Welcome MK,

You have found a very large Low Carb Forum with many sub-forums, so I will start an answer here, though it may be moved by the moderator. Also you may find more help with your questions about IR on the Diabetes sub-forum: http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45 So much good information on Insulin Resistance in that area, here are some of my favorites:

Insulin Resistance and Diabetes…From simple to science:

The Two Big Lies about T2 Diabetes:
The first lie is that Type 2 Diabetes is chronic and progressive or not “reversible”. The second lie is that treatment of blood sugar is the primary target of therapy. The target should be lowering insulin levels and insulin resistance. High blood sugar is a symptom.

The simpliest, only 18 minute TedxTalk explaining insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity is a new one by Dr. Sarah Hallberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ
Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines
It has had almost 750,000 views in a year because her explanation is so clear and concise.

Her five simple rules are: 1. Eat REAL FOOD 2. Don’t drink your calories 3. Eat only when you are hungry 4. If it says light, low fat or fat-free, it stays in the grocery store. 5. No GPS: No grains, sugar or potatoes.

The diet used in her clinic was based on the low carb plan used by Dr. Eric Westman at Duke Lifestyle Clinic and found in the back of the book by Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat. It is the diet with the most clinical evidence for optimum weight loss and reversing diabetes, simply called a “No Sugar, No Starch” plan, also a little booklet on Amazon. A video introduction and his studies on reversing T2 diabetes, obesity, fatty liver, PCOS and more at: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

A website with good but longer lectures on the causes of obesity, “How to Reverse Diabetes Naturally” and reduce Insulin Resistance is:
http://intensivedietarymanagement.com This talk is an one hour explanation of The Two Biggest Lies about Diabetes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcLoaVNQ3rc

For more details, a website with many resources and links to short videos and articles on a wide range of diabetes and health topics is by a Low Carb RN and Diabetes Educator. https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com . Also http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com

And lastly, the science behind Dietary carbohydrate restriction as the first approach in diabetes management: Critical review and evidence base http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/articl...0332-3/fulltext


You will see that most members here prefer to manage their diabetes through diet alone if possible.

1.Some lose a minor amount of weight with Metformin, some lose weight because of its common side effect of nausea, some do fine on it and lose no weight.
2. Unless you have diagnosis and doctor’s orders, I do not believe my insurance would cover a nutritionist. My advice was from my doctor, Dr. Eric Westman mentioned above.
3. Read on Diabetes forum
4. Best alternative to is remove carbohydrates from your diet.
5. There are so many, where to start?

The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook: Prevent and Heal Type 2 Diabetes with 200 Ultra Low-Carb Recipes - Dana Carpenter and Dr. Eric Westman (both program and recipes from http://healclinics.com)

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It - Gary Taubes (The Duke Lifestyle Clinic Diet by Dr. Eric Westman is in the appendix)

The Obesity Code - Dr. Jason Fung

Wheat Belly and Wheat Belly Total Health. WheatBelly Cookbook and 30 Minute Quick and Easy cookbook- Dr. William Davis

Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living - Drs. Phinney & Volek

Very good recipes here: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb and on this forum under Kitchen...all indexed and hyperlinked.

And lastly, as a exercise student you won’t want to “hear” this now, but You Cannot Outrun a Bad Diet: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2...015-094911.full
And exercise is not Total Energy Expenditure. https://intensivedietarymanagement....gy-expenditure/

Enough for now!
All the best