Can you overcome insulin resistance mainly with exercise??

How do you know if you are insulin resistant? Blood test or are there signs? I just wonder if I am sometimes is all. Carbs seem to affect me a lot.

If you don't want to end up with full blown diabetes, then you will learn how to control your carb intake. Watching my mom die from organ failure from diabetes is enough motivation for me to do whatever it takes to dodge that bullet for myself. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for your family, so they don't have to lose you too soon. Seek advice from your doctor and from people who actually have diabetes, or prediabetes, and are controlling it with diet. Once you become insulin dependent, it gets a lot harder to control. Once your kidneys fail, then it is all down hill from there.
Find a way to break your carb addiction. You will be glad you did.

Unfortunately, it is diet and exercise but mainly diet. Sugar is highly addictive but you just have to take the "can't" out of do and just do it. It's hard, I know but worthwhile.

As a recently diagnosed T2 diabetic who WILL not, should not, take medications for it (too many bad reactions besides the expected), I can definitely tell you that carb restriction and exercise is the only way to control the blood sugar spikes.

This does NOT mean take it to an extreme! From the diabetic group that I am part of, it looks like somewhere between 100 - 200 g of carbs per day, spread out throughout the day can be tolerated by most, the actual amount depends on HOW the carbs affect YOU.

Most try to avoid any type of grain product because of extremely high blood sugar spikes, but a few can tolerate these in moderation (up to 1/4 cup for some, others a little higher), while others have to stay away from cow milk. Same for fruits, some individuals can eat some types of fruits others can't and vice-versa.

As for the exercise, there has recently been an ongoing discussion regarding which type of exercise helps, and the GENERAL trend right now is that cardio (at least 30 mins per day from the looks - NOT CONCLUSIVE!) helps get the numbers down, and help keep them down.

From personal experience, I agree about the cinnamon. When I add it to my breakfast, and remember my before-bed snack, my numbers are MUCH better in the morning. I am not religious about testing throughout the day, so I don't have any proof there to offer, I'm working on that issue.

If you want to read more, and possibly get better help, here's the link to the group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/1789-type-2-diabetes-support-group

I'm still VERY inexperienced, and on a steep learning curve about what to and/or not to do. The above is my current understanding from the discussions I've read. There are MANY more people in this group with both more experience than I, and more knowledge.

Hope some of this helped, and I again recommend looking at the group for more information.

You have to balance diet and exercise. It really is a complete mindset change. You have to learn to eat lower carb, it isn't even up for conversation. As a diabetic with insulin resistance and an RN on an ICU, if you love your eyes, kidneys and heart, you will change the way you do things.

98% of the open heart patients I take care of are diabetic. Seeing my dad die of complications of diabetes, changed my life. Carbs increase blood sugar, bottom line.

You need to get to a doctor, get a definitive diagnosis, buy a glucometer, and keep track of your blood sugars. Your local hospital probably offers nutrition classes to diabetics and you should check on it, they can give you invaluable information.

You cannot depend on the way you feel on any given day, or the advice of strangers, you need actual numbers and facts. Protect your organs. I lost vision by the time I was diagnosed and once it is gone, you cannot get it back.

Best of luck to you.

All of this.

You overcome insulin resistance primarily by losing weight (fat). That will do more than anything else. Exercise can have a temporary effect lowering blood sugar, but it is short-duration. To get the most benefit you must exercise more frequently. Resistance training is also very important.

Bump

You sound super sensitive to sugar. Have you tried increasing your calorie burn, to see if that helps? For me, I love carbmaster yogurt from Kroger, it gives me something sweet and it is low carb. Since I generally keep my carbs low, I don't crave the sugar anymore. I don't ascribe to Atkins, but I love the bars and they help me feel like I am cheating, when I'm not. I also look for recipes I can modify.

Yes, being diabetic is very hard. You will be so fortunate if you can keep it in the pre-diabetic stage. A healthy weight is key to that happening.

If you stick with the numbers MFP recommends for daily intake, do you lose?

Have you tried Stevia? I don't add artificial sweetners to my food and I try to keep my ingestion of them to a minimum. Stevia is a natural sweetner and may help you in your effort.

My impression of this is not enough simple carbs (ie: celery, broccoli etc), protein... People underestimate protein, you need lots! Try to meet your goal everyday. Also try to lose the bread... That will kill you in the end, that's it just cut it out. Also other then your cheat day are you even eating enough calories?!

I think I am extremely sensitive to sugar....

Heres my entire food for the day: Nothing left out!

7am warm water with lemon and cayenner pepper
8am 1 slice ezekiel bread low sodium with a little butter, 2 eggs scrambled in olive oil spray
sipped on water and organic peppermint tea all am
1pm out for lunch w/mr...ordered 6 oz sirloin...only ate half
side salad with no dressing...ate all of it
baked potato with butter...ate most of it
1 chicken tender
1 dinner roll with a little butter
2 glasses of water
5pm...made homemade chocolate chip cookies for my husband...I had 4 small cookies
sipping on water all eve
Will have my diluted apple cider vinegar as soon as i finish this post

This I consider to be a CHEAT day. But I can expect the scale to register somw sort of weight gain.

So today, you had approximately 165 g carbs (160 net carbs) ... although if you were at a steakhouse their rolls are probably bigger than I selected. I suggest you add some vinegar and oil or ranch dressing to your salad - it'll feel more decadent and you'll feel more satisfied. Plus the fat in the dressing helped you utilize the micronutrients in the vegetables. Ditch the potato and choose a vegetable with some butter instead. Or only eat 1/2.

If the cookies were indeed small, they weren't too bad, although 2 cookies is certainly better than 4 :-)

Also important -,you packed at least 111 g carbs into one meal and then followed that meal with cookies. You'd have been much better off with a 55 carb lunch and then a 55 carb dinner. spreading the carbs out means less of a blood glucose roller coaster.

Finally, you're talking about the cheat day showing up on the scale. Are you weighing daily?? So many variables to what a scale says - save your sanity and only weigh once a week or every two weeks!

Not familiar, so no idea about the JM meal plan. Honestly, you don't need a specific "plan" I get good ideas for meals from various Atkins, South Beach, keto and primal/paleo sites. In the end though, just set your macros at an acceptable level and stick to it. Divide those macros into meals (and snacks if you want/need them) and stick to that. It's that simple. Not always easy, but simple :-)

When I say divide into meals, I think I should point out that many many people with metabolic disorders up to and including diabetes find that insulin resistance improves as the day goes on. Therefore, it may be beneficial to have fewer carbs for breakfast and have your highest carb meal for dinner. For example, I very very rarely have more than 15 carbs (total) for breakfast and try to have less than 10(net). I can handle more for lunch and dinner without my blood glucose rising unacceptably (for me above 120 1 hour after eating)

I know a lot of people are hung up about 'fake' sugar, and while I have heard that some of them can raise your insulin levels, Stevia, and sugar alcohols do not. I use Stevia (Truvia) in my coffee and in any baking that I do. It is all natural and tastes good to me, but it might taste a little different when you first start using it. I like a light, quick breakfast in the mornings, and so I have an Atkins Daybreak bar every morning with my coffee. I love the Hazelnut flavor. It also gives me my sweet chocolate fix I love with my coffee. It contains sugar alcohols, so no effect on your blood sugar, and is very low net carbs.
For lunch I usually have breakfast. I make an omelet or scramble with onions, garlic, spinach, mushrooms, and 1-2 oz of either ham, turkey sausage, pastrami, or even chicken or steak leftover from dinner, steamed in a skillet. Then use either 2 whole eggs or 3/4 c Egg Beaters and some cheddar cheese, (reg or fat free). If you want an omelet, then move the veggie mix to a plate while you make the omelet, then put the filling back in when the eggs are almost done. I find it faster just to scramble the eggs into the mixture.
I then add salsa and 1/4 avocado on the top and I have a huge, filling, high protein lunch.
I make mine with egg beaters and ff cheese to lower the calories, and raise the protein, then replace the fat with the avocado. Less than 300 cals total.
Also, like someone else said, you need to increase your healthy fats in your diet. I love almonds and pistachios. Just use a scale to measure out the servings, cause the calories can add up quickly.

Eat small meals or snacks frequently thru out the day to keep your blood sugars level. Make sure you have some protein in all your meals and many of your snacks. Fill up on non starchy veggies. They really bulk up small meals and the fiber is crucial for slowly down your sugar break down rate.
Try to cut plain bread out completely or find substitutes. Mission brand Carb Control flour tortillas are amazing, and have lots of fiber and very low net carbs. They look at taste just like the regular ones do, and I can get away with having these 2-3 times a week.
I also discovered Cauliflower bread last year. There are various recipes for it, and you can use it to make pizza or sandwiches. Not exactly the same as white bread, but when you haven't had a sandwich or pizza in a while, it is a very welcome treat!

If you can't give up potatoes, try subbing sweet potatoes instead. They are higher in fiber and contain great vitamins. Just watch portions carefully. You can also make mashed potatoes out of cauliflower, turnips, or parsnips. The parsnips are a bit sweeter, like using yukon gold potatoes, so I mix all three veggies together and whip them up with a little whole cream and garlic. You can even melt a little cheese on top and add some crumbled bacon.

There are so many sites online now with great recipes that are sugar free and grain free. Mark's Daily Apple is a good one. Google Paleo or Primal and you can find many of them. If you are on FB, there is a page called 'Just Eat Real Food' that has some great recipes.

Once you can get your head around the fact that you CAN do it, then you can finds so many ways to make it possible. It becomes easier the more you do it. In the beginning I had to be very strict in my planning and choices, but I am to the point now that I can sometimes go all day without preplanning my foods and think that I am surely over my limits, but when I enter it all, I am usually right on target. It has become second nature to me to choose the right foods in the right amounts.

Like you, I am very sensitive to sugar, and I can stay under my calorie goal, but if I eat something with processed sugar and flour in it, then it will put the brakes on my weight loss for up to a week. I know that doesn't jive with science, but it is just how my body reacts to sugar and simple processed carbs.
And another benefit of sugar and grain free, my arthritis and back pain has improved dramatically. Sugar and grains can be very inflammatory for some people, and eliminating them can reduce inflammation and pain tremendously. Once you start feeling better, then that is even more motivation to continue on.

BTW, my macros have evolved over the past 8 months to where I am now at 50%Healthy fat/30%Protein/20%Carbs.
Sounds crazy to have that high of a fat percentage, but it really does work for me and for many others with similar issues.

You can do this. Do it now, before it gets worse. You and your family deserve a healthier you!