Dr’s orders - abandon carbs!
Skrib69
Posts: 687 Member
Not quite a new user, but as I was weeding out my friends list I realised
a) I have been registered with MFP for 10 years now.
b) I haven’t really been using it for probably 3 years.
In that time I originally lost 25lbs and hit my goal weight of 150lbs, and have since drifted back up to 161lbs. My Dr has recently told me I am pre-diabetic but that at 5’10” I clearly don’t have a weight problem. In the next breath she told me I need to get things back in line by dropping out carbs and all the lovely things that go with that food group. I could have quietly throttled her! However, the plus side is that she also told me not to worry about fats - just cut out the carbs (and the beer, rice, pasta…….!)
So, I have to learn about a whole new set of rules and that is why I am back with a real interest in things again.
My FL is quite short now even by my standards (I don’t collect FR’s like confetti ask like to interact with people) so if you are in the same boat I would be interested to hear from you, particularly if you are in the SE of the UK!
a) I have been registered with MFP for 10 years now.
b) I haven’t really been using it for probably 3 years.
In that time I originally lost 25lbs and hit my goal weight of 150lbs, and have since drifted back up to 161lbs. My Dr has recently told me I am pre-diabetic but that at 5’10” I clearly don’t have a weight problem. In the next breath she told me I need to get things back in line by dropping out carbs and all the lovely things that go with that food group. I could have quietly throttled her! However, the plus side is that she also told me not to worry about fats - just cut out the carbs (and the beer, rice, pasta…….!)
So, I have to learn about a whole new set of rules and that is why I am back with a real interest in things again.
My FL is quite short now even by my standards (I don’t collect FR’s like confetti ask like to interact with people) so if you are in the same boat I would be interested to hear from you, particularly if you are in the SE of the UK!
2
Replies
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Yeah, that's a drastic measure for just being prediabetic and not overly overweight. How about reducing your carbs to like 150g a day and see how it goes.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
5 -
Yeah, what niner said.
This reminds me of an older relative's (not saying you remind me of that, OP) doctor advising patients to lay off foods like a plain baked potato. Meanwhile, she can still put away a lot of sugary calories with a Dairy Queen blizzard. Makes no sense.0 -
Most doctors are terrible for getting diet advice from. A sensible diet that isn’t extreme in any direction will be fine unless you have some underlying condition that prevents you from consuming something in particular5
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Are you active exercise-wise? Did your doctor mention anything about that?2
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My Dr has recently told me I am pre-diabetic but that at 5’10” I clearly don’t have a weight problem. In the next breath she told me I need to get things back in line by dropping out carbs and all the lovely things that go with that food group. I could have quietly throttled her! However, the plus side is that she also told me not to worry about fats - just cut out the carbs (and the beer, rice, pasta…….!)
Sounds like a sensible thing to do when blood glucose levels are high because your insulin isn't acting like it should. I'd follow the doctor's advice in the hopes of reducing insulin resistance. Fats do not raise insulin levels like carbohydrates do. There is a good chance that over time, replacing some carbs with healthy fats (think avocados, cheese, nuts, seeds, etc. here) will get your insulin sensitivity back in line. Cutting back, or eliminating, the type of carbs that spike insulin the worst is a good place to start. Things like packaged, processed, refined foods. Even fruit juices. Many packaged foods boast about how healthy they are, but you'll still want to avoid those that show a lot of added sugars on the food labels.
Going whole foods, heavy on vegetables, and as Ann advises, getting plenty of exercise should benefit you and your liver.
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"Cutting back, or eliminating, the type of carbs that spike insulin the worst is a good place to start. Things like packaged, processed, refined foods. Even fruit juices. Many packaged foods boast about how healthy they are, but you'll still want to avoid those that show a lot of added sugars on the food labels"
I think is a really good idea. Refined carbs, and highly processed foods tend to be the ones that cause the most issues. And I'm going to hazard a guess that this is more or less what your doctor meant, maybe he just didn't say it very well.2 -
Since blood glucose levels can fluctuate, I'd get a second test and see. I remember getting blood taken after I had eaten pie one time (got tested like 4 hours later) and my blood glucose being high, then went again but fasting first and blood glucose was normal.My Dr has recently told me I am pre-diabetic but that at 5’10” I clearly don’t have a weight problem. In the next breath she told me I need to get things back in line by dropping out carbs and all the lovely things that go with that food group. I could have quietly throttled her! However, the plus side is that she also told me not to worry about fats - just cut out the carbs (and the beer, rice, pasta…….!)
Sounds like a sensible thing to do when blood glucose levels are high because your insulin isn't acting like it should. I'd follow the doctor's advice in the hopes of reducing insulin resistance. Fats do not raise insulin levels like carbohydrates do. There is a good chance that over time, replacing some carbs with healthy fats (think avocados, cheese, nuts, seeds, etc. here) will get your insulin sensitivity back in line. Cutting back, or eliminating, the type of carbs that spike insulin the worst is a good place to start. Things like packaged, processed, refined foods. Even fruit juices. Many packaged foods boast about how healthy they are, but you'll still want to avoid those that show a lot of added sugars on the food labels.
Going whole foods, heavy on vegetables, and as Ann advises, getting plenty of exercise should benefit you and your liver.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
2 -
Since blood glucose levels can fluctuate, I'd get a second test and see. I remember getting blood taken after I had eaten pie one time (got tested like 4 hours later) and my blood glucose being high, then went again but fasting first and blood glucose was normal.My Dr has recently told me I am pre-diabetic but that at 5’10” I clearly don’t have a weight problem. In the next breath she told me I need to get things back in line by dropping out carbs and all the lovely things that go with that food group. I could have quietly throttled her! However, the plus side is that she also told me not to worry about fats - just cut out the carbs (and the beer, rice, pasta…….!)
Sounds like a sensible thing to do when blood glucose levels are high because your insulin isn't acting like it should. I'd follow the doctor's advice in the hopes of reducing insulin resistance. Fats do not raise insulin levels like carbohydrates do. There is a good chance that over time, replacing some carbs with healthy fats (think avocados, cheese, nuts, seeds, etc. here) will get your insulin sensitivity back in line. Cutting back, or eliminating, the type of carbs that spike insulin the worst is a good place to start. Things like packaged, processed, refined foods. Even fruit juices. Many packaged foods boast about how healthy they are, but you'll still want to avoid those that show a lot of added sugars on the food labels.
Going whole foods, heavy on vegetables, and as Ann advises, getting plenty of exercise should benefit you and your liver.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I would think a doctor would use an A1C test (which isn't affected by what you just ate -- it's looking at markers that reflect blood sugars over several months time) to diagnose pre-diabetes, but that's just my experience. Different doctors, different countries, different health systems and standards of care ....
OP, do you know if you received an A1C test, or was it just a one-off check of your glucose level at that moment?3 -
Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame. It's a carb tolerance problem which is different for every single person, no 2 will have the same tolerance. Some people will need to get carbs down to low numbers, like 50 while other people can consume 500. So, it's possible that a personal carb tolerance could be 200, 150, 100 or 20g's but unless you know specifically most clinicians will just say to remove most carbs, which might actually be overly detrimental to the specific persons ability to stick with a restrictive diet.
The standard blood glucose levels goes something like this. If the average glucose stays below this number and the standard deviation (fluctuation) stays below that number after a meal and a person use that as a guide then you can address a better diet to dial in your own carb tolerance. Unfortunately the blanket recommendations to get rid of carbs doesn't take this into account so it might be a good idea to talk to a dietitian that deals primarily with insulin resistance and diabetes. What those exact numbers are is opinion based but generally anywhere from 80 to 130ish after a meal is considered good and how long it takes to come down back to your base line is that deviation and should be back to based line in a reasonable time frame, but talk with someone who knows is my opinion, if your worried and personally everyone should be aware imo.
When done properly, this is what IR and diabetes reversal looks like, and when someone's carb tolerance increases over time then carbs, well, more specifically certain carbs, can be added back in the diet, so it's not a life sentence per se but when done wrong IR and diabetes will come back and exercise at least 2 hours a week over 2 to 4 sessions would also be really good, forever though and not just when losing weight. cheers
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Yeah, that's a drastic measure for just being prediabetic and not overly overweight. How about reducing your carbs to like 150g a day and see how it goes.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
While I agree reducing some carbs is better than doing nothing but being prediabetic is nothing to mess with and weight doesn't really have much to do with it, especially if someone is of Indian or Asian descent. Lots of obese individuals that have no insulin resistance and are overall pretty healthy and lots of thin people with most of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome including diabetes and are very unhealthy. Anyway, it's just not that cut and dry. Cheers0 -
I would concentrate on eliminating simple sugars, which ultimately helps with reducing carbohydrates. The higher the carb count, the higher the sugar count because we all know that all carbs have to be converted to sugar to digest, which in turn raises your insulin levels. The easiest way to eliminate sugar is to avoid processed foods.2
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neanderthin wrote: »being prediabetic is nothing to mess with and weight doesn't really have much to do with it, especially if someone is of Indian or Asian descent. Lots of obese individuals that have no insulin resistance and are overall pretty healthy and lots of thin people with most of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome including diabetes and are very unhealthy. Anyway, it's just not that cut and dry. Cheers
Yes, absolutely. Obesity is obviously a serious risk factor but it is a stereotype that all type 2 diabetics are overweight. Other risk factors and genetics play roles.
I was in the "just prediabetic" boat last year and did not take it seriously. This year I'm cruising on the SS Diabetes. It's OK, I was able to get it under control pretty quickly with some lifestyle changes. Which means I could have done the same last year and potentially prevented the diagnosis.
If you can, I'd recommend seeing a diabetic dietitian. The diabetic diet that comes to most people's minds is also a stereotype. Every diabetic is different and it's not necessarily "abandon all carbs, ye who enter here." I eat carbs but I'm selective about which ones, how much, and when.
Physical activity is also important. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the risk factors for type 2. Another risk factor, of which I had no idea, is sleep apnea, which can cause your blood sugar to raise. For anyone who sleeps poorly, you may wish to have a sleep study done.
I wish you the best!4 -
Another vote for getting a referral to see a diabetes dietitian.2
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Talk to a dietician about glycemic index, not just carbs. Depending on what your diet is like now, you may do better to start by cutting out (or greatly reducing) high glycemic items like added sugars, refined flour (white bread, cookies, cakes), white rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. Many diabetics can do OK with carbs from whole grains, lentils, beans, fruit (in moderation), etc.
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This is true, but but the rest of your post doesn't actually address the reason most people have insulin resistance. Dietary fats. Fat modules are absorbed into the bloodstream and then into your cells, blocking the insulin receptors causing insulin resistance. Reducing processed carbs is always important, but it is even more essential to reduce dietary fats, especially animal based sources. Whole sources of carbs slow down the body's release of insulin and improve glucose control.neanderthin wrote: »Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame.
0 -
Resistance training may help with the insulin sensitivity as well. If you're not lifting weights, it may also be something to consider.
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wfpbcarmen wrote: »
This is true, but but the rest of your post doesn't actually address the reason most people have insulin resistance. Dietary fats. Fat modules are absorbed into the bloodstream and then into your cells, blocking the insulin receptors causing insulin resistance. Reducing processed carbs is always important, but it is even more essential to reduce dietary fats, especially animal based sources. Whole sources of carbs slow down the body's release of insulin and improve glucose control.neanderthin wrote: »Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame.
Dietary fat causing insulin resistance is something Dr. Michael Gregor would say. First of all, fat isn't absorbed into the blood stream then into cells, that is not the metabolic pathway for fat to begin with and it doesn't block insulin receptors. Low carb high fat diets reverse diabetes when replacing carbohydrates and not causing diabetes. Even Harvard that is basically ground zero for a plant based diet will tell you replacing saturated fat for refined carbs in not advisable. Cheers.1 -
🤔wfpbcarmen wrote: »
This is true, but but the rest of your post doesn't actually address the reason most people have insulin resistance. Dietary fats. Fat modules are absorbed into the bloodstream and then into your cells, blocking the insulin receptors causing insulin resistance. Reducing processed carbs is always important, but it is even more essential to reduce dietary fats, especially animal based sources. Whole sources of carbs slow down the body's release of insulin and improve glucose control.neanderthin wrote: »Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame.
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Definitely look into glycemic index. Low GI foods can still be full of carbs but not drastically increase your blood glucose. The answer isn't just cut carbs. I am T2 diabetic and carb cycle with some days 300-400g carb intake (with high intensity exercise)...my A1c was last 6.1% and I expect it to go down further next test as my home meter has been showing even lower readings than before0
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wfpbcarmen wrote: »
This is true, but but the rest of your post doesn't actually address the reason most people have insulin resistance. Dietary fats. Fat modules are absorbed into the bloodstream and then into your cells, blocking the insulin receptors causing insulin resistance. Reducing processed carbs is always important, but it is even more essential to reduce dietary fats, especially animal based sources. Whole sources of carbs slow down the body's release of insulin and improve glucose control.neanderthin wrote: »Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame.
YIKES! At least you didn't try to tell us that eating eggs causes high cholesterol.1 -
One other thing that you might want to watch, especially if you already maintain a pretty healthy diet overall, is how protein affects your numbers. Overdoing it on protein can also raise blood sugar (certain amino acids are glycogenic). One of my relatives who struggles to maintain blood sugar mentioned that eating a steak raises his blood sugar more than eating a couple slices of pizza.
I'm working on both losing weight and reducing my blood sugar, and cutting carbs way down has been a big help. With my doctor's blessing I'm off insulin and working to get off metformin.
As others have mentioned, exercise definitely helps as it can make your cells more receptive to glucose. It's also great for mental health and heart health.0 -
One other thing that you might want to watch, especially if you already maintain a pretty healthy diet overall, is how protein affects your numbers. Overdoing it on protein can also raise blood sugar (certain amino acids are glycogenic). One of my relatives who struggles to maintain blood sugar mentioned that eating a steak raises his blood sugar more than eating a couple slices of pizza.
I'm working on both losing weight and reducing my blood sugar, and cutting carbs way down has been a big help. With my doctor's blessing I'm off insulin and working to get off metformin.
As others have mentioned, exercise definitely helps as it can make your cells more receptive to glucose. It's also great for mental health and heart health.
Just want to mention protein on it own doesn't actually increase blood sugar, it increases the release of insulin which helps shuttle amino acids into muscle and slows muscle breakdown and actually helps the clearance of any existing blood glucose. Glucogenic amino acids happen when gluconeogenesis takes place. Blood glucose is raised from consuming carbs and from gluconeogenesis which helps maintain balanced blood glucose levels when blood sugar falls below base line and other peripheral tissue that requires glucose, basically, from my understanding of the process. Cheers0 -
wfpbcarmen wrote: »
This is true, but but the rest of your post doesn't actually address the reason most people have insulin resistance. Dietary fats. Fat modules are absorbed into the bloodstream and then into your cells, blocking the insulin receptors causing insulin resistance. Reducing processed carbs is always important, but it is even more essential to reduce dietary fats, especially animal based sources. Whole sources of carbs slow down the body's release of insulin and improve glucose control.neanderthin wrote: »Insulin resistance is basically the body inability to shuttle glucose into tissue in a reasonable time frame.
I would love to see actual randomised control trials that show this. I was in pre-diabetic A1C area, went keto, and now not only is my A1C normal, but the infrequent times I eat high carb my body has no issues handling the carbohydrates. In two hours my blood sugar will be down to the lower end of what is considered normal for 2 hours after eating. Making a claim that fat is causing insulin resistance would go against the clinical experiences of people like Dr Westman who has been working with people clinically for 20 year or more using keto diets to deal with things like insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. Regardless of what you post, without solid, repeated, randomised trials I will keep doing keto since not only has it dealt with my blood sugar issue, but I find it works as a way I can see myself eating for the rest of my life.3 -
A typical doctor has no more than 20 hours of instruction in basic nutrition. You are better off speaking with a nutritionist who knows what they are talking about.0
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EricExtreme wrote: »A typical doctor has no more than 20 hours of instruction in basic nutrition. You are better off speaking with a nutritionist who knows what they are talking about.
In the US, "registered dietitian" (RD), not just "nutritionist". It varies by US state, but there are places where anyone can advertise themselves as a nutritionist with zero education; in other places, that's not permitted, but a weekend-type short course is enough. RDs are degreed professionals who meet defined standards of knowledge.0
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