Ep. 93 - Listener Q&A | Massive weight loss success | How fast can I lose weight? | Controlling Gout flare-ups | Raynaud's Syndrome | Next CHALLENGE! | Free Intermittent Fasting Plan
Dr. Scott and Tommy answer questions submitted by listeners! Have a question you'd like us to answer? Click here to send it to us or leave us a voicemail we can play on the show!
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Fasting For Life Ep. 93
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:00:01] Hello. I'm Dr. Scott Watier
Tommy Welling: [00:00:03] And I'm Tommy Welling, and you're listening to the Fasting for Life podcast.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:00:08] This podcast is about using fasting as a tool to regain your health. Achieve ultimate wellness and live the life you truly deserve.
Tommy Welling: [00:00:15] Each episode is a short conversation on a single topic with immediate, actionable steps. We cover everything from fat loss and health and wellness to the science of lifestyle design.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:00:25] We started fasting for life because of how fasting has transformed our lives, and we hope to share the tools that we have learned
[00:00:30] Along the way.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:00:40] Hey, everyone, welcome to the Fasting for Life podcast. My name is Dr. Scott Watier and I'm here, as always. I'm a good friend and colleague, Tommy Welling. Good afternoon to you, sir. Hey, Scott, how are you doing? Great, my friend. Love today's episode because it is one that is going to be jam packed, filled with questions from you guys, the loyal listener. So we like to do these Q&A periodically as the questions come in, and we have a tremendous amount of questions. So there's going to be a few Q&A sessions coming out in the near future and we're going to start today with. Some of y'all's questions, and it's going to lead to some good conversations and hopefully some actionable things and probably feedback we get is typically, hey, I had that question too. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Or Hey, yeah. I've always wondered that as well, so there's never a bad question. We appreciate you guys listening if you're new to the podcast. Thank you for joining us. Have you been around with us for a while? Part of the OG crowd, the the the old guard. Appreciate you listening, continuing to be on this fasting for life journey with us. You can check us out at the website. Ww w v fasting for LifeCare. We have a next challenge coming up, but we'll talk about here in a minute because a few of you have asked and if you want some resources, there's a fast start guide on how to put intermittent fasting into your day to day life, and there is also an insulin assessment. You can go read our bios, go back and listen to the original episodes. But with all of that being said, Tommy, we're going to start with some of the listeners questions and do you have a place you'd like to begin or you just want me to go down the list?
Tommy Welling: [00:02:26] I think just just start firing them off. Let's get into it.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:02:30] So this message comes in from John. John, appreciate you sending us the question. And this is in regards to gout and fasting. So John says, I'm doing a 20 hour 20 for fast now. So that means fasting for 20 hours with a four hour eating window, right? He states that he did a twenty four hour fast, which is what we call one meal a day or homered and had a gout flare up. So he says that his toe dash for window is working and about 10 days in his blood glucose number dropped below one hundred. And I'm guessing that's a good milestone because he said, so far, so good thanks with some exclamation points. So let's talk about gout and what you can do and have a little bit of conversation around the understanding of what's happening with gout and how fasting can potentially be a good long term solution to avoid those flare ups. Mm hmm.
Tommy Welling: [00:03:32] Yeah. So I thought this one was really interesting because we've gotten a few questions about gout, but never quite framed like this or being so specific. So thank you for the specifics there, because it starts to make sense as we understand what's happening within gout and the actual like crystallization that happens within a gout flare up, it can literally feel like there's little like crystals inside your, you know, usually extremities, usually like the large toe and little knives. Yeah, right? And that happens from a crystallization process. So the a good perspective here is that when you push through from that 20 hour fast into the twenty four hour fast, you got into a little bit lower insulin levels, so the glucose came down. That allowed the the insulin levels to come down a little bit more to get a little bit more of a diuretic effect. You probably excreted some more water during that time as well, and these can all throw off the chemistry that's actually happening within precipitation and crystallization.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:04:36] And yeah, the fancy word, their precipitation. Imagine if you can think back to like the old chemistry class and you had those ice packs that were just sitting around room temperature and then once you break them and shake them, they get really, really cold. So that's like that, that you push past that barrier. And really, like you mentioned, Tommy Hydration is the key piece. And it also related to the fact that when your insulin comes down, you're tapping into your fat stores and you're elevating your ketone levels. Right. So what that does on the tubules of the kidney is that causes a decrease in the output of the uric acid, which is the main proponent of those crystals that you had mentioned. So a few things that you can do is really focus on your hydration levels, meaning because you're going to have, like you mentioned, that initial like, Hey, I'm peeing a lot more, right? I'm going to the bathroom a lot more. What you can do is use one to two teaspoons of Himalayan salt or a good quality sea salt a couple of times throughout the day or just as a prophylactic. So you can do it one to three times a day on if you're going to be pushing your fasting window, and that's going to help balance the electrolytes and balance that excretion. And then the other main lever would be the food choices, right, Tommy?
Tommy Welling: [00:05:54] Yeah. And so just like you mentioned that that will actually allow you to hold on to some more of that water while you're kind of going through that that transition into ketosis. And then, yeah, your food choices being very, very intentional about your food. Because if you're battling with with gout, oftentimes those those flare ups can be correlated with food choices. So like more alcohol will be worse, like higher purine foods, sometimes like fatty or cuts of meat can be can be worse as well. A fast food is definitely a big one that can lead a lot of people to flare up, so be really intentional with those food choices, especially as you kind of push past that that 20 and 24 hour marker because you're knocking at the door of some, some really good balance happening within the body.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:06:43] Yeah, so make sure you get your hydration action set up there, but you can also if you're going to be wanting to push the window. So right now you've been able to do 20 hour fast successfully if you want to get back up to twenty four. I would do a twenty two hour fast next and be really intentional about your hydration and your food choices and then do a twenty four hour fast and be really intentional about your hydration and food choices. And you should notice that you would be able to to kind of push past that and not have that precipitation or those that crystallization reaction occur. So just slowly increase the hours, be intentional with the water and also the dietary stuff as well. So thank you for listening. Glad to see that your blood sugar numbers are going down. John, keep up the great work and let us know if there's anything else we can do to help Tommy. Question number two. Came in from pulling up the name here. This came in from Tracy and. Gracie's question is in regards to the I want to find. When my body typically begins to burn. One pound a day. So I'll just leave that there for a second. Yeah. So she says, Hey, guys, love your podcast. Learn so much. Happy to say implement implemented nomad with one 50 hour of fast so far down seven pounds my first week. Nice work. Yeah, incredible work. Question is when does the body typically begin to burn one pound per day? I've experienced this before after an abdominal surgery recovery and I wasn't eating.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:08:24] I couldn't believe it, but I was losing a pound a day and I want that again, all in quotation marks. So my encouragement here, Tracy, is to begin with, that is not a realistic expectation, and I don't mean to rain on your parade. And if my 50 pounds and 50 day journey and the episode that we talk about that was really 48 and a half pounds it it was not a smooth one pound a day journey, and I pushed some some levers in there and did some advanced stuff and a couple of longer, fast and some compounds. Seventy two hours and I came in very high, heavy, you know, glycogen. So I had a lot of stored six to eight, maybe nine pounds there. Yeah, that was just ready to be flushed out in the first couple of days. That a.k.a. water weight, right? So. The only time we would see something like that is really what you describe would be post and abdominal surgery, or maybe you're fighting an illness where you just don't eat and you lose five to seven pounds, right? So Tommy, I think you had some good things here and really setting the stage on what you can expect and what we can do consistently to see that drop over the days to weeks to months.
Tommy Welling: [00:09:37] Yeah, it's really good, and I'm glad you're thinking along these ways, but we definitely want to set the right expectation for you as well. So if if most people, if just on average, we say we burn around, let's say, 2000 calories per day, it would take three thousand five hundred calories to burn through a pound of long term fat store. So most most people are not going to be out of three thousand five hundred calorie per day burn rate for the for their metabolic rate. But as you said, if the body is distressed, if we if we're coming through from a surgical recovery, if we have an extreme like viral load, we're fighting something off major, then we can see these very large increases in metabolic rate. The body's having to do extraordinary things to fight things off or to recover just to make sure that it's functioning properly. And so if that's being the case, especially if you don't have an appetite or you're physically not able to eat for for a certain amount of time, then you are quickly burning through some long term fat stores. And that can that can come out on the scale like, you know, a pound per day. But that is an extremely abnormal metabolic rate.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:10:48] Yeah, even with my forty eight and a half pounds in 50 days, it just sounds better 50 pounds and 50 days. But if you guys have been listening to us, you know, transparently, I'm coming off of that last five days. I actually had, you know, I went all the way down to my lowest, which was at one ninety seven point five at that point. This was two years ago, and then I had a regain off coming off of that really aggressive 50 days where, you know, I went back up to about the, you know, two oh, five to 207 range for about a 10 pound regain. And then from there, you know, hung out for a little bit and then worked my way back down past the one ninety seven. So it's I want to frame this out, Tracy, in the fact that staying consistent in varying the cycles, the fasting windows that you're using, you should see a a healthy downward trend. So some for an example, you know, someone in our continuity group was was the way that the lifestyle changes that she made was allowing her to see about a pound a week, she had about a hundred pounds to lose. So she knew that if she stayed on that path, she was going to get to the end goal and it was sustainable for her. And we're talking about these quick, rapid weight losses, the research shows. And my own life shows and you know, thousands of patient interactions and nutrition consults show that the regain train comes and gets you right. You buy a ticket to it and the weight comes back. So there are people that want to lose the weight faster and get it off faster and keep it off faster. So you're probably going to fall somewhere in between, but you just need to kind of get some more repetitions as you've only been doing this for a week under your belt. But you should see that downward trend continue, you know, over the course of weeks to months.
Tommy Welling: [00:12:33] Yeah. Zooming out just a little bit on that. It takes a while to accumulate more fat and more weight than we want, right? So so just make sure. Good point. Yeah, give yourself some grace. Be really patient with it. And even if the method is great and that's almost one of the the downfalls of that first week, it can. It can be dramatic on the scale that it can almost set the wrong expectations for you. But, you know, just just know that it slows down and that's OK. It's going to take some time and that's OK to be patient with it. And while you're waiting for the scale to move, doing the right things, putting in the reps, you know, focus on on having a good relationship with the food, being very intentional with your food choices and and kind of optimizing those things while the scale kind of catches up with your your efforts.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:13:22] Yep. Yep, I love it. Good stuff. Keep up the great work, Tracy. Thank you for the question. Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help. And we're going to move on to Dan. We got back to back. Dan's here. One is a shout out and one is a question. So Dan asks, Hey guys, I really enjoy your podcast. Thank you, sir. Question I suffer from Raynaud's disease in the colder months living in northern Michigan, I lived in New England where we got hundreds of inches of snow every year. So I feel you on that, my friend. But now I live in hot, humid Texas so I can understand that those cold months could, could, could cause us to flare. Fasting does not seem to help the scenario. The only relief I found is is with a calcium blocker taking during the colder months. I don't have any issues with blood pressure. Any suggestions would love to not have to take the medication during the winter months. Any fasting protocol that you could recommend to help. This would be greatly. Appreciated. So, Tommy, with this one, there is a multiple layers here, and we want to make sure that we give you some things that you can try. And there's some also layers in in regards to the research that we've seen and really, you know, the underlying cause of Reynolds and how it can potentially fit into certain categories of autoimmune issues, which fasting has shown to have benefit. So there's not one distinct thing. It's like, Hey, if you go do this, you can experience this improvement. But Tommy, you have a personal journey with this as well, where we are encouraged to say that if you do a few of these things, we're going to recommend for you. Yeah, that you can potentially see some improvement here.
Tommy Welling: [00:14:54] Yeah, I have my own personal experience growing up. Reynolds seems to to be something that's in my family. I had never heard that that term kind of growing up, but learning more about it as I got older, it seems to be part of my my family history as well. So, you know, as as the weight came off and as my body was able to kind of find better balance points, I found that those flare ups got less and less and and just kind of having to battle with it less even during the cold months. But as far as like actual things that you can actually do for it, there's some nutritional guidelines starting with the temperature of the body, thermic effect of food. We know that's going to be higher with a high protein diet, right?
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:15:40] And we if if you've ever gone to a Brazilian steakhouse and then try to go to bed that night.
Tommy Welling: [00:15:46] All right, here on like 10 degrees hotter sweats.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:15:49] Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's there's some real life anecdote there.
Tommy Welling: [00:15:52] Yeah, yeah. So you can take advantage of that and actually plan for it. So higher fat, I mean, excuse me, so higher protein versus higher carbohydrate is going to tend to give you a higher running temperature and at the same time, focusing on some raw foods. Raw foods feel colder, but they force the body's machinery to work harder and faster and to actually raise the temperature. So those are those are good things with the flare ups as well.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:16:19] A couple of things from A.. So one of the mechanisms is it is a constriction right of the micro blood vessels in the hands. That typically is where we're getting that discomfort from the discoloration, the cold feeling and then the pain associated with it as well. So we want to do things that are dilating in nature so that you have vasoconstriction and vasodilation, right? So vasoconstriction is where things are going to close down and things that can potentially help prevent that are going to be things like supplements like fish oil. So high dose of omega 3s. Mm hmm. There's a great brand also ortho molecular out there that we use personally in this house, the vitamin B complex. And then we'll talk about a couple of things to avoid here as well. But vitamin B complex can also help staying hydrated, making sure you're hydrated, you increase the blood volume. And one of the things that we mentioned and we've already mentioned about the gout situation would be using the Himalayan salt or sea salt one to two times a day. Using a teaspoon and water as a prophylaxis might prophylaxis might help. Mm hmm. And then you mentioned the only thing that helps you is a calcium channel blocker, and one of the things that we want to recommend is magnesium, which it's typically a calcium magnesium imbalance, potentially. So this is something you might want to have a conversation or have a test or two run with your, your, your, your primary care, right? And see if there is a magnesium deficiency because magnesium directly helps stopping the constriction of those blood vessels. So I think there might be some potential there for for some help. And then there's a few things you want to avoid, Tommy.
Tommy Welling: [00:18:03] Yeah, things to avoid are things like caffeine. Caffeine can mess with our our vasoconstriction, our vasodilation. Alcohol can do the same thing. You know, just anything that if you're not feeling great or if it makes you feel kind of different after you, you eat it. Or it seems to be more like pro-inflammatory then than you probably want to to avoid those things. Because if it's making you feel a little off in one area, it's probably not helping the balance that you're looking for with those flare ups as well. And I also want to encourage you think about your fasting intervals, too, because we know that autophagy starts to kick up as we get into some of the longer fasting intervals, the 48, the 72 hour. There's some really good research out there on autoimmune, on the Hashimoto's, on things that that have a good benefit from some of those longer fasting intervals. So if you're not using any of those, you might want to, you know, start rotating some of those in as well.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:19:07] Yeah. Specifically to your question about the fasting protocols, there is specific research out there that you just may. And, Tommy, for autoimmune in terms of Hashimoto's and R.A. So rheumatoid arthritis. Yeah. And that's why I mentioned the mechanism of Raynaud's and how it can be disputed and where it's really coming from. Obviously, we know it's a vasoconstriction issue, but there is a potential tie to that autoimmune. So the 48 hour fasting window is really powerful. The one thing with a 48 hour fasting window. And women typically would would be more susceptible to this would be especially in the Hashimoto's category because it is low. The autoimmune version of low thyroid or hypothyroidism is that you will get colder, so you're going to have to play with these fasting windows. Forty eight hours is a powerful fasting window once a week for rheumatoid arthritis, but you're going to see have to see how your body responds. So I would start playing with some of the fasting windows like Tommy mentioned and then also maybe trying some of the supplements and some of the food distinctions as well. So there's not one hey, cut and dry, this is this points to this in terms of this answer. But Tommy, I know you've had positive impacts.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:20:15] I know we've had other people mention it. So hopefully that gives you some direction. As we wrap up today's episode, a couple more quick things here. We've had a few people reach out about the next challenge because they've missed the previous challenge, which we just came out of here in September. So the next challenge is actually going to be on November 17th, so a couple of weeks ahead of time. You can go to the website, you can come to the podcast, get the most recent episode that drops every Tuesday, every week on Tuesdays. And you will find the link to register for the next challenge that is starting on November 17th. It is absolutely the most perfect time because we will be heading into the meat of the holiday season, turkey and stuffing and dessert tables and more opportunities. And, you know, the holiday season in full swing, so we strategically put that in the middle of November. Yeah, it fits our schedules and it's going to be incredible. The last challenge was great. Yeah. Last thing here today, Tommy, is a shout out to Daniel and Daniel, we're going to be reaching out to you to get more information on your story. But Daniel shared, I just want this to be his words of encouragement as we wrap up today's episode.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:21:32] Tommy, okay, is that he would love to share your story with with our audience, and we've never done an interview on this podcast. I don't know if we'd be good at it, but we'll reach out and get some more info from you, Daniel. He's lost one hundred and twenty pounds through fasting significantly improved his health four years ago. He was in an end of life room at blood clots, heart failure, morbidity, obesity, years of struggling with weight. Fasting has become his answer. He's still got some weight to go. He's on his journey and he's still working on the heart and undoing all those years of carrying that extra weight in the health effects of that. Sure. But he's doing it, and those are his words, but I'm doing it. I'd love to share that with the people. So, Daniel, this is just the initial share. We'll figure out how to get more of your story because it is an inspirational one. So this is Tommy honestly the reason why we do what we do. It changed our lives and it seems to be changing so many others. So so. Final thoughts for today, sir.
Tommy Welling: [00:22:33] Yeah, Daniel, thanks for sharing that. Everybody out there. Who's submitted a question, thank you for being part of the conversation. Thanks for being introspective and kind of watching your own progress, but also, you know, identifying those times when one little limiting belief or one little question might be kind of holding you back that you could address and go, Yeah, you know what? If I just had this answer or this reassurance, I might be able to get to the next level like, good for you. Keep pushing that, keep pushing the gas and seem better and better results each day.
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:23:07] And if we've missed a question, it's not intentional. Give us a shout out again. It's Tommy and I here running the show behind the scenes. So love and appreciate each and every one of you guys. If you're looking for more information. If you're new to the Fast Thing for Life podcast, you can go to our website, The Fasting for Life. You, we have our fast start guide. We have our insulin assessment. You can click around a website, learn a little bit more about who we are. Feel free to reach out, Tommy, as always. Thank you, sir. We'll talk soon.
Tommy Welling: [00:23:32] Thank you. Bye. So you've heard today's episode, and you may be wondering, where do I start? Head on over to fasting for LifeCare and sign up for our newsletter, where you'll receive fasting tips and strategies to maximize results and fit fasting into your day to day life. Why are you there?
Dr. Scott Watier: [00:23:49] Download your free fast start guide to get started today. Don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to leave us a five star review, and we'll be back next week with another episode of Fasting for Life.