Avoiding the diabitus. A helpful thread from that lovable Jim Fellow :3

[Jim Halisstrad]

So, in August I went to the doctor because I was feeling dizzy at sporadic times, which really hurt my filming of German Scat videos.  So, I went to the doctor where he DRILLED INTO MY ARM AND DRAINED FIVE GALLONS OF BLOOD.
A week later when I came out of my coma (Finding out I had been used for unwilling sex when I was out which sent me on a poorly written adventure of revenge and crappy dialogue) I returned to the good doctor (not Ink) and received my results.

And I quote "Well Thomas (REAL NAME LOLZ) you've got two choices.  Develop Diabetes, or loose the weight Fatty."
My body wasn't processing sugar right, but wasn't at that critical stage where it could blow into full diabetes... yet.

At that point I weighed 258(ish, scales are never accurate).
I now Weigh 235.

How can this be you might ask?  Well, let me show you <S>My pokemans</s>.
Step one.  Join Weight Watchers.  Sorry dissenters, the program works and it doesn't starve you.  You wouldn't believe the amount of flack I have gotten for joining "A Fad Dieting program."  Suck a dick, preferably mine.  It works.
But, I do have helpful advice for those who won't trust any program you have to pay for.

Stop eating Shit.   And by Shit I mean Fast Food, Fried Food, Candy Bars, Cookies etc.  As my doctor puts it, you could run a marathon everyday but if you aren't eating healthy then you won't be healthy. 
It's not that hard to change either.  Craving something sweet?  Grab an apple.  Hell, if you want a burger, GET A FUCKING BURGER.  Just make sure to skip the fries, and Nix the cheese and mayo.

Oh, another thing.  Carbohydrates?  There good for you.  No shit.  Carbs are Complex sugars which take time for your body to digest.  Think long term energy.  Which is good for my next tip.

EXERCISE.  If nothing else, get off your ass, head up to the mall and walk for thirty minutes.  Broken legs?  Sit ups and push-ups.   FLAIL YOUR FUCKING ARMS IF YOU HAVE TO.  Just exercise.
As for me, I have two workout routines.  I power walk for forty minutes, or I dance with glow sticks for thirty (thank you Di.fm.

The next trick is for those who are like me, and like large quantities of food.  Learn how to cheat, but still be within the boundaries of your diet.  Take Burger King salads for example.  There fucking huge mammoth salads.  Find a fat free/low fat dressing you like and go to town (Remember to get the grilled chicken or go sans chicken).  Hell, if you feel like it get two.  With the grilled chicken thats 480 Cals and 18 grams of fat (7 saturated).

And trust me, you WILL be full after that.  (Confession time, I can only eat one ;..
Hate Salads?  Not a veggie fan?  Subway motherfucker, do you eat it?  A foot long turkey breast sub is  560 cals and nine grams of fat(2.5 saturated).  Thats before you add dressings of course.  Here's a pro tip, no cheese or mayo.

Listen, loosing weight isn't hard.  Keeping it off is just as easy.  Stick with the damn diet you've been on.  True, if I would have been on this diet longer then two months that would add some credibility.  We'll see, but I'm betting I'll stick with it.


Notice, if you're continually broke all the time like I am, this diet still works.  It's called cooking in bulk and freezing it.  If anyone has any questions about dieting ask and I'll respond.  I've spent HOURS of research on this topic.

[Ryudo Lee]

My mom has the diabetus.  Type 2.  Anyway, she's been on a really strict diet.  She can have most meats, very little breads, some cereals, as much greens as she wants, among other things.  She's lost like 60 pounds or more since she started it, which also includes excersize.  She's gone from having to take 3 shots of insulin a day to only having to take an insulin pill every day.

Point is, most everything that Jim has said works, even for people who already have diabetes.

[Cvstos]

I'd like to add...

Seafood = awesome.  Salmon is low-fat and high nutrition.  Grilled salmon and veggies with rice pilaf is awesome.  Don't know how to make it?  Watch more Good Eats with Alton Brown!  Not a huge veggie fan?  You really should eat vegetables, but failing that, grilled potato! Another really awesome recipe with salmon is http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_24168,00.html

Just be careful not to eat high-mercury fish.  There are lists of what fish are OK for mercury content and what are not.  Generally, salmon, catfish, and tuna are all good.

Oh, and cut out pop altogether.  You'd be surprised at how many calories you can knock out from just eliminating soda and drinking water or tea.

I was at 255 a few weeks ago.  I'm down to 245, still dropping.

[Tezkat]

Gratz on the weight loss. Dropping 23 lbs in 10 or so weeks is an excellent accomplishment.



Good advice, too. A healthy lifestyle is good for everyone, not just who already have potential diabetes staring in them in the face.

[Reese Tora]

I'd just like to say...

Wait, what?! people think weight watchers is a fad? 
Atkins is a fad: meteoric rise, brief lime-light, largely gone within a couple years

Other than that, can't argue any of your points, they's all good
Eat right and exercise, m**********

(Me, I'm a fairly skinny guy, but I'm probably on my way to diabetes just from all the soda I drink.  )

I think the reason so many people say it's hard is that they don't have the will power to do these simple things, like they've been somehow brain washed into impulsively consuming whenever and wherever possible... 

darn you, TV, darn you to heck!

[superluser]

Step one.  Join Weight Watchers.  Sorry dissenters, the program works and it doesn't starve you.  You wouldn't believe the amount of flack I have gotten for joining "A Fad Dieting program."  Suck a dick, preferably mine.  It works.

I can vouch for this.

I tried Weight Watchers when I was in high school (whether this involved the liver and fish plan, I will not reveal), but I had the problem that I couldn't control what I was eating at all points of the day.  US school lunches are not known for their health, and you can't munch on carrots in physics class, so you want to be full when you leave the cafeteria.

So I never really followed the plan, and I got completely off of it fairly quickly.

But I still lost a lot of weight.

Weight Watchers is not a fad diet.  Weight Watchers has been around for long enough and gotten enough internal and external scrutiny that it is actually very well designed.

I can't speak for Atkins, which was a fad diet around ten years ago, but may be a real one now.  There are some concerns that low-carb diets may be bad for some people, but it looks like they may be two different styles of dieting that work for different people.

The cabbage soup diet?  Don't do it.

Now, I'm working as a stock monkey, and when I've raced all over the store for a few hours, I have no desire to come home and exercise, but I'm working on that.

Seafood = awesome.

Seafood = something all men should eat once a month.  Even tuna fish.

Are you bored, yet?  Because I have a very important final question for Jim, so I'll turn it up:

Jim, I'd like to see some recipes!

[Jim Halisstrad]

Thats awesome that she's kicked the shots
I couldn't deal with it, I'm too much of a forgetful spaz.  I'd accidentally OD on insulin the second day and die.

Are you bored, yet?  Because I have a very important final question for Jim, so I'll turn it up:

Jim, I'd like to see some recipes!

Allrighty, we'll turn up the heat for this one then.

Jim Halisstrad's Hellfire vegetable stir fry.  Feeds one person.  (Just up the amount used to feed more)

For this recipe you will need, a cup of Brown Rice, Curry Powder, three Jalapeños, Sriracha Hot sauce (Look for the rooster), various vegetables to taste (For example I'm using a red bell pepper and fresh green beens.).
Cooking aids, Either Pam or Olive Oil (Adds 120 calories and some fat, but makes the dish much, MUCH tastier.)
Also you will need a pan to be used for frying the rice and veggies and way to steam the rice, or boil.  your choice.

Step one, Mix 2 Table spoons of Sriracha and 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder (A little curry powder goes a LONG  way.)  into the water used to Steam/Boil your rice.

Step 2.  Prepare veggies& Jalapeños.  Cut the ends off of the Beans, Core the bell peppers and then dice 'em etc. 
Coat the skillet with Pam or Olive Oil and then fry up some veggies.  When they start getting a little brownish turn down the heat to low and wait.

Step III.  When the rice is done crank the skillet back up to High and wait till it heats up, scoop the rice out and dump 1/4 cup of water into the mix.  This will allow you to fry the rice without having it stick and burn to the bottom of the skillet.  When all the water evaporates and the rice isn't soggy you're done.  Congrats and enjoy


340ish calories and 5 grams of fat with the pam.  460ish calories and 16 grams of fat (2 saturated) with the olive oil.

[Zina]

Have to say, Weight Watchers worked wonders for my mom. She lost her targeted weight(and then some) and has kept it off for several years now. She looks and feels great, which is awesome.

I think I have to add something important: DON'T STARVE YOURSELF. Skipping meals is a bad idea. You NEED to eat. If you skip meals, your body will store the little food you do get, and you wont be able to work it off.
Trust me, you'll find eating three meals a day plus exercise will give you better results than not eating.

[superluser]

I think I have to add something important: DON'T STARVE YOURSELF. Skipping meals is a bad idea. You NEED to eat. If you skip meals, your body will store the little food you do get, and you wont be able to work it off.

This is important, and Weight Watchers is one of the few programs that really emphasizes this.  You've got a set number of things that you *have* to eat every day, and you can't skip any of them.

[Jigsaw Forte]

I think I have to add something important: DON'T STARVE YOURSELF. Skipping meals is a bad idea. You NEED to eat. If you skip meals, your body will store the little food you do get, and you wont be able to work it off.

This is important, and Weight Watchers is one of the few programs that really emphasizes this.  You've got a set number of things that you *have* to eat every day, and you can't skip any of them.

Correction: If you're doing the original diet plan, you have these limits.

My mom swears by the Flex / Points dieting system they came out with a couple years back, which basically amounts to counting certain super-healthy foods as unlimited while everything else is points-restricted (and she has fewer points now). The upside of this is not having to keep track so much; the downside is that points become serious business.

She actually got down to my weight if not better.

[Valynth]

I tell ya, being paranoid helps because you never trust anyone else to cook your meals.  You're guaranteed to loose weight then due to starvation!  *is a measly 190 pounds with no visible fat.*

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. Congrats on the weight loss, Jim. Hope you keep it off.

(and that's about all I can say - I'm cursed with an active metabolism, so I eat pretty much anything near me and stay thin... like, around 60kg, or 135lb or so. So I can't say I've ever been on a diet. All sounds like good advice, though.)

[Fuyudenki]

Heh. Congrats on the weight loss, Jim. Hope you keep it off.

(and that's about all I can say - I'm cursed with an active metabolism, so I eat pretty much anything near me and stay thin... like, around 60kg, or 135lb or so. So I can't say I've ever been on a diet. All sounds like good advice, though.)

You're making my 155Lbs feel fat.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

You're making my 155Lbs feel fat.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, I -try- to put on weight, honest! ;-]

[TheGreyRonin]

 Both blood grandfathers had adult-onset diabetes, as did my maternal grandmother. Two of my uncles on my father's side and my father do as well. Mom is "borderline".

I'm fairly sure what's coming for me as I age, and I have taken some steps towards prevention already, such as modifying my diet towards healthier foods, and trying to cut back on my soda consumption. Luckily I work part-time as a human forklift, so exercise is not an issue.

I'm glad you caught yours in time, Jim. Keep up the good work.

[Alondro]

I will more than likely have some bizzarre type-2 variant that is autosomal dominantly inherited on my mother's side of the family.  Every generation gets it eventually, no matter how thin they are.

I believe it's tied to a dysregulation in the IGF-I signaling pathway, likely the root cause being an over-expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-1-beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha (triggered possibly by overexpression of NF-kappa-B, an important transcription factor for immune signaling) which downregulate IGF-1 and increase GH resistance, thus dysrupting the function and growth of skeletal muscle and directly triggering insulin resistance by two modes:  the upregulation of the IGF-1 receptor, the subunits of which can form a hybrid receptor with one of the insulin receptor subunits, thus overexpression sequesters insulin receptors into functionally IGF-I homoreceptors and interfering with insulin signaling.  Additionally, low IGF-I in the liver results in abnormal liver glucose utilization, namely an increase in gluconeogenesis that elevates blood glucose levels.

That's my hypothesis anyway.  My graduate paper is based on it.   

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

That's my hypothesis anyway.  My graduate paper is based on it.   

Hey! Keep the science out of this thread! ;-]

(Should I be worried that I understood most of that, but missed just about every single acronym?)

[Toric]

I'm currently in a nutrition class that just got through weight-loss Do's and Don'ts. Weight Watchers is actually well-respected by nutritionists because it promotes responsible calorie limiting. Guess I can share a few tips I'm going to try to use to keep the pounds off.

1) As said before, you need to exercise. FDA says 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise a day are needed to prevent weight gain in the first place. That's upped to 60-90 minutes to keep weight you've gained from coming back (fat cells do not like to be empty unless you bully them). A physically active job counts for this but every little bit you can get burns more calories.

2) Try to focus on low-calorie foods. Baked potatoes instead of french fries. Whole-grain breads. I cracked up at my textbook's recommendation to think of fat-free milk as just "milk" and to think of whole milk and low-fat milk as "milk with added fat." I'm just going to stick with avoiding french fries (though I work in fast-food) and getting salads with store-bought sunflower nuts instead.

3) Your metabolism slows down substantially when you're fasting, so it may help to have smaller main meals with the occasional snack so your metabolic rate stays high. Obviously this isn't practical for a lot of people.

4) Don't set big goals. This is one of the big problems that plagues dieters. They set high goals, and when they can't reach them, it's depressing. They give up, and the pounds they lost come right back. Use reasonable goals, so you get that sense of achievement when you meet them (or don't fall short 10 pounds).

Darn, now I'm gonna have to try that recipe.

[Feroluce]

That's my hypothesis anyway.  My graduate paper is based on it.   

Hey! Keep the science out of this thread! ;-]

(Should I be worried that I understood most of that, but missed just about every single acronym?)

they are Immune system acronyms, so IL = Interleukin, TNF = Tumor Necrosis Factor (or is it Necrotic? cant remember >.<) and IGF is Insulin-like Growth Factor. The pathway looks pretty interesting, too. >.> When you have finished, would you mind if I took a look over it? I would be interested to see if NF-Kappa-B is the cause, what else it might be affecting, and if its from errors in feedback regulation or an upregulation in transcription from mutation. It would also be interesting to look over the other breakdown points in the cycle.

Back on topic, my metabolism is like Ilearch. I dont think I could put on weight if I tried. I dont try tho, because our family has an unusual form of hypercholestrolemia, and tends to be prone to heart attacks in mid-40s. So I eat healthy, and enjoy it. (Unless Im on one of my random world trips, then I eat local lol.)

But go everyone who has lost weight, keep it up! 

[Alondro]

That's my hypothesis anyway.  My graduate paper is based on it.   

Hey! Keep the science out of this thread! ;-]

(Should I be worried that I understood most of that, but missed just about every single acronym?)

they are Immune system acronyms, so IL = Interleukin, TNF = Tumor Necrosis Factor (or is it Necrotic? cant remember >.<) and IGF is Insulin-like Growth Factor. The pathway looks pretty interesting, too. >.> When you have finished, would you mind if I took a look over it? I would be interested to see if NF-Kappa-B is the cause, what else it might be affecting, and if its from errors in feedback regulation or an upregulation in transcription from mutation. It would also be interesting to look over the other breakdown points in the cycle.

Back on topic, my metabolism is like Ilearch. I dont think I could put on weight if I tried. I dont try tho, because our family has an unusual form of hypercholestrolemia, and tends to be prone to heart attacks in mid-40s. So I eat healthy, and enjoy it. (Unless Im on one of my random world trips, then I eat local lol.)

But go everyone who has lost weight, keep it up! 

My paper's just a hypothesis.  NF-kappa-B is just one of the possible causes.  There are quite a few different factors which can lead to a hyper-inflammatory syndrome.  The pathways are very intertwined, which is the biggest problem with sorting them out.  My paper's main topic was focusing on IGF-I as a locally-expressed central growth stimulator of skeletal muscle, as the first part of my central hypothesis that a variant of type-2 DB is caused by a dysruption of skeletal muscle growth via a local loss of IGF-I expression, which led me to discover papers published in the past few years that are pointing toward inflammatory molecules as culprits, since they have the ability to directly interfere with both IGF-I's function and its expression. 

Plus, the evidence found in diabetes of injury and skeletal muscle cachexia in chronic hearth failure are very powerful examples of how inflammation can disrupt metabolism severely.  What was very importnat to note from those studies was that heart failure produced BOTH temporary diabetes and muscle wasting in conjunction with an overall loss of IGF-I expression, indicating a potential link.  Thus, if an individual had a family history of inadquate muscle hypertrophy and metabolic syndrome, which later became type 2 DB independent of known risk factors of diet and obesity, one could suspect the proposed pathway.

My family on my mother's side has a clear autosomal dominant inheritance of the trait.  Autosomal dominant inheritence typically indicates something is being overexpressed, save for X-linked diseases which can be tricky, as one X is inactivated and thus a loss on only one X can sometimes bring about the syndrome.  But typically that shows up as partial dominance with incomplete penetrance.

At any rate, what I was looking for was a biochemical that would cause IGF-I to drop when overexpressed.  And the three inflammatory cytokines I mentioned were the three that kept popping up.  A later review notes NF-kappa-B as a suspect, but clinical tests haven't yet been undertaken to determine if NF-kappa-B is indeed upregulated or overexpressed in metabolic syndrome and/or localized inflammatory syndromes.  However, I do recall seeing that it was being implicated in certain types of muscular dystrophy. 

As for what mechanism would lead to its overexpression only in skeletal muscle, I can't even guess at this point.  It would have to either have a muscle-specific promoter region mutated into constitutive activation or be activated by another signalling molecule which would actually be the one directly overexpressed by an activating mutation.

I need to do much more research on just how these molecules are regulated to find any overlapping factors.

Oh, and interestingly enough, that part of the family also seems to have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides (especially triglycerides), plus an acididc system with a tendancy to develop uric acid kidney stones (these traits are partially dominant, likely influenced by diet, as is the severity of the type 2 DB, an unusually mild form that does not progress if proper steps are taken).  I need to see if either interleukins or NF-kappa-B can cause elevations like that.

Now, also interestingly coincidental, the study I volunteered for is studying the effect of inflammation on metabolic syndrome!  It's hypothesized that inflammation may trigger a response in fat cells (possibly releasing triglycerides?).  Obesity then would have its IGF-I link, as it is already known that inflammatory factors are elevated in many subjects with obesity... and obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 DB!  Thus, the only thing that would need more examination would be to determine if NF-kappa-B is consistently overexpressed in all the patient groups with these syndromes vs controls. 

Adipose tissue has been found to secrete hormones, and in fact may be a very significant endocrine tissue.  It would be interesting to see if anything secreted by adipose tissue upregulates NF-kappa-B.  If so, that could be the final piece of the whole puzzle for a number of metabolic problems.

*looks at the forumites foaming at the mouth with their eyes rolled back in their heads*  Uhm... oops?  Heh...  *points*  Whoah!  What the heck is that!  *slips away into the shadows!*   

[Feroluce]

<3

Thats the kind of research I really want to do... curse NZ's lack of research facilities. Its gotten so Im even forgetting lab proceedure >.< if I dont find work soon, Im gonna 'splode

[Dannysaysnoo]

is there any way to detect diabetus? caus ethat would be helpful.

[Alondro]

<3

Thats the kind of research I really want to do... curse NZ's lack of research facilities. Its gotten so Im even forgetting lab proceedure >.< if I dont find work soon, Im gonna 'splode

*lab procedure notes... from one who knows!*  Don't drink the formaldehyde, it tastes as bad as it smells.  Paraffin mounting medium cannot be used for making candles because the DMSO in it smells nasty.  Plus, acrylamide gel is not an acceptable substitute for Jello, owing to the fact that it's toxic.  *shakes his head*  Those poor orphans... what a fool I was!   

[Feroluce]

is there any way to detect diabetus? caus ethat would be helpful.

I believe you can get tested for early detection, a blood test. Its not routein anywhere I know of tho


Also under lab regulations: Never confuse your bottle of Ethanol with Methanol. ><

I dont think I have ever even thought about making candles with PMM tho o.o;;; I would assume that, in addition to smelling nasty, they would also release toxic fumes XD

[Alondro]

Glucose testing is pretty common in the USA, since so many people have type 2 DB and/or are obese and at risk for it.