Insulin resistance + primal page 5

[Ayla2010]

DR when you say a re-feed though, how high carb are you talking?
And would just sweet potatoes do it?

[Drumroll]

A refeed can be from any primal-approved carb source. So things like fruit, sweet potatoes, potatoes, squash, ect.

I'd say 200-300 grams of carbs on refeed day and get in a really good workout on the day of the refeed as well. That's about it though. Pretty simple. You might have a bit of pain the first time or two you try it since you've been off of carbs for so long, but you'll adjust to it if you make it a part of your routine. Once every two weeks I'd say is plenty. If you workout a TON you might try once a week, but most people don't need that much if the only goal is to stave off physiological insulin resistance.

[Ayla2010]

I don't do much in the way of workouts at the moment.
That is a lot of carbs, I think id struggle to make myself eat that.

[Drumroll]

I don't do much in the way of workouts at the moment.
That is a lot of carbs, I think id struggle to make myself eat that.

Yeah, if you don't workout a lot then once every two weeks is MORE than enough. Just make sure you get SOME kind of activity on your refeed day though.

And yeah, it's a lot, but you'll get used to it if you make it a part of your routine.

The only other option I see is that you could up protein a significant amount on a daily basis which would spur gluconeogenesis which would put insulin into use and keep physiological resistance in check, but I think the carb refeed is the easier option personally.

Honestly, I'm not sold on the ketosis option for folks with insulin issues. I'd work them out first before trying out a more advanced technique anyway. You might need to try upping your exercise frequency a bit as well. That will increase insulin sensitivity on its own, independent of whatever dietary changes you begin to make.

[Black Timber]

Isn't Intermittent Fasting a good method of increasing Insulin Sensitivity?

[AshleyL]

I think the insulin resistance in ketosis is just a "temporary" adaptation to the diet. I don't think it contributes at all to insulin resistance *disease*. Too many people come off it to eating carbs again and find their previous metabolic issues gone- even to the point they start eating junk and don't gain weight (for a while, until it screws them up again).

[Finnegans Wake]

Ayla, I've skimmed this thread, and my comment is that getting your serum glucose levels normalized can take time. Think of it this way: if it was a long, slow path to insulin resistance, it may be a slow path back to insulin sensitivity.

When I first started Primal, I was doing VLC during the week, and then just letting myself have carbs on my 20% splurges on weekends. Besides weight loss, I found that a lot of other stuff started moving in the right direction: triglycerides, serum glucose, BP. I didn't start IFing until I felt sugar crashes go away, and now I do IFs not as any regular schedule but because I sometimes just don't feel hungry until noon or late afternoon. It's really about normalizing the swings of blood sugar, and listening to your body.

I would disagree with the notion to eat when you're not hungry, or to eat past the point of being full. It just seems counterintuitive, and I have never done this since going Primal.

VLC can be a helpful tool to kickstart weight loss and to get your insulin sensitivity normalized. People who talk about adding carbs back and refeeds may be more physically active or may be starting from a better baseline insulin sensitivity. The bottom line is that you have to find what works for you, to satisfy your hunger, provide energy, and bring the results you want to see. I know that there are times I feel the physical need to go VLC when diet has gone off course a bit; I consider it a tuneup. If I plan on doing a longer run, or after I've done some good sweaty physical exertion, I think nothing of loading up on carbs.

Just keep it simple. Eat good food, 2-3 times per day, don't deprive or overeat. As your weight and various tests normalize, recalibrate the macros as you see fit.

[sbhikes]

So you suggest I make myself eat even when not hungry?
This is not something I want to do as a former binger

Then eat more calorie dense meals.

Ayla, drop the bulletproof coffee. It's not doing you any favors. That is a calorie dense meal but it's not a nutrient dense meal. I think AngryKiwi meant nutrient dense.

When you are hungry, make yourself dinner. Have dinner for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. Dinner is a generous portion of meat, a generous portion of vegetables and if you like, one of those meals can have a small portion of starch such as half a sweet potato. If you are hungry between these meals, make bigger servings.

This will help you get over the binging and give you the nutrition your body needs. Eventually you'll probably think ugh, this is too much and have a smaller meal. And maybe once in a while you'll be like oh man, I'm so hungry but I'm eating so much already. Don't worry about it. Have a bigger potato or something.

I don't do much in the way of workouts at the moment.

If you have insulin resistance your body is stuck in some kind of feedback loop. You should do some exercise to help it get unstuck. It is really easy in our culture to say hey, what can I stick inside me to change everything? Sticking the right things in is only one piece of the puzzle. The other is you need sunlight on your skin and eyes and you need to move your body around, make it do something that is difficult for it right now. If you don't give it stimulus to grow and change, it won't. But if you do, then it goes, hey, I'm still needed here, let's turn on the hormones of youth and growth so we don't die.

And ignore Zach and the carb pushers. Someday you'll be able to eat a lot of carbs without consequence but you aren't there yet and guys like him are too dumb to understand stuff like that. You don't have to avoid all carbs like the plague or beat yourself up because you say f-it I want a whole potato, maybe two today. But on a day-to-day basis, you should favor the meat and veggies over everything else.

[Zach]

Just like Otzi, i was pre-diabetic during the height of my low carb days and cured it on a diet of high carb.

Just went back and looked theough my test results, first one was after 2 years low carb, and 9 days of almost complete carnivory. Second was just a month ago, around 60-70% carb intake for almost a year. Both were fasted 12 hours. Tests were a little less then 2 years apart.

Test 1 -Glucose: 130
Test 2 -Glucose: 97

"Current ADA criteria are
Normal: 70-99 mg/dL
Impaired Fasting Glucose: 100-125 mg/dL
Diabetes Mellitus: at or above 126 mg/dL
The diagnosis of diabetes must be confirmed on a subsequent
day by measuring FPG, 2-hr PG or random plasma glucose (if
symptoms are present)."


Just a snapshot i know and it doesnt really prove much, just my personal experience and it shows that insulin resistance may not just be temporary on low carb. It also shows that high carb alone does not cause diabetes. By the way i gzve up low carb the day after that first test, came back for a diabetes test a month later and was just under the diabetes range so they just told me to eat better, exercise more. I didnt mention to them i exercised and ate perfect paleo throughout that.

I am even higher carb and lower protein now and i have no doubt my numbers would be even better, i no longer get crashes, inflammation or sleep issues that i used to have.

Other numbers that improved during that time are Co2, TSH, sed rate, test.

[Finnegans Wake]

+1 to what SB said. The feedback loop idea is right on, and as someone who is rather lazy about exercise my preferred way to bust out was to take up jogging for short distances. (I do occasional weights and body weight exercises, but am terribly un-disciplined!) There's something immediately fulfilling to me when I have a nice 3-mile run, the core feels tighter, energy is better, my face looks younger - my wife literally says she can see it in my face when I have a good run. We did a 2-miler last Saturday because it was only 20F outside, but it definitely helps me to reset the craving for bad foods for some reason. But everyone will have their preferred activity.