January/February weight loss thread

[martinkap]

154lbs.

I also find the discussion very interesting. When I start cycling (about 150miles per week at least - on a fixie) I was recommended to eat before long rides carbs but they just made me tired, sleepy and left me hungry.

Since being little, I hate taste of sugar, cannot stand chocolate and the only carbs I like are potatoes. Any form of sugar makes me feel really bad. I found that the best breakfast for me is egg, cheese and ham sandwich. It lasts me for a long time and gives me a lot of energy.

Lately I signed up for 30 days of Bikram yoga and half way through I was tired, stiff and totally exhausted. I read this thread and started to count the protein in my diet and realized that I am barely on 70g per day. I upped the protein (mainly Quinoa salads) and I am great again.

My question is - where and how do you get tested for impaired glucose tolerance?

Thanks,

Martina

[Triskeliongirl]

154lbs.

I also find the discussion very interesting. When I start cycling (about 150miles per week at least - on a fixie) I was recommended to eat before long rides carbs but they just made me tired, sleepy and left me hungry.

Martina

FYI, those are symptoms of hyperglycemia.

I am not bashing carbs as a good source of energy for cyclists with normal metabolisms. But I have found that many women, especially athletic ones that think they are doing everything right, yet are still struggling with their weight, often have issues with glucose tolerance.

[martinkap]

FYI, those are symptoms of hyperglycemia.

I am not bashing carbs as a good source of energy for cyclists with normal metabolisms. But I have found that many women, especially athletic ones that think they are doing everything right, yet are still struggling with their weight, often have issues with glucose tolerance.

Triske, hyperglycemia after eating sugars or carbs could suggest impaired glucose tolerance. Or am I completely confused?

Martina

P.S. I find your posts extremely educational and helpful. It makes huge sense to me. Thank you for taking the time and writing it up.

[Triskeliongirl]

Triske, hyperglycemia after eating sugars or carbs could suggest impaired glucose tolerance. Or am I completely confused?

Martina

P.S. I find your posts extremely educational and helpful. It makes huge sense to me. Thank you for taking the time and writing it up.

ABSOLUTELY! In fact, in addition to taking the home OGTT, you can then test how you respond to different combinations of food and exercise. The rule of thumb I have is to not eat any meal that lets my blood sugar go higher than 120 at t=60 min and higher than 100 at t=120 min.

In the end for me it meant giving up everything but non-starchy veggies most of the time. But for some of you, it might just be shifting the balance, that is instead of eating a pure carb breakfast, choosing a slower acting carb and then combining it with protein and fat which would further delay the rate at which it turns to glucose in your body. This is where a blood sugar meter can really be your friend. Remember your glucose tolerance always improves in the 1-2 hour window after exercise too, so this is when I get to eat strawberries!

Much of this is missed by docs who won't give you an OGTT if you have a normal fasting blood sugar. But despite my low insulin levels, I also have unusually good insulin sensitivity, so I can maintain glucose homeostasis when not challenged with carbs. So, for me the problem was only picked up following a glucose challenge. Then I had a colleague willing to do a research study on me who took frequent measurements of both my glucose and insulin in a research lab setting to quantify both the kinetics of my insulin response as well as my insulin sensitivity. I think he did it cuz he didn't believe I had the problem I had for the reasons I had it. He assumed I would be insulin resistance like most adult onset diabetics, but his data let us firmly establish what is going on which was already indicated in the less rigourous clinical lab tests.

I worried I gave you guys too much info., so I am glad it helped. It only took me 50 years to figure out!

[Susan Otcenas]

I ran my ratios on today's meals. Here's what I came up with.

1065 calories. 14.5g fat, 164g carb, 80.5g protein. (11.8%, 59.1%, 29%)

This amount of protein seems more typical for me, based on my normal diet.

Susan

[jesvetmed]

Forgot to report in! Actually forgot to weigh in! So this afternoon (which is MY morning ) I was 171.6. Sorry to be so late!

[3for3]

I forgot to send in my update. 128.8. grrrrr. I was insatiably hungry last week which probably accounts for that. But the last two days I'm finding most foods totally unappetizing. No morning sickness, just aversions to foods.