Insulin sensitivity and Fat Loss

[lylemcd]

Full article (originally published in some online magazine) is on the site

Click here

[meeshathecat]

Hi lyle, the article on insulin was very good but I have type one diabetes (child onset) The problems that I have with my diet are as such

Low carb high protien - I've done these diets intermittently when Ive had problems with raised blood sugar, unfortunately this means that I loose weight and Ive noticed that this comes primarily from my muscles at 5'7 119 pounds there's not much else that it can come off of - at my worst my weight dropped to 104 pounds and I felt like utter crap - what it does mean is better blood sugar results as less carbohydrate = less insulin running around in my system, obviously though its not sustainable and I can kiss goodbye to the gym as I have no energy

Balanced Diet eating moderate carbs - Can't get it right - even using GI and GL as guidlines for what kind of carohydrate I should be using = Massive swings in blood sugar, when my blood sugar is high I can't go to the gym cos its dangerous - when my bloods are too low its dangerous also. Also everytime they go to high I go into Diabetic Ketosis (not to be confused with Dietary Ketosis) Which again results in MASSIVE drops in weight. (Primarily in Muscle mass)

High Carb - forget it!!

I know its a balancing act and the thing is that I've just come out of a period of prolonged illness and am horrified that as a result of not running or being in the gym my BF% has gone from 20 to 30%. I'm so weak I can't work out for more than 20 mins at a time doing anything cos Im knackered, Having said that I am in the Gym every day except weekends as luckily its right next to my work (next door - woo hoo ) .

Here is a sample of my diet & Exercise Regime at the Moment

7.00am Green Tea and no Sugar Yoghurt
8.00am 20 mins in the pool (breast stroke at the moment but looking to get back to front crawl)
9.30 - 10.30 am Grapefruit, Slice of Gluten free bread with soy spread
13.00pm 20 mins on the cross trainer
14.00pm Squash Soup & pumpernickel bread with soya spread, Handfull of nuts
16.30.00pm Soya Yoghurt, pepermint tea, Half a flax seed bar, more nuts
19.00pm Salmon with dill sauce (home made) and steamed veggies. Fruit Salad

I also take the following supplements

Multi vit, Acidophilus with pectin, Enzyme Digest, Evening Primrose Oil, Zinc with copper, Glocosamine, Aloe Vera Juice

My vice is Caffeine - I will drink up to 6 cups a day if I'm really tired

I also drink too much water, if my bloods are too high or I'm in ketosis that can be up to 6 litres

Anyway - Im having a relatively ok patch at the moment and I need to get my muscle mass back up so I need to work smarter rather than harder - I don't care about putting weight on aslong as my BF come down

Any help and I'd be eternally greatful

[Guerly]

where's the food?
6 coffee's is not a good idea

[meeshathecat]

How do you mean where's the food?

Like I said caffene is a vice (im working on it)

[Guerly]

you not eating enough - to gain muscle.My brother has type 1 diabetes, so I know the condition well.

Your meals are not balanced -- I would be weak from eating like this.

Your meals are centred around these foods:
yogurt
pumpernickel bread and squash soup
fruit salad
grapefruit
gluten free bread with soya spread
6 coffees

These are all carb foods, you can have them but try work them into a more balanced plan.

Are you lacto-veg?
Dude, you need to tighten up the diet. EAT EVERY THREE HOURS, some kind of protein in each meal

meal1: egg whites and veggies, oatmeal and berries
meal2: apple and almonds, or cottage cheese and berries and nuts
meal3: quinoa./brown rice/, sweet potatoe with fish/chicken/meat/ and add some avo, olive oil, or flax and pile on the veggies
meal4: Yogurt and whey shake, or nuts and yogurt
meal5: salmon with veg and lots of greens, you can add in some brown rice or quinoa.
meal6: cottage cheese and peanut butter (optional)

Do some weights, and dont worry about swimming in the pool or any cardio for that matter, maybe some walking, but keep your energy up with balanced meals, add in some good fats and whenever you eat carbs, eat them with some fat and protein.

There are some good studies with chromium, and Omega-3's - so supplement some fish oil.

Lyle will chime in,
hope this helps

[Nigeepoo]

Originally Posted by meeshathecat

Hi lyle, the article on insulin was very good but I have type one diabetes (child onset) The problems that I have with my diet are as such

Low carb high protien - I've done these diets intermittently when Ive had problems with raised blood sugar, unfortunately this means that I loose weight

EDIT: At 30% body-fat, you need to lose weight.

Are you familiar with the following sites:-

http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/
http://www.survivediabetes.com/
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14046989.php

Cheers, Nige.

[meeshathecat]

Thanks for the reply - on these low carb diets I lose cause I go into (dietary) ketosis and need next to no isulin and as a result - rapid weight drop. I don't want to lose weight I want to convert into muscle. And also to the guy above - thanks yeah, you're right there was not enough protien that day, normally Im quite good at balancing the carbs/ protien thing but that was a bad day. I'm not veggie or lactose intolerant and allthough it was too carb heavy all the carbs there were very low GL which Im sure you'll know is pretty essential for diabetes but yeah I can see where I'm going wrong on that particular day. I'm also a quinoa preacher - so much better for you than rice or pasta. Im just a bit lost just now cause I need the muscle Ive lost back to help me control my insulin intake

[Guerly]

You have to do weights and eat more. Simple.
Low GL carbs are all in the plan I outlined and they keep your energy up, balance blood sugar levels etc..
I would suggest you eat something like I wrote out, but work into your body weight x 16 in order to gain.
Also eat some beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, butter beans , legumes are great for diabetes...
Good Luck

[meeshathecat]

Yeah that does look like a really good diabetic day so much appreciation - but what do you mean by body weight x 16?. Im 5'7 and 119lbs but 30% bf thanks to a recent DKA

[RichardGrinder]

Originally Posted by meeshathecat

Low carb high protien - I've done these diets intermittently when Ive had problems with raised blood sugar,

Protein and fat also lead to an increase in blood sugar b/c they're partly metabolized to glucose in a time span of up to 8 hours (I'm not sure if the type of protein plays a role here). So your high protein diet means that you have give several injections of your meal insulin AND/OR increase the dosage of your basal insulin.

Balanced Diet eating moderate carbs - Can't get it right - even using GI and GL as guidlines for what kind of carohydrate I should be using = Massive swings in blood sugar,

There could be several reasons for this. My first starting point would be limiting the total daily insulin dosage (meal, basal and insulin for correcting high BG values) to a fixed value. This should erase some swings.

After that I would start checking if my basal rate works properly, ie. blood glucose doesn't leave the 70 to 140 mg/dl range when fasting for up to 5 hours. If it does, one should fix the basal rate. Another reason for swings is the time span between injection of the meal insulin and the time starting to eat. If your BG value is in a normal range, one should first inject the insulin and then wait some minutes before starting to eat carbs. 1.5 hours after injection (and eating of course ) the BG value should not exceed 140 mg/dl. If it does, you should increase the time span. The time span is day time dependend, too. In the morning it will be longer b/c the insulin resistance is higher. Between 11am and 1pm resistance it will be much lower, hence the time span is shorter. Of course you should have guessed or measured the amount of carbs in your meal correctly when finding out the time span.

Lot's of stuff. Start w/ one thing at a time to change.

when my blood sugar is high I can't go to the gym cos its dangerous

That depends on the reason why it is high. If your basal dosage is wrong, you shouldn't go to the gym. If you just got your carbs wrong, then the training will lower the BG level.

- when my bloods are too low its dangerous also. Also everytime they go to high I go into Diabetic Ketosis (not to be confused with Dietary Ketosis)

If you don't know how to get out of this, go to a hospital.

I also drink too much water, if my bloods are too high or I'm in ketosis that can be up to 6 litres

Your concern should not which type of diet you follow or if you go to a gym.
It should be to obtain enough knowledge on diabetes in the first place. The rest will follow. Esp. the muscle gains will be great w/ our legal doping.

If you have any question, feel free to ask.