Insulin resistant women over 40?
abundantlyme
Posts: 44 Member
Hi everyone - I'm 43 and determined to get my health back! I'm insulin resistant which makes it more of a challenge, but I've been trying different things to reverse that, with varying levels of success. I started on keto a few months ago and initially lost some weight but then stalled for over a month. My endocrinologist suggested keto is too much fat for me, and that I need to focus on fewer calories but stay low carb. Now, I'm just tracking here in my food diary and sticking to my guidelines but would REALLY love to hear from any of you who have managed to successfully lose weight and reverse insulin resistance, at a similar age to me, and how you did it.
Thank you!!
Thank you!!
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Hm. I'm 40. Several years ago I reversed prediabetes on a low carb diet (that was actually Dukan, which was low carb/low fat/high protein since I didn't really know about LCHF at the time). I'm keto now (loving keto/LCHF!) and prediabetes has stayed away. I do have PCOS and have symptoms of insulin resistance. My blood work is great and I lost the weight I wanted to on keto but not sure if the IR has changed since I don't think my dr tested that specifically. (She checked my insulin but one of the smart people here--DragonWolf or KnitOrMiss, IIRC--told me about other tests she would've needed to do to actually test insulin resistance.)
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Ok, thanks for your insight. I loved the keto foods but was so frustrated not losing any weight and kept seeing MEN and younger women successful with it. Glad to know you were successful!3
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My understanding was that if you have insulin resistance issues, that LCHF is better for you in general but I don't know specifics or what might cause exceptions other than the general "everyone's different so experiment and see what works for you." That sounds frustrating though!
Hope you're able to find a breakthrough! 2 -
Sounds like your doc may be unecessarily weary of fat.
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I was a few years younger than you when I discovered I was prediabetic. I am now 43.
It REALLY helped with my postprandial (meal) BG readings. My after food readings are always below a 6. It did not help at all with my fasting/morning BG readings. Those went down while I was losing (I lost about 40lbs) but as soon as I stopped they went back up.
I mainly followed Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It's a great book for normalizing BG. I recommend it. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living helped me too. Jimmy Moore's books were good too.
I also liked Peter Attia's blogs. Science in bite sized chunks.
I agree that your doctor still sounds a bit fat phobic. One of those who suggests lean meat with healthy fats... Not sure where they think the healthy fats are. IMO, healthy fats are usually paired with healthy whole foods. LOL
My endo told me to eat more fruits and veggies, and more lean meats. I tried that. I gained 20 more pounds and my IR got no better. I did the opposite of that advice and I lost 40 lbs and mostly have my IR under control.
I would take some tape measurements and stay patient. Sometimes in the woe people lose inches before, or instead of, pounds. Pictures can help too. Who know, maybe you've been shrinking in some areas, like the arms or rib cage, and you just haven't noticed it yet.
Welcome to the group.3 -
Thank you! I appreciate all of the insight. I've read so many books, blogs, listened to so many podcasts...I feel like I know what to do, I just want it to work!! Maybe the trick is patience. And measurements.1
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@abundantlyme , would you mind giving your height?0
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I was a few years younger than you when I discovered I was prediabetic. I am now 43.
It REALLY helped with my postprandial (meal) BG readings. My after food readings are always below a 6. It did not help at all with my fasting/morning BG readings. Those went down while I was losing (I lost about 40lbs) but as soon as I stopped they went back up.
I mainly followed Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It's a great book for normalizing BG. I recommend it. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living helped me too. Jimmy Moore's books were good too.
I also liked Peter Attia's blogs. Science in bite sized chunks.
I agree that your doctor still sounds a bit fat phobic. One of those who suggests lean meat with healthy fats... Not sure where they think the healthy fats are. IMO, healthy fats are usually paired with healthy whole foods. LOL
My endo told me to eat more fruits and veggies, and more lean meats. I tried that. I gained 20 more pounds and my IR got no better. I did the opposite of that advice and I lost 40 lbs and mostly have my IR under control.
I would take some tape measurements and stay patient. Sometimes in the woe people lose inches before, or instead of, pounds. Pictures can help too. Who know, maybe you've been shrinking in some areas, like the arms or rib cage, and you just haven't noticed it yet.
Welcome to the group.
Thanks for posting this! When I had my annual blood work done last year, my fasting blood sugar came back at 107. Triglycerides and bad cholesterol were elevated and good cholesterol was low. My doctor told me to do low carb low fat and told me to come back in April. Stressed eating lots of fruits and veggies and trying to lose weight. No change whatsoever from October to Dec 31. Started LCHF and have dropped 14 pounds (as of this morning!) since Jan 1. Fasting blood sugar is still over 100, sometimes as high as 115, but I'm hoping that as I lose more weight it will begin to regulate itself. After meal blood sugars are in normal range.
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I'm there with you, but older by a few years and perimenaupausal. I've been steadily losing weight since September after I replaced my morning breakfast with bulletproof coffee and 2 eggs. If I don't go out in the mornings on weekends, I wait a few hours after I've been up to break my fast with a bp coffee, and then for lunch I have a veggie/fruit/protein powder smoothie.
I was diagnosed in July, and started the above in early September, so don't know yet how I'm doing blood wise. My next visit to the doctor is coming up, so I'm anxious to see what the results will show this time. Having said that, I had already been eating low-carb (for the most part) for quite a while when I was tested last summer, without success at losing weight, or having better blood readings despite walking 1 hr a day and lifting weights (for one year). Something had to give, and I came across information about intermittent fasting at the same time. One of the reasons why it has worked for me so far: the cravings for carbs are gone. If I get hungry between meals, a spoon of nut butter or a handful of nuts will tide me over.
Oh, before I forget, I also started monitoring my blood sugars this winter which has been enlighthening in itself. The brown rice the nutritionist was counselling me to eat to raises my sugars. That conversation did not end well when I pointed it out to her and I could prove it.2 -
I did not have long term success on keto. I'm working my way back now. But with working to lower insulin resistance (among my other issues), I stalled out my thyroid each time I buckled down to hard keto. It is likely that it was as much due to nutrient deficiencies (from the "fortified" foods I'd dropped but not focused on replacing vital nutrients) that caused cascading failure as it was due to my lowered insulin levels, which actually tell your thyroid to work...
I also have found along the way that my issue seems to be AS related to cellular energy resistance (meaning ALL sources coming into the cells, including ketones), as to insulin resistance. However, I can tell you that after being keto with good compliance for 18 months, when I went back to a lower carb but still more SAD diet due to a number of factors, my carb sensitivity was shot. I reacted to carbs in a way I hadn't in ages. As a result, I'm back on Glucophage/Metformin, and I can see appreciable differences.
However, there is a GREAT thread going on right now for the fact that your seeming insulin resistance might be related to something else. I don't have the link readily available, but @cstehansen had been told he was T2D, and that was caused by insulin resistance, but a recent round of testing shows that he actually isn't IR, but there are more issues of cortisol and other messes at play.
I wish you luck. I'm going to try to share more info next week, but I'm working hard to NOT catch the bug going around work right now and not feeling my best. Please let me know any specific questions you have.
Btw, I'm 5'4", 40 years old, currently 282. Lowest weight on keto was 239 before my thyroid stalled out on me, and that was April 2015. I'm still fighting to regain my full thyroid and insulin health levels before I work on losing weight again...but my overall health is doing far better than any other time I've been this heavy. But I'm still swinging. There are a veritable ton of threads in the sticky post about all of this mess.
Best of luck.2 -
@Sunny_Bunny_ - Can you link the Tuit Nutrition Article here that talks about why you might not lose weight on keto?0
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I am one of those people that has to count calories and eat below 1300 a day to see my weight move. I don't know how long you have been keto but it took me 6-7 weeks to start feeling better and now (at least for the past three-four) days my hunger is gone.
I am 5'3 and 147lbs (lost 10 with Keto diet starting on Jan1) and 49. The minute I get lazy and don't count and measure calories I stop losing weight. But I have also limited dairy to one-two measured servings, and a half a serving of almonds. I rarely drink my wine these days either
, though I could but felt like it was staling the weight loss.
Also, don't eat so much fat if you aren't hungry, they (the expert bloggers) all say that you only need to eat a ton of fat if you are really hungry. I rarely hit my target, but I do have a fat or two with each meal (lunch and dinner) with an avocado or nuts for snack.
I was miserable until a few days ago, always thinking about food and feeling starving and deprived, constant headaches (I don't want to hear about dehydration and depleted magnesium levels-I over do salt and my natural calm). I think I must have become fat adapted because now I am not hungry or if I am, it is pretty manageable!! So my point, hang in there, count your calories, eat HEALTHY foods, try to go to the gym and you will see results.
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chubbychickruns wrote: »I was a few years younger than you when I discovered I was prediabetic. I am now 43.
It REALLY helped with my postprandial (meal) BG readings. My after food readings are always below a 6. It did not help at all with my fasting/morning BG readings. Those went down while I was losing (I lost about 40lbs) but as soon as I stopped they went back up.
I mainly followed Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It's a great book for normalizing BG. I recommend it. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living helped me too. Jimmy Moore's books were good too.
I also liked Peter Attia's blogs. Science in bite sized chunks.
I agree that your doctor still sounds a bit fat phobic. One of those who suggests lean meat with healthy fats... Not sure where they think the healthy fats are. IMO, healthy fats are usually paired with healthy whole foods. LOL
My endo told me to eat more fruits and veggies, and more lean meats. I tried that. I gained 20 more pounds and my IR got no better. I did the opposite of that advice and I lost 40 lbs and mostly have my IR under control.
I would take some tape measurements and stay patient. Sometimes in the woe people lose inches before, or instead of, pounds. Pictures can help too. Who know, maybe you've been shrinking in some areas, like the arms or rib cage, and you just haven't noticed it yet.
Welcome to the group.
Thanks for posting this! When I had my annual blood work done last year, my fasting blood sugar came back at 107. Triglycerides and bad cholesterol were elevated and good cholesterol was low. My doctor told me to do low carb low fat and told me to come back in April. Stressed eating lots of fruits and veggies and trying to lose weight. No change whatsoever from October to Dec 31. Started LCHF and have dropped 14 pounds (as of this morning!) since Jan 1. Fasting blood sugar is still over 100, sometimes as high as 115, but I'm hoping that as I lose more weight it will begin to regulate itself. After meal blood sugars are in normal range.
Wow. Congrats. That at least a couple pounds per week.
Yeah. Fruits and veggies are healthful foods. Lots of great nutrition there but those of us with IR do not need more of them.
Of course then again, pritkin's diet, which is high carb and low fat will work to reverse IR in many too. I just think a diet like that is hard to do. Lots of carbs without processed and refined carbs is a LOT of volume in food. And fibre. I would be very unhappy with that. LOL
If you retest your lipids and all in a few months, keep us updated on how your numbers changed. My guess is HDL will rise and triglycerides will fall (unless you are still losing rapidly).2 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »@Sunny_Bunny_ - Can you link the Tuit Nutrition Article here that talks about why you might not lose weight on keto?
Here is the LCD post I made with the link to the blog where Amy Berger discusses the usual suspects for not losing weight on keto in part 1 of the blog post, but I linked part 2 because those are things that may need to be considered when you're doing everything right in part 1.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10485009/blog-post-discussing-why-you-might-not-be-losing-weight-on-low-carb-or-keto-not-the-usual-suspects1 -
@abundantlyme I am post menopausal and IR. I began keto about 4 months ago. Really focusing on it the last month. One thing I have found that has helped me is to focus on my macros that I got from a FB group "Optimal Ketogenic Living" According to your height your macros would be; Protein: 91grams, Fat: 68, NET Cho: 23. The protein is a daily goal you should eat (you can eat more), NET Cho is a limit and Fat is adjusted depending on your goals (lower for weight loss, medium for maintenance, higher for weight gain) Your range for fat is 68 to 159. So keep your fat at least 10 less than your protein (80). Then if not losing after a month, lower fat to 70, but don't go below 60 (for hormonal health). Give your body at least a month to see what happens. It takes a while for your body to heal. Also, I would suggest not eating a lot (or any) "low carb" foods like Atkins bars. The sugar alcohols can sometimes be a culprit in stalling weight loss. Keep it simple: meat, fat, non starchy veggies. Hope this helps.3
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I was insulin resistant pre Diabeties in may and am not now. 40 years old lost 66 pounds. I do low carb cut out sugar and wheat , potatoes and eat 3 meals an's evening snack if I want it. ive been eating stuff i dont normally over last week with vacationa nd now im sick but most of tje time it holds true eating at meal times was advised to me so that I wasn't constantly spiking insulin with snacks....working for me.3
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@abundantlyme I am post menopausal and IR. I began keto about 4 months ago. Really focusing on it the last month. One thing I have found that has helped me is to focus on my macros that I got from a FB group "Optimal Ketogenic Living" According to your height your macros would be; Protein: 91grams, Fat: 68, NET Cho: 23. The protein is a daily goal you should eat (you can eat more), NET Cho is a limit and Fat is adjusted depending on your goals (lower for weight loss, medium for maintenance, higher for weight gain) Your range for fat is 68 to 159. So keep your fat at least 10 less than your protein (80). Then if not losing after a month, lower fat to 70, but don't go below 60 (for hormonal health). Give your body at least a month to see what happens. It takes a while for your body to heal. Also, I would suggest not eating a lot (or any) "low carb" foods like Atkins bars. The sugar alcohols can sometimes be a culprit in stalling weight loss. Keep it simple: meat, fat, non starchy veggies. Hope this helps.
I wonder whether there would be a variance of macros according to the age of a person. I'm guessing that an older woman like me would stick to the lowest end of the macro scale. I've been watching my carbs so intently, I haven't paid much attention to protein and lately have been only hitting the 50s in protein grams. I don't suppose that's passable. Meat fills me up quickly, and now I'm trying to think of something to hike protein w/o adding carbs. The chart is quite helpful, though, so thank you.1 -
@wozy46, According to the OKL chart (which I follow and is based on gender and height) your macros would not be affected by your age. You would adjust your fat macros downward (but not less than 60 grams) to facilitate weight loss. It makes a huge difference to make sure you eat the suggested amount of protein for your height. You can even go over by 50% if needed (for instance if you have lifting days) and of course cabs need to stay at/below 25NET to remain in ketosis. I usually have to have a protein shake for a meal, normally breakfast, to meet my protein macros. Meet fills me up too, but I am determined to meet that goal, so the shakes really help. The rest of my meals have meat. Hope this helps 1
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I don't know what insulin resistance is, but I was 70lbs heavier and pre-diabetic at 38 (4 years ago). My Dad is one of 11 siblings and they all got T2 diabetes. It killed my Dad last July.
I still have about 25lbs to go, and I lose painfully slowly, like 1 - 2 lb a month but at nearly 43 I have a clean bill of health from the Doc, no sign of diabetes or anything else.3 -
That is excellent, @EbonyDahlia !It takes a lot of courage and determination to make such a life change. I am sorry to hear about your dad. You are on the right track. Insulin resistance is also known as Metabolic Syndrome, or pre-diabetes. Usually start seeing rising fasting BG labwork, high cholesterol, weight gain, belly getting larger (especially in relation to the rest of the body) just to name a few. Good luck on losing the rest 0
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