Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, Pre-diabetes, PCOS

FitFoodieMomBillie · February 2014

Those of you that are insulin resistant... have metabolic syndrome or are diagnosed with pre-diabetes or PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)....are you SUCCESSFULLY controlling your condition through diet and exercise? (without medication)

If so, what types of foods have you found that assist you in this?

What foods do you avoid?

How often do you eat, work out, etc?

Have you found that eating particular types of foods together help, or eating certain types of foods at certain points in the day help?

Just looking for more relief than I have now. I'm off meds, but not always stable.

Thanks in advance!

GlucernaBrand · February 2014

It's great that you've made changes and are off meds. Each person is different, which is why it's important to figure out which foods and type of exercise works the best for you. In general, often a Mediterranean-style diet combined with some type of daily activity for 30-60 minutes is effective, but again tweak it to get the results you want. ~Lynn /Glucerna

Carnivor0us · February 2014

I am insulin resistant and have had PCOS for years. I control it entirely through (and mainly) diet and (some) exercise. With this condition, diet is far more important.

I eat a mostly ketogenic diet, on most days. At the very least, I eat low carb. I've had to learn via process of elimination which carbohydrates I can and cannot eat by using a blood glucose meter.

Foods that assist me:

meat
offal
seafood
eggs
fatty dairy
greens like spinach
various oils

foods that I can eat sometimes in measured amounts:

lentils
peas
fruits
rice
ice cream
milk
potatoes

foods that are very unhelpful to my condition and are thus avoided:

non-diet sodas
waffles
toast
pancakes
syrup
cake
bread
pizza
pasta

I have found that specific eating times neither contribute or detract from the control of my condition. When I do work out, I do about 20 minutes of brisk cardio followed by weight training.

FitFoodieMomBillie · February 2014

Thanks Carnivor0us... I feel like I am doing a lot of that stuff already; maybe I am missing something?

I LOVE fruits, and sometimes have a hard time saying no to them (it's like they are a drug, lol) I try to keep it to no more than a serving or two per day, and have learned to have them with a protein or green tea or cinnamon.

Milk seems to be strange. Everything I have read suggests that whole milk would be better for my situation, but it makes me feel so much worse than drinking fat free or even 2% milk. This is even when having organic pasture raised cow milk. I wonder why this is if fat is supposed to be better for us with insulin resistance than fat free versions?

I have been reading Your Personal Paleo Code (which doesn't preach Paleo, but rather helps you find your best eating style to really suit your needs.) and the writer suggests (for metabolic issues such as IR, Diabetes, PCOS) macros such as 10-15% carb, about 1g per pound of body weight of protein and the remainder should be healthy fat sources.

Does this seem to line up with what you have been doing?

lindsey1979 · February 2014

Thanks Carnivor0us... I feel like I am doing a lot of that stuff already; maybe I am missing something?

I LOVE fruits, and sometimes have a hard time saying no to them (it's like they are a drug, lol) I try to keep it to no more than a serving or two per day, and have learned to have them with a protein or green tea or cinnamon.

Milk seems to be strange. Everything I have read suggests that whole milk would be better for my situation, but it makes me feel so much worse than drinking fat free or even 2% milk. This is even when having organic pasture raised cow milk. I wonder why this is if fat is supposed to be better for us with insulin resistance than fat free versions?

I have been reading Your Personal Paleo Code (which doesn't preach Paleo, but rather helps you find your best eating style to really suit your needs.) and the writer suggests (for metabolic issues such as IR, Diabetes, PCOS) macros such as 10-15% carb, about 1g per pound of body weight of protein and the remainder should be healthy fat sources.

Does this seem to line up with what you have been doing?

That's pretty much what I've been doing. I eat a Primal diet (version of Paleo that's more permissive depending on what you can tolerate) and aim for 50-85 g of carbs per day (but this includes fiber, so NET effective is probably a little lower). I've got a thyroid condition as well (Hashi's), but I couldn't lose weight with diet and exercise alone. I had literally been eating this way at a daily deficit of more than 700 calories just to maintain my weight -- when for "normal" people, that would have be a 1.5 lbs loss per week.

I finally found the right specialist and that's how both the Hashi's and insulin resistance were diagnosed (I expected the thyroid issue, but insulin resistance was a surprise). So, perhaps if I just had insulin resistance, the low-carb Primal thing and exercise would have been enough. Hard to say.

I started on metformin 3 weeks ago to help with the insulin resistance and am hoping to take off the 30 lbs or so I have to lose and hoping at that point to not need it anymore. Since I have Hashi's, the insulin resistance is likely secondary and caused by the longterm non-treatment of Hashi's. So, my doc says it's likely (though not guaranteed) that once we reset my insulin sensitivity with metformin and take of the weight (the diet and exercise part I've already got down), that I won't need it anymore so long as I continue to treat Hashi's.

For exercise, I also lift heavy (barbell work doing squats, presses, bench, deadlift, etc. -- starting strength program), walk a lot (20+ miles/week), a session or two of Bikram per week and do weekly sprints. I think this helps with the insulin resistance issue as well rather than just a whole lot of cardio.

soupandlettuce · February 2014

Hey, sounds so much like my situation. I have pcos, hashis and metabolic syndrome (very stubborn belly fat). The pcos caused infertility for years and my hashis is just being treated. I also developed RA which also sucks, but it's just another autoimmune condition like hashimotos anyway. Plus loads of food sensitivities.

I couldn't lose weight even on 700-900 cals a day! I knew it was unhealthy, but after a month I knew something was wrong so I am now on meds for the thyroid and at last I am losing like a normal person.

I have a history of diabetes in my family, and I was on insulin for gestational diabetes too - taking insulin shots 4x. A day and timing all meals sucks big time! I developed pcos and infertility after my pregnancies, but I am just on borderline of prediabetes according to fasting blood sugar and a1c tests. I am trying very hard to avoid diabetes, I am slowly getting to a healthy weight and according to my nutritionist should be on the slightly leaner side to be healthy- she suggested 115lbs for my height of 5'1", I was aiming for 125 and didn't want to go that low but let's see.

I have given up gluten (it has links with thyroid problems) and milk. A lot of skin and digestive issues cleared up as a result and joint pain reduced a lot. My blood sugars are just getting on the healthy side. I loved eating my bread and pasta but love being healthy more! Nowadays I eat more protein, fats and vegetables less rice and fruit, even less added sugar.

I just need to exercise more frequently, my weight and other health issues are getting under control at last (acanthosis Nigricans on underarm and neck- all signs of insulin resistance have disappeared).

Good luck to us all on the road to health.

nanadeek · March 2014

Bump! I have PCOS w/insulin resistance and I'm also interested to hear what others are doing. Keep up the good work all!

Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, Pre-diabetes, PCOS

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