weight lifting and type 2

@relph, my B-I-L has Sarcopenia, he is 62y, and he has to eat high quality protein food in every meal, like salmon, eggs, tuna, beef, but NOT ultra processed sausages or ham.
He got some light steroid tablet (sorry, I don't know its name), and he takes vitamin D3, fish oil (Omega-3), and creatine supplements. Mandatory the exercise every day, there is not day off. Weights, walk-jogging, swim, but in his case, the physiotherapist prefers the bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc.
Diagnosis was in last November, and the 6 months control says the process is stopped, probably will reverse. Of course, rest of his life mandatory the exercise (as possible). He is not diabetic.
I do hope that you will be better, too. But I don't know if diabetes influences or not the sarcopenia.

relph said:

Thank you @gyongy33 for this information. Your BIL does so much and I am glad it is paying off for him. I too take all the above supplements however I do have trouble eating so much protein as I am vegetarian. I may have to change what I eat to help things along. Thank you again and best wishes to you.

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I don't know the plant-based protein drinks, but I'm pretty sure there are some for vegetarians, too. I found one, "Ensure Plant-Based Protein Nutrition Shake" and there are different flavors. I think you can look around for better prices or other brand name. Since I'm a new member here, I can't send you a link.

What is the most important, that never give up; fight against it, exercise well, and you will stop this process.

One important thing vegetarians should understand, is that vegetable protein is a lot less bio-available than animal protein is. Thus you need both more of is and from different plants too.

Here's a study which found that a group consuming animal protein and a group consuming an equal amount of plant protein while resistance training showed no difference in muscle and strength gains:


I'd agree that getting your protein from a range of plants is better than just one, but this doesn't need to be hard. Lentils, peas, almonds, hemp seeds and all sorts of beans are some of my favourites, rich in both protein and fibre and won't spike your glucose.
Protein powder can also be useful if you're still struggling to meet your target intake. I much prefer to get it in simple unflavoured powder form without other additives, then add it to breakfast or shakes. I eat a mainly plant based diet but am not vegan so I use whey and casein, but you can get vegan ones like pea,soy,hemp,flax, or mixes.

I do think that building muscle has improved my own glucose control significantly.

Antje77 said:

Hi @relph , I'm not T2 and I don't do weight lifting, but let me tag @Mbaker for you, who does if I am correct.

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Are you able to state the method you are doing, including sets and reps. Does your glucose go to your normal levels later on.

Is this more Powerlifting, Olympic lifting, dumbbells or machines. Are you lifting for strength, hypotrophy or both. The more info you can give, such as sets the better.

In general although I am not an expert, through several years of trial and error, watching alot of powerlifters I have achieved elite level lifts (for my age 57) in the bench press (160 kg) and deadlift (240 kg), so can shed some light on generality.

The lifting will demand more glucose to be delivered from your liver reserves. Perhaps a plausible hypothesis is that with the Sarcopenia, you may not have the muscle mass to suck the glucose dump into muscles and cells, maybe after lifting warm down with a 10 minute walk.

If your glucose is not elevated for a significant period of time, personally I would persist with a balanced program (detailed attached as an example), as reversing the Sarcopenia might trump slight elevations. I effectively bludgeoned diabetes into submission with consistency. If I could change something with the lifting, I would have got a low carb trainer who could have guided me on technique quicker.

If you can stretch to it, I would engage Richard Smith, if even just for the short term. He's been Type 2, in long term remission, been a British body building champion and has a brain the size of a football pitch, with a recall second to none. In addition he takes on clients 1:1 https://theketopro.com/.

In any event, I would want to build both strength and muscle, which is indicated for sarcopenia - which would mean a Powerbuilding protocol.

I used AI to put together an age appropriate Powerbuilding workout, for guidance. If you are a beginner, don't push it, ensure you are "fit" to do a program (talk to your Doctor).