| colorlvr
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Hi all --
Years ago, I was told I was Insulin Resistant. I had a free insulin level of 24. I weighed 261 lbs. They told me if I don't lose weight with a low carb diet of some type, I was heading for Diabetes, and that the Insulin Resistant state I was in would snowball my weight problem if I didn't address it soon.
After tinkering with lots of "diets" and methods, I finally found South Beach, and it has become an obsession for me, a new way of life. I've had great luck with it.
Now, my sister, who is a fit, 148 and 5'5" has just been told she is Insulin Resistant, and her free insulin is 27. She is not overweight or obese by any stretch, in my opinion, she is in the military and very solid from constant exersise and working out.
So, her doctor reccommended South Beach to her, basically giving her the same rationale that mine gave me years ago. I am glad she will be on SBD, because this will make my own experience that much richer, being able to help another green Beacher out with my own experience.
What baffles me is how a trim person can be Insulin Resistant! I was 100 lbs overweight and my fat was producing more insulin than my body could even use, so that made sense to me. But, my sisters situation is confusing me. My dad is type II diabetic, could it simply be genetics?
Her weight has been creeping up on her, a couple lbs here and there, 5 lbs in the last month. I am sure that is a symptom of the Insulin Resistance, and she is a professed "carb freak" thats all she eats - breads, fruits, pastas...
Anyone care to give their opinion on this? And how "Insulin Resistance" has been defined to you? |
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Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:53 pm |
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| tennie
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My guess is that 'body types' doesn't always hold true. It just seems to be a 'general' rule.
I don't know about insulin resistance, but do know that my hubby was diagnosed as diabetic 5 years ago. He's very active and at a good weight, 174 lbs., 6'1". His body 'type' would not indicate diabetes. On the other hand, he always said, "The more sugar the better." (I think he might have been rubbing it in as I watched sugar consumption but was still 50+ lbs. overweight. I didn't get diagnosed with diabetes until this past Aug.)
So, as you said, she's a 'carb freak'. That may be the key and not the body weight.
Wish I knew more specifics, but hopefully the SB WOE will be of help to her. She's lucky to have you to guide her.
Marilyn |
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Thu Oct 28, 2004 2:10 pm |
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| pouncer00
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OK, I've never heard of "free insulin" until now, so I researched - and can't find anything overly specific...but here we go
WebMD calls it hyperinsulinemia; your pancreas produces more insulin because your cells are screaming they're not getting fed. What your pancreas doesn't keep track of is how much insulin is already in your system, which is high because your insulin isn't "unlocking" your cells the way they should. They go on to say that if you have this problem, you should severly limit your intake of all carbs, as well as exercise and possibly take Glucophage, as you have a high chance of developing T2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance usually develops over time, sometimes b/c of genetics, most times because of lifestyle/diet. Basically, your insulin works some of the time, but the rest of the time it's simply chilling in your system until your kidneys filter it out (which is also another reason to control it as much as possible - kidney damage/failure) while your cells starve. For a time, the increase in insulin in your system keeps your glucose levels normal, but after a while you can't physically produce enough insulin (diabetes). Pre-diabetes is when your glucose levels have begun to rise, but aren't high enough to classify someone as diabetic, so hyperinsulinemia isn't quite pre-diabetes, more of a warning sign. Regardless, your body type/size has little to do with the development.
There are some screwy sites on the web that tell you about hyperinsulinemia - some blame it on the introduction of oils into our diet, most blame it for the introduction of Atkins to our lives (!). Mayo says it might also be caused by a tumor of the pancreas, but that isn't very common.
Here is the list of other problems that can develop b/c of hyperinsulinemia: artherosclerosis, elevated triglycerides (increased risk of heart disease and stroke), high uric acid (gout), polycystic ovary syndrome (endocrine disorder), Type 2 diabetes, lack of activity, obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), endocrine disorders in women and blood clotting problems.
It's not that big of a deal, if you're willing to make changes to your lifestyle. Your sister is going to need special foods from the military... |
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Thu Oct 28, 2004 4:28 pm |
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| suzyQ
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| Pouncer00 -- you're info is right on. I was just diagnosed with Insulin Resistance Syndrome last week, and hence have been doing massive amounts of reading and research on it. If you were to look at me, you wouldn't think I have a pound to lose, but in reality I'm about 5 pounds away from my ideal weight. The reason, most likely, that I have IRS is because it has a very strong genetic component, and my father and two aunts on my mother's side have type 2 diabetes. So yes, IRS is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. The good news is that if you take it seriously and change your lifestyle when you're diagnosed, you can usually avoid getting full blown diabetes. That means no overt sugars, no white flour, less carbs, regular exercise, etc. My IRS was diagnosed with a 2 hours glucose tolerance test, where they take a baseline blood test, then have you drink a glucose solution and take your blood again 1/2 hour, 1 hour and 2 hours after that to see how well your body is processing the glucose. If your insulin reads too high, your body isn't doing it's job properly. That's probably why the pounds have been slowly creeping up on my, especially around my hips (where I never used to gain weight). And I though it was my metabolism slowing down (even though I exercise 5 days a week)! So getting an early diagnosis is actually a blessing in disguise, because it gives you a chance to avoid diabetes. I'm very glad I was pro-active about getting tested, based on feeling so crappy after eating sugar (which I used to crave ... but don't now that I've been off it for a while). I've found radiantrecovery.com to be a very helpful website for this. Best to you. |
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Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:53 pm |
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