If you control type 2 diabetes with diet do you lose weight on a low-carb diet (no medicine).

Hi

I have reactive hypoglycemia. I haven't had a bad episode in about 40 years. I live on a low-carb diet. I saw part of a program
on the Public Broadcasting System (U.S.). The doctor defined a "hunter" gene as people who did not lose weight on his
weight lose diet. I found out later low-carb but I keep asking what was his name, These poeple had a glucose tolerance test
which slowed its assent but was still rising after 2 hours (me). I have a theory about what is happening. 1 of the results of my
theory would be that if you really had a bad case of type 2 diabetes and controlled it by eating a low-carb diet you would not
automatically lose weight. Am I right?

kokhongw said:

My weight has remained constant around 75kg for about two years with my HbA1c remaining stable around 5.5% after being diagnosed at 11%.

But the last 2-3 months of carbs creep has seen my HbA1c shot up to 6% and weight gain to 81kg.

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Hi

As I indicated most people without type 2 diabetes lose weight on a low-carb diet (a lot). I have been on such a diet for over 12 years. My blood fats are fine. My circulation is fine. My age is old. My blood pressure is much improved (controlled with a low dose of vaso-relaxer).. I try mightily to lose weight (cut the fat) with some success. I guess I will have to lose more weight for my b.p. to become (normal, whatever that means at my age).

Resurgam said:

It all depends on what you term a really bad case - is that one with a high Hba1c on diagnosis? One requiring insulin? One with something else which stops exercise or an eating disorder which disrupts the diet.
There are cases recorded in Dr Atkins books where it was difficult for people to start losing weight due to various deficiencies - but when put right weightloss started - nothing to do with genetics.

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Hi

I know of 1 doctor who promotes a low-carb diet as a cure for type 2 diabetes (don't know). In any case I would try a low-carb diet (with skepticism) as a replacement for insulin. If you do both watch out for very low blood sugar. That is the problem. Maybe a very low carb diet would work but how do you find out? I also have heard that for many years 1 doctor has promoted a low-carb diet as a method to control type 2 diabetes.

Resurgam said:

It all depends on what you term a really bad case - is that one with a high Hba1c on diagnosis? One requiring insulin? One with something else which stops exercise or an eating disorder which disrupts the diet.
There are cases recorded in Dr Atkins books where it was difficult for people to start losing weight due to various deficiencies - but when put right weightloss started - nothing to do with genetics.

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Hi

People with my genetics (a lot of people from India) do not lose weight on an Atkins diet. I think on such a diet we simulate a type 2 diabetic. I therefore am trying to find out if my theory holds water. The doctor who took over Atkins practice in New York has read some of my theory. He emailed that he was impressed.

I miswrote phone call or was it calls.

Resurgam said:

But type two diabetics can and do lose weight on Atkins and low carb - and the diabetes goes away as well - and type twos typically do not need to inject insulin as they are overproducing it already.
I do not follow your reasoning at all.

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Hi

Insulin resistance is probably due to the body producing hormones which create it all the time (my weak theory).

I would theorize that you are not a complete diabetic. In other words you can lose weight without pain if you change some sugar into fat. Obviously I could be wrong.
I theorize that people lose weight with the low carb diet since you need insulin to process protein. When the insulin gets into the blood it doesn't know that it is supposed to only process protein. You change some sugar into fat. The body doesn't like the new lower blood sugar and the liver changes fat into sugar. I have read that these reactions sugar into fat and then fat into sugar uses up to 1/3 the energy available. So you lose weight.
I have figured out that all my symptoms and the fact that women with my gene are almost all the women who get gestational diabetes is explained if we produce hormones like hormones produced by the placenta to make the baby insulin resistant. Our glucose tolerance curve is explained by assuming we turn off the hormones when our blood sugar gets too high. It takes time for the hormones to clear the blood stream since we produce them all the time. We interbreed so it seems logical that all humans have these hormones available but use them differently. So I guess if very low blood sugar threatens we are supposed to produce these hormones (you for a short time). That explains some of my reactive hypoglycemia symptoms. I had a set of symptoms in 1957 which would be associated with the body destroying one type of cell (in the adrenal glands?). I no longer have the start up (for me) of the hormones when my blood sugar is dropping from an insulin release. I am still alive, so the hormones do start up when I actually get very low blood sugar before my liver does its sugar dump.

4ratbags said:

What do you consider a complete diabetic. I used to go into mini comas for 4 hours at a time, I ended up in A&E with chest pains, I couldn't breathe, I was peeing for China and my BS was 30 BUT I have managed to get my levels down to non diabetic levels and I have lost weight through LCHF. Do you not consider me a complete diabetic?

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Hi
What is LCHF? You may be a candidate for a very low carb diet. I have eaten that to control a much milder symptom from my reactive hypoglycemia (chronic fatigue say 1/3 the symptoms of a bad case of chronic fatigue syndrome or maybe even less). It has taken years over 12 so far not sure exactly and I am still improving.

kokhongw said:

Basically weight loss or specifically fat loss is inversely proportional to the level of circulating insulin. The more insulin we have circulating in our system, the less fat loss.

Given that T2D have elevated insulin response and are typically highly insulin resistant, it takes very little carbs to raise the level of circulating insulin. Hence fats metabolism is inhibited.

The difficulty South Asian/Asian face may be more cultural than genetics. We live in a predominantly high carbs and previously agricultural society that requires hard labour. Now we are urbanized, yet continue with the high carbs diet. It is natural then that we see the growing epidemic that is the result of high insulin levels.

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Hi

My expert on adrenal problems is an Indian doctor he started out thinking like you do but as I figured out my theory his opinion has evolved. It is genetic, but does not have the same effects when food is generally scarce. Of the people I know (biased sample) only 1 is not fat. All are short. Is that part of the (MRAP2?) gene? I don't know what our insulin levels are or how they have been measured. My imperfect knowledge leads me to believe people look at the products produced when insulin is neutralized. In that case the medical profession is out to sea. The medical profession assumes all people process sugar the same way. We produce hormones (same or nearly the same as the placenta) which create insulin resistance. From this post, our insulin resistance is much greater than type 2 diabetics. That would neutralize our insulin. We turn off the hormones when our blood sugar is too high. Women who are pregnant don't turn off the hormones because that would effect the hormones produced by the placenta and the baby/fetus would die.

4ratbags said:

When you eat a low carb diet you generally eat less than you would on a carb rich diet so unless you were a stick to begin with you will most probably inevitably lose weight on a low carb diet.

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Hi
Note: I have the "hunter" gene I am very insulin resistant(generally more than type 2 diabetics) all the time with this diet. Maybe I eat less but....

I slowly gained weight for about 10 years. I then cut the fat in my diet as much as possible. I started to lose weight. I do not lose weight anymore. I try my best by eating less fat. I do not understand why I seem to have reached a weight set point after losing only about 30 pounds. Has my body figured out a way to change protein into fat?

zand said:

You say you 'low carb', but how many carbs do you have in a day? Less than 100g? less than 50g? less than 20g?

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Hi

I don't know but small enough that with my genetics I am always insulin resistant. A major amount of insulin resistance, more than type 2 diabetes without my genetics. I have to do this or I get some of my reactive hypoglycemia symptoms. My carb treats are maybe 3 handfuls of nuts. Up to 1 backing chocolate bar 100% chocolate. A lot of low carb vegetables. Maybe 2 ounces of toffu. According to the labels (maybe they lie) everything else has no or a trace of sugar/starch.