If you’ve just been diagnosed as insulin resistant (or even prediabetic), you may be very confused and wondering where to start. I know how you feel!  I’ve been where you are now and I understand what it’s like to be faced with this.

For many people this is completely new territory, but if you follow an insulin resistance diet:

1. it will bring your weight down where other diets have failed
2. you will quickly gain control of your appetite and cravings
3. your blood sugar will stabilize
4. you will greatly reduce the risk of ever getting diabetes
5. you will learn what foods you can eat to be able to maintain a healthy weight
6. you’ll finally be able to reduce your abdominal fat

Insulin Resistance Diet Menu

One of the challenges insulin resistance brings is the planning of your meals from day to day. Before I was diagnosed, my meals were very different – cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, main meal at night would pretty much always include rice or pasta or potatoes. I’m sure many of you are the same, and things need to change on a low carb diet! So what is a typical insulin resistance diet menu?

Breakfast on an Insulin Resistance Diet

For many people, breakfast means eggs. I don’t like them much so I’d never want to start my day that way, but I know I’m in the minority! Have them any way you want – they’re nutritious even with the yolks, and we all know there are a lot of different ways to cook them. Continue Reading »

The easiest Insulin Resistance Diet breakfast

Those of us with insulin resistance know that we should have protein with every meal, and for many people that translates to “eggs” for breakfast. I don’t really like eggs that much (I’ll eat them if I have to but always choose something else if there’s an alternative!).

If you want to make your own healthy protein shake, you have to get the blender out … which takes time and is messy! Who can be bothered, right?

Or you may be the kind of person who prefers to skip breakfast – you know you should have something, but you don’t feel like much.  If so, this will interest you…

Continue Reading »

What is a healthy diet for someone with insulin resistance?

Lots of people have told me that they think their diets are quite healthy – much more so than many of their friends, who may be consuming vast quantities of “junk”. Yet if you have insulin resistance, one of the most frustrating things is that your weight will stay the same (and may even go up), even if you’re making a conscious effort to stay away from the chips and cakes. In fact, you may not even be eating much at all.

I was in the same boat, and let me tell you, I was super-disciplined! Exercising almost daily, keeping to very small portion sizes, very rarely indulging in anything that I thought would derail my efforts, including alcohol. I remember being into my 11th week of a strict regime I had put myself on. Who could question that kind of dedication? And still I did not see any results.

Continue Reading »

What is insulin resistance and what can I do about it?

What is insulin resistance? Insulin resistance is a stage before pre-diabetes. In short, it is a condition where you produce too much insulin. As a result, you will store fat around the abdomen (and visceral fat around the internal organs – a very dangerous situation). Left unchecked, it increases your risk of developing metabolic disorders, Type 2 diabetes and numerous other inherent health risks.

Why does this happen? Well, it can have various causes, but a great proportion of people with insulin resistance have become that way through their diet. It has been well documented that insulin resistance occurs in some people when they Continue Reading »

Low carb meals quiz

Test your knowledge about carbohydrates, insulin resistance and low carb meals

How much do you know about carbohydrates?

If you have insulin resistance, you’ve probably read a lot about carbohydrates and what effect they have on insulin production. I thought I knew some basic truths about low carb meals, but in fact, since being diagnosed as insulin resistant and by researching this more fully, I’ve found out some surprising things!

If you’d like to know more, see how many of the following you get right…

With regard to insulin resistance – are the following statements true or false?

1. The main thing to understand is the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates
2. Eating fruit is a bad idea because it is full of fructose
3. Brown/wholemeal versions of bread, rice and pasta are not much better for you than their white counterparts
4. Foods that are labelled “high fiber” are not always good choices
5. The Glycemic Index can help you decide which carbohydrates to include in your diet
6. You can have coffee on a low carb diet
7. Potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, cereals and all forms of sugar must be restricted, if not eliminated.

The “Link and Balance” formula

The key to the way of eating known as Link and Balance, as outlined in The Insulin Resistance Diet, is to be able to control the effects that carbohydrates have on our bodies – not by never eating any again, but by not eating them in isolation. Linking and Balancing is a way to ensure that your body gets the necessary amounts of protein and carbohydrates to prevent insulin spikes – and as a result, control your appetite and lose weight.

Linking simply means adding protein to your diet. It is something we don’t naturally think of. Sure, most of us have protein in the form of meat or fish with our evening meals, but many of our snacks are carbohydrates and we would normally just consume them on their own, without even thinking about the type of food we are eating.

Balancing is making sure you have the right quantities of protein with your carbohydrates.  You do have permission to eat carbohydrates, but for each serving you have (and there are limits), you need to balance the carb with protein.  It is a principle that makes this insulin resistance diet a more realistic approach than some of the others out there. Continue Reading »

Interview with an Expert on the Glycemic Index

I was lucky enough to be able to talk to Professor Jennie Brand-Miller from the University of Sydney, who is one of the foremost experts on the Glycemic Index. Jennie and her team are responsible for the testing and rating of carbohydrate foods on the GI scale, a reliable, scientific method of measuring a food’s effect on blood glucose levels.

The success I have had is mainly due to the low GI diet – which is a balanced, nutritious way of eating  for everyone, but of particular benefit to anyone who is insulin resistant, as it was initially developed for diabetics. The key is not eliminating carbohydrates completely from the diet (which works, but is difficult to sustain), but rather in making wise choices when it comes to carbohydrates. Continue Reading »

Insulin Resistance Diet and Travel

As many of you may know, I live in Sydney, Australia, but originally come from England. Although I don’t make the trip back to the UK as often as I would like, when I do get on one of those long-haul flights, I know I’ll be sitting in one place for many, many hours at a time. So how can you keep to an insulin resistance diet when you travel?

Continue Reading »

Some low carb food reviews

Since beginning an insulin resistance diet, I have swung between trying to have very few carbohydrates (very difficult to sustain long term) and “linking and balancing” my carbs with protein. Some weeks it is just easier, other times I feel like I need some new items in the pantry.

I am looking for products that will be better for my long-term health as well as help me to keep the weight down. I am not trying to cut out all carbohydrates, but I am definitely interested in low glycemic carbs and ways to keep my menus varied. In the day-to-day search for better alternatives, I am continually looking at and comparing food labels, and today I want to share a few of the things I’ve found.

Continue Reading »

5 not-so-healthy foods for insulin resistance!

Welcome and thanks for signing up to receive this free gift. I hope you will enjoy learning about these 5 not so healthy foods for insulin resistance – most people have no clue about these, and you may find that changing just one of them will bring you fantastic results!

Click the image to claim your free gift!

Click on the image for the PDF document (click to view in your browser, right-click to save it to your computer).

Feel free to pass it on – there are no catches and no costs involved. If I can help more people then I am delighted to share this with anyone who may benefit!

I was diagnosed with IR in February 2011, and (like you) I wanted to understand the condition and make changes to reverse it – if possible without having to resort to medication. I started this website to help you too!

My website is full of free information – the articles were all written by me as I learned more about IR and the best way to go about making changes. Please look around! You can just go to the home page and scroll down to see articles that may help you, or you can find a list of them in the sidebar on the right.

How long have you been following a low carb diet?

Do you think you’ll ever have a meal with lots of carbs again?

That’s the thing – if you are truly committed to this way of eating (and if you’re insulin resistant and want to change that, you probably are), you’re likely to shudder at the thought of having that kind of food again. Well yes – on a regular basis, it’s not on the cards. It’s fine to have the occasional sandwich, it’s fine to have some “good” carbs as long as we balance them with protein.

But what happens if you’ve been invited somewhere where you know you will have no control over the type of food that will be offered? If you think you can avoid high carb food forever you’re not being very realistic!

I recently went to an informal birthday celebration where Continue Reading »

Insulin Resistance Diet Recipes

When you’re insulin resistant, one of the biggest problems you’re likely to face is coming up with some ideas for meals which will not only fit in with the restrictions of your low carb lifestyle, but will also be appetizing and delicious! If you have The Insulin-Resistance Diet, fortunately there are are a lot of insulin resistance diet recipes included which will help to get you started. I’ve put a few menu suggestions on this post, and I also post occasional tips and meal successes on my Facebook page, but there comes a time when you’ll want more recipes…

Cookbooks for Insulin Resistance

Depending on the low carb diet you follow, you may need some inspiration for recipes and meal ideas that will conform to your particular diet guidelines. The Paleo Diet, in particular, has so many restrictions, you may very quickly run out of ideas Continue Reading »

The Insulin Resistance Diet Review

Rating:  

Preamble:

As mentioned in the overview, I have a strong belief in the principles outlined in this book. This review is based on the fact that, unlike other “reviewers”, I have actually bought the book and read it (several times!) AND have been following its guidelines with success. My weight is coming down gradually, my carb cravings are under control, I no longer feel constantly hungry and I know that I am doing the right thing for my long term health.

I am insulin resistant

Note: I am insulin resistant!  I’ve read some reviews of this book by people who do not even have the condition and I find some of their comments to be irrelevant and ridiculous. The whole point of the Insulin Resistance Diet is that it is very specifically written for people whose insulin production needs to be controlled, for health reasons. Continue Reading »

This post is not about insulin resistance or low carb diets. It’s simply a post to let you know that I am a real person, that this site has been put together entirely by me, as a result of my being diagnosed with insulin resistance, learning what insulin resistance diet to follow, and wanting to share the information I have discovered, in an authentic and heart-centred way, with others who are suffering or looking for answers.

There is a lot of information out there and my voice is a small one amongst all the information marketers. Yes, I have put some posts together with product recommendations if I think they’ll be helpful and yes, I have used some words and phrases a little repetitively – this is a tactic so that my words will be found by the search engines, so that people who are seeking help will find me.

My language is English and I am proud to speak it fluently and write it naturally.  I am not bagging people whose native language is not English; I myself speak 2 other languages and I admire anyone who writes in a language that is not their own – it’s extremely challenging! However, I am sick of seeing websites that are clearly automated, articles which are “spun” – in other words, synonyms are used to replace words and phrases – to the point where they’re just gibberish.

You’ll know that I’m real because I’m a bit opinionated and don’t try to hide it. There are times when I might seem outraged or perplexed – signs of a real human being!  However, I’d like to think that the actual information I provide is useful and presented in a way that will allow you to make the best choices for yourself on your new path to optimum health.

Please do leave a comment – I’d love to hear back from some other REAL people out there!

The Insulin Resistance Diet – Overview

Rating:  

How To Turn Off Your Body’s Fat-Making Machine

by Cheryle R. Harte and Mary Kay Grossman

The product description of this book on Amazon.com runs as follows:

Conquer insulin resistance. Reduce cravings. Eat your favorite foods. And lose weight!

If the above description didn’t make it abundantly clear why this book is a must-read for anyone with insulin resistance, Continue Reading »

What’s the best insulin resistance diet?

There are several books out there that recommend an insulin resistance diet, and you will not go very far before you understand that we’re talking high-protein, low-carb diets, the ones where you have to ditch the bread and the pasta and the rice and the potatoes and the noodles and… wait, stop!

Before I lose you, I want to tell you that there is hope!  Nobody is denying that you need to increase your consumption of protein and vegetables – but if you think all you can eat is meat, fish and salad for the rest of your life, wait till I tell you about this GEM of a book.

The Insulin-Resistance Diet – Revised and Updated: How to Turn Off Your Body’s Fat-Making Machine

First released in 2000 and revised in 2007, The Insulin-Resistance Diet truly is the easy way to get your carb cravings under control, get your insulin production back to normal and finally claim your life back! Continue Reading »