newbie w/atkins vs LOW FAT question...

[way2goal]

Hi all...I'm new here, although I've been reading the forum for months. Just want to say I'm impressed by the comraderie, postive support and successes I've seen here...hoping the ride your waves of success to my own! I've recently started CAD, which has helped me lose 10 lbs since Aug 16. Since I have hypothyroidism and insulin resistance (taking levoxyl 137ug and Metformin 3x500mg), the CAD way of thinking made sense re: limiting the times per day that your body needs to compensate for Carbs and spike an insulin response. I would consider doing Atkins or "Atkins-like" diet, however, I prefer a low fat diet vs higher fat one. I'd really like to hear from others who have hypo/IR and get ideas for best diet. After trying for 4 yrs to lose weight, I'm somewhat impatient at slow/stalled loss, but I'm willing to do something for the long haul if I know there are others who have had success.

Continued GOOD LUCK to everyone; it's REALLY comforting to be able to feel part of a group and know that there is success and advice at my fingertips!

[nepeta]

I don't have hypothyroidism, but have symptoms of insulin resistence. I've done a good bit of reading up on it. It's important that you get a good amount of healthy fats in flaxseed, fish, and nuts & olive oils etc. Certain supplements like coq10 and alpha lipoic acid are good to take too. I wouldn't be too afraid of fat, things like butter & meats are good for you. It's stuff like margarine that you should be avoiding.

Exercise is hugely beneficial for turning around insulin resistence, lifting weights in particular.
You may already know all this though I think. But just in case you haven't gotten a chance to read up on things, I thought I'd mention it.

the best thing for insulin resistence is adopting some kind of low carb diet, so right there you are doing yourself a great service.

It takes time to turn it around. It's taking me awhile, my bp is still borderline, but has improved. my cholesterol and triglycerides are good though. my abdomen is getting smaller now, which is a great indicator i think.

Good luck, this place is great isn't it.

:)

[way2goal]

Thanks, Nepeta, for your response. I noticed that you do 'carb cycling' but have not seen a book on that type of approach. Since you are insulin resistant (I'm assuming you 'failed' the glucose test as I did), I'm amazed that having the carb UP days doesn't derail you. Generally, if I cheat a bit w/any carbs (other than with my RM on my diet), I pay for it in a few days. Can you give me some information on the types, quantities and frequency of carbs you do in both Carb up and Carb down days? Also, do you have any sample menus that would be typical of carb up and carb down? I'm willing to vary my approach to see if something other than CAD might work.

Thanks!!

[nepeta]

i never took a glucose test. but studied insulin resistence in nutrition classes, and it was brought to my attention a few years ago from an herbalist/nutritionist i was seeing, that i had many of the symptoms of insulin resistence. high bp, pcos symptoms, bad cholesterol ratio, triglycerides getting up there. i also had a lot of weight around the abdomen, which was equal to or greater than my hips. i'm not sure if i would've failed a glucose test, but i was on my way there & very likely could have.

there is a carb cycling thread in general low carb. some of us are trying this after having stalled. there really is no book, but some people are having success with it. it did get me out of my stall though, and it seems to be working. the general consensus, which i agree with is to not go crazy with the carbs on carb up. just adding low carb fruits, steel cut oats, maybe veggies like butternut squash. check out the first few pages where anita explains what she is doing. the idea is to keep your metabolism reved up, so that you are able to lose weight again after stalling. most people are tweaking it to a way that works best for them.

i think i'm fine with reintroducing some healthy carbs back in now, but that is after a few months of pretty much doing atkins and exercising.
for insulin resistence i think something like atkins can be good to follow, especially the induction.

here's what i am eating today on carb down. goal for me is to get 1200 cals and about 30-40 carbs.

breakfast
one egg fried in ghee
3 sausage links

snack
small apple
with 2 tabs almond butter

lunch
4oz hamburger patty
brussel sprouts 1 cup

snack

1/2 avocado
few nuts or sesame seeds
cucumber sliced
1/2 small apple sliced
with balsamic dressing 2 tab

dinner
4 oz shrimp
2 cups brocolli


on carb up it would be pretty similar i guess. i just try and get at around 1700 cals maybe 40-60 carbs.
maybe a little more fruit, nuts, veggies,butternut squash. i may try steel cut oats on my next carb up. i'm doing brown rice but keeping it under 1/4 cup. not sure if i'd recommend it for insulin resistence though. i guess it is my one splurge, and so far i seem to be okay with it, and don't feel like my blood sugar and insulin spike.

i don't know much about cad what is that exactly? i think i tried to read up on it in the forum here but still don't have a clear idea i guess.

[Built]

Way2, you're getting some EXCELLENT advise from nepeta.

What I've found helpful for the carbups is to keep the fats lower on these days, and to stick to low-GI carbs in measured amounts, lots of fibre, and a little extra protein on these days. I always eat 6 meals a day, and this is ESPECIALLY important on the carbier days to control hunger and blood sugar. And I make sure I eat my low gi carbs with protein every time.

Good luck!

[way2goal]

Thanks, Nepeta (and BUILT) for the great advice! I was under the (wrong) impression that there was a vast difference between carb up and carb down days, but I guess not! I'm finding from the forum and my own experience that ideal (for weight loss) carb amounts are a very individual thing. I wonder if the 'cheat' amounts that I do that don't result in weight gain, followed by the lower carb amounts that I typically have during my breakfast/lunch meals could provide me with some 'carb relief' (afterall, it's really not reasonable to give up ALL carbs, but more reasonable to choose GOOD carbs in moderate quantities) and give my body reason to try to lose during the carb down days?

The CAD (carbohydrate addicts diet) to which I was referring gives you 3 meals a day (plus a snack when you get out of the first 2 induction-like weeks). I liken the 2CM (complimentary meals) to a South beach approach (low carb, low fat, w/protein), and a RM (reward meal) at the end of the day that requires a starting salad, and then equal portions of protein, low carb veggies, and ANY carb food, all to be eaten w/in 60 min. I find that my RM includes less-than-desirable carbs (ie, cookie, pasta), and think that if I left it to steel cut oats or peas or other good carb choice, I'd be ok. It's an intersting (but not highly popular diet for the hypo thread; they're all doing Atkins....)

[Built]

Actually, you weren't wrong. I alternate between high fat/moderate protein/low carb, and high protein/moderate carb/low-ish fats when I do my cycles. But I lift very heavy weights, so this means I need to be a bit more extreme in my approach. The principals are the same in any event, though. On the higher carb days, drop the fats a bit and up the proteins a bit. Try to keep the low-carb days as low-cal as comfortable. More cardio on low carb days. Heavier lifting on the higher carb days.