nosequepongo's Journal, 10 August 2022

look into keto.  

Thanks Johnawill! I'm doing low carb. Carbs only from veggies and a small arepa at dinner. My nutritionist wanted me to do 4 carbs a day but my doctor said two. I only do the arepa though, I don't eat potatoes or rice except in sushi 😅 I've tried keto but it's really hard on my digestion and I'd still fall short out of calories. According to my last tests I'm in ketosis either way. 

I need to ask a few questions: Do you have isolated IR, or are you diabetic as well? Are you monitoring your blood sugar, and if yes, what's your fasting BS? Have you had a lap-band procedure, or are the small meals part of managing your IR? What are your approved carb sources? Now, I will get into a little bit of trouble: There is no reason why you can't eat 3-4 meals a day, so long as you are 1)sticking to your calorie deficit, 2) allowing your blood sugar to return to fasting/basal levels between meals, and 3) choosing the right foods for YOUR body. Your dr.'s advise is setting you up for failure. You still need to eat, and the fact that you can only eat 300-400 calories at a time means you may need to eat a 4th meal to hit your calorie goal. Focus on lean proteins (4-6 ounce servings) and green veggies. Proteins are filling, and will give you the calorie bump you're looking for without the insulin response. Get healthy fats, but be careful - while fats delay gastric emptying, they can cause a late secondary spike. Also, what are you doing for exercise?  

Thank you are! Thankfully I only have IR. Plus high blood pressure, a fatty liver and a bunch of crazy hormones. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not exercising whatsoever. I was going to the gym a year ago but I broke my knee and couldn't walk for three months and after that I just haven't picked it back up. So voila, 17 kg more in one year. Down 7 from June with the diet but still over 60 to go. I started this program in February (though I only started really doing the work in July) hoping for a bariatric surgery. I have to be on it a year before they decide if I'll get it or not. But I have two doctors, one nutritionist and the other doctors not from the program all telling me different things. I just started this week with medicine for the IR (adding to my now 12 pills a day collection) But the small meals are because I can't handle big meals. I get dizzy. It's always been like that, I've never been able to eat much. Eating way too much sugar and refined carbs is what lead me to where I'm at. And the sedentarism of course, I don't work out for dear life (that has to change, but my head is too messed up to start everything at once). I eat meat always with lunch (be it beef, pork or fish) and a salad. But calories just don't add up. My lunch today was salad with avocado and pork but I'd added up to 220 calories. Yeah, I'm so lost :( 

add healthy fats like heavy cream, olive oil or avacados 

Listen to the nutritionist and change doctors. Two meals a day is whacky. Especially with insulin resistance. You need to “graze” throughout the day - three small meals with a healthy snack between meals. Your body goes into survival mode when you only eat two meals and your metabolism slows, so it’s harder to burn calories. Also, grazing takes away hunger pangs which often leads us to overeat. 

Thank you Tina and Joy!!!🥰 

I saw a nutritionist (referred by my Doc). She suggested 3 meals a day, and the Michelle Obama food plate (developed when the pyramid went away). Not for me, maybe someone else. Onward! 

I'm on board with the others, Change Dr.s! The objective should be to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Spikes 2 times a day will make your issues worse! Are and Joy have it right multiple small meals and snacks with protein are the best.  

This may be poor advice, as I don't know any specifics about your lifestyle. If you'll excuse the looking at your diet logs, I may have a few small changes you could make. First, it seems like you're trying to hit approx 1500 calories a day. Stop it, I calculated your RDI to be approx 2500 calories. Cutting it in half like you're trying is just causing your body to store fat and sugars. Try to eat about 80-90% or 2200 calories a day. Second, arepas. I didn't know what they were, so I looked it up. It seems to be a sandwich of a type. I say, eat all the meat and vegetable fillings you want of that, just don't eat the bun? bread? part of it. Thirdly, it seems you enjoy a coffee with your breakfast and that you use a sweetener or a flavored creamer. Try using heavy cream and some baking flavoring. Lastly, noodles and tomato sauce are delicious, but loaded with hidden carbs. Try using zucchini noodles and a no sugar added tomato sauce. BONUS TIP: As a general rule, when I'm traveling or don't have a nutrition guide available, I try to only eat meat, eggs, and cheeses and use the values of 1 egg, 1 ounce of cheese, or 1 ounce of meat is 1 carb each. You have to find what works for you, maybe these suggestions will help. 

Thank you sugarplum, sylone and Josh! I don't have a definite number of calories I'm trying to hit. I just set it to 1200 because it was what I used to do back in the years where I was at least 50 kg lower than now. Arepa is like a tortilla but thicker, also made with corn. It's in my allowed carbs according to the nutritionist, the calories on it are only 70 with 18 gr of carbs. I do pasta once every other week supposedly allowed in my daily carbs as well. I'm just hitting really low calorie amounts from eating what I'm eating. It makes me full though, I don't feel hungry whatsoever during the day or night. But I do need to up it somehow. Last time I went to the nutritionist I told her what I was eating, not counting carbs because I wasn't back at it yet and she said it was fine. Until the doctor took me off snacks. I tried snacking in low fat cheese today but it still doesn't make up for the missing calories. Should I be doing around 2000 then?? That seems impossible. The worst part is that my daughter eats mainly the same things I eat. I don't want to make her malnourished or something. Now I'm triple worried about it. 

Also, I make my coffee in almond Milk :) that's the thing you see in my breakfast. 

I'd pay more attention to your doctor and nutritionist than advice here. I do 1000-1200 calories a day to lose. I would gain weight at 2000-2500 a day. I don't know anything about insulin resistance but you asked about adding calories to your diet. I am following a low fat diet so we aren't doing anything similar. It seems like adding more meat would help with calories, also eggs and cheese - all which I rarely eat! 

Oh, and butter and olive oil! Lots and lots of calories there. 

Thank you fritzy ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

cream! 

I use almond or cashew milk with cream in it. 

I eat a lot of protein.  

nuts are little powerhouses as are sunflower seeds, if you're not allergic to them 

Nuts and seeds it is!!! Thank you all for the help!