Insulin Resistance
 

I'm wondering if anyone here has any information on insulin resistance.

I have had medical problems for the past 16 years and [B]finally[B] have been diagnosed with insulin resistance. I, like most people, assumed that insulin resistance is caused by being overweight.

Well, I have learned that this is not the case. Insulin resistance actually causes us to gain weight because we can't secrete the excess insulin in our bodies and it gets stored as fat.

Additionally, several recent studies of people of normal weight shows that many of them have insulin resistance. So obviously they didn't get IR because they were overweight.

I guess what this has done for me is to help me understand that IR is a medical problem, not an eating problem. What a relief, in a way.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has IR and if they have any information on the topic.

I have insulin resistance. I also have PCOS. The two often go hand in hand (I think they worked out that insulin resistance was the cause of PCOS about 10 years ago, before that they focused on the cysts aspect).

My endo thinks that I probably always had it (my reaction to carbs has always been quite weird) and then in my early 20s I gave up on dieting (I was always hungry) and just ate and I gained 50 pounds in about 3 months. It's a vicious circle, the weight gain part of it, the more weight you gain, the worst it gets but it's really hard to lose weight.

Not sure what else to add but I have to eat low carb to manage hunger and to have any hope of losing weight. So you're in the right place :)

I have insulin resistance too!

It was very hard for me to lose weight. It's been a slow process and the thing with IR, it's very trial and error.

If you're going to doctors, they may already have you on medication or have told you that your IR is "mild" enough to treat with diet and exercise.

Diet and exercise are critical for IR, because your pancreas is still working well enough (although not as perfect a healthy one) and by changing your diet you're helping it work more efficiently.

So, that means, finding out which foods increase your blood sugar. Usually, it's all the crappy carbs (as I call them) and then you'll have to find out if some of the "healthier" carbs do the same thing to you.

Exercise helps, because it regulates the blood sugar in your blood, which helps the pancreas when it doesn't put the right amount of insulin in your blood stream. In a perfect world, you would go for a walk right after eating to help that balance. Weight training is also very useful because as you develop muscle, you can store some of that excess blood sugar in the form of glycogen in your muscles, rather than as fat.

AbaBee and Rana,

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, PCOS often goes hand in hand with IR. My one daughter has both. And you're right, it's been about 10 years now since doctors discovered that with PCOS, IR usually is the cause.

I have been reading scientific papers about IR for the past couple of weeks. I found the information on most of the major medical sites to be useless because it is not up-to-date and they are still saying that IR is caused by being overweight, not that being overweight can and often is caused by IR.

Additionally, they say there are no symptoms. What a crock! I have tons of symptoms. Do you gals? If so, what are your symptoms?

I have been exhausted for years and never knew why. Now I know! I discovered that if you have IR your cells don't open up to allow the glucose into them. No glucose in your cells no energy! So in other words, we don't have enough fuel to provide the energy we need to live well. Makes perfect ssense!

I also have fatty liver, high levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and weakened muscles, which is also because the cells in the muscles don't get enough fuel. Oh yes, and foggy brain! Can't think of any other symptoms right now because of darn 'foggy brain'!

I'd love to know what symptoms you have had and how you are dealing with them.

More later.

I think, for me, the biggest symptom is the craving for sugar/white bread/white rice/cookies/cakes, etc. (crappy carbs), and then the cycle of being hungry after eating them.

In fact, I finally went to the doctor to take care of this three or four years ago because I was eating lunch, then an hour later, I was hungry again, and my boyfriend would look at me and say, "I'm full. That was a big lunch. How can you possibly be hungry again?!" And he's a lot taller/bigger than I am!

I would whine I was still hungry and eat a slice of cake.

Then I would be starving for dinner.

When I finally cleaned up my eating, those crazy cravings were gone. I think with eating healthier and exercise, I did get my energy back, but I hadn't noticed it was gone. I think I can look back and say that I have more energy now.

I had plenty of symptoms...the brain fog, skin tags, dark skin (AN), extreme fatigue, PCOS symptoms, carb cravings, BAD cravings. This is probably weird but there is just this feeling I get when I know my insulin is off. It feels like blood rushing and light headedness. Hard to explain; but when my eating low carb and exercising is good I don't get it. But, if I get off plan more than my one cheat day its like I can feel my insulin start rising and I just don't feel right.

I'm also insulin resistant. There are some good books that explain the issues very well. I can't remember any specific titles, I just went to my local library and read what I could find (looking for books published in the last 5 years or so).

I'm also diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (also called syndrome x) which is characterized by a number of health issues including blood sugar issues such as insulin resistance, type II diabetes or "borderline" or pre-diabetes (where blood sugar numbers are just under the cut-off point for diabetes).

My doctor said that the best way to treat my IR and pre-diabetes (I've had some blood sugar readings in the diabetic range, but only a few times) was to treat it as if it were full-blown diabetes. The diabetic diet or a low-carb diet was the best way to go.

I really only seem to lose weight on fairly low-carb diets, unless I cut calories to impractical levels (I'm also extremely hungry on high-carb diets, so just in terms of hunger control it also makes sense to eat low-carb).

All of u described me to a T..especially Maggie2. Do u have a carb craving sometime in the afternoon where you would pull the wiskers off a kitten for a carb...chips, cookies, or a cold beer... whew, I do and they r getting worse. Never lost weight counting calories unless it was starvation.... I saw something on carb cycling...idk..sounds good..anyone tried it LATELY

I'm doing carb cycling. It is working well. Chris Powell trainer from Extreme Makeover diet edition has a carb cycling book out. I saw him on Dr Oz, but thought his plan has a lot of rules. I decided to choose rules that I could live with ;) and so far it is working!

Mariposssa, I would love any info you can share..I saw the dr oz thing as well but did not go any frther with my research... One thing I did read a while back I think on 3fc said a 40 min walk 6 days a week helps reverse this ??? I just ordered some sneakers and am on my way to walking daily again

Yep -- another PCOS/IR person.

I'm not sure what info you are seeking, but googling "insulin resistance" can help.

Before I knew what my dx was I felt all those things -- cravings, shaky, anxiety, cranky, brain fog... it all comes from mismanaged blood sugar.

Exercise can help burn extra insulin floating around in the system.

There's several video clips at youtube that animate/explain IR -- may be worth taking a peek.

A.

Rana and Mariposssa described my experiences to a T. I used to think I was developing an eating disorder because I was hungry all the time, I started eating secretly. Because yeah, when you eat a meal that would leave your sporty boyfriend in a food coma and you are still hungry an hour later, you definitely don't feel like a normal person. It did lead to bingeing for the sake of bingeing too, but now I know how to manage my IR that's reduced by like 95%.

My doctor prescribed metformin (the extended release version). It was good in that it stopped me being permanently hungry, but it hasn't really helped with weightloss and in some ways hinders it because when I eat low carb and take the 2000mg dose I feel crummy all the time. My GP has cut the dose to 1000mg and I feel much better so I'm going to speak to my specialist about this. I think now that I now that I'm happy doing low carb, the higher dose isn't necessary. But while he advocates lower carb, I don't think he's expecting most of his patients to be as low as I am.

I can totally relate to that feeling of knowing when things are out of wack that Mariposssa describes and I can trace that back all the way through my teens. As skinny little kid I could eat tonnes and tonnes of carbs (and wanted to and did) but it was like puberty made something snap and ended my ability to do so without gaining weight.

I hope you don't mind if I jump in.

I recently read [I]Wheat Belly[I] by William Davis, MD, a preventive cardiologist. In it he reveals what he's learned about our genetically modified, modern day wheat and what it does to us. One of the things he learned -- and forgive me because I don't know or remember the scientific terminology -- is the addictive quality of wheat and how it affects the same part of the brain that is affected by addictive illegal drugs and does it in the same way. So no wonder we're hungry for more of what triggers our addiction: wheat/bread/etc.

I went very low carb at the beginning of February to get my IR back under control. I have succeeded and also achieved a 66% drop in triglycerides and a 33% rise in HDL. My numbers are terrific, according to my doc, and my addiction is happily gone. My appetite is normal and I eat when I should, but all cravings are gone.

I've morphed from very low carb to glycemic load, going easy on high-sugar fruits and really starchy legumes. Weight loss has stalled for now, but my clothes keep getting looser. Eventually it will show up on the scale.

Here is a comment from Dr. Davis's blog: polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian cancer cannot be directly blamed on wheat consumption, but wheat does make the phenomenon, such as insulin resistance, surrounding polycystic ovaries worse.

Is it normal to flux weight, I have been following my diet with the rare taco here an there finally started going back to the gym after losing 42 almost 45 lbs almost now I gained 6 lbs in this day. I am sorry I am new and have been so proud.

Yep, I read his blog too and I do agree with his assessment.

I have been eliminating wheat from my diet (when I know it's there). When I travel, it's the worst, because I have less control over what I am eating (especially in business settings) but I have been more successful over time. I don't find that potatoes cause my IR to rise as much, but white rice is the WORST, after wheat-products.

I have had a history of night eating from time to time and let me tell ya if I have noodles or taters as the main ingredient at dinner I am starving at 2am!
The wheat belly sounds super intresting

I have long suspected I am insulin resistant. Lately I am constantly tired and irritable and I get the brain fogginess and inability to focus a lot. I've been eating low carb and while I feel a little less irritable I am still not losing weight.

Boy, Rana, can I relate to that. I've just learned something about cravings that I want to share with you all.

When my endo. explained that I have insulin resistance he also explained about cravings. Here's what he told me and it makes sense and not only that, I have seen it in my own life.

He said that our body craves carbs because we are starved for energy. Insulin is supposed to cause our cells to open up to allow glucose in. It is glucose that creates the energy we need to live. It is the fuel that runs our body.

When we are insulin resistant the cells do not respond to the insulin and that means we are not getting enough glucose in our cells so that our bodies can function properly. This causes a craving for carbs that is physical, not emotional in nature.

I always wondered why I found it almost impossible to resist those carb cravings. The reason they are so strong is that it is our physical body screaming for fuel! It has nothing to do with emotions or willpower!

And I know this is so. I was a Sprite junkie and would drink between 3 and 4 cans a day. Two nights ago I went to the fridge for a drink and thought I'd have a Sprite. Then I thought, naw, I'll just have water.

Next day I had a real epiphany. Once the metformin had a chance to get my cells to open up to let glucose in I have stopped craving carbs. It has had nothing to do with willpower at all. Those cravings were physical in nature and that's why they were so powerful.

I now have more energy, am not exhausted all the time and am losing some weight as well. So it's all good!

So if you are craving carbs, that's probably why. I can't believe the difference! So don't blame yourself, go ask your doctor if you can take some metformin to help the cells accept glucose and I think you'll find your carb cravings subside a lot.

And last night I went out for supper for Mother's Day and I ate more than I usually do and also ate dessert. Bad choice! Today I have brain fog, I'm tired as all getout and I just want to sleep! Lesson learned! I will now have to get back on track and I expect it will take a few days for me to start feeling better. Oh well, now I know just how much damage that can do!

Marg

Yup, I used to have carb cravings in the afternoon. But I also had them lots of times in the day. The cravings have subsided now that I'm on the metformin. Take a look at my post above for more information on the cravings.
Marg

What a wealth of knowldge from yur posts...I am in need of an idiot proof diet plan....well more like a meal plan for IR...I am a good cook and do like to make things in advance but I want something to get me started and is free :0...any suggestions

I am IR and PCOS (and Hashimotos and was bordering on adrenal fatigue and prediabetic).

I recently saw a homeopathic/holistic doctor and nutrionist and we are going to figure this thing out and help me to avoid getting worse (instead of better).

She has me on a strict, no carb (at all) diet for 30 days (Paleo structured minus the starchy veggies). I'm on day 6 and still figuring it out.

Hoping for answers and healing (looking like lifetime glutenfree diet - apparenty gluten is the worst thing EVER for people with auto-immune problems! Look into it!!).

Good luck to everyone - would love to have some pals during this interesting/ever-changing process :D

I am more and more convinced processed food, high carbs and starch are killing us all....pls keep us posted on your findings IMOVERIT... Will look into the gluten thing well...I have OA and rosace like mad all autoimmune

Just wanted to find out how everyone is doing with the insulin resistance. Has anyone found a diet that is working for them? I am not doing low carb or no carb because I know that our bodies still need carbs for fuel.

I am doing something that I guess is a cross between the glycemic index diet and low carb. I call it slow carbs. I try to pick carbs that are slow burning and take longer to get absorbed and turned into glucose. This helps to keep our insulin and glucose levels from spiking and instead, gives them a slow burn.

Additionally, I really try to eat protein with my carbs. I read somewhere that for every 15 grams of carbs you should eat 7 grams of protein so I really do try to do that and it seems to be helping.

I also try to eat something acidic with carbs. Things like tomatoes, pickles, or anything with vinegar or acid in it. Apparently this helps slow the rate at which we absorb the carbs as well.

So far I have lost 27.6 pounds, but right now I'm going up a pound, down a pound, up half a pound, down a pound, etc. etc. Not sure what is happening but am going to my endo. on Monday so should find out more then.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Marg

Anyone else got any good tips?

Exercise... it helps improve insulin sensitivity.

I am day 8-ish of my South Beach Phase one and am really struggling at night for a snack. I used to eat popcorn (air popped) but it isn't allowed in phase 1. Does anyone have any suggestions for SB snacks?

I'm sure this is not what you want to hear, but if I were you, I'd go ahead and eat my popcorn. I don't know enough about the South Beach diet to give you ideas for snacks. But I do know that popcorn is one of the things you should be able to eat without any consequences.

Good luck with your diet and let us know how it's going!

Marg

I've found that I have to cut carbs lower than I would like to, in order to consistently lose weight and control hunger. I don't like it, and it's hard for me to truly believe that "it's healthy," but I find it's the only thing that WORKS - so I've got to choose between eating what "seems healthy" and eating what allows me to lose weight.

I don't do "no carb" either, but I have to virtually eliminate grains and drastically limit fruits. Eating grain daily or eating more than a few servings of fruit daily can and does stall my weight loss.

Of course, I gained most of my weighty on "healthy food." I was a bit of a food snob, even at 394 lbs. The food pyramid really helped me gain the figure of a pyramid.

I don't limit non-starchy veggies, as they don't seem to be a problem food for me. Non-starchy veggies are probably the only food group that I haven't overeaten enough to have stalled weight loss on.

Everything else, I limit in some way. I use an exchange plan and just kept experimenting until I found a calorie-level and food group balance that worked best for me in controlling hunger and promoting weight loss.

The hardest part has been giving up breads. I had to give up wheat, because I was having an allergic reaction - and most of the wheat-alternative breads and pastas were really horrible, so it was easier to give up bread than it was to find edible bread. I still do eat two to three servings of carb, but the list of grains/starches that don't seem to cause me problems is a lot shorter than I would like (starchy veggies like sweetcorn, peas, beats, carrots, and potatoes - white and sweet - and a few grains and pseudo grains such as oatmeal, quinoa, wild rice, and less frequently rice and corn tortillas).

It's been hard to adjust to the idea that grains aren't a "necessary food group" even though grains aren't a natural part of any primate diet, and humans have been eating grains and large amounts of non-fiber carbohydrates for a only a very small fraction of our history.

Trying to eat truly natural foods (foods that are most like those that grow in the wild, unassisted and unaltered by man) has been difficult, but I lose and feel better when I do.

I do think it's possible to eat "too few" carbs, but I think "too few" is a very relative term. I'm finding that both "too few" and "too many" are both far smaller amounts of carbohydrate than I originally would have ever believed.

ernurse12, there is a recipe out there where u mix cream cheese, sfjello and regular cool whip also there is a cookie recipe on Kaylins kitchen( i think thats it) maybe help with the snax....week 2 of phase one for me .....no change in the scale too much this week but clothes r a little looser...

Thanks for your suggestions! I agree that popcorn isn't the worse food for you to snack on however, for me popcorn leads to wanting sweets so I am trying to give a lower carb snack a try :)

Am I allowed to give a web site here on the forums? If so, I could recommend a site for you.

Okay, I just read the information on links, so I will put it here. This is my personal site and I have several recipes on it that are low glycemic. I will be adding more as time goes on and I'll also be setting up a way for anyone to find out when a new recipe has been added. You can check it out at www.low-glycemic-recipes.net

And I just wanted to say that I have now lost 29.6 pounds. I'm thrilled with that! My recipes must be doing something right! Yeah! Sorry, I don't mean to brag, I'm just so darn happy that the pounds are coming off.

Brag away girl! I will even do a happy dance for ya! Love the site and TY for the help... Cannot believe how better I feel not eating starches!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself... I'm Luna, and I've been on this weight loss journey (well, this particular one) since November 2011. So far, I've lost nearly 90 pounds. The thing is, my obesity has caused and/or exacerbated many health conditions, including high cholesterol, high triglycerides, PCOS, and insulin resistance/prediabetes. The cholesterol and triglyceride numbers have gone down quite a bit as I've lost weight - yay! - but the PCOS and the blood sugar has just gotten worse somehow. Recently, I've been told by doctors and a nutritionist that a low-carb diet could help me with these two conditions. I didn't want to hear that, because I love carbs. Like, seriously, seriously love carbs. Even with my reduced calorie diet, I will sit down and eat a whole (regular sized) bag of 94% fat free popcorn and feel okay with that. I will often eat a cup of brown rice or whole grain pasta for dinner (and lunch!), as well as cereal for breakfast. Again, the cereal will be high fiber. But still with 30 grams of carbs. All told, I often eat about 250-320 grams of carbs a day. On a reduced calorie diet.

Well, I've been reading more about more about the low-carb diets. In fact, for the past couple days I've made a concerted effort to reduce the amount of carbs I eat. It's been incredibly hard! I feel like, I don't even know what to eat. I know I need to do more research into this. I guess I was just wondering if any of you guys could tell me more about any benefits you have seen from following a lower carb diet? Like, is the deprivation of not eating bread worth the benefits you see?

Thanks in advance!

There is no deprivation for me to not eat bread!

It's funny, but when I switched, I also couldn't imagine it -- what would I eat?!

First things first, you have to eat vegetables and fruits, because of their nutrients and fiber. So, you need to start making sure you're getting your five servings of vegetables every day -- leaf greens like spinach or kale or even lettuce! Then you have your other vegetables like green beans, snap peas, etc. They are so good!

As for fruit, avoid the high carb fruit, like grapes and bananas and eat a lot of berries and apples (low sugar fruits).

Then make sure you're getting your lean proteins.

Then, for your fiber and overall well-being, you can add a carb, like 1/2 cup of brown rice, o quinoa, or another whole/high fiber carb.

Snacks, as examples:
Apple with cashew butter (mmmm love cashew butter)
Fruit salad (cut up fruit, eat)

Last night's dinner:
6 oz (raw) skirt steak with salad

Breakfast:
A recipe I found on 3FC, for apple eggs (apples in eggs and sprinkled with parmesan! so good!)


If you have PCOS (I do too), then you really do have to watch your blood sugar levels and all the refined carbs (don't believe the hype of "whole grains") that you're eating at breakfast and through breads is going to be sending your BGL all over the place.

Whole foods, non-processed, focused on vegetables (fiber!) and lean protein (if you're vegetarian, you also have options), is the way to go.

DO IT! I am addicted to carbs like mad....I made a menu for 2 weeks and stuck 2 it,, the first 3 days are the worst...no lie but make that menu and know what you are eating every minute of the day..I cannot add much if any grains into my diet w/o going thru cravings again...I eat LOTS of veggies meat and cheese ....

A doctor can test to see if you are insulin resistant, correct? If you are, then do they usually prescribe metformin?

Yes, usually endocrinologists can do the testing.

Metformin can be prescribed, but it's not automatic. It depends on the doctor, the companies they deal with, and whether or not they believe in exercise/diet.

At the end of the day, exercise and diet are the key factors. Even with Metformin, if you don't eat low carb, you will be gastro upsets.

You might want to take a look at the Metabolism Miracle by Diane (or Diana) Kress. She talks about there being a different kind of metabolism that she refers to as "Metabolism B". The initial phase is 2 months and it is essentially reprogramming your pancreas because at any given time you do not eat more than 5 net carbs. You can for go them, but they can't stack up. The idea behind it is forcing your body to only produce a certain amount of insulin so it regulates your blood sugar and other functions. I don't know whether this is helpful or not, but I figured I would throw it out there. I am completing Day 4 today and I feel good. I have a long history of diabetes in my family and my aunt just recently dies of pancreatic cancer. Nothing motivates me like the idea of meeting my maker and struggling to get older. Best of luck to all!

I am just dying to know if there is some sort of link between birth control pills and insulin resistance.
I can lose weight fairly well on a reduced calorie diet as long as I am on birth control pills.
If I go OFF birth control pills, I can't lose weight on a reduced calorie diet. It has to be low carb.

WHY IS THIS? Very frustrating!!

At any rate. I am eliminating bread/pasta/flour, etc from my diet again. I knew my IR was flaring up again when I have been wanting to sleep all the time. When my IR is bad, I don't want to get out of bed and I want to sleep all afternoon. Even though I've been eating 1200-1800 calories for the last 2 months, I have not lost a single pound. I've been eating tons of bananas, toast, rice, pasta, etc. AND.. I've been getting up at 1am to raid the cubbards. I will steal my daughters sweetened cereals and wash it down with almond milk! I couldn't stop myself, it was like my body NEEDED carbs in the middle of the night. So I knew I needed to do something once I realized it was my IR.

Day 2 of eating less than 75g of carbs, no more naps. I've had steady energy all day.
I still got up in the middle of the night last night but forced myself to eat a small cube of cheese and did not eat any carbs.

I am going to try and wittle it down to 50g if I can. I plan on still eating 1/2 cup of organic short grain brown rice once or twice a week but no more bread and pasta for sure!

Will post back soon on how I am doing!

My endocrinologist confirmed what I had read about BCP and Insulin Resistance -- birth control pills CONTRIBUTE to insulin resistance.

I don't know why you are less likely to eat carbs when you're on the Pill -- for me, I was CRAZY for carbs on the pill. And developing my IR was proof of it.

I am not sure if I ate less carbs on the pill, but I felt a million times better on b/c and weight fell off as long as I didn't over eat calories!
I have not been able to lose a single pound since going off bcp in May! And I am retaining water like crazy to boot. My fingers and hands are swollen all the time now.. Could this be related to IR? I read somewhere that IR makes us retain sodium.

But.. day 3 of watching carbs and I already feel better though so I am on the right track!
Scale was down 1lb today, also!