Low carb + lower fat

I've stayed away from posting on here for a while, but my heart goes out to,you.

Lord knows I've had my own issues with primal weight loss. Lost lots of weight quickly and then slowly started gaining....

But I have learned a few things along the way. I agree with the advice about eating real foods, when hungry, and not worrying about the macros for a while. 1200 cals per day is not out of line to lose weight if you feel good. When I lost weight in the beginning that's where my calories naturally were. I usually would catch up by eating a big fat ribeye once in a while.

The thing that hasn't been talked about is sleep. Not getting enough sleep makes you pre-diabetic for 24 hours. If you don't get enough sleep every night then your body will show insulin resistance. Stress has a similar effect.

Walking for enjoyment is great. Forcing yourself to walk = punishing your body = stress. Don't do it.

My best success in primal has been when I can manage to sleep a lot, exercise almost never and eat food that meets my body's nutrient requirements.

It sounds like you are doing A LOT of different things: walking, measuring food, stressing about your son's school, obsessing online trying to find answers, etc...

My advice, stop all of it. Seriously.

Sleep a lot.

Cook for pleasure.

Go outside and walk if you want to. Don't if you don't.

Hug your kids.

Go to bed early.

Relax in the morning and drink your coffee outside.

Treat yourself to a salt bath. You deserve to be loved. You are acting like your body is the enemy. It is trying to do the best it can. Acknowledge it.

Losing weight is hard work for your body to do. It needs rest and quiet to do it. Give it to it.

What you are doing is taking a stressed system and stressing it further to try and force it into compliance. Insulin resistance is only the first of many problems this will cause.

~rc

[QUOTE=brookesam;1097278]Not exactly sure what you mean by this. Insulin resistance is insulin resistance... no matter if it is from eating junk or by eating VLC. Both scenarios cause the body to be less sensitive to insulin therefore needing more insulin.

Low carb did cause insulin resistance in me.[/QUOTE]

She means (and is correct in saying) that there are actually more than one type of insulin resistance. Any resistance induced by VLC is a normal and transient physiological adaptation at the muscles to free up glucose for the brain. This type goes away with the reintroduction of carbs to the diet (takes like 2 days). The pathological sort of insulin resistance is systemic (hepatic and muscular) and will not disappear with the reintroduction of carbohydrates.

I would second what Sixpack says - give yourself a break. :)

Your body didn't get the way it is overnight, and it's not going to be fixed overnight either. Try changing your diet the way [B]you[/B] were thinking about, stay away from the scales and the tapemeasure for a month then check and see it it's working, if not then try something different, perhaps increasing the carbs and protein and/or lowering the fat a bit and seeing if that makes a difference. If you start finding yourself lacking in energy or feeling rotten, then change things a bit sooner.

Some people feel great on a high protein diet, others don't. It's your body and you need to learn to listen to it (and it will learn to tell you what you really need) and not worry yourself about all the other information that is out there - lets face it, for many years we all listened to what we were told to eat by others (CW) and look at the mess it's got us into.

Everyone is different and it's going to take experimentation to find what works for you.

Good luck, I hope you find your solution!

Ayla, I wasn't trying to suggest which herbs you should be taking or anything. I was just posting some links to information that proves my point which is that tea, herbs, and spices, in the context of a diet containing lots of other whole foods as well, can be extremely beneficial in restoring insulin resistance.

Of course the evidence is mounting in favor of certain herbs and spices over others, but you can let the studies and your naturopath help you with that one.

Thanks DM. yep I believe herbs etc are helpful to many things, so still doing reading on that.
Have not made a naturopath app yet, but I intend to

[QUOTE=Ayla2010;1097838]Thanks DM. yep I believe herbs etc are helpful to many things, so still doing reading on that.
Have not made a naturopath app yet, but I intend to[/QUOTE]
I DID link to info on the ones I PERSONALLY believe to have some of the best evidence in their favor, but there are others showing good results as well, and your naturopath can help you navigate this murky field.

I just wish I was further into my studies to be a Naturopath so I could help myself, but am only 2 units in out of 24 so its going to be a while before I gain the knowledge I need. Working through your links as I can.

[QUOTE=Neckhammer;1097320]She means (and is correct in saying) that there are actually more than one type of insulin resistance. [B]Any resistance induced by VLC is a normal and transient[/B] physiological adaptation at the muscles to free up glucose for the brain. This type goes away with the reintroduction of carbs to the diet (takes like 2 days). The pathological sort of insulin resistance is systemic (hepatic and muscular) and will not disappear with the reintroduction of carbohydrates.[/QUOTE]QFT. Because it needs to be said once again. And again. And again.

[QUOTE=Paleobird;1097892]QFT. Because it needs to be said once again. And again. And again.[/QUOTE]

This really does make sense. NH when you say re-introduce carbs, what level are you talking? Still not above the 150 g per day?

So if I kept going low carb, would the same damage occur as in someone who had high insulin levels, but was not managing it at all, as in still eating garbage? Or because its not quite the same, would nothing negative happen?

There is no such thing as good insulin resistance.