how i decided my whole problem was due to insulin
i've been stalled for a year. just about a year ago, i finally got down to 197. i had been pretty much stalled for a couple of months before that but as a last ditch measure, i went on the fat fast and finally made oneunder. it didn't last, as soon as i went back to my induction level carb, i started gaining. and then it all went down hill. i started adding carbs for OWL and spun out of control and when on a loonnnggg carb binge. physically, i went down hill - i gained 10 pounds, my arthritis and back problems got worse, my blood sugars went up as did my insulin levels. i got started on glucophage and the only reason my dr didn't diagnosis diabetes is because my a1c was ok. my bp (already high and on a bunch of meds) got out of wack and i cycled through a ton of bp drugs. all my lab work got crappy - elevated cpr, homecyctine levels, cholesterol. i felt terrible and i thought what the f---, if this isn't working why bother. (did i mention the long carb binge, although technically, is it still a binge if it lasts for months??)
after january, i took a real close look at myself and decided to try and get my act together. tried a bunch of slightly bizarro labs and vitamin and mineral supplements combinations - so so effects. i went back on induction - didn't really work, upped calories- no effect, 5 small meals a day (gotta prevent those nasty insulin spikes) - maybe a little effect, restricted calories - worked a little bit, upped the fat - finally started losing about a pound every 2 weeks.
then i went to my doctor. my bp had been stable for a couple of months, the big neon sign flashing STROKE COMING i had been seeing over my head seemed to be fading away. i had lost some weight, not a huge amt, but better than i had been doing. i was feeling pretty good compared to the way i had all winter. then he acts like i had not made any progress at all. tells me people who lose weight improve their blood sugars. i pointed out i had lost 30 pounds but my labs had gotten worse. "it's your disease progressing'" he says. yes, he's a a--hole but that's another post
so i started really thinking of my problems as a disease process, not just being too fat. i looked again at my labs and started thinking about insulin. the glucophage had not really done much for my blood sugar levels, it's not so much a hypoglycemic drug to lower blood sugar but to utilize my own insulin better. and oddly enough, my blood pressure came down on it. hypertension is one of the side effects of elevated insulin levels. (i mentioned this to several drs, none of then seemed to take it seriously but i found it interesting as i had just spent the last 6 months taking my bp and waiting for the big stroke or mi) i've got metabolic syndrome bad - bp, lipids, abd fat, elevated insulin levels- and have probably had it for years. i've been hypertense for 20 years, lipids at least 10 years, obese with abd fat - omg don't even want to think how long. i've had metabolic syndrome since it was syndrome x and maybe before. well then, i can't expect a quick fix, and with the worsening of my glucose intolerance, i now see DIABETES COMING flashing over my head. so i started rereading my lc books. the ones who talked about leveling out insulin levels that made the most sense to me now were the drs heller and the carbohydrate addicts diet.
last week i started on the cad diet, 2-3 meals a day, one the reward meal with carbs. none of that frequent small meal even when i wasn't hungry just in case my insulin might be thinking about spiking! it's too soon to tell how this is going to work, i've not really lost, but i haven't gained either, and eating carbs once a day has not sent me into an uncontrolled carb eating frenzy. i don't know if it's going to work, but what to i have to lose at this stage of the game?
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