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Have i got this right? carbs intake question

lucylocket61

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,394
Location
Wrexham
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I may be having a Eureka moment, or have it this wrong, so any constructive input is welcome:

It has dawned on me that, due to my very high insulin resistance, any carbs I eat or drink go straight to my fat stores, as my body cant use them, or use only a tiny bit of the energy they produce.

So, my calorie intake of carbs is wasted calories, and if i eat carbs those calories dont nourish me and I feel tired and hungry. I am, in effect, only able to use the calories from fats and protein I eat?

Therefore, in order to not feel so tired and weak (apart for my ME which I am now thinking is partly the carb effect and IR) I need to make up more of my calories in fats and proteins to get the usable nourishment I need each day from my daily 1400 cals?

Bottom Line: my body treats ALL carbs as junk food while my IR is high? and automatically stores it instead of using it for energy?

caveats:

I know some of you have no carbs, and thats fine, but I need to continue to have some until I can talk to my specialist about my other problems

I know some of you say dont count calories, but for me it is essential to not put on weight (I have a lot to lose still)

Yes, i know I may be stating the bleedin' obvious, but it takes time to get my head round stuff, and i need a ladybird version for most things.
 
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I believe it is more to do with insulin production. For someone that is very insulin resistant, any carbs eaten will trigger a huge insulin response. Because the insulin can't do its job properly (ie push the glucose into the cells) the poor old pancreas secretes more and more insulin to try and clear the glucose. It can produce this over hours and hours trying to do this, so you end up with high circulating insulin.

It is the high insulin that causes the weight gain, and also a lot of other nasty things such as inflammation. Cutting the carbs reduces the insulin response to minimal, which must surely have the opposite effect of high insulin?. Fats generally speaking do not trigger much of an insulin response, in fact butter doesn't trigger any apparently. Protein does trigger an insulin response but in varying degrees according to the type of food.

Of course, I could be quite wrong. I often am.
 
Have you seen Sarah Hallbergs Ted x talk? Available on you tube and very helpful.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Of course, I could be quite wrong. I often am.
Click to expand...

I think you have it spot on. Carbs obviously produce glucose (or some variant of) that requires insulin and because of insulin resistance, that's even more insulin than others might produce.

Other things that will affect metabolism and any attempt to shed a pound or two include: high cortisol (cortisone is a precursor molecule for cortisol), quite often caused by stress (illness, pain, mental anxiety), high estrogen (understandable in females, not so much males), fatty liver (non alcoholic fatty liver comes from insulin resistance, high insulin and fat storage). Poor sleep is also responsible for fat burning, so if you don't sleep . . . .
 
Essentially insulin is the key that opens the cell wall to take in glucose. When something goes wrong with this mechanism, the pancreas makes more insulin to overcome the problem. Unfortunately this works imperfectly and long term leads to damage to the beta cells that produce the insulin, as they continue to make more. The liver also take a beating as it has to convert the excess glucose to fat. We know that there are various metabolic syndromes that cause these problems but the end result is that you are not utilising glucose properly. Most of us by-pass the problem by eating more fat, which utilises a totally different metabolic process to glucose metabolism. Glucose can be made from protein, but this is a much slower process and is less likely to cause harmful spikes in your blood sugar concentration. You will feel the benefit of eating a much reduced carbohydrate diet as your hunger pangs will diminish (you may also pee like mad as carbs hold on to a lot of water). Most of us start by eating to our meter, to find out how much carbohydrate we can tolerate. If you are overweight, the good news is, that as you lose weight, your carbohydrate tolerance may well go up. I'd suggest healthy fats, from vegetables and fish with a lower proportion from meat. Lots of above ground growing vegetables will help fill you up and supply the "sunshine" vitamins that will help lift your mood. Most root vegetables are full of carbs unfortunately and should be only a small proportion of the diet. Nuts and seeds are great for snacking, but pack loads of calories. I pre-weigh mine so I can't over eat on them.

Getting off carbs is tricky, you may develop "cravings" for a surprisingly long time after you go low carb. I'm sorry to say that I have fallen off the wagon many times. I forget it, after a "what possessed me to do that" session and carry on. Good luck, I hope this way of eating suits you as it suits so many of us with type 2.
 
forget it - I am too thick to understand this stuff and the links. Thats why I asked for a Ladybird version.
 
lucylocket61 said:
forget it - I am too thick to understand this stuff and the links. Thats why I asked for a Ladybird version.
Click to expand...
OK you haven't quite got the mechanism right but you have the right idea.
Because you are eating "lowish" carbs you are still triggering insulin responses when you eat. Because of this your body is not able to access its fat stores for energy (because you keep topping up your glucose stores) so it is never able to burn the fat.
If you cut right down on the carbs (less than 20g per day) and maybe intermittent fast to stop the insulin triggers then you stand a far greater chance of accessing your fat stores and starting to run on your stored fat.
Your "lowish" carb way of eating is stopping you getting the benefits of ketosis. Cut out as many carbs as you possibly can for a month and you should be on the way to weight loss especially if you can miss a meal breakfast or dinner are best to extent your overnight fast.
Edit to add if you want a cheapish way of doing this then eat eggs and bacon twice a day for 2 weeks and see how you get on, as much as you like until you feel full but not completely stuffed.
 
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When you are eating you are STORING FAT
When you are fasting (not eating ) you are BURNING FAT

Those are in simple terms that I understand. I think lol
 
Lucy, have you ever tried intermittent fasting? Just skipping breakfast (as mentioned by @bulkbiker ) will help. It will automatically reduce your daily carbs as long as you don't try and add them to your lunch menu!! It will give your pancreas a rest, barely any insulin will be secreted, and will help with fat burning. You could have a coffee with cream as soon as you get up, as that will help fill you up until lunch time, and I admit to a cup of tea mid morning. Perhaps additionally you could bring your tea forward a bit to give you a longer fasting time, and if you snack at all - try not to. A cup of tea or coffee is all you need if you are really genuinely hungry.
 
I'm Australian too.. Ladybird is similar to our "little golden" books. Ladybirds were the ones about **** and Jane. I suppose I'm showing my vintage now! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

My diabetes educator said that you're basically starving as a diabetic with tonnes of sugar in your blood. The cells and muscles are locked to sugar because the locks to cells and muscles has rusted and the keys (insulin) don't work very well at all.
 
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