What I am reading about hormones, insulin, fat storage, and gut/brain stuff

ideas2

@cory17 You asked that I share some of what I am reading investigating what diet would be most helpful for me, given the newer research that I had ignored for several years. So I thought I would start a thread about the newer controversy that I am reading about in bariatric studies which relates to why we lose weight and the role of such things as hormones, insulin, insulin resistance, food sensitivities, liver functioning, etc, instead of looking at weight loss as simple Calories In/Calories Out.

So hopefully here is a place where we can post anything we are reading or learning.

I now can´t find the article I read the other day that says this is becoming a real controversy in the field of weight loss--- the importance (or lack thereof) of different types of calories and different times of eating. Here is one very similar:

https://www.today.com/health/new-paper-shows-overeating-does-not-drive-obesity-t231615

ideas2

Currently reading the book ¨Fast. Feast. Repeat.¨ Really good book so far, just this morning saw several things I thought might be worth posting about various benefits of Intermittent Fasting, but this one stuck out for me:

page 38
We now know that our gut microbiomes are an important part of our immune system´s function and also play a key role in our overall metabolic health. Did you know there is a striking difference in the inhabitants of the gut microbiomes of people who are lean and people who are obese? And that a fecal transplant from an obese person to a lean person (yes I am talking about a poop transplant) can lead to the lean person becoming overweight, with no changes in eating habits.

The good news is that we can change our gut without a fecal transplant. Studies on time-restrictive feeding in mice have found that fasting leads to reduced gut permeability, increases in the diversity of the gut microbiome, and shifts the population to one associated with leanness rather than obesity. Change your gut, change your health!

This author is good about citing referenced studies. I did not take the time to include the references she cites.

ideas2

@swimmom_1 Just had my mind blown..... I had previously thought that your loss and that of Sharon´s was too fast and it would make you less likely to keep it off when you get to your goal. I am delighted that you apparently knew more than I did about the subject.

The whole video is good but the part that blew my mind starts here> https://youtu.be/6d-LMzIlr5I?t=215

I always purposely limited how rapidly I lost weight believing that it would be harder to keep off the weight if I took it off fast. I still gained it back anyway. Now I am can let go of that limit based on the above.

I also found it interesting that he asked the group to stand up 20 minutes into the presentation. From that point on I stayed on my feet, pacing or at least shifting my weight back and forth (I was tethered by headphones). New part of my weight loss plan based on what he says about the benefits of standing is to consume my videos and TV shows standing.

I also really want to try his high intensity training that he says reduces insulin resistance 25%, with only being done 6 minutes. I think I can do that!

ideas2

So I decided I am also going to use this thread as a place where I can later find some of the better educational things I come across when I want to review them or tell others about them. (For example, I am hoping to eventually convince my husband to try fasting if it works well for me so that we might have a similar schedule of eating and he can have the health benefits too.)

Here is the ¨Eat, Fast, & Live Longer¨ documentary by the BBC that looks at Intermittant Fasting and the remarkable benefits of alternate day fasting and 5:2 fasting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihhj_VSKiTs

swimmom_1

@ideas2
Not sure I knew more. I watched the entire video and found it quite interesting, as a RN too. I did know med schools have never taught Nutrition!

I just know me. As long as I see progress, I can do about anything! I don't mean I need a loss every day because I don't have that! I do weigh myself everyday when I'm trying to lose. I've done that my whole life. It keeps my head in the right place, being mindful. Now since I started MFP, and I can see the graph of weights, is when I noticed I have an uptick in my weight for 1-3 days before I have a drop. So it doesn't freak me out and I expect a drop soon then as long as I haven't deviated from my plan.

I hope you have been able to increase your Elliptical time. I had been doing 99 minutes on my days off, as that is the max on the timer. Today I kept going thinking "I'll do a 6 min warm down to make it 105." I felt good and went for another 15 minutes for 120 minutes!

I'm now down 65.2 lbs. Not quite halfway to what I was down to before and would like to get back too. If just for all the clothes in my closet!

ideas2

I did increase my elliptical time gradually, up until I hit 11 minutes. But I get so overheated. My plan was to do the elliptical first and then do weights, but the problem was I was so done in with the heat that I could not finish my weights workout. Weight lifting has a longer lasting effect on insulin sensitivity and metabolism, so I decided for me, at least this time of year, I am better off focusing more on weight lifting and then doing swimming, which keeps me cool for cardio.

I do not know if you have heard of adrenal fatigue (or believe in it--- it is a thing for most functional medicine doctors, chiropractors, and other holistic healers but most doctors don´t recognize any problems with adrenals except Addison´s and Cushing´s.) My doctor´s tell me it isrelated to my food sensitivities and leaky gut. Apparently, the adrenals have to put out cortisol to deal with all the chronic inflammation when I don´t do well enough avoiding what I am sensitive to. One advised me to NEVER do hot yoga. Apparently my eyes do not constrict back from dilation normally. I am very low in the hormone DHEA also. Three different doctors have warned me about this and said it is related to why I can´t tolerate heat. So anyway, I want to push myself but have learned over the years that for me excessive pushing myself is counter-productive. (I also had an episode of heat exhaustion as a teen when I was a serious tennis player playing in a tournament in 100+ F degree weather, so perhaps that plays in also.

So I really admire what you are doing and am glad to know I can tolerate the elliptical without footpain, but I have realized it just is not good for me to compare myself to you and I need to slow down on that particular goal.

swimmom_1

@ideas2
I have heard of adrenal fatigue and I can understand you can't do anywhere near what I do. Just wondered if you had increased it some. For now the elliptical is all I'm doing.

ideas2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDqMB6C1uys

Towards the end he goes into how the bacteria in your gut affect how difficult or easy it is to lose weight.

ideas2

Recently I have been reading books about intermittent fasting. Just finished Dr. Joseph Mercola´s ¨Ketofast.¨ Now I am starting Andrew Aspry´s ¨Fast This Way.¨

I have also started using a Lumen to give me suggestions about my macros and this video was recommended to me by someone in their Facebook group who recommended most of the carbs earlier in the day. (Ladybug if you ever notice that my MFP goals for eating seem to change almost daily that is why-- the Lumen gives me new suggestions daily to follow.) I am watching this to see what the other Lumen users recommendation to me was based on, and putting it here because although it is long and full of science, it is very good information and I am sure I will want to refer back to it.

This professor from Standford says that in the last 10-15 years there has developed a very powerful literature base of studies showing benefits of intermitten fasting (also called Time Restricted Eating/Feeding.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tRohh0gErM&ab_channel=AndrewHuberman

ideas2

I finished the books on fasting and now am starting on the book ¨Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease#and How to Fight It¨ after starting to watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfSJFPu50_A&ab_channel=DhruPurohit I think this is really, really important information about insulin resistance.

BCLadybug888

Hello, just popped in to say hi since I finally found this place again! Sadly I think this message board leaves much to be desired - so hard to follow people! Or even message them.

I admire your capacity and passion for research and find the whole concept of a lean person with a fecal transplant becoming overweight fascinating, once I get past the gag factor 😜

I have been really working on limiting my eating window and ensuring minimum 12 hours fast or longer, achieving 16 occasionally. Someday I am going to incorporate a 24 hour fast in the mix, possibly this week or next, once I get over my cold 🥶

My rate of weight loss has really picked up even though my calorie target is for 1 lb a week loss and I regularly meet it (staying just under), but I am also conscious of calorie cycling so will throw in a few lower days when appetite allows as well as maybe 1x every 2 weeks eating all the way up to my base calories.

My journey goal for the next year is to lose weight while still maintaining maximum calorie count that allows for weight-loss at a reasonable rate which doesn't make me give up or lose hope.

Like you, I was of the belief that slower is better and somewhat suspicious of the ultimate success for those that lose rapidly and am enjoying learning about some of your discoveries.

Also, I have zero desire to be very active (beyond achieving a moderate level of fitness) & devote hours to exercise daily, become a gym rat, or to eat only 1000 calories a day ever - as this would not be sustainable for me (at 61 years old I have finally learned a few lessons about moi) 😀

Thank you @ideas2 for sharing your research.

ideas2

@ladybug8882021 I am with you on the difficulty with the idea of a fecal transplant. However, this video talks about something I find as disgusting-- maybe more. Biofilms of fungi. They describe biofilms as things like plaque.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jy8j2FaKGY


I did read one of the studies on this scientists recommended diet. https://www.longdom.org/open-access/effect-of-mycobiome-diet-on-gut-fungal-and-bacterial-communities-of-healthy-adults-52909.html the results of this short term study were impressive. At the end of the study, all participants with GI symptoms reported moderate or dramatic improvements. In this regard, all participants who wanted to lose weight did lose weight (between two and 10 pounds). Thirty percent of the participants reported moderate or dramatically improved fatigue and higher energy levels, and 30% reported better sleep, less waking at night, and reduced hot flashes. Furthermore, 60% of the participants decided to continue the mycobiome diet after the trial. Of the 40% who returned to their former diets, all but one subject (whose diet was already quite similar to the mycobiome diet) experienced worsening of their symptoms. After symptom recurrence, some decided to go back on the mycobiome diet again or return to certain aspects of the diet that they believed were helpful.

Just today I received the report of my testing from Viome. It is really impressive and is going to take me quite awhile to fully assimilate. It givesme personal food recommendations (superfoods, food to enjoy, to minimize, and to avoid) based on the gut bacteria found and also gives scores for different aspects of gut health. My worst areas were diversity of the microbiome (4 on a scale of 100) and metabolic fitness (21 on a scale of 100). I was actually above average (61 on a scale of 100) in gut lining health, which was a surprise to me. The metabolic fitness part says: This score represents active microbial organisms and functions that are associated with your blood sugar, insulin resistance, or weight control. A good score (in the green zone) means high activity of microbes and their functions favorably associated with your metabolic fitness.

I am excited to receive their treatment packet, as I interpret this to mean there is good potential for weight loss to become easier--that I am one of those people whose microbiome is working against my weightloss and now I have a plan for what to do. Obviously I would not make a good ¨poop donor¨ for a fecal transplant-- mine would likely make someone fat. LOL.

BCLadybug888

Hi @ideas2,
I just read an interesting article, re adequate protein combined with fasting; here is a link (I hope 😀)
https://www.insider.com/eating-high-protein-while-intermittent-fasting-may-help-weight-loss-2021-11

ideas2

@bloomnsunshine @jaded989 @swimmom_1 @cory17 @Ladybug8882021 @Jem594 @WTGNicole @pdd1216 @ciry17

Happy New Year everyone! Like most of you, I have kind of ignored this group since it hasn´t been active. But I wanted to share this with Ladybug8882021 and thought it might interest others as well. How have you all been doing and what has been working for you?

I just finished Gerard Mullins book ¨Gut Balance Revolution¨ which is extremely educational. He recommends a three phase program to correct your gut problems, starting with a phase one that is low carb, and losing phase that is more balanced in macros with emphasis on whole and fermented foods, and a maintenance phase. He recommends the healthiness of cultural tradition based whole foods diets and gives the examples of the Mediterranean diet and the Baltic Sea diet, sometimes called the Nordic diet (the more traditional way of eating inthe Scandinavian countries.) I had never heard of the Baltic Diet but was interested because 7 of my 8 great-grandparents are from Sweden or Norway, and based on what I have read eating as much as possible like your ancestors is how your body likely evolved to do the best.

I got the book ¨The Nordic Way¨ (https://thehealthypineapple.com/2018/07/13/book-review-the-nordic-way/) Which describes the diet based on the results of the 2010 Diet and Obesity Genes study in Europe,, the largest study ever conducted on what diet is the best for weight maintenance. What they found in this extremely large study (45 scientists, many subjects, and several different macros of diets tested) was that the winning diet was a diet that had a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protien and that emphasied carbs with a lower Glycemic Index.

The study first had all the subjects lose at least 10% of their bodyweight through a standardized low calorie meal replacement, and then divided the subjects up into various diets with different macros and different guidelines. The winning diet was exceptional in that not only did the group have much better maintenance, many of the subjects continued to lose weight and wanted to stay on the diet long term.

In the Nordic Way diet, based on this research, they talk about how the research for low carb dieting is good for weight loss of up to a few months, there are few people who actually stay on it long term as a lifestyle. They believe that the satisfaction does not last in either low carb or low fat diets. They recommend trying not to exceed 2 grams of carbs for each gram of protein you eat, focusing primarily on low GI carbs, and they also recommend that many people do well with slightly more of their daily carbs at breakfast and slightly less at lunch and dinner to come out to the 2 to 1 ratio.

I recently had genetic testing done and the results were that according to my genes I am unlikely to be helped by a low fat diet and more likely to be helped by a lower in carb diet. They suggested for me a 30% protein, 40% fat, and 30% carb diet. This time around is the first time I have ever tried a low carb diet and it is much easier for me. I know that for some other people this would not be true.

Ladybug, I remember you saying you are not interested in low carb dieting because your breakfast carbs are too important for you. As I was looking at your logs today I thought--- wow, I think the 2:1 carb-protein ratio and lower glycemic foods, with maybe more of the carbs at breakfast and a bit less later in the day, might be incredibly appropriate for you and I should tell you about it. Of course, you are having good success with what you are doing, so you can ignore this unsolicited advise, but my experience has been that after the weight is lost and tracking is not done everyday, the risk of regaining weight is very high and adopting a diet like this might be doable for you for long-term almost effortless weight maintenance.

Personally I am going to stay with the lower carb for now but probably will gradually allow myself to have more low GI carbs until I habitually do the 2:1 ratio, assuming that my insulin resistence is not a problem at that level.

BCLadybug888

Happy 2022 me lovelies! Said in my best pirate voice lol 🤣

ideas2 wrote: »

@bloomnsunshine @jaded989 @swimmom_1 @cory17 @Ladybug8882021 @Jem594 @WTGNicole @pdd1216 @ciry17

Ladybug, I remember you saying you are not interested in low carb dieting because your breakfast carbs are too important for you. As I was looking at your logs today I thought--- wow, I think the 2:1 carb-protein ratio and lower glycemic foods, with maybe more of the carbs at breakfast and a bit less later in the day, might be incredibly appropriate for you and I should tell you about it.

Thank you @ideas2 for thinking of me!😊
It's not so much that morning carbs are too important to me, I have done keto/Atkins in the past and quite liked it but eventually missed potatoes and bread too much I think. What that was in reference to was a possible tweak on keto you had discovered that allowed for higher carbs, but not to break the Fast - that had at first excited me but then realized that morning carbs are important enough to me, if adding in carbs, that thus particular tweak would not be the bee's knees for me after all! 😁

However, this 2 to 1 carb to protein ratio does excite me a lot, and my trying to increase protein/reduce carbs in a more general way has indeed resulted in that sort of ratio naturally!

My great-grandparents were 7 Scottish/1 Irish so not too far away from Scandinavia, and when my dad traced our last name it probably came over with the vikings lol.

I am still working my way through "Metabolical" and really getting a lot out of it.
Keeping with minimum 12 hour overnight fasts, and most days 14-16, so intermittent fasting seems to be very doable for me this way. That's what my main focus is thus time around - weight loss/management that is "doable" long-term and somewhat natural.

ideas2

@bloomnsunshine @jaded989 @swimmom_1 @cory17 @Ladybug8882021 @Jem594 @WTGNicole @pdd1216 @ciry17

Don´t know if anyone here is interested in seeing any of this stuff since the group has not been active, but last night I watched this video and found it to be something new to me and potentially controversial (and/or critically important for us to change our behavior if he is right) so wanted to put it here in case I need to want to find it later.

Based on advise from Dr. Tony Hampton (a board certified obesity doctor who teaches about how to reverse diabetes/prediabetes), I had already been limiting the fats/oil I use at home to B.O.C.A (butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil,) but now this is making me think about what I might be getting when I eat out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kGnfXXIKZM&ab_channel=LowCarbDownUnder

BCLadybug888

Wow is all I can say...so why are coconut, olive and Avocado oils okay? Didn't he recommended animal based fats solely in video? I must admit I glazed over at some point...

ideas2

@BCLadybug888 He does prefer butter (saturated fat) but these three other oils are not on his list of seed oils to stay away from. The PUFA seed oils he is warning against (like cottonseed, corn, peanut, canola, sunflower, safflower, etc) are all high in Omega 6s and all are only made possible through modern techniques that require extensive procedures, are ultra processed, and require factories. Olive Oil and Avocado oils are high in Oleic acid (monounsaturated, instead of the lineoleic polyunsaturated) and they are oils that are very easy to extract. They can be cold pressed (even with your own hands) and have been part of traditional diets for centuries. Coconut also is high in saturated fat and part of traditional ancestral diets.

My understanding from other is the theory is that our bodies evolved over centuries and food that our ancestors have eaten for centuries generally is considered safe and healthy, but we and our gut bacteria have not had time to adapt to many of the more recent processed foods. We also evolved to have almost an equal amount of Omega 3´s as Omega 6´s, but the high level of Omega 6´s based on our high consumption of these seed oils has caused us to become way out of balance.

BOCA is a mnemonic device to remember butter, olive oil, coconut and avocado. The first two should not be used with too high of heat because high heat oxidizes them too much causing more free radical (although you can use ghee with the milk protein removed from the butter for high heat cooking.) So use butter and olive oil for salads and more lightly cooked food and use coconut or avocado (which have a very high flash point) if you are frying something on high heat.

The concerning part is how in the world we would stay away from the seed oils in restaurants. I also got concerned about his distrust of olive oil. I am going to still use olive oil but stick to ones that have been certified, here is the list-https://www.aboutoliveoil.org/certified-olive-oil-list

BCLadybug888

Thank you - what does PUFA stand for?
This came at the perfect time; my olive oil I purchased in Italy prepandemic is almost finished, so now I'm purchasing my replacement off the list you linked to!

What do you use Avocado oil for, and how do you like it? Never tried it.

I use butter, bacon grease, olive oil & coconut oil so I will stick with what I'm doing. Good reason to almost exclusively eat at home, eh?
And not buy pastries, chips etc.

Diabolical isn't it?

On another note, my A1C was tested recently, first time I can remember, definitely in many years, and it is 6.2 so I have a telechat scheduled with my GP next week - was surprised it was high after all the changes I have made - shudder to think what it must have been when I started this journey 6 months ago...!!

ideas2

BCLadybug888

PUFA = polyunsaturated fatty acid

I now use avocado oil for everything that I used to use other vegetable oils in for cooking-- frying, sauteéing, etc. There seems to be some disagreement among the experts over just how hot you can go safely with extra virgin olive oil, so I play it safe and use avocado oil instead of olive for anything medium heat or higher. I don´t really bake because of my sensitivity to gluten and my insulin resistance. To me it´s flavor is so mild I think you could use it in anything that calls for oil, including baking.

My husband pops a lot of popcorn, and he prefers a mix of avocado oil with some added coconut oil for that.

Experts like Dr. Ben Bikman and Dr. Mark Harmon say that testing your fasting insulin levels give you better information about insulin resistance than the A1c or fasting glucose, although doctors very rarely do this unless you ask because their treatment model is not preventative and they are not routinely taught to do this. You want your fasting insulin to be LOW--- like less than 6 (although the ¨normal¨ range is now considered to be well above this because with the increases in the general population the norms have been increased (standards of health have lowered for the general population.) If I were you I would definetly by asking my doctor for my fasting insulin level. (I plan to get mine done every three months through LEF.org, which only charges me about $38 for A1c, fasting insulin, and fasting glucose, but I don´t know if that is available to you in Canada.) My insulin level is heading in the right direction but not to optimal level yet.

BCLadybug888

Thanks- adding avocado oil to the grocery list 😋

ideas2

@BCLadybug888

I am watching this video this morning. I think I remember that you ordered the book Metabolical, but I didn´t know if you have finished it. This is an interview with Robert Lustig, the author. In the book he talks about how to interpret your lab results, but he goes on and hits some additional points here. Also, starting around minute 34 in this video, he talks about why doctors in the U.S. are not ordering fasting insulin tests and why he believes they should be. I don´t know if Canadian doctors have similar policies or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3rsNCFNAw8&ab_channel=Levels

If you feel comfortable sharing, how were your triglycerides and triglyceride to HDL ratios.

He also is very emphatic that obesity and insulin levels are not well correlated, and that very obese people can have normal insulin levels and thin people can have very high insulin levels. My takeaway is that the kind of food you eat may be more important than the quantity of food you eat.

BCLadybug888

Hi, talking to my GP today. My triglycerides were 1.66. My HDL was A1.07.
There is a Chol/HDL risk ratio listed - 4.31 - but I don't see anything about triglycerides/HDL ratio.

Thank you very much for your input - I am indeed still working my way through Metabolical! But now the Olympics have taken.over every free minute and then some 😏

ideas2

@BCLadybug888 If there are not typos in there Canadian tests are reported differently than here. Do you think that was supposed to be triglycerides 166 and HDL 107 (that would be poor for triglycerides and amazingly good for HDL, which is the ¨good cholesterol.¨ 1.66 for triglycerieds on an American scale is unfathomably low, so I wondered if it is a typo or if in Canada the units are different. We also don´t use letters in reporting the HDL results, so I guess I am not going to be able to help much. The way things are reported here, you want your triglycerides to be lower than your HDL. High triglycerides would suggest you need to watch sugars even more than fats. If you can skip ahead in the book to the chapter where he addresses how to interpret your labs I think that would be very helpful before you talk to your doctor.

I am glad you are enjoying the Olympics. My suggestion would be experimenting with standing up to watch them as much as possible, or even ¨do the zombie shuffle¨-- kind of pace around, while you watch them. You would be amazed at how helpful this is to avoid all the sedentary problems. That is what I try to do now, I tell myself I can watch as much TV or online stuff as I want provided most of the time is spent at least standing, if not shuffing/pacing around. I don´t do it when others are around to avoid annoying them, but I really think it is a great habit to work on when I am alone.