Insulin resistant
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ac2662
Posts: 47 Member
Hi all,
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
3
Replies
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How long has it been since the scale hasn't moved? Also, are you weighing all food on a digital scale?0
-
Metformin is the usual first line drug for Insulin Resistance.
Intermittent or extended fasting can improve insulin sensitivity as can exercise.2 -
Metformin might help. It helps some people lose weight and it is an appetite suppressant (slight nausea).
Eat like a diabetic which means combining macros at every meal and frequent small meals throughout the day.
Weight loss will be slow.3 -
Frequent small meals will not help with insulin resistance, if anything the opposite is true.8
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Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was a great guide for me. He's an MD and T1D who advocates lowering insulin needs by lowering carb intake, because excess insulin does tend to lead to weight gain. Great book. He has some youtube videos and a website too.
I went ketogenic at 1500kcal per day and lost about 10lbs per month until I got into a normal BMI. What are your calories set at? Your carbs? If exercise is new, the water retention could be masking fat loss.
Jason Fung MD has a plan that works well for T2Ds. It's not as low carb as Bernstein's, which is below 50g per day, but he advocates fasting too, which does great things for BG and insulin levels. Frequent small meals doesn't often help with insulin levels.
Metformin will reduce the sugars your body makes, and the need for insulin to handle those excess sugars. It isn't generally thought to be the nausea that helps with weight loss and keeping BG lower.4 -
Hi all,
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
I know a lot of people will tell you low carb for this but I would work with what works best for you. I have mild insulin resistance and i feel best eating a lot of fiber and carbs dont bother me. I feel tired and terrible eating a high protein, low carb diet so it just depends on the person. Try out a couple of styles of eating. Try keto for a week or two and if you feel great, stick with it! If you feel terrible, try a really healthy high fiber vegan diet with a ton of beans, whole grains, healthy plant fats, fruit, and veg. I feel better eating that way, I don't know why since everyone pushes low carb with insulin resistance but everyone is unique. However, I agree with the others absolutely talk to your doctor about metformin.2 -
Cherimoose wrote: »How long has it been since the scale hasn't moved? Also, are you weighing all food on a digital scale?
I've been trying really hard to get the scale to move since April. Before that I was very inconsistent due to not seeing results I would get discouraged. But now I'm trying really hard and being consistent with tracking. I have been weighing everything, including my veggies. I have been drinking 5-6 16.9 Oz water bottles, gave up my diet soda, go to the gym 5 days a week and the scale refuses to budge0 -
Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was a great guide for me. He's an MD and T1D who advocates lowering insulin needs by lowering carb intake, because excess insulin does tend to lead to weight gain. Great book. He has some youtube videos and a website too.
I went ketogenic at 1500kcal per day and lost about 10lbs per month until I got into a normal BMI. What are your calories set at? Your carbs? If exercise is new, the water retention could be masking fat loss.
Jason Fung MD has a plan that works well for T2Ds. It's not as low carb as Bernstein's, which is below 50g per day, but he advocates fasting too, which does great things for BG and insulin levels. Frequent small meals doesn't often help with insulin levels.
Metformin will reduce the sugars your body makes, and the need for insulin to handle those excess sugars. It isn't generally thought to be the nausea that helps with weight loss and keeping BG lower.
I was looking into doing keto, but I was worried about my cholesterol levels since my triglycerides are high. Right now my calories are at 1330 with 150g carb, 83g protein, 44g fat. You gave me some great info to look into. Thank you very much. I will look into both of those plans. Are they books or would I just be able to Google them?1 -
Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was a great guide for me. He's an MD and T1D who advocates lowering insulin needs by lowering carb intake, because excess insulin does tend to lead to weight gain. Great book. He has some youtube videos and a website too.
I went ketogenic at 1500kcal per day and lost about 10lbs per month until I got into a normal BMI. What are your calories set at? Your carbs? If exercise is new, the water retention could be masking fat loss.
Jason Fung MD has a plan that works well for T2Ds. It's not as low carb as Bernstein's, which is below 50g per day, but he advocates fasting too, which does great things for BG and insulin levels. Frequent small meals doesn't often help with insulin levels.
Metformin will reduce the sugars your body makes, and the need for insulin to handle those excess sugars. It isn't generally thought to be the nausea that helps with weight loss and keeping BG lower.
I was looking into doing keto, but I was worried about my cholesterol levels since my triglycerides are high. Right now my calories are at 1330 with 150g carb, 83g protein, 44g fat. You gave me some great info to look into. Thank you very much. I will look into both of those plans. Are they books or would I just be able to Google them?
I had high triglycerides and metabolic syndrome. Reduced it with intermittent fasting and low carb. I have lost quite a bit of weight(almost 5 on a 11kg loss earlier - and i am not obese). I came across this after reading Obesity Code, Dr Jason Fung. There is tonne of literature on his site. All of that is condensed into "Obesity Code". Strongly recommend reading it - if you are disciplined then the program that he has (long distance program) is not essential, but helps if you want to be accountable. I will be getting my bloodwork in a couple of months to see other parameters post the program(specifically low HDL). On a high fat diet I also recommend Art and Science of Low Carb, Dr Stephen Phinney & Dr Jeff Volek this one has some really good stuff on maintaining micro-nutrients (sodium, potassium and magnesium). Second nvmoketo on his suggestions.3 -
Hi all,
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently, the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
Same diagnoses being pre-diabetes, after much research I initially set out following the diabetes diet. Following various forums, I heard for the first time raving comments of enthusiastic members following Ketogenic lifestyle diet. Being 5"6 and difficulty to shed weight for years yoyoing around (>81kg) 180lbs plus more than less. The premises of Keto diet is based on Low Carb High Fat (LCHF), initially hesitant thinking it's crazy to increase and eat more fat to use fat as fuel.
Upon reading successful stories I decided to follow keto diet. Regardless what diet you prefer, you have to give yourself and especially your body the time to change and adapt. As well take into account the side effects following a low carb diet, showing as flu-like symptoms hence the reference as keto-flu. Read Low car flu and dive into ketosis link for more info.
If only I would have known years earlier about me having this condition and informed diagnosis how to avoid, I definitely would have chosen for a lifestyle change early on instead of a collision course with diabetes.
Better late than never, following the Keto diet since June I lost weight over two months lowering my weight down to (<74kg) 163lbs. Keeping track of carb intake, macronutrients and increase fat intake have helped and made the difference. Also realising that a lot of "healthy" ingredients contained a high carb count not aiding weight loss process.
Embarked for the next three months to fully adapt and embrace ketogenic lifestyle into lowering BMI, cholesterol, insulin levels and weight maintenance. With small targets in between to set transformation in order to reverse diabetes or better banish it out of my system. Add me if you like, always good to have buddies for support and to exchange keto tips.
2 -
HeartIcare wrote: »Hi all,
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently, the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
Same diagnoses being pre-diabetes, after much research I initially set out following the diabetes diet. Following various forums, I heard for the first time raving comments of enthusiastic members following Ketogenic lifestyle diet. Being 5"6 and difficulty to shed weight for years yoyoing around (>81kg) 180lbs plus more than less. The premises of Keto diet is based on Low Carb High Fat (LCHF), initially hesitant thinking it's crazy to increase and eat more fat to use fat as fuel.
Upon reading successful stories I decided to follow keto diet. Regardless what diet you prefer, you have to give yourself and especially your body the time to change and adapt. As well take into account the side effects following a low carb diet, showing as flu-like symptoms hence the reference as keto-flu. Read Low car flu and dive into ketosis link for more info.
If only I would have known years earlier about me having this condition and informed diagnosis how to avoid, I definitely would have chosen for a lifestyle change early on instead of a collision course with diabetes.
Better late than never, following the Keto diet since June I lost weight over two months lowering my weight down to (<74kg) 163lbs. Keeping track of carb intake, macronutrients and increase fat intake have helped and made the difference. Also realising that a lot of "healthy" ingredients contained a high carb count not aiding weight loss process.
Embarked for the next three months to fully adapt and embrace ketogenic lifestyle into lowering BMI, cholesterol, insulin levels and weight maintenance. With small targets in between to set transformation in order to reverse diabetes or better banish it out of my system. Add me if you like, always good to have buddies for support and to exchange keto tips.
I did some reading on the keto diet and I am very interested in it. It seems like it would be really satisfying. My only concern is I also have high triglycerides and a fatty liver, would keto have a negative effect in those areas?0 -
Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was a great guide for me. He's an MD and T1D who advocates lowering insulin needs by lowering carb intake, because excess insulin does tend to lead to weight gain. Great book. He has some youtube videos and a website too.
I went ketogenic at 1500kcal per day and lost about 10lbs per month until I got into a normal BMI. What are your calories set at? Your carbs? If exercise is new, the water retention could be masking fat loss.
Jason Fung MD has a plan that works well for T2Ds. It's not as low carb as Bernstein's, which is below 50g per day, but he advocates fasting too, which does great things for BG and insulin levels. Frequent small meals doesn't often help with insulin levels.
Metformin will reduce the sugars your body makes, and the need for insulin to handle those excess sugars. It isn't generally thought to be the nausea that helps with weight loss and keeping BG lower.
I was looking into doing keto, but I was worried about my cholesterol levels since my triglycerides are high. Right now my calories are at 1330 with 150g carb, 83g protein, 44g fat. You gave me some great info to look into. Thank you very much. I will look into both of those plans. Are they books or would I just be able to Google them?
I had high triglycerides and metabolic syndrome. Reduced it with intermittent fasting and low carb. I have lost quite a bit of weight(almost 5 on a 11kg loss earlier - and i am not obese). I came across this after reading Obesity Code, Dr Jason Fung. There is tonne of literature on his site. All of that is condensed into "Obesity Code". Strongly recommend reading it - if you are disciplined then the program that he has (long distance program) is not essential, but helps if you want to be accountable. I will be getting my bloodwork in a couple of months to see other parameters post the program(specifically low HDL). On a high fat diet I also recommend Art and Science of Low Carb, Dr Stephen Phinney & Dr Jeff Volek this one has some really good stuff on maintaining micro-nutrients (sodium, potassium and magnesium). Second nvmoketo on his suggestions.
Thank you for all the info. I will be checking out Dr Fung. I'm really not trying to become diabetic, so I'm willing to do just about anything to reverse this. Don't know much about fasting but several people have mentioned it so I'm really willing to put in the work to learn more about it.0 -
Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve both insulin resistance and triglycerides. If you adhere to better macros at the same time (adequate protein, fiber, healthy fats), I bet you will improve quickly. You may not have to go full keto, just start by reducing carbs and increasing fats, maintaining adequate protein and fiber. Eating GOOD fats does not raise cholesterol. Read Fung's website (there are several pages dedicated to IR) and check out this very interesting documentary on how fasting (even just skipping one meal per day) changes everything, including triglycerides:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihhj_VSKiTs. 2 -
CorneliusPhoton wrote: »Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve both insulin resistance and triglycerides. If you adhere to better macros at the same time (adequate protein, fiber, healthy fats), I bet you will improve quickly. You may not have to go full keto, just start by reducing carbs and increasing fats, maintaining adequate protein and fiber. Eating GOOD fats does not raise cholesterol. Read Fung's website (there are several pages dedicated to IR) and check out this very interesting documentary on how fasting (even just skipping one meal per day) changes everything, including triglycerides:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihhj_VSKiTs.
Awesome info. Thank you for this!!0 -
Eating fat does not increase triglycerides. I eat a moderate carb, high fat diet and my triglycerides have come down 100 points. Genetically, they run very high and this drop put me into the normal range. High fat also raised my HDL above 50 which my doctor said is very difficult for most people to do, much less someone with the genetics that run in my family (it started at 36). So high fat does not = high triglycerides. Don't worry, before too long, the AMA will finally decide that's the case and change their minds.
I absolutely second and third The Diabetes Solution book. Excellent read and even implementing only parts of it helped me.2 -
HeartIcare wrote: »Hi all,
I have recently been diagnosed as insulin resistant, with high triglycerides as well as a fatty liver. I am 5'4" and about 50 lbs over weight. Apparently, the insulin resistance is what has been making it so difficult to lose. Despite lowering calories, trying low carb and exercising 5 days a week I am not seeing any loss. So my question is, does anyone have any experience they could share? And are there possibly any medications that could help? I am so beyond frustrated.
TIA
Same diagnoses being pre-diabetes, after much research I initially set out following the diabetes diet. Following various forums, I heard for the first time raving comments of enthusiastic members following Ketogenic lifestyle diet. Being 5"6 and difficulty to shed weight for years yoyoing around (>81kg) 180lbs plus more than less. The premises of Keto diet is based on Low Carb High Fat (LCHF), initially hesitant thinking it's crazy to increase and eat more fat to use fat as fuel.
Upon reading successful stories I decided to follow keto diet. Regardless what diet you prefer, you have to give yourself and especially your body the time to change and adapt. As well take into account the side effects following a low carb diet, showing as flu-like symptoms hence the reference as keto-flu. Read Low car flu and dive into ketosis link for more info.
If only I would have known years earlier about me having this condition and informed diagnosis how to avoid, I definitely would have chosen for a lifestyle change early on instead of a collision course with diabetes.
Better late than never, following the Keto diet since June I lost weight over two months lowering my weight down to (<74kg) 163lbs. Keeping track of carb intake, macronutrients and increase fat intake have helped and made the difference. Also realising that a lot of "healthy" ingredients contained a high carb count not aiding weight loss process.
Embarked for the next three months to fully adapt and embrace ketogenic lifestyle into lowering BMI, cholesterol, insulin levels and weight maintenance. With small targets in between to set transformation in order to reverse diabetes or better banish it out of my system. Add me if you like, always good to have buddies for support and to exchange keto tips.
I did some reading on the keto diet and I am very interested in it. It seems like it would be really satisfying. My only concern is I also have high triglycerides and a fatty liver, would keto have a negative effect in those areas?
Low carb or keto should improve your cholesterol profile (by raising HDL and lowering triglycerides), and may help with fatty liver. Carbohydrates are more closely related to elevated triglycerides, and over consumption of fructose with NAFLD (are you a soda drinker, by chance)? Cutting back on the sugar and overall carbs should help with those conditions.
3 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Eating fat does not increase triglycerides. I eat a moderate carb, high fat diet and my triglycerides have come down 100 points. Genetically, they run very high and this drop put me into the normal range. High fat also raised my HDL above 50 which my doctor said is very difficult for most people to do, much less someone with the genetics that run in my family (it started at 36). So high fat does not = high triglycerides. Don't worry, before too long, the AMA will finally decide that's the case and change their minds.
I absolutely second and third The Diabetes Solution book. Excellent read and even implementing only parts of it helped me.ronjsteele1 wrote: »Eating fat does not increase triglycerides. I eat a moderate carb, high fat diet and my triglycerides have come down 100 points. Genetically, they run very high and this drop put me into the normal range. High fat also raised my HDL above 50 which my doctor said is very difficult for most people to do, much less someone with the genetics that run in my family (it started at 36). So high fat does not = high triglycerides. Don't worry, before too long, the AMA will finally decide that's the case and change their minds.
I absolutely second and third The Diabetes Solution book. Excellent read and even implementing only parts of it helped me.
This is very reassuring to hear. I just assumed higher fat would increase triglycerides. Congrats on lowering your numbers. It just seems that type of diet would be so much more satiating. Do you allow yourself any fruit? I actually found the Diabetes Solution and downloaded it to my kindle. Can't wait to check it out! Thank you for your response.0 -
This is very reassuring to hear. I just assumed higher fat would increase triglycerides. Congrats on lowering your numbers. It just seems that type of diet would be so much more satiating. Do you allow yourself any fruit? I actually found the Diabetes Solution and downloaded it to my kindle. Can't wait to check it out! Thank you for your response.
How's it going?
0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Eating fat does not increase triglycerides. I eat a moderate carb, high fat diet and my triglycerides have come down 100 points. Genetically, they run very high and this drop put me into the normal range. High fat also raised my HDL above 50 which my doctor said is very difficult for most people to do, much less someone with the genetics that run in my family (it started at 36). So high fat does not = high triglycerides. Don't worry, before too long, the AMA will finally decide that's the case and change their minds.
I absolutely second and third The Diabetes Solution book. Excellent read and even implementing only parts of it helped me.
This is very reassuring to hear. I just assumed higher fat would increase triglycerides. Congrats on lowering your numbers. It just seems that type of diet would be so much more satiating. Do you allow yourself any fruit? I actually found the Diabetes Solution and downloaded it to my kindle. Can't wait to check it out! Thank you for your response. [/quote]
I do eat fruit but not a ton. I tend towards semi-green bananas, green apples, berries, etc. I eat it fresh when it's in season for the most part. That means I don't do a ton of fresh during the winter months and more during the spring/summer/fall. IIRC Dr. Bernstein says to shy away from fruit when looking to fix diabetes. I followed him strictly after my last baby to get rid of my gestational diabetes and because I had pancreas damage and was trying to preserve what function I still had. I no longer follow his plan strictly. I tend towards high fat/moderate carb now and it works for me so long as I stay within my calorie range for losing.
1 -
Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution was a great guide for me. He's an MD and T1D who advocates lowering insulin needs by lowering carb intake, because excess insulin does tend to lead to weight gain. Great book. He has some youtube videos and a website too.
I went ketogenic at 1500kcal per day and lost about 10lbs per month until I got into a normal BMI. What are your calories set at? Your carbs? If exercise is new, the water retention could be masking fat loss.
Jason Fung MD has a plan that works well for T2Ds. It's not as low carb as Bernstein's, which is below 50g per day, but he advocates fasting too, which does great things for BG and insulin levels. Frequent small meals doesn't often help with insulin levels.
Metformin will reduce the sugars your body makes, and the need for insulin to handle those excess sugars. It isn't generally thought to be the nausea that helps with weight loss and keeping BG lower.
I was looking into doing keto, but I was worried about my cholesterol levels since my triglycerides are high. Right now my calories are at 1330 with 150g carb, 83g protein, 44g fat. You gave me some great info to look into. Thank you very much. I will look into both of those plans. Are they books or would I just be able to Google them?
Cholesterol and triglycerides typically get better on keto. The book, Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore is a quick read o it.
Jason Fung's book is called Obesity Code. He also has a few youtube videos/lectures on the same material as well as a website called Intensive Dietary Management (IDM).
Bernstein's book is Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. He too has videos and a blog to look at, but his book is a great resource.2
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