Why write about this?

Because there’s something seriously wrong here and very worrying statistics continue to crop up relating to health-related illness.

Despite all the treatments and advice available a large proportion of the population still hurtles towards obesity and pre (if not full blown) type 2 diabetes.

So with no further ado…

My aim here is to help improve overall understanding of diabetes, how it’s caused, how it’s prevented and to provide much more than the simple ‘move more, eat less’ advice which (for the most part) clearly isn’t catching on.

Type 2 diabetes is somewhat the end result from excessive and chronic over-eating.

To understand how the heck we even get to this stage from simply gaining too much weight – I’ve broken the process down into a chronological timeline of events:

1. Over consumption of calories relative to what’s burned (this one’s key)

2. Muscle tissue and the liver are full of sugar, excess carbohydrate starts to be stored as fat

Point 1 and 2 continue for a while until…

3. Insulin resistance begins. Insulin is required to shuttle sugar from the blood into cells for use / storage. When these cells (predominately lean body tissue) have used the energy they need and are at maximum storage capacity they start rejecting additional blood glucose (and thus insulin signalling to let more in). The individual now has excessively high blood sugar levels and will likely be suffering from chronic fatigue, mental fogginess, possible nausea – all of which are symptoms of excessive blood sugar. Doctor’s advice is usually sought.

Now from here on out the real problems start occurring…

6. Doctor diagnoses either pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes and prescribes a drug like Metformin. This drug increases insulin sensitivity by essentially bullying lean body tissue to start absorbing the excess sugar in the blood. Reluctantly, this works. This stage is just like cramming in that additional t-shirt into an already packed suitcase, not by emptying it, but by simply stamping on it, crushing the contents into oblivion to create some space.

7. Lean body tissue cells are having no more. The body is at maximum storage capacity, not to mention nicely shuttling a lot of the excess sugar continually into fat storage. The body builds up resistance to Insulin and Metformin. The levels of Insulin required to force sugar into cells becomes larger and larger and larger.

8. The individual is now heavily Insulin resistant and as a result – has high blood sugar again. The doctor now prescribes on-going Insulin treatment to continue forcing excess blood sugar into body cells.

9. Due to excess sugar intake and excess Insulin intake (prescribed by the doc), the individual superficially succeeds in reducing blood sugar levels, but fails terribly at gaining control of the situation.  From this point it’s a downward spiral – if the individual doesn’t genuinely take control…. well, let’s just say the outlook isn’t pretty.  

Grim.

Although this is the most extreme version of events – this is exactly the process which costs a whopping £8.8billion – from the doctor’s consultations through to ongoing medical prescriptions.

It’s pretty easy to see that there’s some logic missing here. This process is the same as prescribing pain killers for a headache but never solving the actual problem.

You know the real kicker to all of this?

This process facilitates on-going poor dietary habits which are:

1. The fundamental cause of Type 2 Diabetes

2. 100% within our control to correct (albeit with some help)

Heck, we even have leading health authorities telling us that:

‘Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease’ – The American Diabetes Association.

Yes it’s progressive, but clearly because the problem isn’t being nipped in the bud.

Honestly, the healthcare system would be better off by prescribing a meal plan for the patient to follow than facilitating the issue with on-going drug treatment, kicking the issue down the curb until the real physiological problems start.

The real problem here is that there’s so much conflicting advice around diet strategies – what we should be eating what we shouldn’t be eating, gluten free, paleo, juicing – it’s literally never ending. Anyone would be put off by following anything – I used to be one of these people.

However…

Please, please, please – ignore the latest diet fads. The bottom line is that diet fads which work simply place the individual into a calorie deficit – this is why the weight gets shifted. It’s certainly not from fancy meal timing, demonising certain foods, consuming liquid calories or a new ‘super food’.

The issues related to being pre-diabetic or Type 2 Diabetic are, at essence, no different to simply being overweight (albeit in an extreme case).

Fast and drastic change for the better is totally achievable. For this I’ve put together a 4 step formula to kick start fat loss and become healthier if straits, well… become dire.

Simply put – the more weight to lose the more drastic the formula. Please note that although the below principles apply across the board, they’re somewhat extreme and certainly not a necessity to follow for all individuals slightly overweight looking to shed a few pounds.

So here it is – the 4 step formula to regain control and blast out of the pre-diabetic zone.

– Cut out all processed simple sugars – It’s clear that diabetes is caused by excessive carbohydrate intake. All processed simple sugars must be cut (I’m talking chocolate, sweets, biscuits). Foods of this nature are usually eaten in excess and have little to no micro nutritional value. For thorough information on the variation of sugars, click here: http://us14.campaign-archive1.com/?u=edb6847062a73eeb4c7c57fae&id=a7e432f513

Simple sugars from the above sources are just used for energy – something which is already in plentiful supply and ready to be ignited by the body.

– Introduce fasting:  Fasting will force the body to tap into stored sugar and fat for energy. We are designed to do this since the dawn of time and actually do it anyway when sleeping. Extend the fasting period to lunch time and allow the body to start burning into existing stores for energy. For more on practical fasting methods, click here: http://us14.campaign-archive2.com/?u=edb6847062a73eeb4c7c57fae&id=d4d07bffe8

– Increase protein intake: Bring awareness to protein intake and increase it. Through personal experience and research; high protein diets reduce hunger significantly during a weight loss period will help retain lean body mass (thus keeping the metabolism burning at a higher rate)

– Start walking: If not walking then another form of light exercise. This will help the body burn through energy and dent daily energy expenditure. As for ultimate forms of exercise to burn excess sugar, click here: http://us14.campaign-archive1.com/?u=edb6847062a73eeb4c7c57fae&id=2c9498a7bf

These 4 steps will force the body to produce glucagon and extract stored sugar (glycogen) from tissue cells and burn them off for energy.

Over time and with consistency the above 4 step formula will free up space in the body tissue. This will start to reverse the effects of insulin resistance and slowly restore the body back to normal function and weight.

Stay strong and most importantly, in control.

Andrew