Best Macro ratios for weight loss when insulin resistant

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  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Jeffy80922 wrote: »
    Tried making it clear in my post that I AM NO LONGER FOLLOWING AN ATKINS DIET PLAN...but I guess some of the people who have responded to my initial post have not read that far. I really appreciate the responses though, but no longer doing Atkins. Using Harris Benedict equation to get my maintenance calories and using a per day 538 calorie deficit to lose a projected 5lbs in 30 days. My question, once again, is more centered around what my macros should be (particularly as it relates to carbs) on a weight loss diet for a person that is insulin resistant (diabetic or pre-diabetic)????

    The LCHF like Atkins will benefit almost all people who are insulin resistant. My advice is stick to what worked for you. If you go back to the same macros that led to your insulin resistance and weight gain, chances are you will get the same result. If you stick with the diet that improved your health, chances are it will lead to continued good health.
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sorry you're diabetic now? You said insulin resistance in first post

    Insulin resistance can manifest in a number of ways including T2D, prediabetes, NAFLD, PCOS, and some dementia.
  • neohdiver
    neohdiver Posts: 738 Member
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    Jeffy80922 wrote: »
    Thank you so much for that feedback. This is one of the best and informative responses I've received. I do have a blood glucose meter and was prescribed to take Metformin also, but since losing 25lbs my blood glucose levels have remained in a healthy range and I have stopped taking Metformin to avoid having my blood sugar go too low. I guess the main part of my question was essentially, because I have been diagnosed as diabetic, should I reduce my carb macro percentage in order to lose weight on a consistent basis. In terms of exercise, I'm very active...burning up to as much as 2000 to 2400 calories per week. Based on the feedback that I have received, I've decided to change my weight loss calories and macros to: 2000 net carbs a day with macros of P/40, C/20, and F/40.

    Metformin will not make your blood sugar go too low, absent an underlying health problem other than diabetes. The diabetic risk for hypoglycemia in Type 2 diabetes comes when you address insulin insufficiency either by adding insulin to the mix or by using a drug that forces your pancreas to produce insulin without regard to whether you have consumed carbs. Metformin solely addresses insulin resistance, and decreasing your insulin resistance will not cause a hypo.

    Losing weight (until you are in the normal range for your height) is a good thing. It may, or may not, change your insulin resistance. For many, if not most, people with diabetes weight has less impact on control of blood glucose than avoiding eating foods that cause it to spike - typically carbs.

    When you say your blood glucose is remaining in the healthy range, when are you measuring it (and are you comparing it to the range prescribed for diabetics (< 180 2 hours after eating), or normal for people without diabetes (it's more complex, but one measure is that it never over 140, even after eating). To find out if your blood glucose is truly normal, you would need to be testing over a period of time (at least a week or two), eating normally. Test before your first bite, at 1 hour, and at 2 hours and (if hour 2 is higher than hour 1) at 3 hours. Also test your waking blood glucose (that should be below 100).

    As to your macros, 100 grams of carbs a day would be more than I could eat without elevating my blood glucose out of the normal range. But once you're eating that - test your blood glucose and see. That's the only way you'll know whether you've got the mix that works for your body.
  • Jeffy80922
    Jeffy80922 Posts: 7 Member
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    Wow neohdiver, that was some awesome advice and very helpful. I will follow what you said and see how things work. But it all made sense to me!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Jeffy80922 wrote: »
    Wow neohdiver, that was some awesome advice and very helpful. I will follow what you said and see how things work. But it all made sense to me!

    If you are interested in trying low carb then join the Low Carber Daily. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group There are a number of us there controlling insulin resistance with diet.

    Best wishes.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Jeffy80922 wrote: »
    Wow neohdiver, that was some awesome advice and very helpful. I will follow what you said and see how things work. But it all made sense to me!

    Great that you are listening to someone with sensible advice :)
  • eliasfuhrmler
    eliasfuhrmler Posts: 4 Member
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    I am insulin resistant as well. I don't see contemporary doctors who use western medicine as my wife is a certified herbalist and clinician as well as a nutritionist. I have found much success in sticking to a diet that lingers between the paleo and the ketogenic diet and I do three days of HIIT per week, three days of weight lifting. I try not to count calories, carbs, protein, etc., but I find that this app helps...a lot. With this app, I don't have to pay TOO much attention. I keep a very regular diet and I sure as hell notice when I have eaten something I knew I shouldn't have. I can't eat any carbs before bed or my heart is pounding and I get a lot of anxiety and I can't sleep. Its not so bad during the day, but it still happens. I just, straight up, stay away from carbs and sugar. All of our bodies are different, and what works for me might not work for you. I would suggest taking a chromium supplement. Chromium has been shown, in specific studies, to assist in processing insulin and therefore, weight loss in individuals with insulin resistance. I take 600 mcg daily. 400 in the morning after breakfast and 200 in the afternoon after lunch. I am not a fan of pharmaceuticals and will suggest to all of you taking Metformin to see an herbalist or naturopath and replace it with chromium, diet and exercise. Thats all I've got, ladies. Good luck!!!
  • skinnybean52
    skinnybean52 Posts: 1 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Sugar and simple carbs cause insulin resistance and diabetes, NOT FAT.

    If you ate high fat, low carb and low protein, your insulin resistance would likely be cured. Just because insulin is a hormone for storing fat, doesn't mean fat caused it. Bombarding your system with too many sugars and simple carbs (which are quickly converted to sugars) put way too much GLUCOSE into your blood stream, which spikes the insulin, which tells the cells to store the GLUCOSE as fat. When you bombard your cells with that much insulin from eating way too many sugars and simple carbs over time, your cells become resistant to the insulin telling them to store the glucose as fat; thus, leaving the glucose in your blood and resulting in high blood sugar, a/k/a pre-diabetes. And if you have ANY AMOUNT of insulin in your blood stream, your body will not release fat because it's already freaking out about how much sugar is in your bloodstream and is still trying to get it stored into your cells as fat. If your body is dead set on putting fat into your cells (which is what all that insulin is doing) it's certainly not going to be releasing the fat. I mean, that would be like trying to swim upstream in white water rapids. You have too much sugar in your blood to burn fat. Thus, you MUST ELIMINATE ALL INSULIN by eliminating sugars and simple carbs and by not eating too many complex carbs either.

    If you want to combat insulin resistance, stop eating any carbohydrates that are not plant based (and wheat is not considered plant-based). I'm talking no crackers, no breads, no cereals and absolutely no sugary candies. The moment one of these foods gets digested you've already lost the game. Your cells won't release the fat because they'll be ordered to store fat by the insulin those carbs just produced. So for one, if you're going to eat a carb, you should eat a vegetable (or a fruit, but I wouldn't recommend fruits until you're maintaining weight because why? Fruits are SUGAR!).

    And to make sure your body doesn't produce the insulin that will inhibit it from burning your fat off, you need to eat more fats and proteins than you're eating carbs. And if you really want to break that plateau, eat 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs (vegetables) (I mean 50 g of carbs per day, or less) and you're body won't be able to produce the insulin. After a few days (or weeks if your super saturated in glycogen, etc.) your body will switch to fat burning and it will just melt away! (10% Protein because when trying to burn fat with insulin resistance, eating too much protein that isn't immediately metabolized can be reduced to a type of sugar, therein producing insulin, therein preventing fat loss.)

    I have this condition and I'm following my own advice based on my doctor's advice and research. Good luck!
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
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    skinnybean52 wrote: »
    Sugar and simple carbs cause insulin resistance and diabetes, NOT FAT.

    If you ate high fat, low carb and low protein, your insulin resistance would likely be cured. Just because insulin is a hormone for storing fat, doesn't mean fat caused it. Bombarding your system with too many sugars and simple carbs (which are quickly converted to sugars) put way too much GLUCOSE into your blood stream, which spikes the insulin, which tells the cells to store the GLUCOSE as fat. When you bombard your cells with that much insulin from eating way too many sugars and simple carbs over time, your cells become resistant to the insulin telling them to store the glucose as fat; thus, leaving the glucose in your blood and resulting in high blood sugar, a/k/a pre-diabetes. And if you have ANY AMOUNT of insulin in your blood stream, your body will not release fat because it's already freaking out about how much sugar is in your bloodstream and is still trying to get it stored into your cells as fat. If your body is dead set on putting fat into your cells (which is what all that insulin is doing) it's certainly not going to be releasing the fat. I mean, that would be like trying to swim upstream in white water rapids. You have too much sugar in your blood to burn fat. Thus, you MUST ELIMINATE ALL INSULIN by eliminating sugars and simple carbs and by not eating too many complex carbs either.

    If you want to combat insulin resistance, stop eating any carbohydrates that are not plant based (and wheat is not considered plant-based). I'm talking no crackers, no breads, no cereals and absolutely no sugary candies. The moment one of these foods gets digested you've already lost the game. Your cells won't release the fat because they'll be ordered to store fat by the insulin those carbs just produced. So for one, if you're going to eat a carb, you should eat a vegetable (or a fruit, but I wouldn't recommend fruits until you're maintaining weight because why? Fruits are SUGAR!).

    And to make sure your body doesn't produce the insulin that will inhibit it from burning your fat off, you need to eat more fats and proteins than you're eating carbs. And if you really want to break that plateau, eat 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs (vegetables) (I mean 50 g of carbs per day, or less) and you're body won't be able to produce the insulin. After a few days (or weeks if your super saturated in glycogen, etc.) your body will switch to fat burning and it will just melt away! (10% Protein because when trying to burn fat with insulin resistance, eating too much protein that isn't immediately metabolized can be reduced to a type of sugar, therein producing insulin, therein preventing fat loss.)

    I have this condition and I'm following my own advice based on my doctor's advice and research. Good luck!

    Everything you said is wrong
  • mcdonaldkarin
    mcdonaldkarin Posts: 4 Member
    edited August 2017
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    @FunkyTobias in what way wrong?
    https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM

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