Crossroads

[scottinnh]

I am 50 years old. and after 6 months eating low carb I find myself at a crossroads.

Not about low carb eating..I now prefer to eat this way. I greatly enjoy not being hungry all the time and being in full control of my appetite...What is happening is I am questioning my priorities...what I hope to gain.

Maybe this is a low carb midlife crisis :lol:

Initially I got into this way of eating not to lose weight but to get my sugar under control. Of course losing weight would be a great side effect if that happened.

After 3 months I had lost 15 lbs, sugar was 7 for A1C (down from 11) and my cholesterol numbers went from unmeasurably high to almost normal. I was able to cut out the glyburide and reduced the glucophage XR and was enjoying daily numbers between 90-120.

I lost 5 more pounds the next 2 months and then suddenly put that 5 lbs right back on and it is staying there. My sugar also went up at the same time and I was starting to see numbers mostly 140-170...ughhh.

So after a month of this and re-analyzing my diet and waiting to see if maybe something else was going on there is still no change. Still taking in less than 30 carbs/2000 calories daily with a daily workout as I have for the last 6 months.

So kicking and screaming I started taking glyburide again ( 1 pill before breakfast and 1 before dinner). Now my numbers are 90-120 again and the weight is still there.

My angst comes from hearing "you will never lose weight on glyburide"..glyburide blindly makes your pancreas produce insulin and will not only burn out the pancreas earlier but ..and this is the part I am confused about...keeps you from losing weight? Why?

What happens when you produce more insulin than needed for the carbs you have taken in? Is that possible?

I find myself thinking how important is the weight anyways if my numbers are good? Even if my pancreas fails tommorow I will know it and will be able to inject insulin....not a great alternative but if necessary I am glad its there...How extreme am I willing to go just to look slimmer? Of course getting down to a weight where my insulin resistance is less would be great..but is that a medical fact? Will that actually happen before my pancreas quits?
(I have been a "non practicing" diabetic for about 10 years before I came to my senses...)

And I realize with a shock that this is typical lock step ADA thinking...sugar is OK as long as you can control it with the meds!

I want to keep my sugar in control AND look better and maybe become lesss resistant...but I guess I will take whatever medication necessary to stabilize my sugar...and the rest of the results can follow..or not.

I closely follow Dr Bernsteins 6-12-12 carb counts and alternate aerobic workout with strength training...if that is not enough the rest will have to be the meds!

Thanks for listening.

[nopie]

Confusing and frustrating isn't it? I can keep my sugar low and still not lose weight. If I eat a small enough amount of food to lose weight, I'm starving all the time. Excercise helps with the blood sugar but I can't tell that it helps with the weight loss. I keep falling off the weight loss wagon and then get back on because I really think (hope) that being a reasonable weight will help with the insulin resistance.

[c6h6o3]

So many profound topics, Scott. I want to respond, but don't know where to begin. The only thing which comes to mind that I think you need to hear is: "The Law of Small Numbers".

[Sherrielee]

The World of Small Numbers will be my constant companion for the rest of my life!

I had to cut my calories to 1000 (5-15-10 carbs) to start losing 3-4 lbs per week...plus the gym 3x per week and daily treadmill.

I know that once my weight is down about 75 more lbs...I will be able to eat more carbs & calories....but for now...it is quite limited.

I just recovered (actually still recovering from) the worst virus I have ever had. My daughter and I actually thought we had SARS. And today my morning BG was FINALLY 110. I haven't exercised in days..so I was quite happy.

Some of us really have to cut those numbers to lose weight. I know I could never lose weight at 2000 calories per day, unless I ran marathons! I avoid "calorie dense" food and try to stay a little hungry before bed. Hope this works for you. I am literally terrified of this disease!

Best Wishes!

[c6h6o3]

There does seem to be some kind of virus about which is devastating. A friend of mine has it - and his wife, and their 4 year old son. Kevin's bronchitis was so bad that he went to the doctor and they made him use a steroid inhaler in the office - the doctor didn't even want to wait for him to get the prescription filled. He couldn't get out of bed for 3 days.

By the 'Laws of Small Numbers', I was referring to Chapter 7 in Dr. B's book. Is that what you meant? His admonition to "think small inputs".