Hi all,
I've recently become familiar with the condition of Insulin resistance and would like to share with you what I found.
First off about me; I've been fat all of my life, diagnosed with PCOS at 18. Had surgery at 27 to remove a 6lb cyst from my left ovary(yes that was 6 pounds, big as a baby). Unfortunatly the ovary had to go too, too much damage. Turns out I had Endometriosis and not PCOS. So I haven't given PCOS much thought for many years. I came across the insulin resistance condition here on your boards and deceided to do some research.
I'm sure as you all know PCOS is a symptom of Insulin Resistance, as is hair loss, weight gain, acne, skin tags, Icanthanosis Nigracans(a skin disorder where the skin darkens in the underarms, groin and on the back of the neck), etc... I've never been able to lose weight and keep it off. I've been telling doctors for years "I know there is something wrong with me" but thyroid always checked out and there really did seem to be no reason for me to be fat.
Now I think I have found my answer, INSULIN RESISTANCE. It fits perfectly. I've discussed with my doctor what we can do about it and he was honest in telling me he really didnt know that much about it. Its not a highly talked about condition in the general medicine field. But he is listening to what I find and we are working on this together. I went to and Endocrinologist last week to have some blood work done(a 3 hour glucose tolerance test). She was a bit more informed on the subject but has never given a non-diabetic patient metformin. We are going to try it though. I really want to see what effect it will have on my body.
While waiting to start the therapy though I found a book on Amazon called the Insulin Resistance diet. I picked it up at the book store and read it Immediately. It was developed by 2 women who run a wellness clinic in Washington state and have had much success with their IR patients. Here is the basics:
Eating any kind of Carbohydrate is fine as long as you accompany it with enough protein to lower the insulin response of the body. They recomend eating no more than 30G of carbs per meal. For every 15 G of carbs you eat make sure you get 7 G of protein to accompany it. So, if you eat a meal with 30g of carbs you need at least 14g of protein with it. Protein is unlimited though.
They also discuss a 2 hour window of opportunity. What this means is, it takes up to 2 hours after a meal for your body to deceided what is is going to do with what you ate. Will it turn to fat or energy? Eating another carb food with in that 2 hour period is and overload of carbs for the system so it goes right to fat. Therefore, carb meals must be taken at least 2 hours apart.
I've been trying the diet for over a week now and do feel a difference. I dont feel sick after eating like I normally do. My clothes feel looser too so I'm sure I've lost weight. I dont know about actual loss though because I got mad at my scale a few weeks ago and threw it in the garbage. So i have to wait and see when I go back to the doc how much i'm down. This program is less severe than atkins and sugar busters and it makes it much easier to go out to eat with my sweetie or to peoples homes for dinner. I can splurge sometimes too and know that I havent done too much damage.
I hope you will find this info helpful.
Sarah
