HOW TO (STEP-BY-STEP)
The Answers You Need
This page details the 'how to' of this website.
Step-by- step we will show you what you need to do to get YOUR body performing optimally for consistent weight loss, health and wellness. Read on...
STEP ONE
Purchase
To fully take advantage of the principals of weight loss and health with insulin resistance, you must purchase a blood glucose monitor.
These are available on Amazon, Ebay and in most pharmacies. They are not too expensive but the lancets and testing strips you will also need can really add up if you aren't careful
Do a search and find a good package deal. 100 testing strips should get you a good start on this way of life. You will not have you use these forever, but they are imperative to start the program right.
Once you have your blood glucose monitor read the manual learn and understand how it works. You will be testing your blood sugar readings 2 hours after every meal for the first few weeks of this program.
STEP TWO
Organise
Organise an online or paper journal. This is also imperative for this program!
Read through these steps so you know what you will be doing. Print them out if it will help you in your quest.
You will be noting down everything you eat for about 2 weeks and you will also be noting down your blood sugar readings 2 hours after you eat in this journal.
STEP THREE
Prepare
Prepare yourself for these first 2 weeks of eating. Understand that soda, (fizzy sugar drinks), lollies (candy), chocolates, fries and chips and other fast or processed foods are all out for these two weeks.
We all know what foods we shouldn't be eating, there is so much in the media it's hard not to know! These items are never going to result in good blood glucose readings in anyone, so don't waste your test strips and lancets!
No one is saying you can't have a burger on occasion, but for these first 2 weeks you need to keep your blood sugars accurate so you will know what foods are safe for you to eat in the future while still maintaining weight loss. If you mess with your blood sugar levels with a 'cheat' meal or snack, none of the surrounding results for days before or after will be accurate and you will have to start all over!
This isn't deprivation, this is you doing what's best for your pocketbook and your weight loss journey. The burger (or chocolate, soda etc) will still be there on day 15 if you want it, I promise!
Prepare for your first blood glucose testing tomorrow morning when you wake before eating, drinking,, brushing your teeth or taking tablets.
This is called your fasting glucose and is an important measurement in our toolkit.
STEP FOUR
Upon Waking
Wash your hands, and then take your first blood glucose measurement when you wake before eating, drinking, brushing your teeth or taking any tablets.
This is called your fasting glucose (with nothing by mouth overnight usually for many hours) and is an important measurement in our toolkit moving forward.
Day One, Meal One:
Eat a breakfast that is common for you. Maybe it's cereal or toast with tomato, bacon & eggs or perhaps you just drink a coffee and nothing else. Whatever you eat on a regular basis for breakfast, you need to eat today.
Make a note in your journal of the items and quantity of items in your breakfast down to the last detail eg:
1 cup wheat bix with 1 teaspoon sugar & 1/2 cup full cream milk
1 cup black coffee with no milk or sugar
1 banana
2 hours after the beginning of your meal perform a blood glucose test as detailed in your blood glucose monitor instructions.
Note: make sure your hands are clean with no sugar or other residue or this will drastically affect your readings!
STEP FIVE
Repeat
Repeat step four for every meal and snack all day every day for 2 weeks.
Remember, you MUST eat what you would usually eat on a day-to-day basis. We are trying to ascertain what your usual schedule is doing to your body.
Try not to eat within 2 hours of the last time you ate or snacked, as this may affect your readings. Keep at least 2 1/2-3 hours between meals/snacks at all times.
Do nothing differently other than cutting out the obvious terrible processed and fast foods and sugary drinks or snacks mentioned in step three, which are a waste of monitoring and testing strips as they will always bring back terrible readings - moving forward these items will only ever be on your 'occasional' list of foods.
I want you to eat and live the way you usually do so we can tell which of the everyday items you eat are adversely affecting your health and wellness, and which ones your body loves that you can continue to work into your eating routine.
STEP SIX
Day Fifteen
You should now have a list of fourteen days worth of your usual breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Along with these meals you will have corresponding blood sugar levels upon waking and at 2 hours after eating.
Now we get science-y!
Healthy blood sugar results in a non diabetic, non insulin resistant healthy adult should be in the following ranges:
Fasting (upon waking): between 70–99 mg/dl (3.9–5.5 mmol/L)
Two Hours After Meals: Less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)
Random readings: between 60-110mg/dL (3.0 and 7.8 mmol/L )
Insulin Resistance or Prediabetes is diagnosed with the following levels:
Fasting (upon waking): 100-125mg/dL (5.5-6.9mmol/L)
Two Hours After Meals: More 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)
If your levels for any particular meals are outside these healthy ranges then you need to look at adjusting those meals. If it was a bowl of wheat bix with a teaspoon of sugar, perhaps try the same breakfast without the sugar and retest to see how your body is responding. If your levels are still high you will need to implement a different breakfast into your routine.
This is the step where you learn to adust your eating and test elements from the same meal to see what might be causing your high blood sugar results. You might be fine with your avocado toast for breakfast but you might need to ditch the sugar in your coffee to make your body happy and a fat burning machine!
This is where you take control and make notes - find out and record what meals are working for your body!
STEP SEVEN
Review & Plan
After reviewing your results you will see a pattern begin to emerge of 'good' and 'bad' blood glucose results.
Those results that are outside the ideal reference ranges are your body telling you it is not coping. The meals you ate before those bad results are the meals you need to cut out of your life for now.
Moving forward, what can you eat?
There are no hard and fast rules, and this is the primary principal of the Insulin Diet. What my body copes well with, your body may not, so you will need to continue to test and measure to work out what meals your body responds well to. Any meals you were eating that tested well should become staples in your new diet. Any foods that your responded badly to should be edited or deleted from your menu list for now.
As a general rule whole foods are foods your body will respond well to so these should be incorporated liberally (and tested of course!)
These include: vegetables, grass fed beef, wild caught fish, fruits (in moderation as these do have natural sugars in them which may cause blood spikes), unsweetened nuts, hormone free dairy in moderation, good fats such as olive oil and grass fed butter (NOT Canola or other heavily processed oils!) and some legumes.
Trialing options like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and steel cut oats are an option but you will need to test these as they still raise the blood sugar levels of many people.
As you begin to understand what your body responds well to you will learn to create recipes that include the items your body loves and replacing some items it doesn't.
An example for me is cauliflower rice. I have replaced all of my rice in meals with cauliflower rice. It has a neutral taste, is filling, low carb (which for me equals low blood glucose) and low calorie!
You will still be able to eat some of your favourites in time so don't panic! As you learn to integrate the foods your body responds well to, you will naturally begin to lose weight.
Working with this lifestyle and having lost the weight I needed to lose and lowering my blood sugar levels I am now in a position where I eat 'clean' for my body during the week and 'cheat' a little more on weekends with no adverse reactions. This keeps my body at a steady weight.
You must learn to be disciplined to live this way though!
STEP EIGHT
The 'E' word.
Many of us with insulin resistance also struggle with fatigue and have a sedentary lifestyle due to weight, work and family schedules or just a plain old lack of energy!
That said, the proven tool in your insulin resistance weight loss toolkit is exercise. I know, it sucks! Take heart, no one is suggesting you head to the gym 7 days a week for a 2 hour power weightlifting session! In fact many studies have proven the benefits of interval training for insulin sensitivity, which only takes about 20 minutes/day 3 days week!
Start slow and build up a routine. If you push yourself to do hours a day 7 days a week you will set yourself up to fail. Set realistic goals (15 minutes/day is a good start) with a casual walk, jumping jacks, HIIT training, yoga, dog walking or other form of exercise you can enjoy. Enjoyment is key!
Studies have proven it takes just 66 days for something to be routine or automatic. Think about teeth cleaning, its something you do everyday without thinking, its just what you DO! We're aiming to recreate this routine with your exercise where it just becomes a habit, something that you DO!
Set yourself a target of 15-20 minutes exercise on 3 days/week. After 66 days add in another day or another 10 minutes and do that for 66 days. Before you know it you will be doing 45 minutes 3-5 times/week and you will be lapping everyone on the couch!
Your insulin resistance will also slowly be disappearing and your body will love you for it!
STEP NINE
Stress
Stress is horrible for insulin resistance! I know telling a stressed person not to stress is akin to telling a singer not to sing.
The first thing to do to combat stress is to be aware of it. What causes it? When are you experiencing it? What can you do to remove or reduce that trigger?
Very few of us in this modern world don't have our fair share of stress, but doing whatever you can to reduce it for you and your health is what we are talking about here, not implementing a trip to Tahiti every few months! (Wouldn't that be awesome....sigh!)
After you have taken a long hard look at your stress triggers and dont what you can to reduce them (this may be an ongoing process, some things take time), start looking to do more of the things you love.
Take a bath with a good book, sit in the sunshine listening to your favourite album, play cards with your spouse, get a massage, go shopping, see a movie, have coffee with someone who makes you laugh, take the dog for a walk.Think about the things you love to do most and who you love to be with and make a list of the options open to you. Then implement them into your week wherever you can, as time moves on try to increase those things as you become mindful of taking time out of your busy week to do something for your you and your body.
Whatever it is that you love most, do more of it! We can all take that advice on board.
STEP TEN
Medication
Do you need it? Will it help? Are their other options?
This is a question only you and your doctor can answer together. Some people do all the work and still struggle with getting their levels down to the healthy range and medication can get them where they need to be for their health.
There are a number of fantastic options in the natural world such as cinnamon, glutathione, vitamin D, chromium, magnesium and too many more to list here that have been proven to assist in lowering blood sugar levels.
Check out our blog posts and follow our facebook page for more information on these, we keep up with the latest science and results and will fill you in.
This website is for information only and is not authorised to diagnose or treat any illness. Please consult with your doctor on any or all of your results and concerns.
