Sounds good to me.
Yes, I have insulin resistance. Dreamer has been posting on my threads to indicate she has the same problem. With me, the doctor ordered fasting bloods done to measure both glucose and insulin levels. My fasting glucose was high but still within normal levels, but insulin was very high. The doctor said this indicates that my cells seem to need higher blood insulin levels than normal, to do the same work. Not good.
We have a fabulous diet book in Australia written by CSIRO. This mob, CSIRO, is a government-funded independent body of reputable scientists. "Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation". It's like a diet book put out by FDA, after their own scientists have studied diets and dieting for decades. Except CSIRO is much bigger than FDA, with broader brief, and not politically linked to the government. They're also fairly conservative scientifically, so they're not going to come out with something that hasn't been thoroughly tested.
The findings in the CSIRO book are that women have a harder time losing weight than men because we burn less calories for the same activity. The book advocates a lot more carbs than Atkins, but less than dieticians were previously recommending. They also are pushing protein at almost very meal. And a great deal less fat, but what fat there is - good fats. Same with carbs - good carbs.
So it sounds to me like CSIRO and Schwartzbein are similar.
The CSIRO book lays out the outcomes of their research, explains food groups and various diet and health problems, discusses the importance of exercise and then in the second half of the book, lays out diet plans with recipes.
What I'm trying to do - as I have to reduce calories so extremely, I obviously should avoid 'empty' calories since I'm having a hard enough time getting enough nourishment on so few calories. Hence - no sweets, other than a single square of high-quality chocolate every few days. And not even that amount, late in the day. So, sweet things - no added sugar, only fruit sugar and then, only one serve a day of fruit.
Lifting weights - I used to do this, but years ago before my body was the mess it is today. I can't do it any more.
Portion control - I'm using a one cup ramekin as my serving bowl. Dinner is served on a bread and butter plate.
And on top of that, I'm taking Reductil as prescribed by my gastroenterologist. For the Reductil to work, I need to reduce calories. For my liver to begin to recover form its burden of fat, I need to eat low-fat. For my insulin resistance to ease off, I need to avoid sudden glucose rises in my blood. This means not only no sugar, but also no easy-to-get-at carbs. Hence - wholegrain bread (one slice a day max) or brown rice (one cup cooked a day, max) and high-fibre muesli (one cup a day, max).
I see the specialist in five more months for a complete blood work-up. I'll let you know if this has worked. But so far, I've lost five and a half kilos in one calendar month.
I've been posting separately about this, so I won't go into any more detail.
Have a look at the CSIRO book online -
http://www.csiro.au/science/Twd.html (it's talking about the second book in the series, but should give you some idea).
Of all diets that have been doing the rounds in Australia, this one has been a stayer and is increasingly replacing older ideas. CSIRO as an organisation has been responsible for a lot of really good stuff scientifically coming out of Australia. If this book isn't in the US yet, it should be soon (unless the contents get pirated by someone else).
Marg
