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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Aug-14-16, 10:03
Cuevmcky's Avatar
Cuevmcky Cuevmcky is offline
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Plan: NA
Stats: 188/188/150 Female 61 inches
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Question Insulin Resistance-Metformin

Hello!

New here and just wanted some advice.
So i was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance back in late april. My Rheumatologist caught it when I explained to him that I struggled losing weight even when i was super active. He did a blood test and there is was, i have been on a low carb/ loe calorie diet since and i exercise at least 2x/week and no more than 6x/week. I cut soda and juice & stick to water. He needed me to lose 18 pounds, my wieght was affecting my knee (previous surgeries) and causing many other joint issues. And i'm calling tomorrow to schedule the follow up appointment as discussed.

So these last few months i worked my butt off, i was in the gym, hiking, swimming, biking. Pretty much ANYTHING to get a workout. Needless to say, i have not lost any weight, in fact my weight didnt really even fluctuate. I'm still the same as I was in the begining. It didnt bother me though that i didnt see the scale move because I'm an exercise science student & I realize that it could mean many different things, like im losing fat & gaining muscle. But my clothes didnt fit any better and i wasnt seeing any loss in my measurements. This whole thing as started to take a toll mentally, i hate my body & struggle to feel confident and pretty. My family has suggested an antidepressant but I personally think that if I could lose some weight on my own this would change. My self esteem has been affected since the diagnosis.

So now it's follow up month & im SO scared that my doctor wont do anything. Im 21 and growing up i only went to my doc for vaccines and the occasional fever as a kid. Before i injured my knee I was a healthy teenager with the worlds smallest medical record folder.

So my questions today are
1- there was mention of going on metformin if I couldnt lose the weight, so how likely is that to happen this following visit?
2- has anyone utilized the help of a nutritionist and if so how useful was it? Was it worth it, and is it covered by insurance?
3- if anyone is on metformin i'd love to heare from you and your experiencr/journey/story
4- are there alternatives to medication? Such as herbal supplements?
5- has anyone read/utilized the insulin resistance diet book or an IR cookbook? Would you recommend?

Sorry for this being so long! Im just really stressing.
Thanks in advance

-MK
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Aug-14-16, 10:50
bluesinger's Avatar
bluesinger bluesinger is offline
Doing My Best
Posts: 4,924
 
Plan: LC/CancerRecovery
Stats: 170/135/130 Female 62 inches
BF:24%
Progress: 88%
Location: Nevada Desert, USA
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Welcome.

I just encountered some interesting new information about Metformin. (I'm not T2d and have never been on Metformin.)

Metformin is showing signs of anti-aging properties as a side effect.
Quote:
Researchers believe that Metformin, a drug that already has been widely used to treat diabetes for about 60 years, may have a large number of additional health benefits. It is now being tested on humans for its anti-aging properties. Nir Barzilai, MD, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is currently engaged in a clinical study and assessment of metformin for endurance, to analyze how it may impact metabolic and cellular processes correlated with the development of age-related conditions. These conditions include inflammation, oxidative, diminished autophagy, cell senescence and apoptosis. Experts are reviewing whether metrformin use can possibly improve gene expression profile in older adults with damaged glucose tolerance to that of younger individuals.
I'm changing doctors in September and was considering talking my new doctor into letting me try it. You're 21 and I'm 71 so there's a big difference there. You'll find many people here on the forum who can help you with the Metformin question because they're either on it now or have been in the past.

As for nutritionists, they will tell you the current AMA party line. Most of the people here on this forum will tell you they thrive doing the opposite.

I'm sorry that you're having so many health issues at such a young age.
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Aug-14-16, 11:23
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
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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

Last edited by JEY100 : Mon, Aug-15-16 at 03:02.
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Aug-14-16, 12:32
Sarada's Avatar
Sarada Sarada is offline
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Posts: 88
 
Plan: FUNG/IF/LCHF
Stats: 303.2/251.8/150 Female 5ft 2in
BF:
Progress: 34%
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Hi,

Don't worry, this is not hard to fix, once you know how. Obesity has risen since the 1980's when fat was demonized. The problem is actually high insulin levels resulting in insulin resistance. High insulin levels prevent your fat cells from releasing fat from your body.



I have type 2 Diabetes and am on metformin.

Metformin works by limiting the amount of sugar made by your liver. It is not a weight loss drug in and of itself.

However, it may reduce insulin levels by lowering the amount of sugar in your system. The best way to reduce insulin levels is to go on a Low Carb, Moderate Protein and High Fat LCHF diet. Intermittent Fasting is also good. You can try one at a time, or both together.

Lowering insulin will help you lose weight.

A low carb moderate protein high fat diet will not leave you hungry while losing weight don't worry about the calories so much.

Eat good food from the outside isles in the grocery store. Dairy, fruits and vegetables, eggs and cheese, tofu, good fats like olive oil, nuts, and meat.
Avoid grains, especially wheat and corn, sugars, high fructose corn syrup.
Do not eat packaged foods no matter what they claim.

Dr Jason Fung has some excellent lectures on youtube as well as a blog

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/blog/

Gary Taubes, Dr. Peter Attia, Jeff Volek and Kim Noakes also have excellent videos. The Diet Doctor Andreas Eenfeldt has lots of excellent videos as well as a website with great recipes.

There are lots of Kindle books available from Amazon you might try New Atkins for a New You.

Most nutritionists still believe in the CRaP theory, Caloric Reduction as Primary, as well as the Eat Less Move More theory. Both have these have been proven over and over again not to be successful in the long run.

I wish you every success.

Last edited by Sarada : Sun, Aug-14-16 at 13:06.
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Aug-29-16, 20:17
myrt4930's Avatar
myrt4930 myrt4930 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,256
 
Plan: Concentrate on Protein
Stats: 186.5/136.6/136.0 Female 62"
BF:
Progress: 99%
Location: Texas Hill Country
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Sara, That was excellent. How long have they been teaching us the CRaP Diet? I've never heard that term before and I love it.

myrt
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, Aug-30-16, 08:57
MickiSue MickiSue is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,006
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 189/148.6/145 Female 5' 5"
BF:36%/28%/25%
Progress: 92%
Location: Twin Cities, MN
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Yes, Sara, it was.

If you stick to the low carb (and count them, keep them REALLY low) and throw away the low calorie, you will get better results. You really can't raise calories without adding fat, and I am going to take a wild guess and say that you are probably restricting your fat intake, aren't you?

Take a look at the books that Janet has recommended. They will give you a blueprint for both the reasons that you are struggling to lose weight and for what to eat to help with that. In the process, you will very likely lose your IR.

It's the farthest thing from hopeless. I wish you all the best.
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