Insulin Resistance & The Drug Metformin

JoeBrooklyn

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Since I have gotten into my late 30's it has been impossible for me to get below 10.6% body fat regardless of exercise, diet, AAS, Clen and T-3. A couple of months ago I took a A1C test and it came back 5.7.

My doctor told me it was normal but when I looked online I found out that while "normal" is between 4.5 and 6, 5.7 to 6.0 is prediabetes type II which is insulin resistance. I went for a second opinion, he took bloods also and got the same result. He also said it was "normal" even when I explained what I read online.

Both doctors, who are very nice and smart, basically scoffed at me when I said I can't get below 10.6% body fat.

Well, I'm tired of being 11%-12% body fat and I'm tired of being scoffed at.

I tried various supplements, I tried increasing my protein intake and recently I tried rye bread. Yes, rye bread is supposed to reverse Type II diabetes. Nothing has worked.

Now I want to try Metformin a prescription drug that treats Type II diabetes by removing the sugar from your blood. I can try one more doctor; but if he rejects me I will have to get it another way.

My question is, what do you all think about this and would anyone try Metformin?
 
xR1pp3Rx

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have you ran body opus? all you need to fix your normal range A1c is to not eat carbs all the time. after all your only PRE diabetic. by not eating carbs and cycling them you can easily reverse the insulin sensitivity. I also think that strong GDAs will help you reach your goal.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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have you ran body opus? all you need to fix your normal range A1c is to not eat carbs all the time. after all your only PRE diabetic. by not eating carbs and cycling them you can easily reverse the insulin sensitivity. I also think that strong GDAs will help you reach your goal.
I tried to do Body Opus; but I can't go more than 2 days without any carbs at all. What are GDAs?
 
NattyForLife

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Why cant you go lowcarb? Also GDA is a glucose disposal agents!
 
Driven2lift

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Only consider Metformin if it is prescribed by your doctor.

Try not cutting the carbs out completely, remove 25g per week and keep going, seeing how you feel as you do.
Replace them with fats for more sustained energy.

GDA's are great to help with this but if you had a rough time low-carbing before I would be cautious because some people are more prone to hypoglycemia.

I would add 1-2 with your largest meal if you wanted to try them out, to start

Omega Sports Burn 24 is my best recommendation here,

Recompadrol is fantastic but very potent, so I would start at 1 cap
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Why cant you go lowcarb? Also GDA is a glucose disposal agents!
Well it depends on what you mean by "low" and for how long. I can do a 15% carb diet for about 6 or 7 days, and then I binge.
Today for example I had 3 hard boiled eggs and coffee for breakfast and for lunch I had 4 oz. of chicken cutlets and about 3 oz. of rice and 3 oz. of Chinese snow leafs. My wife is Thai and a great cook (in the kitchen and the bedroom :)).
Ok, so I looked up glucose disposal agents and I see a product (don't know if I can mention the name) with 500mg per pills. It says take twice per day but do not exceed 4. I have never tried it but I notice it had Chromium Picolinate in it. I tried Chromium Picolinate about 3 months ago, taking 1000mcg per day and after 2 days I was unbelievably tired to the point of sleeping ALL day! I lowered the dose to 500mcg, used it for about 3 days and then stopped because I was getting headaches.
Is the Chromium Picolinate the main catalyst in GDAs?
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Only consider Metformin if it is prescribed by your doctor.

Try not cutting the carbs out completely, remove 25g per week and keep going, seeing how you feel as you do.
Replace them with fats for more sustained energy.

GDA's are great to help with this but if you had a rough time low-carbing before I would be cautious because some people are more prone to hypoglycemia.

I would add 1-2 with your largest meal if you wanted to try them out, to start

Omega Sports Burn 24 is my best recommendation here,

Recompadrol is fantastic but very potent, so I would start at 1 cap
Ok, I will try reducing carbs by 25% per week. Today I only had less than 3 oz of rice when I usually have 4 oz.

What is Recompadrol? Is that a GDA also? I will chekc out Omega Sports Burn 24.
 
Driven2lift

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Look into Burn 24

Seriously good stuff.

Not sure what you are looking at but by the sounds if it you could do better

Also Recompadrol or Anabolic Pump

I have used and enjoyed those three
 
Grayson

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What about ud2? It's like bodyopus but with 50-70 grams of Carbs. It's very effective and might even reverse some markers of pre-diabetes.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Look into Burn 24

Seriously good stuff.

Not sure what you are looking at but by the sounds if it you could do better

Also Recompadrol or Anabolic Pump

I have used and enjoyed those three
Ok, I just ordered Burn 24.
 
Grayson

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Explain a little more please.
I'm on my phone, so don't mind the typos.

It's a 7 day cycle.
Monday through early Thursday is low cal and low Carbs.
Calories are at HALF maintenance and Carbs are at 50-70. I like 45 personally.
During this period you are doing endurance type workouts with the intention of fully depleting your glycogen stores. 10 to 12 sets per body part at 15 to 20 reps with a minute rest.
By Wednesday you're trashed and using fat as your main energy source.
Then you Carb up Thursday evening into Friday evening and prepare for a power workout/anabolic rebound on Saturday.
This allows you to achieve super glycogen compensation and allows your body to partition Carbs more effectively.

Google the book. It's a great program and it's allowed me to get into and maintain my best shape.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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I'm on my phone, so don't mind the typos.

It's a 7 day cycle.
Monday through early Thursday is low cal and low Carbs.
Calories are at HALF maintenance and Carbs are at 50-70. I like 45 personally.
During this period you are doing endurance type workouts with the intention of fully depleting your glycogen stores. 10 to 12 sets per body part at 15 to 20 reps with a minute rest.
By Wednesday you're trashed and using fat as your main energy source.
Then you Carb up Thursday evening into Friday evening and prepare for a power workout/anabolic rebound on Saturday.
This allows you to achieve super glycogen compensation and allows your body to partition Carbs more effectively.

Google the book. It's a great program and it's allowed me to get into and maintain my best shape.
How many days a week are you working out?
How old are you?
What was your body fat% before and after?
How long is the program?
 
Grayson

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How many days a week are you working out?
How old are you?
What was your body fat% before and after?
How long is the program?
On the program you do 4 times a week.
25 years old.
Started at 13% and ended at 8.3. Currently 9-9.5.
A break should be taken every 8 weeks to harmonize hormones. This means training normally and eating at maintenance.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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On the program you do 4 times a week.
25 years old.
Started at 13% and ended at 8.3. Currently 9-9.5.
A break should be taken every 8 weeks to harmonize hormones. This means training normally and eating at maintenance.
Right now Im going to try reducing my carbs by 25% every week until I get down to about 100g of carbs a day and see if I can handle it. I will be using the Burn 24 as soon as it comes in and Today I am starting my cycle.
But if this doesnt work I will try your program.
Also, keep in mind when I was 25 I was 8.5% body fat without any AAS, Clen, T3 or special diet. I just ate as much as I could (usually 55-30-15 C-P-F diet) and lifted weights. So I'm guessing that your program may have been helped along by your age. Im 45 years old. Old age SUCKS.
 
JudoJosh

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My question is, what do you all think about this and would anyone try Metformin?
I would give berberine a shot before I try to self medicate with overseas pharma without a consulting doctor. That is a dangerous road to travel for someone who doesnt really understand what they are doing
 
JoeBrooklyn

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I would give berberine a shot before I try to self medicate with overseas pharma without a consulting doctor. That is a dangerous road to travel for someone who doesnt really understand what they are doing
Hey JudoJosh! Long time no see. Como Estas? No te vi in mucho tiempo.
Yes, I have decided not to go the Metformin route. I did some more research and it probably wont do what I want it to do.
I just ordered Burn 24 which has berberine in it. I'm also trying to reduce my carb intake 25% per week and taking 3 teaspoons of Apple Cider viniger and eating artichokes everyday.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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its all in your head.. you cant get ripped if your not willing to do what it takes.
I just want to be 8.5% body fat. I dont remember having to go without any carbs and be 8.5% body fat when I was 23.
 
Piston Honda

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Dude's on or has been on AAS, clen, Clomid, caber, etc. from every post I've seen from him. His body wouldn't know homeostasis if it wanted a big juicy thumb-sized clitoris to suck on, which I believe this guy is famous for starting a thread about also.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Dude's on or has been on AAS, clen, Clomid, caber, etc. from every post I've seen from him. His body wouldn't know homeostasis if it wanted a big juicy thumb-sized clitoris to suck on, which I believe this guy is famous for starting a thread about also.
Piston are you here to help or to be an ass hole?
 
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xR1pp3Rx

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I just want to be 8.5% body fat. I dont remember having to go without any carbs and be 8.5% body fat when I was 23.
dude what part of "your NOT 23 anymore" do you not understand.. I don't care if you want to eat carbs ... your gonna have to suffer a little bit to get that low of BF at your age. get it?

on a side note.. there is a new study that says metformin may help with boners.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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dude what part of "your NOT 23 anymore" do you not understand.. I don't care if you want to eat carbs ... your gonna have to suffer a little bit to get that low of BF at your age. get it?

on a side note.. there is a new study that says metformin may help with boners.
Yes, I know; but what I want to know is what is it about age that has made me unable to eat carbs and how can I fix it? I am trying to lower my carb intake 25% per week. Is that not good enough? And that's good news about metformin :)
 
Grayson

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Yes, I know; but what I want to know is what is it about age that has made me unable to eat carbs and how can I fix it? I am trying to lower my carb intake 25% per week. Is that not good enough? And that's good news about metformin :)
You mean starches? It's a mental thing
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Ok guys, critique my diet and Piston, no clitorises please, we can start another thread on those, LOL!!

Yesterday this was my macro break out:

Calories:
Protein 617.28 41%
Carbs 400.71 27%
Fat 460.89 31%

My total grams of Protein was 205.76g. I weigh 188 lbs so I'm supposed to take in at least 188g of protein.

Now on this diet, can I not get down to 8.5%?
 
Piston Honda

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How many calories are you expending per day?
 
Rodja

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Ok guys, critique my diet and Piston, no clitorises please, we can start another thread on those, LOL!! Yesterday this was my macro break out: Calories: Protein 617.28 41% Carbs 400.71 27% Fat 460.89 31% My total grams of Protein was 205.76g. I weigh 188 lbs so I'm supposed to take in at least 188g of protein. Now on this diet, can I not get down to 8.5%?
Your thyroid is going to be shot so few calories per day. That's why you're not losing fat. Not an exaggeration, but I have single meals that are that big.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Your thyroid is going to be shot so few calories per day. That's why you're not losing fat. Not an exaggeration, but I have single meals that are that big.
My maintenance caloric in take is 2,500.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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The BMR calculation. I used the Harris-Benedict formula.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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That doesn't take exercise into account and it's a very flawed method as is.
After the calculation it has you multiply the number buy a chart that you pick houw much you're working out; but what would you suggest?
 
Rodja

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After the calculation it has you multiply the number buy a chart that you pick houw much you're working out; but what would you suggest?
This is something that you should know by considering all of the AAS you've used in the past. There's not a reliable equation out there that calculates everything that goes into maintenance calories. Also, BMR and maintenance calories aren't the same. BMR is essentially how much your body needs to maintain function. Maintenance calories includes that, thermo effect of food, general activity, and exercise.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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This is something that you should know by considering all of the AAS you've used in the past. There's not a reliable equation out there that calculates everything that goes into maintenance calories. Also, BMR and maintenance calories aren't the same. BMR is essentially how much your body needs to maintain function. Maintenance calories includes that, thermo effect of food, general activity, and exercise.
So you're saying it's a quasi subjective number?
 
Rodja

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What method do you recommend?
Tracking calories and water for a two weeks and monitoring weight each day. There's really not a great way to do it unless you have access to a metabolic cart or a BodPod.

There's also a big caveat: the thermic effect of each macro has a large discrepancy. Fats are as low as 1-2% with protein being as high as 30%.
 
Gutterpump

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My question is, what do you all think about this and would anyone try Metformin?
I've had / have borderline fasted glucose (just barely above top of range in the test). I'm not prescribed any medication for this nor am I diagnosed with anything regarding blood sugar.

Take this how you will, I am not a doctor nor claim to be giving medical advice, but I've had great success cutting on a low carb diet, while using Metformin and GDA's together. I've done plenty of low carb / carb cycling diets, and they were all fairly successful, but adding Metformin into the mix just worked much better.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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I've had / have borderline fasted glucose (just barely above top of range in the test). I'm not prescribed any medication for this nor am I diagnosed with anything regarding blood sugar.

Take this how you will, I am not a doctor nor claim to be giving medical advice, but I've had great success cutting on a low carb diet, while using Metformin and GDA's together. I've done plenty of low carb / carb cycling diets, and they were all fairly successful, but adding Metformin into the mix just worked much better.
How old are you and what was your body fat before and after?
 
Gutterpump

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I'm 36. Not sure about BF%. I used it not long ago and dropped about 5%. Currently using it again and going for single digits. Diet was strictly low carb with weekly refeeds, but I always start by going 2 weeks without a refeed. It's not magic but it does work.

Btw, the only sides I've ever experienced was some gastro issues in the first 3-5 days.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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I'm 36. Not sure about BF%. I used it not long ago and dropped about 5%. Currently using it again and going for single digits. Diet was strictly low carb with weekly refeeds, but I always start by going 2 weeks without a refeed. It's not magic but it does work.
And how low was your carb intake?
 
Gutterpump

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And how low was your carb intake?
Max 30g during non-refeed days. I also took GDA's if a meal was going to have more than 10-12g in it. I'm usually really strict when decidedly going low carb.

My refeed days though ---- pretty high carb, low fat + GDAs.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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Max 30g during non-refeed days. I also took GDA's if a meal was going to have more than 10-12g in it. I'm usually really strict when decidedly going low carb.

My refeed days though ---- pretty high carb, low fat + GDAs.
Wow, 30g. That's almost nothing. I use to eat 100g of rice in one meal.
 
JoeBrooklyn

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One other thing though. If Im supposed to take in in protein the equivalent in grams of my body weight (so for me it would be 188g) and as some have said my caloric intake may be too low, then where would all the other calories come from if not carbs which Im supposed to keep low? Fat?
 
Gutterpump

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One other thing though. If Im supposed to take in in protein the equivalent in grams of my body weight (so for me it would be 188g) and as some have said my caloric intake may be too low, then where would all the other calories come from if not carbs which Im supposed to keep low? Fat?
Yes. Fat is very calorie dense. Tons of EVOO, coconut oil, etc. I would also eat heavy cream (make sure no carbs), butter, ghee, etc
 

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