A friend asked...
A friend asked me about the changes I've made to my diet, and my weight loss and if there was more to it than eliminating gluten and limiting other grains. I know a lot of other celiac & non-celiac gluten intolerant folks and just going gluten free is not going to take weight off of anyone. Many gluten free alternative products are very high in sugar and other very simple carbs. I have little more business eating them in large amounts, than wheat products. They won't flare my joints or skin, but they do me no favors.
Here's what I said to him:
I firmly believe that diabetics & prediabetics need to reduce intake of all simple carbohydrates to reduce the need for insulin. The more simple carbs consumed, the more insulin is required to keep blood sugar normal; the body responds by making more, as long as you still have a functional pancreas. Many, if not most, insulin requiring diabetics report insulin makes them hungry. Why wouldn't your own endogenous insulin do the same? I have noted for me personally, the more simple carbs I consume, the hungrier I become thereafter.
Further, insulin causes not only your general cell population to take in glucose to use for energy, it also decreases the amount of fat turned into ketones by your fat cells. All that extra insulin around is screaming at the fat cells not to break down fat.
The reason for exercise here isn't just to burn more calories, but to also increase insulin sensitivity as well. Again, it decreases the need for more insulin. Again, speaking from my own personal experience, my hunger level decreases with exercise.
So, in my case, getting off of the gluten turns out to have put my inflammatory arthritis in remission, so I can exercise again without the degree of misery I was having. This year is not to say I'm pain free; I'm not. I still have the damage that was done to contend with. I no longer have joints that get red, tender & swollen. I also now have a built in assist in resisting the temptation of wheat based foods. While potatoes, rice and other starchy food were easier for me to resist or limit, I never met a slice of bread I didn't like. If my husband asked me to bring him home a pastry, if it didn't go into the trunk, it was even money it didn't make it home. Today, I could have a dozen donuts sitting on the seat next to me and there is no way in hell I would touch them. The compulsion to eat them is gone. The temptation to grab something fast is challenged. I have to read everything I eat or I'm gonna pay the price for it which gives me the time to honestly consider if I really want to eat it. The two times early on I had wheat accidentally, I was visited by arthritic flares that lasted a week. So my choice is clear; I can walk or I can eat wheat. I cannot do both.
I'm pushing my exercise now for both weight control and sanity. I'm calmer and much more centered when I work out. It makes me feel better and more vital. That's the immediate benefit. The body I see emerging? That's icing on the cake, to use an unfortunate analogy.
Here's what I said to him:
I firmly believe that diabetics & prediabetics need to reduce intake of all simple carbohydrates to reduce the need for insulin. The more simple carbs consumed, the more insulin is required to keep blood sugar normal; the body responds by making more, as long as you still have a functional pancreas. Many, if not most, insulin requiring diabetics report insulin makes them hungry. Why wouldn't your own endogenous insulin do the same? I have noted for me personally, the more simple carbs I consume, the hungrier I become thereafter.
Further, insulin causes not only your general cell population to take in glucose to use for energy, it also decreases the amount of fat turned into ketones by your fat cells. All that extra insulin around is screaming at the fat cells not to break down fat.
The reason for exercise here isn't just to burn more calories, but to also increase insulin sensitivity as well. Again, it decreases the need for more insulin. Again, speaking from my own personal experience, my hunger level decreases with exercise.
So, in my case, getting off of the gluten turns out to have put my inflammatory arthritis in remission, so I can exercise again without the degree of misery I was having. This year is not to say I'm pain free; I'm not. I still have the damage that was done to contend with. I no longer have joints that get red, tender & swollen. I also now have a built in assist in resisting the temptation of wheat based foods. While potatoes, rice and other starchy food were easier for me to resist or limit, I never met a slice of bread I didn't like. If my husband asked me to bring him home a pastry, if it didn't go into the trunk, it was even money it didn't make it home. Today, I could have a dozen donuts sitting on the seat next to me and there is no way in hell I would touch them. The compulsion to eat them is gone. The temptation to grab something fast is challenged. I have to read everything I eat or I'm gonna pay the price for it which gives me the time to honestly consider if I really want to eat it. The two times early on I had wheat accidentally, I was visited by arthritic flares that lasted a week. So my choice is clear; I can walk or I can eat wheat. I cannot do both.
I'm pushing my exercise now for both weight control and sanity. I'm calmer and much more centered when I work out. It makes me feel better and more vital. That's the immediate benefit. The body I see emerging? That's icing on the cake, to use an unfortunate analogy.