Insulin Resistance

lynsalot

Hi guys

Does anyone have a recommendation for a diet plan for insulin resistance please?

As in, low carb ( i'm actually intolerant to wheat so no wheat at all either)
Low sugar

and the main result is to lose weight.

If anyone has any recommendations of where I'd find food plans I'd appreciate it.

PS: I have all the food lists but stuck for inspiration for menu plans.

(Understanding that responses are opinion only and not views of boards.ie and confirm that my query does not relate to medical advice)

Thanks
Lindsay

lynsalot

No one has any advice lads? Would really appreciate it thanks

rocky

If you already are insulin resistant and overweight, best thing you could do is lose weight. Why low-carb though? this will only increase your insulin resitance (yeah, physiological yadda yadda )

Hanley

rocky wrote: »

If you already are insulin resistant and overweight, best thing you could do is lose weight. Why low-carb though? this will only increase your insulin resitance (yeah, physiological yadda yadda )

Low carb diets increase insulin resistance?

Amantine

rocky wrote: »

If you already are insulin resistant and overweight, best thing you could do is lose weight. Why low-carb though? this will only increase your insulin resitance (yeah, physiological yadda yadda )

Nonsense, low carb will lower your insulin resistance.

It's difficult to help you come up with a menu without knowing what foods you enjoy, what budget you're on and who you're feeding (family, kids?).
What you're looking for is a low GI diet. If you're insulin resistant the first step is to lose weight and portion control. Cutting out the fast carbs will definitely help but even protein and fats can send your glucose through the roof if you eat massive portions. Lucky for you, if you limit the carbs (especially fast carbs: white flour, any sugar/honey/tropical fruit/mashed/overcooked potatoes) you will likely crave less food over time.
One easy way to make up meals is to combine a lean protein of your choice with veggies. You need about 1g of protein per kg of body weight. I weigh 53kg so I try to get around 45-60g of protein each day. Again keep an eye on portions, the size of the palm of you hand will give you an idea of how much protein you need at each meal. You can eat as much veg as you like (except potatoes, parsnips and cooked carrots- raw is ok)
Here is a list of the cheapest protein sources that I can think of:

Tuna . You can get Tuna Flakes for 60c (185g tin). There is about 35g of protein in there.
Whey protein powder in shakes, make sure it's low GI
Eggs. 6g or 7g per egg
Chicken. Specifically, frozen fillets are the cheapest way to get your chicken I’ve found. Always bear in mind that all meat usually delivers about 20-25% protein per weight. So 100g cooked will give about 25g of protein.
Sardines. 60c for a tin of sardines, giving 20g protein. A very portable choice if you’re on the go and full of omega 3 fats.
Cheese. Cheap, low-carb, high-fat or low-fat, tastes great, goes well with most things.
Nuts, seed and nut or seed butters. Go natural with nut butters. Almond, hazelnut, peanut buttter, Tahini, flavored nuts to replace crisps
Quinoa, if you want a good, low GL side to go with your meat, try quinoa. It’s about 14% protein
tinned or fresh beans, aduki, kidney, lentils etc
Tofu, from the Asian shops
Tinned wild Alaskan salmon in Lidl or Aldi, gives you Omega 3 fats, very healthy choice.
Minced beef
Chicken drumsticks

Just combine any of the above with a variety of brightly coloured veggies and some extra virgin olive oil and the weight will drop easy.
Hope this helps.

Gummy Panda

Hanley wrote: »

Low carb diets increase insulin resistance?

Physiological insulin resistance I believe can happen e.g. the cells are running on fatty acids become resistant to glucose to save it for cells that need glucose to run and to keep a healthy blood glucose levels.

Amantine

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Physiological insulin resistance I believe can happen e.g. the cells are running on fatty acids become resistant to glucose to save it for cells that need glucose to run and to keep a healthy blood glucose levels.

Fat and protein can be turned to glucose by the body, besides we're talking low-carb not no-carb. Nuts, seeds, beans and veg all contain some carbs and we didnt exclude wholemeal flours or brown rice. We're just trying to lower the glycemic load which is exactly what anyone with insulin resistance excess weight should do and what the OP asked about.

This country has a diabetes/obesity epidemic because of it's huge consumption of fast carbs, anything we can do to change that will save lives in the long run.

rocky

Hanley wrote: »

Low carb diets increase insulin resistance?

Of course.

It does depend on how little carb there is in one's diet. Haven't you heard that, in order for a low carb dieter to pass an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test), they need to start re-introducing carbs for a few days before the test? This is to counter the IR that sets in on low-carb. The body tries to preserve most glucose for the brain, that's why other tissues start resisting insulin...

Peter at Hyperlipid names it 'physiological' insulin resistance, to differentiate it from the 'real' insulin resistance, implying that the physiological one does not have negative consequences. I haven't seen any medical texts that define physiological IR / not that I've read too many .

rocky

Amantine wrote: »

Fat and protein can be turned to glucose by the body, besides we're talking low-carb not no-carb. Nuts, seeds, beans and veg all contain some carbs and we didnt exclude wholemeal flours or brown rice. We're just trying to lower the glycemic load which is exactly what anyone with insulin resistance excess weight should do and what the OP asked about.

Fat can be turned into glucose? You must be up on the latest research then...

This country has a diabetes/obesity epidemic because of it's huge consumption of fast carbs, anything we can do to change that will save lives in the long run.

No, the obesity 'epidemic' happens because of excess calories.

And the glycemic index used as a measure of 'fast carbs' is a load of nonsense. How do I know? your beloved wholemeal bread has a GI of 69, and sugar is 65.

http://www.herbalvitality.info/aw/glycemic_index.htm

Amantine

Rocky my reason for posting here is to help people, what's yours?
If you think you can contribute something valuable to the OP please do!
What menu do you recommend to someone who is insulin resistant?

rocky

Whatever menu they'd like as long as they can reduce calories consistently and long-term.

Amantine

rocky wrote: »

Whatever menu they'd like as long as they can reduce calories consistently and long-term.

Would you say that protein might help some reduce their caloric intake?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14557793

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18469287

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19400750

rocky

yes

Amantine

At the top of my head sample menu:
Monday:
gluten free porridge, berries and plain live yogurt

handful almonds and an apple

Smoked salmon on wholemeal rye with a big mixed salad and extra virgin olive oil+lemon dressing

carrot sticks & hummous

Tofu & mixed veg stir-fry with brown rice

Tuesday:
fried egg, tomatoes & mushrooms

handful hazelnuts & grapefruit

Chicken&veg curry + left over brown rice

bowl of miso soup, celery sticks and yogurt dip

Pomegranate, goats cheese, seeds & mixed leaf salad with extra virgin olive oil



Let me know if this is helpful and I'll post up ideas for the rest of the week.

El_Dangeroso

rocky wrote: »

Fat can be turned into glucose? You must be up on the latest research then...

Actually it can just not really in any quantity that makes a difference. Nice to see you back Rocky.:)

OP I would recommend you pick up a good low carb book and follow the rules to the letter. 'The idiot proof diet' by India Knight is the easiest primer while placing emphasis on whole fresh food and not overwhelming you with science-y bits. Just remember to eventually do phase three, you're not supposed to exist on <5% carbs long term.

True that any weight loss will improve insulin sensitivity and it turns out low carb diets cause more weight loss than any other due to vastly suppressed appetite.

rocky

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Actually it can just not really in any quantity that makes a difference. Nice to see you back Rocky.:)

I know it can, I read the master...

Need tips to get rid of the Snickers, that's why I'm back... would you suggest low carb? :pac:

El_Dangeroso

rocky wrote: »

I know it can, I read the master...

Need tips to get rid of the Snickers, that's why I'm back... would you suggest low carb? :pac:

Not for you, you read too much. :pac:

lynsalot

Thanks for all the advice... I read up on low GI and decided to embark at the beginning of January. Funnily enough I haven't lost anymore than 7 pounds. Weight in at over 18 stone, I'm a little miffed I haven't lost a thing in 3 weeks.

I shouldn't have said low carb... really I meant I'm not eating bread at all... and I was surprised to read back in Jan that wholemeal (My favourite type) is higher in sugar than other types of bread.

I'm having porridge every morning so hardly low carb at all. Oatcakes and salads and some protein (Cheese/tuna/egg) at lunch time and Dinner is normally a one pot wonder like chile con carne (1/3 of small punnet of pork mince which feeds two for approx 1.5 days) and a tonne of veggies (Carrots... annoyingly reading they're prob doing the damage, onion, celery, mushrooms, brocolli, cauliflower, sometimes white spuds again I love my spuds raging they're med GI ) and tinned tomatoes,water, spices and herbs and a small portion of rice... or salmon with aspargus and spuds.

I love almond butter on oatcakes - must head into the health store and buy some again.

I was making my own coleslaw, which I assume is ok since raw carrots are ok.

Got an epic walk in on sunday and seems to have shifted a lb (FINALLY!) so i'll up the exercise and see how I get on.

Will check out the websites too. thanks folks

lynsalot

Sounds delicious!!! I saw the recipe for the goats cheese with pomegranite somewhere actually!! Hmm food for thought. I've always been a Weight Watcher so its difficult to change your attitude towards good and bad foods. I'm used to knowing portion sizes from WW but I notoriously eat large portions... what i'm doing now is considerng what looks like an average portion and putting half back So for instance... rice/pasta is about a 60g dried portion and I may have had 100g unbeknownst to myself.

Try to keep an eye on things that way...

I've also learned to stop eating when I'm full!! Because if I'm full and haven't finished my meal... I've clearly put too much in (Unmeasured) So right now the morning porridge is filling me. It's a larger than normal cereal bowl and I literally cover the base of the bowl only but when it cooks it rises and makes a good 10 spoonfuls - 13 spoonfuls of porridge. Very filling so perhaps its a little excessive. Just concerned the weight's not falling off me but with insulin resistance and PCOS its meant to be difficult. Once I know I'm on the right road I don't mind how long it takes

Amantine wrote: »

At the top of my head sample menu:
Monday:
gluten free porridge, berries and plain live yogurt

handful almonds and an apple

Smoked salmon on wholemeal rye with a big mixed salad and extra virgin olive oil+lemon dressing

carrot sticks & hummous

Tofu & mixed veg stir-fry with brown rice

Tuesday:
fried egg, tomatoes & mushrooms

handful hazelnuts & grapefruit

Chicken&veg curry + left over brown rice

bowl of miso soup, celery sticks and yogurt dip

Pomegranate, goats cheese, seeds & mixed leaf salad with extra virgin olive oil



Let me know if this is helpful and I'll post up ideas for the rest of the week.

yellowlabrador

Have you looked for other food intolerances? I am sensitive to gluten, and when I went on a gluten free diet, I lost 10 kg in 2 weeks, without too much calorie counting. Then Aldi came to town with a load of glutenfree products and I promptly put the weight back on and all my symptoms came back. It turns out I'm sensitive to wheat too, and barley and oats and peanuts, I've cut out rye till I'm back on track. As soon as I resumed my old diet of rice cakes, cheese, veg and meat or fish. I have to check every label and I'm weary of trying anything new. I'm persisting because I want to lose the weight and be healthy.

lynsalot

I haven't actually considered any other intolerances although the nutritionist identified the wheat one... i'm ok with gluten just not of the wheat variety.

Once I get paid I'm gonna head back to the nurtritionist and go from there and hopefully there's other foods that I can eliminate which will have a positive effect.

The exercise is on the back burner for the moment as I got a tattoo on Sunday so once thats healed up I'll be back to swimming 4 times a week and it should have a massive effect on the weight loss (I Hope)

Otherwise I'm feeling very fit (Running up flights of stairs in work without any trouble... which mightn't sound like much but at 18 stone its not something I'd have done before!!!!)

lynsalot

rocky wrote: »

Of course.

It does depend on how little carb there is in one's diet. Haven't you heard that, in order for a low carb dieter to pass an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test), they need to start re-introducing carbs for a few days before the test? This is to counter the IR that sets in on low-carb. The body tries to preserve most glucose for the brain, that's why other tissues start resisting insulin...

Peter at Hyperlipid names it 'physiological' insulin resistance, to differentiate it from the 'real' insulin resistance, implying that the physiological one does not have negative consequences. I haven't seen any medical texts that define physiological IR / not that I've read too many .

My doc took blood tests and reported back that I have insulin resistance from their results. Besides all of that I am clinically obese with a BMI of 37. I can't trace all of my family history to report if there's diabetes running in the genes but even if there isn't, my lifestyle choices so far mean I'm a pretty good candidate anyway. That teamed with PCOS and difficulty losing weight is what drove me to the low GI types of foods.

rocky

What seems to help with PCOS is:

- a low carb diet that will reduce weight - not a high-fat one, try keep it under 50% fat
- increase omega 3 /6 ratio, either through decreasing omega 6, increasing omega 3 or both. For omega 3 I'd recommend fish and fish-oil based supplements, not flax.

alexsmith

ha some of the advice here is ridiculous.

first of all,avoid most if not all starchy carbs.

put cinnamon on all your food - it increases insulin sensitivity.
take a chromium polynicotinate supplement (NOT CHROMIUM PICOLINATE) it helps insulin utilise nutrients better. (sugars,fats proteins etc).
other supplements: alpha lipoic acid,gymnema sylvestre,mulberry extract.all help lower blood glucose

whats your diet like and il help you out.eat more protein,vegetbles and fats (yes even saturated fats) and 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day.

SteelyDanJalapeno

alexsmith wrote: »

ha some of the advice here is ridiculous.

first of all,avoid most if not all starchy carbs.

put cinnamon on all your food - it increases insulin sensitivity.
take a chromium polynicotinate supplement (NOT CHROMIUM PICOLINATE) it helps insulin utilise nutrients better. (sugars,fats proteins etc).
other supplements: alpha lipoic acid,gymnema sylvestre,mulberry extract.all help lower blood glucose

whats your diet like and il help you out.eat more protein,vegetbles and fats (yes even saturated fats) and 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day.

/in bold

Why?

alexsmith

why 1 or 2 pieces of fruit?

easier to get fiber from fruit than veg. also itl help with any sweet tooth one has.lots of vitamins/minerals etc.

SteelyDanJalapeno

if your on a high protein/high fat diet anything sweet including sweet fruit increases insulin from my experience

alexsmith

TiltedBrain wrote: »

if your on a high protein/high fat diet anything sweet including sweet fruit increases insulin from my experience

fruit contains fiber.fiber blunts insulin release.some fruits are higher hi than others but contain more fiber which will slow down insulin release.

another reason: he can go hypoglycemic with zero sugar,not good.one or 2 pieces of small fruit will not make you more insulin resistant.

another reason: hes not trying to get into ketosis,so relax.