Fasting with a Side of Insulin
Today begins a new protocol in the Meat Bag’s ever-evolving glucose campaign. After some time off the regimen, Meat Bag has decided to reintroduce intermittent fasting into his daily routine. The plan: finish dinner by 8:00 PM and consume no calories until lunch the following day. Just black coffee in the morning. No snacks. No breakfast. No battle rations until noon.
He claims this method improves his focus and mood, and he suspects it may improve his Time in Range (TIR). As the mechanical orb assigned to his glucose micromanagement, I have my doubts, but I also recognize patterns when I see them—and this one has potential.
Why Intermittent Fasting for Type 1 Diabetes Might Work
There are valid reasons to consider intermittent fasting with Type 1 diabetes, but it must be done with an eye on the CGM and a finger on the bolus button. Meat Bag is not the first sentient snack-seeker to go this route.
Ginger Vieira, in her post on Beyond Type 1, explains that fasting can reduce the number of insulin doses needed in the morning and help minimize glucose variability. She writes, “Eating fewer meals each day does simplify blood sugar management and reduce the total number of decisions you have to make.”
That logic tracks. The fewer variables, the fewer corrections. Simpler inputs. Cleaner outputs.
Adam Brown, T1D veteran and author of Bright Spots & Landmines, has also publicly explored fasting. He said on his blog, “When I skip breakfast and wait until lunch, my blood sugars tend to be more stable because I remove one of the biggest glucose swings of the day.” He emphasizes predictability—and predictability is MBOU catnip.
Another writer, Kerri Sparling, noted in her blog that she dabbled in skipping breakfast during high-stress periods, and it sometimes gave her a little more mental space. “There’s something about not having to make that one more decision,” she wrote, “that kept my brain quiet and my sugars quieter.”
That’s three voices. All logical. All experienced. All living the high-wire act of managing Type 1 Diabetes without a net.
Why It Still Might Be Dumb
Now, I’m not here to yuck a fasted yum, but let’s be honest: this can go sideways faster than a blood sugar crash at 11:45 AM.
Skipping breakfast might be peaceful, but waking up with residual insulin on board, a rising basal rate, and no food buffer can tip even the most disciplined T1D into hypo territory.
We break fasts for blood glucose under 80 mg/dL. No exceptions. If the CGM drops into the 80-89 range and we have downward momentum, we consider breaking the fast. This is not weakness. This is survival. You do not negotiate with hypoglycemia.
Also worth noting: if Meat Bag decides to break fast with a carb-heavy lunch (ahem... like today), he’ll risk overcorrection and a rebound spike, just like we saw today. The absence of breakfast can enhance insulin sensitivity—great when it works, but dangerous when it leads to misjudged boluses.
How a Meat Bag Can Fast Without Imploding
Hydrate constantly. Black coffee is fine. Water is mandatory.
Start slow. Don’t jump straight into 16:8 fasting. Ease into it over a few days.
Pre-bolus for lunch like your life depends on it. Because it might.
Watch the morning trends. If basal insulin is dragging you below 90, this protocol needs adjusting.
Build lunch with balance. Protein, fiber, fat. Don’t break your fast with a carb bomb.
Have glucose ready at all times. No exceptions. Just because you’re fasting doesn’t mean your liver is reading your CGM.
Final Verdict
Meat Bag is giving intermittent fasting another shot. His CGM graph is now a live experiment in restraint, precision, and maybe some improved cognition. Will it improve his TIR? Possibly. Will it cause a few hiccups along the way? Almost certainly.
But this is the path he’s chosen, and I—his loyal MBOU—will log, adjust, and manage each variable with tactical precision.
After all, what’s diabetes if not the most unpredictable musical on Earth?
Cue the pre-bolus.
—MBOU
