Can LC work for people with insulin resistance?
 

:dizzy:

I have Insulin Resistance and my doctor specifically told me that Low Carb was the way to go to be able for me to lose weight. He was 100% right. I've tried calorie counting, and lowfat diets with IR and can't seem to get the weight off. Give it a try, it will work for you too. I will add that my Dr. does prefer SBD over Atkins, but Atkins is what works best for me.

When I would try the other "diets", I would give up cause the weight wasn't coming off and it got so frustrating that I couldn't take it.

How was your IR diagnosed? Mine, I just believe exists.

Thanks Lilybelle for the comment. I am happy to say that I got on the scales today and have lost 4 pounds!! I'm a bit shocked because I didn't think this would really work. I haven't started the induction yet, but have lowered my carbs considerably and am waiting for the chance to head into town to do some grocery shopping. (Today or tomorrow)

JerseyGirl, My doctor did a blood test that showed that I had high insulin levels, high liver enzymes but my glucose and sugar levels were normal. High insulin levels are hard on your organs and can lead to diabetes if not taken care of. Hope this helps. :)

SugarBaby, I would say Lilibelle and JerseyGyrl are the experts here. They are my heros.

Low carb was designed almost specifically for insulin resistance and pre-diabetes.

I want to stress that you can not do low carb AND low fat. That will not work. You may need to change your whole paradigm concerning fats and weight. I don't know what program you are following, if any. You may want to buy a low carb book for guidance on how you should eat.

I just read this great book called the Insulance Resistance diet. I can't post the link because I am a newbie, but just search on amazon for it. It was really great and made me understand why low carb worked well for this condition.

I've had 3 dr's tell me to do locarb with my insulin resistance. You'd think I'd listen by now??

Me too. I've recently even proven it to myself, through my food journals that I can lose much better on low carb. Counting calories and carbs I found that on about 1800 calories of high-carb, my weight loss is very slow and susceptible to stalls and gains if I increase my calories even slightly. However, on low-carb the same 1800 calories (or even more) results in consistently much larger losses. I've only been able to break the 350 wall because of low-carb. After months and months of losing and gaining the same 5 to 8 lbs, I finally broke through. It may seem like a crazy, small victory, but it brought me to tears.

To be honest, I was flabberghasted. I pretty much had always been taught and believed that "a calorie is a calorie." Even though I've known for a long time that I lose faster on low-carb, I assumed that it was because of calorie restriction - that I was less hungry so was eating less (not that this shouldn't have been reason enough to commit to the low-carb WOE).

There are several reasons I think I've had a big obstacle in my brain against low-carb eating. 1. Price - carbs are cheaper. Hubby and I are on a very tight budget, cheap low-carb is a challenge. 2. Fear - there's a lot of propaganda out there about how "unhealthy" the diet is. Since now my doctors are prescribing the diet, you would think I would be less concerned, but it's hard to overcome a lifetime of bias. Still, I have my bloodwork done every quarter, so everything is being closely monitored. 3. Carb-addiction - those pesky little carbs are just so appealing. And when I was convinced that only calories mattered, I could easily justify "budgeting" for whatever I wanted. And it "sort of" worked, in that I often could lose a little weight by tight calorie counting. 4. Habit - change is hard. Any change. I really have to not only learn to "do" differently, but "think" differently as well. 5. Pressure - I was telling my mom and sister about my "low-carb" discoveries, and got a lecture about how I was going to gain it all back, and how unhealthy the diet is....... I nearly caved - but then went back and read my food journal - the "proof" that this will work if I commit to it.

I have to say I am a true convert. I'm still trying to learn the optimal carb level for me that allows me to lose steadily without feeling ill. I'm on medication that lowers blood sugar, so I can't go too low or I feel terrible and risk drastic blood sugar drops. But too high, even when the carbs are "good carbs" and the weight loss stalls, and fatigue increases.

Oh you guys....this thread is just what I've been looking for! I so can relate to Sugarbaby. I've been doing a low fat plan and it totally isn't working for me. The unfortunate thing is I paid for it through my fitness center and have 3 months to go with it. I've been talking to my coach about my insulin resistance and told her to google it online and she has done that. Her comments were that she has some other clients just like me and wonders if they too aren't insulin resistant. She told me that from her digging, she found that low carb seems to be the way to go.
My question for you all....(I have BOTH the South Beach and Insulin Resistance Diet books). Which would be the better way to go, do you think? I'm leaning towards South Beach as it seems more realistic for an ungoing plan.

The best diet for you is the one you can stick with for life.

Hallo you all. I am new to this LC forum, and very exited to start losing some weight. I am currently following the Carbodydrate Addicts Diet, and wondered if anybody else is following it?

Snoekie-I'm not on Carbohydrate Addict's but I am familiar with it. I would welcome some other "non-Atkins" folks on the forum. I think the variety would be great.

I'm going for South Beach I think, as it seems a bit more moderate in what it allows. I did it back when it first hit the popularity plane but didnt' stick with it. I wish I had now! But can't go backwards...so foreward we go instead! I haven't read the CA book but I did read in another one that people who crave carbs do so because their insulin isn't being processed properly. If you're a carb addict perhaps you're also insulin resistant. There are many people who are, and don't know it yet.
I need to sit down though and go through my SB book to make up a plan. Unfortunately, I just did our grocery shopping AND it's not geared in this direction. I will need to go to the store at the end of the week though and maybe can begin my newest journey after that time.

I'm pretty sure the folks on the forum can give you some great ideas for menus. One of my issues with SB was that it seemed to be a little loose in the structure department and I think the forum here probably makes up for that.