Insulin resistance improvements

[DannyMegan Tracy]

I understand that everyone is different but I'd love to know how soon those of you with insulin resistance and pcos symptoms saw changed and what those were! Trying so hard to be patient but i would love a sign from my body that this is "working". Thanks!

[praxisproject]

I don't have PCOS but I saw a difference after my first Whole30. Doing the Recommendations as well as the Rules gives me much better results.

 

http://whole30.com/2015/01/rules-recommendations/

[DannyMegan Tracy]

What were the differences?

[praxisproject]

My doctor did not believe I could get such good results from changing my food, without medication. He thought I was almost certainly going to become diabetic and need insulin. I thought this was a pretty stupid strategy if body was already ignoring insulin.

• Radical improvement in my fasted blood sugar (I test my fasted blood sugar every morning with a little portable meter)
• Improvements in all blood lipids
• Improvements in Reverse T3
• Improvements in cortisol rhythm through the day (mine was backwards)
• Improvements in appetite (hungry in the morning when I should be)
• Changes in body composition (you'll need more than a scale to see this, DEXA scan)
• Much more energy, this is really hard to emphasise/quantify but previously I would say I was exhausted
• Huge improvements in concentration and memory
• Not being hungry after meals (nutrition for me is key here, empty carbs just don't cut it)
• Reduction in skin tags (which has sustained)
• Improved hormones and cycles
• Disappearance of acanthosis nigricans (which has never come back)
• Sweating became normal - it was a bit weird sometimes before Whole30
• No crazy "eat all the things" feelings (this isn't for sugar or anything, I'd have eaten steamed fish and broccoli, but sometimes had already eaten, it was more of a malfunction than proper hunger - now gone)
• Much less cranky in general
• Much less inflammation
• Joints not sore and "creaky"
• Refreshed in the morning when I wake up (boing! awake! - this will not happen if you don't get enough sleep)

This took longer than a single Whole30 but I am no longer Prediabetic, I'm now Normal

Lessons for me:

• Keep eating within an hour after waking - this seems to keep my body block, blood sugar, appetite and hormones on a healthy "keel", when I skip meals or don't eat very well to the template I see it in my fasted blood sugar.
• Don't eat artificial sweeteners (previously a big Splenda consumer) as these really mess with me (jury is still out on stevia, but I very rarely consume it), sugar is only marginally better but doesn't leave any ongoing inflammation/blood sugar issues behind (which the sweeteners do).
• Eat more non-fish seafood - prawns, scallops, etc (this may be related to zinc deficiency but zinc supplements alone do not help as much)
• Eat more eggs - not sure why but I notice it if I cut out eggs altogether
• At the start I often had more protein than the template (not loads, but a little more than the heavy end of the template), this stabilised as my blood sugar progressed. Unclear if this was deficiency or recovering from earlier lack of food.
• No working out before breakfast on an empty stomach (I used to do this for years and years)
• Switching from cardio in the morning to resistance training in the evening gives me the best results
• Avoiding seed oils is important for me, I avoid them wherever possible. Soy, canola and "vegetable" oils seem to be the worst for me.
• Coconut oil seems to help so I make sure it's regularly in my menu
• Over time, my tolerance for higher carb vegetables has gone up considerably (carrots are where I notice it most - I used to be able to tolerate only a small amount with a big blood sugar spike and crash), which I'm unsure of whether that's lack of insulin resistance or just general health improvements.

[tmhampton1]

Praxisproject, were these results after 1 Whole30 or several? I did not have those glowing results in my blood work. I understand this could just mean that my pancreas is not functioning properly, but I am a bit disappointed. I got the results but don't see my Dr until 4/22, so I'll just keep on keeping on for now and see what she has to say. 

[praxisproject]

I saw a lot of improvements my first one (arthritis and sinusitis were the most dramatic for me as they had been impacting my quality of life, a lot), including blood work, but different issues may heal faster than others.

 

My fasted blood sugar went from an erratic 7.5+ to 10+ range (sometimes low too, very erratic - Prediabetic only because I did not sustain the Diabetic levels) down to a stable 5.6. My blood sugar wasn't just high, I was unable to regulate it (regulation failure is something to investigate, the body has a lot of internal regulators to keep all the lights on in the body).

 

I highly recommend keeping a detailed log of what you eat, how you feel, so if you're thinking "I was feeling better Tuesday last week" you can go back and see what's changed. Sometimes it's something small like maybe buying a new bag of nuts and having a nut serve every day, or maybe not getting enough sleep or some unusual stress.

 

It helps you get the best results, which when you're feeling unwell, is so important.

 

You may need more time or you may also need some different/tweaked medical support. I also have (probable) celiac and MTHFR I need to manage.

I had a lot of success just with Whole30, but the biggest successes have come after, with more tweaks (supplements for my MTHFR), changing my job (lifestyle), getting more sleep, getting off medication (my doc didn't think this was possible).

The medication I was on (corticosteroid) came with it's own set of health problems, so getting it off my plate has been huge for my health.

 

Hang in there

[chrissyml]

So I'll chime in here, but I'm not yet an "expert." I was diagnosed with insulin resistance when I was 31 after years of not being able to lose weight no matter what I did. I went on a mostly liquid medically-supervised plan and lost 75 pounds! But you can't do that forever. My doctor ended up closing his practice and I had a hard time translating my old diet into a world of real food. I would still try to eat healthy stuff but I still gained about half of it back. :/

I'm now on day 11 of Whole 30 (just finished day 11 really) and here are some improvements I can already see:

• Less bloating. I wouldn't say I've lost fat in only 11 days but my post-holiday bloat seems to be gone. My pants are comfier than then were on New Year's Day.  
• I have crazy allergies. I'm allergic to dust mites, pollen, trees, grass, mold, and my cats. It stinks because I love my cats and I am a hiker. Even though I live in New England we've had a couple of decent opportunities to be outside this month, and my cats still sleep in my bed with me. Before I was ALWAYS at least a little nauseous from the post-nasal drip. It was just a fact of my life that I tried to control with a neti-pot and OTC sinus meds. (I used to get injections but I have new insurance with a deductible so I was waiting for the calendar year to restart.) Guys, I have NOT been queasy. I have not. It's crazy. This alone is a game-changer for me. Before I couldn't drink water on an empty stomach because I would feel like I had to throw up. I wouldn't go to the gym sometimes because I was afraid I was too queasy to do the weight-lifting. So this has been amazing. I can't tell how how my quality of life has changed.
• I also have osteoarthristis in my knees. My orthopedist said that for now (it's a mild/moderate case) I need to just not do high-impact stuff like running and lower-body weight lifting (which stinks because I was getting STRONG), and treat with advil as needed. Sometimes my knees would be sore even if I just knelt on the floor for a few minutes, which stinks because I'm a librarian and that's part of my job. But honestly my knees feel fine. I'm not saying it's cured by any means. I did a workout video tonight and was reminded that I need to be ultra-careful of my form or there will be a stabbing pain if I twist the wrong way but my day-to-day stuff hasn't bothered my knees at all and they tolerate the few lower-body weight exercises my doctor said I could do. 

After 11 days. Seriously. I know that insulin resistance, arthritis, and allergies area ll tied to inflammation, so clearly something I've cut out has been aggravating my body. I have a feeling it's sugar, and maybe the starches too. If this helps me to lose weight I'll be freaking thrilled. I shared what I'm doing with my doctor (I see him weekly so I do get weighed) and he told me that he has no problem with me cutting out dairy and breads and of course he doesn't mind me ditching sugar.  

So that's my experience so far, for what it's worth. And I didn't have a carb flu or feel like killing people. I wonder if I'm doing it wrong? I feel pretty normal but I'm doing a lot more dishes than usual! Good thing I like doing dishes.