Unless you do deeper testing, how would anyone know whether they have actual insulin resistance, or whether they are not making enough insulin? All you see is a high level of glucose in the blood via fasting glucose levels or A1C.
That said, let’s assume you’re producing enough insulin, how do you know your body has lost sensitivity to it, or whether your cells are just already full of glycogen and simply can’t store anymore and therefore you end up with excess glucose in the blood?
And if that’s the case, does metformin simply “force” the cell to accept the excess glucose despite already being full? If so, what are the long term implications of that?
I do believe the newer info that suggests that far more people are on the verge of type 2 than previously thought. And my FG is typically over 100 (usually 103 to 106). The doc suggested going keto…but before trying that I’m doing lower carbs and higher fat, staying away from sugar/fructose and staying consistent…we’ll see what the next labs say. I’ll go from there.
It is my understanding that fasting insulin should be close to 5. Mine is 10.
My endocrinologist said it could be better. I also told my endo that it seems I have trouble loosing belly fat. I asked about metformin and she was more than willing to give to me.
I thought I could do sort of a insulin reset and take it for 2 months. But all I read is good stuff about it. Even anti cancer stuff. Not sure if i should continue on it for life.
Interestingly enough my FG is between 70-80. Which is excellent. But I read this does not mean your are not insulin resistat
If your fasting glucose is 70-80, how can you be insulin resistant? You don’t have excess glucose to speak of. Producing too much insulin on the other hand seems like a problem with the pancreas or its signalling?
I’m a Type 1 diabetic and have been taking Metformin for about 20 years in addition to insulin. My last HA1C was 4.9. I believe it helps keep my insulin sensitivity high.
Fat and type 2 diabetes are very interconnected. Being fat leads to many health issues and the looks is really the least problem in being fat. It fucks up your hormonal profile, it fucks up insuline resistance, it causes inflamation and it makes you enclined to cardio events.
So getting rid of the shitty body fat is crucial, no matter if you are on TRT or not and no matter what. Meformin can help, but you can also mimic its effect to a great point be removing ALL sugar and fast carbs from your diet, going for example paleo with some sweet potatoes and brown rice around workouts.
Don’t mean to hijack the thread, sorry OP - but I’m interested in hearing what a days worth of eating might look like doing what you described here? Thanks
Yep. I make it very simple and monotonous because I’m lazy to cook.
Usually for breakfast I eat scrambled eggs with some vegietables like peppers, spinach, carrot or asparagus, fried in coconut oil.
At lunch and dinner I combine from a local place for cooked fitness food pork, chicken, horse meatballs/sausages, steaks and whatever, sometimes salmon with salad like spinach, tomatoes/cucumbers, broccoli, beet, green salad or whatever they have currently with 150-200g sweet potatoes per meal. 1-2 times in a week I eat brown rice but try to hold to sweet potatoes.
And afternoon I eat a little fruit and occasionally a small avocado depending my calories for the day(I try to cut fat)
I have a very good recipe book can send it by email but I’m lazy and don’t time to cook by it
Stopped all sugar, not a single drop in coffee or tea, all pasta and bakery and whatever that I loved really much and my hunger cravings are almost gone. The truth is most people cannot tolerate fast carbs and just do not need them.
What study do you have that supports your claim? There is one from last year, that I will look for later when I have time, that shows that it’s better to consume some simple carbs to maintain sensitivity. The fact is, I eat a clean diet now and have for years, and the lack of simple carbs in it is not preventing the A1C spike.
I guess this makes some sense. Currently I feel very well by avoiding them and my food cravings disappeared. Not to mention that the simple carbs are relatively new foods that our organisms have not well evolved to process. In fact this is the concept behind the paleo diet. How much does it comes true - I don’t know but seems it is definetely easier to cut weight this way.
To be honest I have been taking some medications and supplements and my testosterone increased a bit from one of the medications so cannot say much how the diet affected my well being.
But I started to loose weight, like 2kg for 3 weeks and now it is easier for me to eat less. Also I do not feel hungry all the time like I used to
I dropped from ~30% BF to around 17% currently. I did a full keto diet for 9 weeks. Stopped that because cholesterol went through the roof, even with avoiding saturated fats. Nothing changed with BG levels. They improved at first but went right back to where they were. My diet is now nothing but protein, healthy fats, and simple carbs. Diet and body composition will NEVER trump genetics man. The best I can hope for is to keep it at bay with modern medicine. That’s why I use metformin. It’s the only hope I have at the moment.
Couldn’t agree more. Better health should always start with solid nutrition and steady exercise regimen. Once that is dialed in, then it’s time to try to medically help the aspects that the body just can’t seem to self correct.
I spent 2 years optimizing diet and exercise before I started turning to other means. Blood test (more than 1) revealed low T. After 6 months on TRT, that issue was resolved but BG was still an issue. From there I started metformin.
I don’t really buy into the whole Paleo thinking. The earliest human settlements show evidence of grinding grain and eating bread. The whole thing is predicated on scientific speculation being treated as fact, and I think that the speculation is about as accurate as the Bro Science at the gym.
