1. Plan's name: The Insulin Resistance Diet

2. Date: 2001

3. Basic Philosophy/Strategy: According to the authors, it is not carbohydrates that cause weight gain, but lack of protein and an excess of carbohydrates consumed in one sitting. Therefore, the authors reccomnd that carbs and protein be consumed in the ratio of 15g:7g. The maximum amount of carbohydrate allowed per meal or snack is 30g, and this must be balanced with at least 14g of protein. This concept is referred to as "linking and balancing" in that all carbs are linked with protein and balanced in this specific ratio.

The authors endorse the low fat hypothesis, so the plan dictates that low fat protein such as poultry, fish and low fat dairy products be used mainly as protein sources. Red meat can only be consumed 2 or 3 times a week. The plan counts beans and milk as proteins.

All vegetables with the exception of corn and potatoes can be eaten freely on the diet. Avocados and olives must be limited however due to their high fat content. Apples, cherries, peaches, plums and grapefruit do not need to be linked and balanced with protein, but are confined to no more than a half cup serving every 2 to 3 hours.

No more than 32g of carbs may be consumed within 2 hours. If one consumes more than this then the excess is stored as fat. This concept is known as the 2 hour fat window. Protein, however can be eaten at any time

Exercise is strongly endorsed

Critical of ketogenic diets, citing patients who have become ill (!!)

4. By the numbers:

Fat:20-30%, Protein: 20-30% Carbohydrate: 40-60%

Fats and Oils: Keep fats to a minimum, include some good fats

High-Carbohydrate Foods :Eat no more than 2 servings at any one time. Eat at least 2 fruits servings daily

High-Protein Foods: Eat at least 8 servings a day. Include 2 to 5 servings of dairy foods

Vegetables: Consume Freely, but eat at least 3 servings a day

5. Method: see no. 3

6. Typical menu:

Bfast:egg on toast, yogurt with cereal, milk with cereal

Lunch: Sandwhich with meat and low fat cheese, grilled chicken salad , beef soup with a potato

Dinner: Lean meat with a potato and vegetables, lentil pilaf with low fat cheese, pasta with meatballs and a green salad

7. Emphasis on: Fat and Protein. Can be difficult to find low fat protein sources if you do not wish to include milk and beans as true protein sources.

8. Unique Features: Resembles a diabetic diet. No foods are banned which makes this plan very livable. Suitable for vegatarians. Treats are reccomended up to 2 or 3 times a week. This may lead ppl down the slippery slop if they "treat" themselves to foods they are actually addicted to such as sugar.

May not work for those who are very sensitive to carbohydrates. Proscribes to the low fat theory, so is more likely to be accepted by the mainstram medical establishment.


9. About the authors

Cheryle R. Hart. M.D. is the founder of the Wellness Workshop, a medical weight-loss clinic in Washington. She was the associate clinical professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Washington Meedical School. She specilises in bariatrics. Her clinic address the four main aspects of what she considers to be successful weight management: medical, nutritional, fitness education and emotional support.

Mary kay Grossman, R.D.

She is the nutritional adviser for the Wellness Workshop. Discovered that she too suffered from Insulin Resistance when she began to formulate menus and plans for her patients. This plan enabled her to finally lose weight seven years after the birth of her child.


Overall, this is a good plan, but I disagree with the authors somewhat (madeup?) scaremongering attitude towards ketegonic dieting.

Sorry about the spelling mistakes etc. I think the first attempt was better.

Thanks Scarlet :thup: It will be added to the list of plans in the next update.

Wa'il

Hey Tamarian

I just checked in the plans section. The Insulin Resistance Diet doesn't seem to be included. Will it be added?

Hi Scarlet,

I'm really sorry, I was just too busy to even check my to-do list. :(

And yes, it will be added, feel free to PM me if it doesn't show up in a week :)

Wa'il

Thanks Tamarian!

Don't worry about it. I was just concerned cause I see there are quite a lot of people who've joined the board lately who are doing this plan.

Hi Scarlet,

It's finally added and your name/credit at the bottom is linked to your web site. :thup:

Wa'il

I love this eating plan and can't believe it's not more popular.

I don't think the publishing company or authors ever gave it the PR it deserves.

I wish the authors would come out with a cookbook! Everyone loves lower-carb cookbooks...maybe that would draw some media attention.

It is a great plan allright isn't it? It's very popular in PCOS circles though.

oh my gosh, did you paint that angel? It is gorgeous.

Another good website for the Insulin Resistance Diet is www.thecanuck.org, but it's hard to access for some reason, and it's not very popular. But I've received a lot of helpful ideas and advice from that forum.

I also go on www.soulcysters.com. One gal lost 140 lbs. on the Insulin Resistance Diet! I just love this eating plan.

Nope AmberAAA1 did it for me. You should go over to her journal and congragulate her on it.

I have to add my voice to those interested in seeing a thread or section for this diet. I've just finished reading the book, and I have to admit that after losing 35lbs doing Atkins (something between OWL and Maintenance, because I am nursing), I've started to develop a certain bias that I've never had with regards to food.

Still, my body is telling me to eat less butter, cream and fatty red meat and more vegetables. I need to hear some Real People voices about The Insulin Resistance Diet: comparisons, successes, pittfalls and the like.

Erin

does any one out there ever feel like your going to get sick from eating so much low carb food? sometimes I feel like I just cant , then i cheat . Can anyone give me some advice ? Please , Thankyou Pembine

:Puke: when i get done eating weather breakfast , lunch or dinner I have this strong urge in my stomach to let it all come out . weather I eat a lil or alot ,any advice? Please [COLOR=DarkOrange][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]

Insulin Resistance Diet
 

Scarlet, or anyone that can help - are you still doing the modified insulin resistance diet? If so I would love to find out how you are modifying it. I have been on atkins since the beginning of the year and just not having great results. However, I do love this WOE. I am in the process of reading the insulin resistance diet, and I am convinced that I do have insulin resistance. I'd like to try this diet and modify it and do it somehow with atkins.

I think it might be time for me to dust off my copy of the book and re-read it. For the last several months, I have been following my own version of low carb dieting. As best as I can -- stress makes me eat, but I won't go into personal details.

If memory serves, I tried to meld the two diets to suit me by eating more lean protein and a lot of vegetables and even some fruit. Atkins was hard for me to follow because I really do love fruit, and prefer it as a dessert to anything else. I've never considered this a particularly unhealthy repast, and I'm pretty sketchy on the details of how fruits in particular fall in the glycemic index (which barely makes sense to me, and I'm not stupid). However, I eat far less fruit than I used to.

Other things that were hard to give up, like carrots, I now eat, but not nearly as much as I used to: I've been known to eat an entire pound of carrots at once. And corn, though I limit myself to half an ear. I do not put fat on cooked carrots or corn, and try to limit my intake of fat on days when I am desperately craving vegetables. Sometimes a large drink of water ends these cravings, sometimes not.

Dairy, especially yogurt, is still a huge struggle for me. Cheese is yummy, but it leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth. I drink a lot of unsweetened soymilk (Westsoy has 4g of carbs and 3g of fiber or some such). I limit my intake of yogurt to only a few times per week.

I thought I would miss bread a lot more than I do, but I allow myself a serving of bread about once a week, usually with butter or cheese. Having once been my favorite snack, bread and soft cheese is just as much food for my soul as anything else. And I think IR Diet addresses that, though maybe indirectly. Also, I once lost 65lbs living on mostly bread, cheese and fruit juice for over a year, so I have a hard time accepting that Bread is Evil. In the same vein, I also allow myself a small bit of sugar once a week as well (sometimes less, because sugar has a slimy quality). If the choice is between backsliding a little or falling off the wagon completely, I opt for the former.

Hope this helps. Not feeling very coherent at this very moment.

Erin

My take on the Insulin Resistance Diet
 

I'm trying the IR diet with an important modification: When exercising (walking), after the first hour up to one hour after exercise, turn off the diet. The exercise will prevent any insulin spikes during that time, so carbs need not be linked / balanced / restricted.

- larry

PS: The Snickers marathon energy bars taste wonderful, and they are already balanced and linked (25 g net carbs, 13 g protein). MLO energy bars are also in the ballpark with 40 g net carbs and 21 g protein.

This sound like the plan that will be most effective for me.
I have been doing about the same on the low glycemic, the only thing as a diabetic I can not eat anything white, including
potatoes, They spike my bs sky high!
Really a great thread! thanks!

Hi I hope this thread is not stopping I see no one has written since September. I have decided to try the IR diet so would really love to have a help like to talk to. If anyone is still there let me know. :wave:

Please help!
 

I'm so glad I found this forum. I recently read the Insulin Resistance Diet and love the concept, but could really use some help deciphering some of the info. First of all, have people been successful on this diet? With all of the linking I'm afraid I won't loose weight because of calories. And in the book it says you don't have to count calories, but then it also says if you eat too many calories you will gain weight.

I am also a little confused about the linking. If a food is balanced, like certain fruits or vegetables, can you eat them by themselves? Like can you have a grapefruit by itself, or some carrots? Or are those foods only to be eaten with other foods? The reason I ask is that the book says you must eat at least two food groups at every meal and also that you should eat a high protein food every time you eat. It just seems like every time I am hungry I have to eat so many calories because I always have to have foods linked. any advice would be greatly apprecitaed.

Insulin Resistant
 

Hello, :wave:

I've been *trying* to follow the insulin resistance diet since August 2007 when I was diagnosed as being insulin resistant. My doctor gave no info regarding protein/carb ratios. Instead, he just said to eat a lot of protein and limit carbs to 15-20 g per meal and have only nuts, cheeses, sugar-free peanut butter on celery or other foods that are non-carb for snacks twice a day (four times a day now that I'm pregnant). Anything with added sugars or sweeteners (other than Splenda) are strictly no-no. Any suggestions for snacks? I like some nuts and cheeses but get very tired of them very quickly.

I've always been a chocolaholic so this diet has been very rough for me.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

The Insulin Resistance Diet is Easy and it Works
 

I am a 73 year old, diet controlled, Type 2 diabetic. For a while I was "good" but as time went on, I was not mindful of my eating habits and began to put on extra pounds and my blood sugars, weight, and triglycerides started inching up. As a nurse practitioner, I have avoided plans like Atkins because of their high saturated fat and ketogenic effects but needed something to avoid having to take medication for my diabetes . I stumbled on The Insulin Resistance Diet book and it really changed my life. Though the holidays were treacherous, and I lost a bit of ground there, I have lost 17 pounds since October and brought my blood sugars into the consistently normal range. My son, whose blood sugars were in the 300's, brought his down into the upper 80's with this diet. Though he is on meds, his bloods sugars were still not controlled without this eating plan. He has also lost over 20 pounds and his doctor is considering lowering his med dosages. I love this eating plan because it so easy. Virtually nothing is eliminated as long as it is eaten in reasonable quantities. It is easy to eat out and to feed the rest of your family without having to cook separate meals. Like others who have commented, I don't feel this book and diet plan have received anywhere near the amount of publicity they deserve. I do believe that different plans work better for different people but speaking for myself, this is the easiest, most effective eating plan I have personally ever experienced. Any "diet" where you have to make radical changes in your eating habits is likely not going to stick with you for the long haul but this is a plan that could easily work for the rest of your life.

Chocolate on the IR Diet
 

I just noticed that someone said they are missing chocolate. I buy 72% cacao dark chocolate (Ghirardelli and Lindt make good ones) and have a square when the chocolate urge strikes. It has less than 5 carbs and while it isn't quite balanced, when I eat this at home, I can have it with other protein or with milk. Occasionally, I put it on a single graham cracker square and melt it in the microwave - yummy. I sometimes also buy a bag of the Ghirardelli individually wrapped squares and put one in my purse to have with my tall skinny latte when we go to Starbucks or Barnes and Noble cafe (the latte is linked and balanced). The chocolate square makes me feel like I am getting a treat without resorting to having a scone or other high carb goodie. While I don't do this every day since it is not strictly balanced, it has not impacted my weight loss or my blood sugars and I no longer feel deprived!

I agree that the best thing about the Insulin Resistance diet (especially in the longer term) is that you don't have to feel deprived, as long as you approach it sensibly.

There is a section on "splurging" which helps you to realize you can incorporate the occasional treat, look forward to the indulgence and really savor it. It won't ruin your efforts or make you feel you've "blown it". The only danger is that some people will take it as a license to overindulge.