Type 2 Bodybuilding

Hi Mark, I'm not into bodybuilding, but do have a problem maintaining lean body mass. I'm not sure about your link to building mucle with carbs. You do need to maintain potein intake, I use a rule of 1gramme of protein for each kg of ideal body wgt per day, but with your level of training I think you can increase to 1.25 g/kg . Obviously you need to make sure you are not causing problems with your diabetic diet and bm's. I take suppliments of creatine on cyclical basis 1 week loading, two week maintenance, followed by three weeks off. This helps hydrate your mucscle, and allows more work, but I use it because it's supposed to help lower insulin resistance. ialso take glutamine as a suppliment, to counter the bodies cortisol production causing muscle loss and insulin resistance. Both a bit controversial and I'd suggest talking over with your GP before starting the suppliments, but it should help you build muscle

Hi Mark. Be careful with Glutamine, It works very well but if you take too much it will start to raise blood sugar levels. I believe it promotes Gluconeogenesis.
With regards to muscle development, I've managed to build some muscle, but i'm not trying to body build , only to increase my lean body mass, and hopefully improve my insulin resistance.
The problem we have being diabetics is that our cells do not work correctly, particlularly our muscle cells where the insulin does not trigger the cell to start working. Unfortunately our fat cells are the last to become insulin resistant. Hence the reason why diabetics tend to loose lean body mass, and store more fat.
I tend to try and provide a situation where your body has the best chance to build muscle, without over doing the carbs , It's the carbs that caused the high blood sugars and insulin resistance resistance in the first place. If you want a quick energy boost for a workout, try something like cocnut oil instead of the carbs, It's a medium chain triglyceride which is matabolised quickly and won't cause a surar rush.
Hope this helps, I'm by no means an expert in the area, It's just what I've picked up in my quest to lower my own insulin resistance, and it's definitely an ongoing project. All the best in your quest

Mark, did you get any further with this. I want to build muscle mass as well as general fitness, but the more I run and swim the weedier I'm looking. Have bought some Coconut Oil (Coconut wax more like) but have not worked out how much I should be having (will look at your equation Pete).

Stumbled onto this forum, glad I did. Keep up bodybuilding. I have been trying to bodybuild for 3 months. Lost stone and half in fat ,gained some muscle. i find it has helped me cut back on insulin and thus helped in weight loss.

I have reached a plateau. ...14 stones 2 lbs for 1 month! Any carb extras gain me weight...because i need to adjust insulin....and after hard work lose the weight but put on couple pounds easily when injecting. **** frustrating.

My start weight 15.5 stones
Ideal weight 12 stones
Ideal goal : reduce insulin usage...good bg control
Current weight 14 stones 2 lbs

My regime. ..weights 2 or 3 times a week..weekend rest
Cardiovascular every day...min 15 min. ...max 35
Diet...mainly protein and veg. Snickers bar just before gym.

Any tips to shed fat gain muscle welcome.

Hi swimmer. I take 2 teaspoons full after each meal, however I've read that the maximum effective amount is up to 3 tablespoons per day, I've not tried this amount as i think this volume would even make me feel sick . I think the bottom line is that they whey protien, creatine and glutamine that i take only helps with reducing insulin resistance in my body , and as a result allows more exercise without fatigue. Its still the hard work that builds lean body mass. I have noticed that when taking the creatine I get considerably less muscle cramps.
I work on 1g per kg of ideal body mass for my protien intake to ensure I do not loose muscle. If you are trying to build muscle it maybe worthwhile increasing your protein intake to around 1.25 g per kg and see if this helps, I think whey protien shakes before or after exercise could be effective.
Hope this helps , looks like you have alot of hard work ahead

paragliderpete said:

I take 2 teaspoons full after each meal, however I've read that the maximum effective amount is up to 3 tablespoons per day,

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this is probably a daft question, but are you melting it first? The one I bought is in a tub and it's like a wax. I've been heating it back to an oil and then adding it to a protein shake, but if I add it something cold (like Greek yoghurt last night) then it returns to a solid almost instantly.

I think the jury is still out on whether you need carbs for any kind of athletic performance. Try reading 'The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance' by Drs J S Volek & S D Phinney. Your blood glucose levels will probably thank you

I eat solid coconut oil by the spoonful, swimmer2. You could probably zap it briefly in the microwave if it's too hard for the spoon the cut it.

Mark1963 said:

Hi, Sheffield male 49, type 2, diagnosed 2 years ago. Just wondered if any one on here with type 2 is into bodybuilding & fitness. I run, feel great but finding it hard to put on muscle,if I carb up I simply put on fat, any advice would be great. I train 3 day split, cardio on days off. 300 carbs 220 protein 100 fats

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Hi Mark,
It's not impossible to build some muscle mass even though you suffer from type 2, I have several friends that both lift weight and bodybuilding. You must first tell your doctor that you are training and you would like some help with your diet to manage your training.
Second, DON'T think too much about increasing your carb’s by much, instead increase your protein intake, it's protein that's crucial for muscle growth.
Third, make sure that you learn all you can about training correctly, even people who don't suffer from type 2, find it incredibly hard to put on any muscle mass, because they haven’t taken the trouble to learn the 'How’s' & 'Why’s' to the 'Art of Bodybuilding'!
If you would like more information on bodybuilding or weight training I would recommend a website http://increasemusclesize.net where you will find tons of tips and advice on this matter.
Hope that help, train hard and grow: clap: ...John!

Tomnuts said:

Stumbled onto this forum, glad I did. Keep up bodybuilding. I have been trying to bodybuild for 3 months. Lost stone and half in fat ,gained some muscle. i find it has helped me cut back on insulin and thus helped in weight loss.

I have reached a plateau. ...14 stones 2 lbs for 1 month! Any carb extras gain me weight...because i need to adjust insulin....and after hard work lose the weight but put on couple pounds easily when injecting. **** frustrating.

My start weight 15.5 stones
Ideal weight 12 stones
Ideal goal : reduce insulin usage...good bg control
Current weight 14 stones 2 lbs

My regime. ..weights 2 or 3 times a week..weekend rest
Cardiovascular every day...min 15 min. ...max 35
Diet...mainly protein and veg. Snickers bar just before gym.

Any tips to shed fat gain muscle welcome.

Click to expand...

I read your post and felt that I needed to give you some fresh perspective on your plateau status. I have been weight lifting and bodybuilding for over 35 years now and have learnt to look at a plateau in a different way. Most people despair when they reach a plateau, because they either don’t understand what's going on or they can’t get a answer to this problem.

A plateau Tommuts, is just your bodies way of letting you know that if you continual training as you are, you...want grow!
You need to understand that your body adapts to a training routine within a couple of days, so you need to change your routine on a regular basis.

I don't main changing all your routine just take out one exercise and replace it by another, or reduce your rest time, do more reps lower weight or heavier weight less reps, start with your last exercise first..are some examples to try.

For more information go to http://increasemusclesize.net. Best regards...John!

hi all, i have been attempting body building for the last four years since discovering i was type 2.
i trained on a low carb diet initially for the first 18 months and to be honest whilst i lost weight i made very little impression on muscle mass.

over the next 18 months i developed my training methods and introduced a protein powder and vitamins and fish oil supplementation to my regime and things improved quite well , with some muscle gain albeit slow but i felt generally better heath wise and energy wise allowing me to push further in my weight lifting endeavors due to the supplementation. this also assisted my early neuropathy i was feeling in the feet area and reduced the leg cramps i was getting.

at the start of the new year after a lot of reading and studying i also added glut amine to my diet 5g daily , which helped me in the digestion area and made me feel overall more comfortable. i intend to take this at this rate for 8 weeks, after which i will reduce to 2.5 grams three times weekly as a maintenance dose.

i also started taking creatine two weeks after this , i didn't load but just had 5 grams per day taken with water in between protein shakes. i took it this way as when i mixed it with my protein i felt a little hyper afterwards for a while so take them separately now.

i have seen considerable gains in the weights i am lifting since adding creatine , but as yet no real noticeable mass difference but have a lot more energy so will continue this for a 8 week cycle, then 1 week off and see what happens as it is early days yet.

coconut oil if taken raw trips me out and makes me hyper, so again i use it to stir fry chicken and veg in which gives it a nice flavor and doesn't affect me if i use in this way.

good luck to you all with your muscle building ventures...