Type 2 Nutrition #440: The Drinking Man’s Liquid Fasting Diet

As a drinking man, this post is my approach to eating, drinking and fasting. Last week’s, Type 2 Nutrition #439, describes the original 1964, “The Drinking Man's Diet.” The premise of both is that, as Robert Cameron wrote in 1964, “Most everyone has a drink now and then.” My contention is that it is not necessary, when either dieting or fasting to give up alcohol completely. This should allay the fear, or excuse, for not trying it.

In this 2004 Forbes Magazine piece, commemorating the 40^th anniversary of its original publication, Cameron was described as a bon vivant. It’s hard to know at this point whether he was or not, but his little pamphlet is replete with humorous references to various spirits in conjunction with the “high-life.” Reading it today it sounds more like a parody of the ‘50s, but in context, it could very well have been the way some people lived.

In any case, while today’s business man or woman no longer indulges in a 2-martini lunch, it is fair to say that “most (sic) everyone has a drink now and then,” many at home before or with dinner. It has been justified, or rationalized, as a way to relax and relieve stress. There’s a social aspect to it: a chance to sit down with one’s spouse and “communicate” (LOL). As a result, perhaps based on today’s mores, medical advice websites tout the “health benefits” of “light drinking,” usually defined as 1 alcoholic drink per day for women and 2 for men.

Okay, so that’s my set-up. I like a drink. I consider myself a light drinker, fitting the guideline above. I drink spirits (scotch, bourbon, vodka, etc) on special occasions. We go out for dinner on average once a week. In a restaurant I will often have one or sometimes two cocktails, depending on the bartender (the amount of the “pour”). We entertain at home much less often these days, but if we have people over for dinner, I will make just one for me and any guests who will join me. When I make the drink, one is always enough. LOL

On a daily basis, I drink wine at home. When I am NOT fasting, my Way of Eating is generally to eat Very Low Carb: to have just coffee with cream for breakfast, to have, if any, a very light lunch – usually a can of kippered herring – and then to have a small supper. Supper is a portion of protein with a low-glycemic vegetable, either roasted in olive oil or tossed in butter, or a salad. Daily food intake is about 1,200 kcal: 100g fat, 60g protein, and 15g carbs. In addition, I have two 5-ounce pours of red wine, the glass then filled with seltzer: a “spritzer.”

I describe my non-fasting daily eating routine as Very Low Carb, One Meal a Day, or VLC/OMAD. When I am “fasting,” I have the same “breakfast,” I skip lunch, and for “supper” I have just one red-wine spritzer.

If I am working at “hard labor” (in the garden), I will drink diet ice tea sweetened with liquid stevia. For electrolyte balance, I will supplement it with pickle juice, or a large cup of bouillon.  For any oral fixation impulses, especially after supper, I will make a “cocktail” of 1 Tbs of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), a few dashes of bitters, and 5 drops of liquid stevia, stirred (not shaken), the glass filled with ice and then seltzer.

The ACV cocktail is satisfying and is said to be good for blood glucose control too. Who knows? I’ve been a type 2 for 32 years and my A1c is now 5.0%, so I would say that I have my “progressive” disease under control. I do it with just a Very Low Carb diet, intermittent fasting, red wine and Metformin (750mg twice a day).

My “Drinking Man’s Liquid Fasting Diet” is about 300 kcal/day, equally divided between “breakfast” and “supper.” Macronutrient Distribution is detailed in Type 2 Nutrition #410. It is Protein: 1.2g; Fat: 16g; Carbs: 5.7g and ethyl alcohol: 18g. Last year, I lost about 60 pounds following this “Liquid Fasting Diet.”

I have been losing weight eating Very Low Carb since 2002. I weighed 375 pounds at the start and twice got down to 205, then stalled and regained some. In early 2017 I started my “Liquid Fasting Diet” to break the log jam. It was not a “water-only” fast, though. It was this “Drinking Man’s Liquid Fasting Diet,” as described. I generally ate 4 days and fasted 3 days a week. So, this would make my WOE a VLC/OMAD/4-3 DIET. Cheers!