Insulin resistance - tell me about it

[insulinresistance]

I suspect I might have this problem.

Did you / do you also have this ?

How did you know and how did you overcome it in order to lose weight.

Get a blood test done. You won't know otherwise.

Who did the blood test ? I'm starting Zoe soon which has monitor, I'm sure they'll be able to tell me if I'm insulin resistant ?

im Pre-diabetic in my mid thirties, which is predominantly genetic as I’m a normal BMI and do vigorous exercise twice a week. Strong maternal history of early onset diabetes. Type 2 actually has more of a hereditary component than type 1 and if you have the genes for insulin resistance, long-term lifestyle change is the only thing that will help.

I’ve managed to (only very slightly) improve my HBA1C by fasting, losing yet more weight, avoiding all extra sugar and going mostly low-carb. I’m not going to lie, it’s crap and very hard work.

i was denied metformin but if you have PCOS symptoms you’d be eligible, might be worth discussing with the GP.

Whilst this has a genetic component, it’s usually exacerbated by a lifestyle choices over a long period of time. It is manageable but takes changes. You need a blood test to find out if you are pre- diabetic but there are insulin resistance tests but I’m not sure how you qualify to get tested specifically for this on the NHS. They usually test your HBA1C and see if this changes with lifestyle changes or medication and if it doesn’t or goes up, you could be resistant but in all honesty I am not sure this is something that is yet being widely given as a diagnosis in the U.K. by GP’s, either you would need an endocrinologist or go privately

I believe the markers for the risk factors of insulin resistance are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose levels, a large waistline.

Usually the solution is losing weight, changing your diet and exercising, and not leaning into your genetic risk factors as it helps your body learn how to respond to insulin better. There are medications that can help.

I was pre-diabetic at 40 and now I am not but I was obese.

Zoe won't tell you if your Insluin resistant.
You need a blood test.
Coming from a mum of a type one who knows what she's on about, takes two minutes to book a doctors appointment.

What should I say to the doctor ?

I did have gestational diabetes.

I have a high waist circumference and I'm really really struggling to lose weight, despite putting in a lot of effort.

You can ask for a blood test and say you want to discuss your risks of diabetes and ask for support ways to reduce your weight?

However there isn’t much support on the NHS for weight loss aside from online groups and healthy lifestyle changes, if you have a medical condition obviously they will treat you how they are able to

how are you trying to lose weight, what have you tried

Low carb, calorie controlled and 4-5 hours of exercise a week.

I track everything I eat with scales etc. I'm trying to create around 500-1000 calorie a day deficit.

Been going for 3 or so weeks. Not lost anything. I'm not over eating for sure. I have done this before. I know how to do the calorie counting.

After 30+ years of dieting and then regaining, I am certain I am insulin resistant. If I put my weight and details into a TDEE calculator, it says I need 2500ish calories a day to maintain, so that would be 1500 calories to lose 2 pounds a week. That just doesn't work out in practice though. If I eat over about 1200 calories, I put on weight. And that's low carb, mostly keto, so it's not like there's any water weight from carbs.

I have been low carb and doing 16:8 or longer since 2018, but I am still about 7 stone overweight. Any time I overeat, eat carbs or drink alcohol, my body puts on fat.

The ONLY way I can lose weight now is to not count calories, but eat keto/very low carb and fast for 36 hours three times a week. Despite not eating for 3 whole days, I still only lose about 1 pound a week. And I have to be consistent with it or I risk putting on again when I eat too much, drink or eat carbs.

I'm post menopausal, but I think the bigger problem is the insulin resistance. Books like Dr Robert Lustig's "Metabolical" and Dr Jason Fung's "Obesity Code" have helped me realise that I need to be consistent. I'm currently doing just that and have lost 16 pounds this year, so losing just over a pound a week.

I can only say that I don’t think 3 weeks is the best indicator of time that something doesn’t work at all. Have you been measuring your body? What kind of exercise? Are you building muscle with all the exercise? What about getting some advice from a reputable PT who knows about nutrition as well? Are you counting exercise calories into your deficit? This is the first mistake people make which is why I am asking. You cannot trust exercise or active cals they are always over estimated by MFP and fitness devices. You almost have to completely ignore their existence

@FarTooFat you don’t gain fat from carbs overnight, you gain water. For every g of carbs it holds 3G of water. Like, I get what you are saying for your own body but much of this is scientifically impossible you also can’t know it’s fat without getting into a dexa scan every time. I had a jacket potato last night and gained half a kilo this morning. It’s not fat it’s water and probably what’s in my bowels. You just have less water in your body than I do - it’s not fat. If you are eating no carbs you are likely eating high fat, calorie dense foods, no? Which means you have less food volume for your calorie allocation than I do (as I eat carbs). I eat about 1500/1600 calories a day and lose about 0.5kg a week - it just takes a really long time to see results in all honesty, and yes it’s about consistency and experimentation, if you aren’t losing any weight, make a change to your diet and exercise

Hi op, did you get any answers from your GP?

Found your thread as thinking similar for myself. I have lost some weight but it has been sooo slow, and hard. Constantly in a calorie deficit (even if I have the odd treat it's always counted ) I aim for 40/40/20 protein, carbs and fat but no big losses.

Been hard at it since January with a pt once a week, gym 3 times a week and now adding in daily walks and lucky if I've lost a stone and half in this time. Previous year lost some weight muddling along trying to work it out for myself. Lost a stone .

I am grateful for what I have lost, but still got around 4 to lose. I really am trying so hard but some weeks can get on the scales and I've lost nothing.

I struggle so much with cravings as well. I wake up in middle of night thirsty (needs to be something sweet ) or I crave chocolate. It's so embarrassing.

Please don’t feel embarrassed, it is hard. My dad had it, now he has full-blown type 2 with all associated symptoms (dementia, eyesight loss, loss of nerves in fingers and feet, recurring feet sores, you name it).

It was heartbreaking to watch, he tried to lose weight many times but always ended up overeating and snacking, he was constantly hungry. There was much less awareness of insulin resistance 20-30 years ago.
He never lost more than 5 kilos despite trying but he didn’t have the knowledge we have now about this condition.

You”re doing great! Keep building muscle and exercising, it can make you more sensitive to insulin over time. Low GI meals are key as well,

read "why we eat too much" by Andrew Jenkinson

Tried to go to the gym today and left after I weighed myself. Just got so upset.

This week I've

Been to 2 spin classes

Bodypump class (cardio/weights)

A PT gym session (cardio)

Another gym session with specific exercises to do(weights) Took around 1 1/2 hours.

Got at least 10000 most days including 3 × 4 mile walks

Diet not been great (as in content ) it's the summer holidays and struggled with sugar cravings. All withing calorie allowance though.

And ive put on 1 1/2 lbs. I don't know what else to do. I weigh and count everything, even the 'bad' stuff. My partners asked me if I want to go a walk later, but in all honesty I can't face it.

I have a GP appointment this week to discuss my thoughts but I know they won't believe how hard I'm trying and just tell me to try harder.

I’m sorry I know it’s really hard I think you are trying to ‘outrun a bad diet’ which really does make things counter productive as the more exercise you do the more hungry you will be and sugary things will not be filling you up and if they are carby, and you are doing a lot of exercise you will be holding a fair amount of water it might not be fat

What is it that you’re trying to achieve through your goal of so much exercise? Are you training for something or is this for weight loss? I think it’s really important not to have a clear goal of why you’re doing something so if you’re doing it because you want Tone strength competing mental health goals all of those things are fine but if you’re not enjoying it or working towards a goal then you might need to ask yourself. What am I doing it for? And I think this is where a lot of people flog themselves because if we’re just doing it for weight loss, I think most people don’t find exercise the most effective way to do it. This is for a variety of reasons exercise makes you hungry. Exercise makes you tired if you’re not fuelling your body enough. Exercise is very good for your mental health strength mobility overall well-being only if it’s something you enjoy.

1 1/2 lbs can be anything, including water. You might find metformin helpful, it’s not a weight loss drug, it’s helps with diabetes and insulin resistance. My friend has pcos and related insulin resistance and she has healthy BMI. She’s been on metformin for years, but she’s also a runner and eats like a saint, so it helps but won’t replace healthy lifestyle.

High sugar and junk food will make you more hungry, unfortunately. I try to stick to low GI food and it helps me a lot, I don’t feel drowsy after meals and I don’t search for snacks 10 minutes after finishing dinner. There are GI tables available online and there are plenty of lower GI options, eating low GI doesn’t mean that you have to eat chicken with cheese till the end of your life!

And I agree with Menora re fitness goals. They help to stay motivated. They don’t need to be big or ambitious. I want to learn cartwheels and run to the next village this year 😊

I think this week's been hard re sugary as think maybe I'm due my period ? Usually i aim for 40%carbs 40% protein and 20% fat diet which on the whole i stick to.

The extra exercise im doing at the moment is part of a personal training plan, with my goal to lose weight and tone up .

You will be toning up but under any adipose fat areas, as you can’t convert fat to muscle. I would make sure you aren’t exhausting yourself trying to create a huge deficit and putting yourself at risk of injury. The exercise is meant to make you feel good, not really upset. If your period is due then it really probably is water as you will be bloating up (even I bloat when I ovulate and I have no womb). Do you enjoy this exercise? I think most of us have found the sugar situation to be a cycle of craving sugar making us want more sugar and I’ve had times at the start where my calorie allowance was mostly crap so I did go cold turkey for a while

The thing with insulin for me was that I was in a cycle, the more sugar I ate the more fat cells I had which had more oestrogen - I had a lot of health issues due to excess oestrogen, I had to have a hysterectomy due to huge fibroids. I had breast pain constantly, acne etc. I had surgery and it was a wake up call so I reduced all my sugar intake and over time this has brought my oestrogen/fat cells down. Oestrogen promotes the storage of fat for healthy reproductive years lead to weight gain. Women of certain ages may have too much or too little oestrogen which can lead to weight gain so if you are seeing your doctor, ask about a blood panel for hormones

If you are craving sugar sometimes women can be lacking magnesium or calcium so that is one option to try to manage it?

I agree with @Menora! I am showing signs of insulin resistance, and it was enough of a fright to get me thinking about it. The glucose goddess really helped me to start to understand.

Exercise isn't the answer, although it is important. The answer is your diet. I would reduce your carbs even further, to the absolute bare minimum, and focus on your protein and greens.

I also don't have a womb, and thought that after my hysterectomy, I would be free of monthly cravings, but as I still have my ovaries, this is not the case at all!

I take magnesium and calcium, plus electrolytes every day. The key is also making sure you get enough sleep, I tend to reach for biscuits or snacks when I am tired (especially watching tv on a night) so now I go to bed instead. I feel so much better for it!

Chickpeas and lentils also help so much. It's really important as they keep you fuller for longer and so I eat some every day. Am currently reading ultra processed people, and goodness, it's an eye opener!