<p>Definitely. Type 2 diabetes is a fundamentally a disease of insulin resistance. The cells of the body become less sensitive to insulin and glucose is no longer cleared from the blood as effectively (the main purpose of insulin). In response, the body produces more and more insulin after eating carbs and other high glycemic meals. Chronically elevated insulin makes the body tend to store fat rather than burn it (it’s trying to burn the sugar instead), which leads to getting fatter and fatter and becoming more and more insulin resistant. Eventually, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to keep up. It’s a vicious cycle.</p>
<p>Exercise and fat loss tend to restore insulin sensitivity. Specifically, high intensity exercise and strength training have been shown to have a direct effect on insulin secretion. This is probably why high intensity intervals work so well for fat loss. It also increases human growth hormone, which increases lean muscle mass, with improves insulin sensitivity.</p>
The doc sent my H to a nutritionist who I guess isn’t up on the latest thinking. She encouraged his fairly high (to my mind) carb consumption per the Food Pyramid model and he was fine with that since I think he is addicted to bread.
I’d like him to see another nutritionist but I don’t think he’ll go for it.
Experts used to INSIST that sugar didn’t cause diabetes. And that sugar was ok for diabetics if they just reduced some other food (presumably one that was actually good for you.) Well, maybe not in everyone, but it stands to reason that it 1)makes the pancreas work harder and 2)causes weight gain.
<p>You just made coming back to this thread worth it alone with that line! My kind of comment, especially since I see the dentist tomorrow. Thank God no brownie or girl scout in our neighborhood has rung our doorbell in years!</p>
<p>However, I have found a mint/chocolate protein bar that makes me salivate just undoing the wrapper. It fits the bill when I have that craving.</p>
<p>“However, the number one thing that a type 2 diabetic can do is cut the sugar and carbs, which cause the insulin spikes in the first place. Doctors who use a low carb diet as an intervention, such as Michael Eades (author of Protein Power) or Eric Weistman at Duke Med School, talk of having to monitor diabetes meds closely because a very low carb diet can reverse blood sugar numbers so quickly (days or weeks) that diabetics can see low-blood sugar problems if their meds aren’t reduced. Westman cites one study of diabetics on a very low carb diet (20g per day) who saw fasting blood glucose drop from an average of 135 to 113 in fourteen days.”</p>
<p>Although I agree with the above and have seen this effect, many nutritionists and doctors do not necessarily agree with this.</p>
<p>My craving-crusher is Peppermint Clif bars. I can eat half of one and feel very satisfied. Good flavor and texture. Unfortunately, it’s a seasonal item (Christmas) and sold out almost everywhere. I just ordered a 12 bar box from Performance Cycle so I can have some at my desk.</p>
<p>I’m on day 148 of my running streak. I don’t pay much attention to it (my online running log has a “streak counter”) but just keep plugging away. 4 miles this morning. Legs still tired from the 15 on Saturday. I am a little concerned by how much that run took out of me. We are having nice weather- it was 41, no wind and sunny this morning and LIGHT by 6:10 when I went out the door.</p>
<p>Just an interesting note on how your body can react after running 2 1/2 hours or so. My daughter and I are both non-meat eaters. We do eat fish. We both make exceptions on occasion (i.e. if we are taken to a famous barbeque place or someone has made a special dinner at their home…) but pretty much don’t eat meat. After the 15 on Saturday she was craving a hamburger! She got one. </p>
<p>H and I had a discussion on why I suck at running (kidding…mainly). I expressed a little surprise at how much I have lost since the great 2009 I had. I asked him if he thought 2 years of aging could do that much. He said he really thought it could at our age and also that my entire year of 2010 into 2011 dealing with injury set me back a lot and that at our age it is possible to never bounce fully back from something like that. I’m accepting of all this- I was just a little surprised that my pace has slipped as much as it has since 2009 and that I don’t bounce back from the hard efforts as quickly. One problem with marathon training is that it forces me into probably a little higher mileage than is optimal for recovery. I suspect my “sweet spot” is 30-32 miles a week and I am running 35-38. Doesn’t sound like it would be a big deal- but it is. I think if I were retired and could rest more during the day (mentally/stress-wise) I could handle the mileage better, but I’m not. Again- not complaining- just observing.</p>
<p>Thanks, idad. I don’t think I ever would have even thought about a race except that it was a fun thing to do with my daughter, and I really do suspect that she would be a good runner. Not a great runner, but the goal-setting and competitiveness suit her personality. And races are social events but require individual effort. At least when she was younger, she did have some natural athletic ability–but no coordination, so things like soccer and basketball did not go well.</p>
<p>She has already printed out the Jeff Galloway training schedule for a half-marathon and recruited two of her friends to run with her three days a week . . .</p>
<p>MOWC: I see your point, for sure. I am wondering–do elite runners not race with music/headphones? Do they wear headphones on training runs?</p>
<p>Just curious. I know that music motivates me to get on the treadmill, and to keep going, but I do see how headphones could be a safety issue in a race.</p>
<p>Nutritionists are the worst! They are trained, in fact required, to stick to the national dietary guidelines – low fat and high carb (60% of daily calories).</p>
<p>It drives the doctors who put their Type 2 diabetes patients on reduced carb diets crazy, because they see such consistently positive results. The science is very clear that Type 2 diabetes is the final symptom of the range of metabolic syndrome issues (obesity, PCOS, etc.) and that all are associated with insulin resistance. These are the exact people for whom low-carb works. </p>
<p>Instead, the nutritional thinking is: “go ahead and eat carbs and we’ll control the blood sugar with metformin and/or insulin.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, diagnosed type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed since the nutrition advice became “eat very high carb and avoid fat like the plague…”</p>
<p>Here’s another article on diabetes control with Eric Westman:</p>
<p>It was a NYTIMES best seller back in the 90s and is probably on the shelves at most libraries. A breezy read, but has a bit of discussion of Dr. Eades success with diabetic patients.</p>
<p>The thing is, it’s easy enough to try. Just lower the carbs and see what happens to your fasting blood sugar. Try it for a few weeks before you next scheduled blood work or be on the lookout for symptoms of low blood sugar in case it works too well!</p>
<p>You know, that the experts can’t agree makes me feel better (at least a little) about all those years I spent believing that the way to lose weight was to eat low-fat foods. And it helps (a little) with the guilt I feel about having fed my daughter pretzels and baked potato chips rather than cheese or nuts.</p>
<p>amesie- Most runners who run competitively (not just the elite, but the ones who keep track of times and age group position) do not run with music. A few do, and they catch a lot of ***** about it! Most DO train with music, although a few purists do not. Music IS motivating and helps with the boredom factor. I usually run with music but occasionally I like to just be out there and pay attention to the surroundings more. Also, often when I am running out of town, especially if I have ANY concern for safety (dogs, bad guys, traffic) I do not run with music.</p>
Here’s another study of low-carb and type 2 diabetes - this one testing a moderately low carb diet: 1800 calories a day, 20% from carbs, about 90 grams of carbs per day. That’s in the ballpark for what I targeted for fat loss and would be where I am now if I cut out my two apples a day. Basically a meat, seafood, poultry, dairy, veggies, and salad diet.
The American Diabetes Association responded by saying that they don’t recommend very low carb diets because people can’t stick with them, even though this study was hardly “very low carb” at 90 grams per day. The sleight of hand is applying the difficulties of the extreme Atkins induction phase diet (20 grams per day) to moderate carb restriction diets (50 to 150 grams per day)
<p>BB…So sorry you weren’t well! Happy that you are on the mend and back here! You help me stay motivated! Missed you!</p>
<p>teriwtt…Yay! Welcome back, too! I have also been experiencing the weight seesaw effect due to this stupid back injury. Hang in there! I love coming here to find support. It will be a life long struggle for me but I am up for the challenge! Good Luck!</p>
<p>idad…so sorry for your new challenge. Sending supportive thoughts and prayers for continued good health and happiness. {{{HUGS}}}</p>
<p>Amesie…Congrats on the 5k! My D2 wants to do a Disney race sometime. She is currently training for a marathon. Way to go! :)</p>
<p>My friend immediately upped his exercise, lowered his caloric intake and went low-carb when told that he has diabetes. His nutritionist was extremely impressed with taking of 35 pounds in two months and surprised at his goal of getting down to 130 pounds from his current 170. I think that he may be overambitious but we will see.</p>
<p>Diabetes has to be one of the ultimate wake-up calls in life.</p>
<p>Question: How many grams of carbs does one take in on a low-carb diet? Does it depend on age/height/activity level? Is there one number for all?</p>
20 grams to 50 grams per day would be very low and a place to start for someone with a fairly urgent need to jump start corrective action. This would be a temporary level (weeks, months) to reset metabolism, bring down blood sugar (diabetes), lose significant weight fast. Atkins induction phase has a target of 20 grams per day for the first couple of weeks, but I doubt that many people ever get that low.
50 to 100 grams per day would be a good level for sustained fat loss. I lost all of my weight eating around 100 grams per day.
100 to 150 grams per day would be a very good sustainable long-term level making weight maintenance relatively easy.
The “recommended” 60% carb intake on a 2000 calorie a day would be 300 grams of carbs. You have to eat carbs morning, noon, and night for those levels.
<hr>
You can approach this from either direction:
a) Start cutting out a few carbs, see what happens, and then keep cutting out additional carbs until you see the weight loss or other results you want. The obvious places to start are sugar drinks, desserts, junk snack carbs, and then breads and cereals.
b) Jump into the deep end (Atkins induction), get started with a very low carb diet, and then start adding carbs back into the diet as you go, arriving at whatever level produces the desired weight loss, and later sustainable long-term maintenance.
<p>2 miles, 8:44 pace. Felt great on the first mile and then got ravenous. It was a hectic day and I grabbed food where and when. I didn’t want to grab junk carbs so I ran out of gas. BTW, still sore but the soreness didn’t interfere with running.</p>
<p>There are many studies on diabetes that say all kinds of things. The same with heart disease. The ADA has guidelines regarding glucose levels etc including levels that some including my endocrinologist consider excessively high after meals. You’re best off getting advice from an endocrinologist and if you want more info - go directly to the sources - medical journals. Articles for regular folks leave out tons of relevant information.</p>
Happy that you are on the mend and back here! You help me stay motivated! Missed you!</p>