Insulin Resistance and carbs.

marg3049

Hi,

I was diagnosed with insulin resistance in early March. You asked if anyone has had any success with food and weight loss. I have lost about 26 1/2 pounds since then. Right now I seem to be stuck losing the same one and a half pounds over and over again. However, I am going to see my endocrinologist on Monday so hopefully we can figure out what I need to do next to get it moving again.

First of all, I want to say that I truly think you need to have your doctor talk to you about medications you can take for IR. My insulin levels were extremely high. Here in Canada, where I live, the normal range is 35 - 140 pmod/L and my insulin reading came back at 244 pmod/L. My endocrinologist indicated that this would be considered severe insulin resistance.

Unfortunately, ten years ago I was going to doctors to try to find out what was wrong with me and I was in such bad shape, with such 'foggy brain' that I truly didn't understand the results of my blood work. Even back then my insulin level was at 233 pmod/L. However, the idiot doctors who saw me, three endocrinologists, did not do anything about this. So I have been steadily getting worse for the past 10 years. And my endo. says that I was developing this long before that time. Apparently your levels don't get that high overnight...it's a long process.

Anyway, one of the things I had a major problem with was craving carbs. My endo. told me that this was happening because my cells would not open up to allow the glucose in and my body was literally starving for fuel to live and thrive. He started me on a medication called Metformin. I started with 1/2 a pill a day and now have gradually worked up to 2 pills a day. And that will probably be increased soon again.

If you are having cravings you can't control then you need the Metformin. It helps to begin opening the cells to allow the glucose in your blood in so you can generate fuel for your body. After taking the medication for about 10 days I noticed that I was no longer craving carbs like I once did. I have gone from 4 cans of soft drink, or pop or soda, whatever you call it, to one every two days or so. And I no longer carve carbs. I used to be addicted to potatoes and I hardly eat them any more and don't miss them. The medication did that for me.

Once I got those cravings under some control then I was able to start working on my eating habits. I follow what I call a slow-carb diet. It is not LOW carbs, because I know that my body needs carbs for fuel and for me to be healthy. What I mean by slow carbs is that these carbs take longer to be converted to glucose. Things like whole grain products, sweet potatoes rather than white ones and other foods that have slower burning carbs. I try to avoid white sugar, white bread and white pasta. However, I do eat those things sometimes and also have potatoes if I really want them and I have still lost a considerable amount of weight.

The other thing I do that I think is really important is to make sure I eat protein with any carbs I eat. The ratio you need to apply is 7 grams of protein for 15 grams of carbs. If you do that the protein helps slow down the carb absorption and again, keeps your pancreas from secreting too much insulin.

I could write a ton more but this post is getting really long. I have spent the past four months researching insuiin resistance and how to control it and I have learned a lot. One of the things I have discovered is that many of the most prominent medical sites and non-profits do not have good information on the topic. I found my best information from reading boring research papers that are recent (within the past 18 months). And all those research papers agree with my endo. and his views. He is a professor at our large university and I guess he must keep up on what's happening in that field.

I thank God every day for finding him and for his help. I know that if I had not gotten help soon I would have ended up with diabetes or heart disease of both.

I am an author by profession and I am actually in the process of writing a book on insulin resistance. I feel there is so much mis-informatoin out there that needs to be addressed and there are millions of people who have this condition and don't even know it. The American Diabetic Association says there are not 66% of North Americans who are overweight and most of them are probably insulin resistant and the general knowledge out there is pretty poor.

Anyway, enough already!

Good luck with your search for answers and I hope you get the help you need.

jo_tolose

wow, your long post is so informative. i keep looking for what to eat and what to not. recently i figured out i shall less carb than normal people but still struggling to figure out how less. although i certainly feel more informed after seeing your post.