a question

[homeschoolmom]

I'm a little confused about the whole "insulin release" thing. I have been trying to put on some weight by eating more frequently. My question is, if I eat lunch, and my body produces the insulin to cover it, should I wait until my blood sugar goes back down to eat again ? If I do eat again before my blood sugar goes back down, will it make it go higher, or will the insulin that has already been released cover it??
Thanks for the advice.

[BrianSCohen]

I am trying to put on weight as well, but not just any weight. If you want to get just a little fatter, I can easily help you. If you want to gain lean body mass (which is what I recommend), then it is going to take some focus.

Estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate and and you activity level here Harris Benedict Equation (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/). Add a couple hundred calories to that to gain weight. (note: If you follow very low carb, this won't work).

Eat 5-6 meals a day. Up your protein.

Do strength training and eat with a focus on your exercise.

Before exercise eat protein, after (immediately) eat protein and some carbs (20-40g)

The physcial demands drives your body to adapt by building muscle, and the food (protein in particular) helps feed that growth. The carbs after workout drive an insulin release, and as it turns out insulin not only enables glucose uptake, but also protein uptake.

Good luck

ps. If you overeat carbs while your insulin is still elevated, you may very well lay down extra fat.

[homeschoolmom]

Thanks Brian! I do want muscle - not fat, but at this point, I'd be OK with either. I'm tired of people telling me I look anorexic. What's more frustrating is that I've never eaten healthier in my life than I have these past few months. I bought the Ensure plus shakes and drink a little of the shake several times throughout the day (it has 22 grams of sugar). It has 350 calories and extra protein and fiber too.

[Ronin]

Hi Homeschoolmom!

One question: were you much heavier before you started to change your eating habbits to adjust for your Pre-D diagnosis?

The reason I ask is that I've had similar reactions to my current weight (mid 150's) primarilly from the people who knew me years ago (before bicycling 13 years ago) when I weighed in at a beefy 235! Now I'm "anorexic" -- at least to them. Even the medical people at the VA are surprised to find a 60 year old vet with a flat stomach (albiet my skin doesn't fit anymore).

If you were not overweight prior to your "diagnosis" I'd check to see if your pancreas is slowing down. Skinny and Type-2 are not a common combination.

As to how to gain weight -- eat more calories than you expend and exercise to make sure that the weight you add is muscle and not fat.