Re: twitchy blood sugar

[JeffN]

The big problem (as you also mentioned) is losing too much weight. I started at 93 lbs (5ft tall) and just slipped under 90 this week. This greatly concerns me. I feel I need SOME fat on me for reserve. But I’ll leave this for another post. This is already way too long.

There is a level of body fat that is essential for everyone to maintain. Body weight alone is not a indicator of body fat. Thinner people can have higher body fat and heavy people can have low body fat. The only weight to know your percent body fat is to directly measure it by either DEXA, BIA, under water weighing or calipers.

In general, men should not go below 5% body fat and women should not go below around 10-12%.

However in relation to blood sugar, the issue of weight and percent body fat is related by a separate issue.

Clearly, excess weight and body fat is a risk factor and an issue in diabetes.

But, once healthy eating habits are developed, and the right foods are being consumed and a healthy weight is established, maintaining such a weight and /or keeping it from going to low, is a matter of energy balance and calorie density.

Shifting in the direction of more calorie dense healthy foods would be the solution.

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

Geoffrey

Keep up the great work!

Thanks for sharing your story, you struggles and your success.

And, most importantly, for being honest about it all and for your commitment to adhering to the program. Sometimes, the greatest skeptics prove to be the best patients.

In Health
Jeff

[r-marie]

Thank you Jeff for the additional info.

At this point I have no idea how many calories I'm consuming (planning to load everything into the chron-o-meter soon).

But my BMI is 18.2 and on the site (Jenny Craig) it says 18.5 or lower is considered underweight. 96lbs. is a good weight for me as I am very active. So I have to do some “serious” eating of calorie dense foods.

I’m assuming loading up on calorie dense foods ( potatoes, rice, corn, including whole wheat pasta and Wasa crackers and my personal favorite: POLENTA with berries etc.) is still healthy and will not interfere with my goal of lowering my Insulin Resistance. Does Dr. McD advise against calorie dense foods only because most people want to and must LOSE weight?

I have the book McDougall Program - 12 days to Dynamic Health (ordered before I heard of the MWL book you recommended) and the McD new cookbook. Lots of good info in both.

r-marie

[JeffN]

I’m assuming loading up on calorie dense foods ( potatoes, rice, corn, including whole wheat pasta and Wasa crackers and my personal favorite: POLENTA with berries etc.) is still healthy and will not interfere with my goal of lowering my Insulin Resistance.

Remember, BMI does not equate to Body Fat, so as long as you are not below the minimum for essential fat and eating healthy, there is actually a potential advantage to being at a lower BMI and 18.2 is not really that low.

In regard to the more calorie dense foods, I would be somewhat cautious of overdoing the the whole grain processed foods (like breads, bagels, crackers, dry cereals), if you are insulin resistant, as the processing of these foods does reduce the effectiveness of the fiber somewhat, and creates more surface area, so they can be digested and absorbed quicker and "may" effect (or interfere with) your IR. Same with the foods that are more calorie dense and higher in fat (nuts, seeds, avocados). Fat can interfere with IR also.

So, the best choice may be to consume more of the intact whole grains, legumes (great for IR), starchy veggies, roots, and tubers and combinations of them.

In Health
Jeff

[r-marie]

JeffN wrote:
"Remember, BMI does not equate to Body Fat, so as long as you are not below the minimum for essential fat and eating healthy, there is actually a potential advantage to being at a lower BMI and 18.2 is not really that low."

I thought I'd wrap this up with my latest stats and some comments:

My weight is now 88.7lbs(!) and I do hope it turns around soon now that I have discovered the wonderful taste of Korean Sweet Potatoes which I absolutely love! (brownish skin and off-white interior). They are not as sweet as the regular sweet potatoes which I don't care for. They are very filling and I can eat one of these a day easily. And surprisingly it doesn't spike my BS!

My BmI is now 18 and Body Fat 19%. Got the figure of a 16 year old - or maybe 12 these days and according to this chart http://www.weightlossforall.com/fat-per ... -ideal.htm
that is underweight - remember I'm 65 years old.

But I think I've turned a corner. The constant hunger is gone, my fasting BS is now around 105 (instead of around 120). I've slowed down my exercise a little to catch up on my weight. I'd like to get back to 92/93 at least.

Jeff I'm not a bagel, bread or dry cereal eater, my vice is that I love fruits but they can easily drive up my BS - especially grapes. So I stick mostly with papaya (the big kind) and berries and apple.

This has been a wonderful thread with lots of information. And I hope it will help others like me who don't have a over-weight problem.

Thanks again Geoffrey for starting this thread and the information you and JeffN contributed.

r-marie

[JeffN]

Fasting today back down. 83! Good enough to make my day.

Geoffrey

I just want to say thanks for your commitment, your personal experimentation and your continued updates to the board.

Your careful experiment has demonstrated the impact of fat on blood sugar that I (and Dr McDougall) speak of all the time and is important for everyone to see.

While slightly resistant at first, your commitment to finding an answer for yourself, drove you to due the experiment just to prove it right (or maybe wrong)

Thank You
Jeff

[JeffN]

Can't hardly ask for better than this! .

Congratulations. Excellent numbers!

Thank you all for your support and inspiration.

Thank you!

You, your story and adventure here and all your hard work are the real inspiration.

Thanks for sharing it with everyone!

In Health
Jeff

[f1jim]

I'll bet time has more good news in store for you as you fine tune. The amazing thing about eating a healthy diet is the way we get in touch with the way our diet directly impacts our bodies. In my beef jerky, BBQ, and pizza days the only measure I had of it's impact was weight gain and the sluggishness factor after eating. I was clueless about the damage being done at so many levels. I'll probably never know the damage to it's full extent. It's an amazing reward to see the impact healthy eating has on our most basic processes like blood sugar and lipids. It's all about the fuel, baby!!!
f1jim