasting because I don’t know how my work schedule goes around it (especially when I am with kids most of the time).
Di Hickman
Snacking for sustained energy is a myth perpetuated by the snack industry 😉
Neely
I find intermittent fasting super interesting but I don’t think it’s something I could do
Di Hickman
I honestly used to think the same thing! I was a BIG breakfast fan!
Jan
If you try it start slow with 12 hours or even 10 hours until it’s an easy habit then Increase the time. It took me several month but I can know do 18 to 20 hours if I want. It just has to become your routine/habit. Good Luck
Di Hickman
Yes great advice!
Stephanie
I have heard a lot about intermittent fasting, but I haven’t tried it. Mostly because I don’t know if it would work well for my schedule. For a few years now, I have been on thyroid medication and have to take that first thing in the morning. Because it works with the metabolism, I tend to get so hungry I am nauseous within an hour of taking it. And I wake at about 5 every morning. But then we don’t usually eat dinner until about 5:3-6pm based on when my boys get home from school. Maybe I can try it a bit on days I know we will be able to eat earlier, such as on the weekends. I’m glad it’s working so well for you, though!
Di Hickman
Funny I used to get nausea from hunger also. But this recent health episode changed things big time for my appetite.
Holly
Prior to getting pregnant this time, I was intermittent fasting and I loved it. It doesn’t really work with my pregnancy needs right now, but i look forward to returning to it after!
Di Hickman
Yeah I don’t think IF would work with pregnancy!