Insulin Resistance and carbs.

I've found that low carb isn't as important as cutting out refined carbs. Also, upping protein helps. But to be sure, I would talk to your DR or a nutritionist to find out how much of what you should be eating.

Read about The Zone diet by Barry Sears. I am IR and while I don't stick to it perfectly it taught me a lot about good carbs, fat & protein. Too little carbs will make you feel terrible, aim for about 30g carbs 20g protein & 10g fat for each meal. Never eat more than 30g of carbs in one sitting. HTH

You may want to join this group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/529-diabetes-prediabetes-and-insulin-resistance

The key to keeping blood sugar low is to eat often and eat non-processed foods. You want your body to do the processing, not a manufacturing company. So no matter what diet you follow, you need to eat every 3hrs- 3 balanced meals, and snacks in between.

I eat a high fiber (carbs) and high protein diet. The plan that taught me about nutrition and blood sugar spikes is Food Lover's. It really does teach you about the proper portions and proper food combinations to keep blood sugar from spiking.

It's great for diabetics. And the more whole- non-processed foods you eat, the better!!!


Hope you get it fogured out!!

HUGS
Jo

i eat 20 grams of carbs a day. feel free to add me!

I have PCOS with insulin resistance. I can honestly tell you that as long as you stay on your meds (usually metformin) and exercise, it doesn't make too much of a difference, I don't even count my carbs. It was really interesting too because I actually don't stay on my metformin consistently (I did at the beginning and lost 10 lbs off the bat) because of the side effects, but when I got my yearly bloodtest my insulin was drastically improved just from my eating and exercise habits. With insulin resistance, I think there will always be more of a struggle than normal people, but if you are doing the right stuff you can lose easier. I don't count my carbs and I'm still losing at a great rate! Good luck!

The key to keeping blood sugar low is to eat often and eat non-processed foods. You want your body to do the processing, not a manufacturing company. So no matter what diet you follow, you need to eat every 3hrs- 3 balanced meals, and snacks in between.

That is not necessarily true, each person's hunger pangs dont come like clock-work so there are no rules as far as "you need to eat every three hours"...

ya i agree with this.

eat when you're hungry! the clock doesn't mean anything.

Exactly.... with a proper balance of foods, and you get really good at making sure the variety is consistent, how soon you get hungry shouldnt be over-active to the point you need to eat every three hours (or any pattern). If you feel the need to eat every three hours, well, it might be an indicator of someone not getting the right balance, unless you have a high BMR and are targeting your TDEE-cut.

I eat only when I know its a true signal for hunger...the clock has absolutely no meaning whatsoever.

"Insulin resistant" means your organs and systems don't respond correctly to the signal sent to them by elevated insulin. This results in insulin tending to be persistently high as the systems "shout louder" by sending more insulin out to try to get your muscles to absorb more glucose from your blood, your fat cells to stop releasing energy from storage, your liver to stop making glucose etc etc.

Reducing carb intake will help by reducing the glucose load your putting on the system - if something is broke then stressing it less can only be a good thing.

Losing weight, and exercising including resistance training, can help the insulin resistance too.

I belonged to in infertility support group a while back, where many of the women were insulin resistant. Quite a few of them followed a book called The Insulin Resistant Diet Book (my endocrinologist recommend it to me too). It's not a diet really, more of a healthy way to eat. It explains how often you should eat, and how to have a healthy balance of protein and carbs. It emphasizes staying away from processed foods and has some good recipes in it. Maybe you're doctor has heard of it and can recommend it?

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.