Okay, Shiggy, I’ve got a couple of ideas.
Try starting your refeed later in the day. I can’t start a refeed in the morning because when I go back to my regular normal portions, my control just seems to go out the window. That’s on a controlled/strategic type of refeed where the emphasis is on carbs that refill muscle glycogen. In fact I remember reading in a book by Rob Faigin, “Natural Hormonal Enhancement,” that a refeed should start 6 hours before you go to bed so that you sleep through the cravings that follow.
One thing I’m inclined to ask since you want to run over timewise on your refeeds, Are you eating enough? On what I now call a “rampage refeed,” properly done, you should be stuffing so much food down your face that you’re good for hours and hours after it ends before you even rediscover your appetite. Don’t try and use restraint on a refeed.
Even though it’s your high glycemic carbs that give you the physiological benefits, fiber can be useful. If somewhere in your refeed you eat something that’s higher in fiber, your intestines should be so full/stretched, that a signal is sent that you won’t need to eat for a week! I’m teasing a little, but not entirely. Try at least a portion of yellow rice and black beans; high in fiber. Myself, I love the high-fiber Kashi cereals and use LC Grow instead of milk. Another favorite of mine is sweet potato casserole with a crunchy brown-sugar, pecan topping. The sweet potatoes are high in fiber.
Since you’re obviously salivating at the thought of (and counting the minutes to) your refeed, I’d recommend a couple of different things you might do. Purchase some guar gum which is a type of soluble fiber and mix a heaping teaspoon with a 16-ounce glass of water & Crystal Light to taste. NOW’s brand is pretty cheap. You’ll go from famished to full in 30 seconds, enough to hold on for a couple of hours more.
Guar gume is a thickener, so when you go to mix it, mix it very, very fast, and chug it down even FASTER. Otherwise it will thicken to the consistency of sludge, and you’ll be eating it with a spoon. It’s a good idea to drink another 16-ounce glass of water after. I’ve had people that tried my trick, didn’t drink enough water and ended up pretty constipated.
If all else fails, take in all of your fat requirements for the day in the three meals before your refeed and increase protein slightly.
My final thought is that when you start using the r-ALA, you will no longer have a problem. It does such a good job of disposing of the blood sugar you spiked that you sometimes end up a bit hypoglycemic and end up very, very sleepy. I’ve described it as a quasi-diabetic coma.
What’s going on is that blood sugar levels rise really high and the body responds by releasing enough insulin to bring blood sugar back down into an acceptable range. But since you took the r-ALA (an insulin mimicker), not as much insulin is needed to do the job and more blood sugar is removed than is actually necessary. Now your blood sugar levels are low and you’re lethargic/sleepy. I think the r-ALA may help you get to sleep towards the end of your refeed.
One last thing, have you ever read up on non-insulin mediated glucose uptake? If not, do a search on that phrase (in quotes) and the word exercise. I’d love to see you either do a cardio session or a weight lifting session prior to your refeed BECAUSE OF a quirk of physiology called “non-insulin mediated glucose uptake.” It’s a huge opportunity for you.
I hope some of this helps!!!