Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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circular
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Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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This article introduces, at least to me, the notion of stomach plasticity. I've long thought I had a small stomach, having trouble eating meals as large as others. How much really has been stomach size, or a dislike of feeling really full (prefer the Okinawan hara hachi bu way), or some other factor I'm still not sure. But I did find, when I switched to stopping eating at 6 pm and thus forcing a large dinner down, that I was able to fill up more and tolerate it better. This has enabled me to stop getting hungry later in the evening or to have hunger wake me up due to too few calories during the day. I now easily fast from 6 pm to 8 am or longer. I also now eat a bigger breakfast than I used to.

I feel better and cognitively clearer during the day for this, but it's not due to the long fast. I used to do that easily but from later in the evening to later in the day. The big difference is having tackled the evening/night hunger problem, possibly by a combination of stretching my stomach and being okay with feeling yukky full at 6 pm. It's the critical 3-hr fasting window from dinner to bed so the brain can get a good cleanout during deep sleep, most of which happens early in the night, that makes the difference.

I also get 1.5-2 hours of deep sleep more nights than I did before (according to Fitbit). I was even 2 minutes short of 2 hrs deep sleep a couple nights!

So if you, like me, have the evening/night hunger issue, I'm here to encourage you to force the boundaries a bit. Several nights when I first forced the 6 pm - 6 am (minimum) schedule, I was awake very hungry for I think many hours. I drank a lot of water and waited for things to settle down. A couple weeks later, I also cut back further on carbs (nothing but morning berries and a square of dark chocolate later) forcing more fat burning, so that has no doubt played a role, but the schedule shift came first and the daytime well being results were immediate. My husband has since followed suit and is not about to go back either! :D

How many hot dogs can a human possibly eat? Science finally has an answer
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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SusanJ
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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circular wrote:The study posited that "rapidly consuming large quantities of food can be ecologically beneficial" in the wild, since, when coupled with slow stomach emptying rates, it could decrease the number of times needed to hunt or acquire food. Human stomach plasticity, according to the results of the study, appears to be similar to that of grizzly bears, larger than that of coyotes, and smaller than that of gray wolves.
Interesting stuff. I had this image of circ, the grizzly bear, at the dinner table. ;)

I've noticed the same thing BTW, that to eat enough calories in two meals a day, I really have to fill up. I've experimented with 2 meals/day to tackle gut issues. So I eat more slowly, over a longer time, up to an hour. Seems like the rare times I felt hungry during the night or early morning is when my carb content is higher. I'll have to try an earlier dinner and see if that makes any difference.

Congrats on finding a strategy that works.
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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I used to be unable to go to sleep if I were hungry. And since good sleep is more important to me than fasting, I did not stop eating three hours before bed. It was more like 1 hour. The thing that changed everything for me was taking VIP nasal spray at the tail end of CIRS. It appeared to restore the ghrelin hormones in my gut? Or perhaps something else was restored in my gut? I don't know. But I can now fast all day and sleep well (when I do longer fasts). I stop eating and drinking at 7 PM every evening. This is just to say that if you've been through CIRS and struggle with fasting or restricted eating, VIP for a couple of months could potentially be a solution (provided your doctor agrees).
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circular
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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SusanJ wrote:
The study posited that "rapidly consuming large quantities of food can be ecologically beneficial" in the wild, since, when coupled with slow stomach emptying rates, it could decrease the number of times needed to hunt or acquire food. Human stomach plasticity, according to the results of the study, appears to be similar to that of grizzly bears, larger than that of coyotes, and smaller than that of gray wolves.
Interesting stuff. I had this image of circ, the grizzly bear, at the dinner table. ;)
Maybe donning that image will help me feel more comfortable with the large meals haha! I like this concept of a sliding scale for stomach plasticity in the mammalian world. I'm still not convinced that daily one meal a day is really all that natural and may even be too extreme at the catabolic end. Should grizzly bears try to be gray wolves? Maybe that's not any better than grizzly bears trying to be like frequently munching coyotes.
SusanJ wrote: I've noticed the same thing BTW, that to eat enough calories in two meals a day, I really have to fill up. I've experimented with 2 meals/day to tackle gut issues. So I eat more slowly, over a longer time, up to an hour. Seems like the rare times I felt hungry during the night or early morning is when my carb content is higher. I'll have to try an earlier dinner and see if that makes any difference.
Just curious Susan if you've had a chance to try earlier dinner? When were you eating dinner when you wrote this?

I find that, when I miss the daytime calorie mark and get a little hungry at bedtime or early morning, drinking a lot of water does the trick.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
circular
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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Plumster wrote:I used to be unable to go to sleep if I were hungry. And since good sleep is more important to me than fasting, I did not stop eating three hours before bed. It was more like 1 hour. The thing that changed everything for me was taking VIP nasal spray at the tail end of CIRS. It appeared to restore the ghrelin hormones in my gut? Or perhaps something else was restored in my gut? I don't know. But I can now fast all day and sleep well (when I do longer fasts). I stop eating and drinking at 7 PM every evening. This is just to say that if you've been through CIRS and struggle with fasting or restricted eating, VIP for a couple of months could potentially be a solution (provided your doctor agrees).
That's interesting about VIP. When I trialed VIP I reacted to it and had to stop, and I haven't tried it since. It's possible that for me the benefits it may bring came about through other means over time.

Rhonda Patrick's genetic report returns a homozygous mutation on a circadian rhythm gene that affects metabolism and energy balance:
This genotype, rs2305160(C;C), has been associated with increased risk of certain human cancers including breast cancer and prostate cancer.

One mechanism by which dysregulation of the NPAS2 gene increases cancer risk is through its effect on metabolism and energy balance. ...

For each 10% increase in the proportion of calories consumed after 5pm was associated with a 3% increase in the inflammatory biomarker CRP (c-reactive protein). For each 3-hour increase in night-time fasting duration was linked to a 20% lower odds of elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C). Studies have shown that consuming food earlier in the day and only during an 11-hour window, can decrease breast cancer risk and recurrence by as much as 36%. Together, these data suggest that time-restricted eating is a viable option to lower biomarkers of inflammation and insulin resistance and lower breast cancer risk and recurrence.
I do have chronically but mildly elevated hsCRP (this occurs in about a third of people anyway so is very common), and my A1c remains borderline pre-diabetic even when in ketosis (although all other insulin markers show sensitivity, except the two hours postprandial that I haven't done). I'll be interested to see if these come down since fasting from 6 pm.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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SusanJ
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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circular wrote:Just curious Susan if you've had a chance to try earlier dinner? When were you eating dinner when you wrote this?
I would eat between noon & 1:00 and 6:00 & 7:00. Seemed to be in sync when I was most hungry.

I'm currently eating 3 times per day again to not lose weight. Stopped eating nuts, which helped me feel sated, while also putting and keeping on a few pounds. It's a long story, that I will post about some day, but the short reason is their oxalate content. Another set of "fun" genetic variants (kidney stones run in my family), along with a suspected fungal gut infection (fungus put out oxalic acid). Much less joint pain and swelling without nuts, spinach and sweet potatoes in my diet ATM. We'll see where I land after treatment.
circular
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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SusanJ wrote:
circular wrote:Just curious Susan if you've had a chance to try earlier dinner? When were you eating dinner when you wrote this?
I would eat between noon & 1:00 and 6:00 & 7:00. Seemed to be in sync when I was most hungry.

I'm currently eating 3 times per day again to not lose weight. Stopped eating nuts, which helped me feel sated, while also putting and keeping on a few pounds. It's a long story, that I will post about some day, but the short reason is their oxalate content. Another set of "fun" genetic variants (kidney stones run in my family), along with a suspected fungal gut infection (fungus put out oxalic acid). Much less joint pain and swelling without nuts, spinach and sweet potatoes in my diet ATM. We'll see where I land after treatment.
Well that's a plenty long fast so I sort of doubt stopping dinner earlier would make much difference, unless you go to be early. I got to bed at nine which is why I like to stop by six.

I agree we need to watch not having too low a BMI, but I haven't found time to digest the contradictions in the literature around this issue.

That's interesting about nuts. I also use them for the same reasons, although probably 1/4 cup or less a day. Did any of your relatives have their stones checked to confirm they were oxalate based? Just curious, it may not matter since you're having good results so far avoiding those foods, which is great to hear!
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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SusanJ
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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circular wrote:That's interesting about nuts. I also use them for the same reasons, although probably 1/4 cup or less a day. Did any of your relatives have their stones checked to confirm they were oxalate based?
Yep, 3 out of 4 brothers with calcium oxalate kidney stones. My maternal grandfather also had stones. But, my mom never did.
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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SusanJ wrote:
circular wrote:That's interesting about nuts. I also use them for the same reasons, although probably 1/4 cup or less a day. Did any of your relatives have their stones checked to confirm they were oxalate based?
Yep, 3 out of 4 brothers with calcium oxalate kidney stones. My maternal grandfather also had stones. But, my mom never did.
Wow, I'm so glad you're getting on top of it before it happens to you. I'd always wondered whether a lot of high oxalate foods are also high in calcium to bind with the oxalate. I think spinach may be, but whether it's enough to compensate I don't know. It would be interesting to see a list of high oxalate foods with corresponding amounts of calcium and see if you could still eat foods high in both? Not sure it's been studied, and with your family history I can see not taking any chances.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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SusanJ
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Re: Stomach Plasticity and Time Restricted Eating

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circular wrote:It would be interesting to see a list of high oxalate foods with corresponding amounts of calcium and see if you could still eat foods high in both? Not sure it's been studied, and with your family history I can see not taking any chances.
We all have probably heard that the calcium in spinach gets bound up with oxalate, so it's not a good source of calcium. Research shows you can eat dairy or take calcium citrate with higher oxalate foods and lower the risk of stones. But, it's not just kidney stones and renal damage I'm worried about, but all the other damage oxalates can do in other organs, when left to their own devices...one study I read found a link between kidney stone formers, vascular calcification and low bone mineral density. :shock:

As I have time, I'm accumulating all the stuff I've found and when I get a spare moment (haha), I'll do a post, maybe a wiki page. It's an issue that like 10-12% of the population needs to pay attention to, and especially relevant to those with a family history of stones and relying on greens like spinach and nuts in a low-carb diet or any vegans relying on beans and grains.
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