Retrospective #474: “Taking aim at belly fat”

Most people are more motivated to lose weight than to control their type 2 diabetes (T2D). We’ve come to think 1) that being overweight or obese is a personal failure best addressed with self-discipline, aka “diet and exercise,” and 2) that T2D is a medical condition that is best left to doctors to treat. In my opinion, both ideas are wrong. Why?  Because 1) T2D is a dietary disease, and 2) obesity is also a “dietary disease,” as will be explained, both the result of Insulin Resistance developed over a period of many years from eating the “wrong” foods”!

Has “diet and exercise” worked for you? If not, is it because the diet and exercise program you followed didn’t result in permanent weight loss? Could it be that the “healthy eating” patterns recommended by the USDA/HHS, and endorsed by the AMA, AHA and ADA, are the same ones that got us fat in the first place? Their solution is to “eat less and move more” using the same BALANCED diet, loaded with simple sugars and other refined carbs.

Did you really expect to permanently lose weight without hunger eating a high-carb diet? And did you think exercising more would not make you hungry? Exercise is healthy, but exercise is not a good weight loss strategy.

Maybe the composition of your diet is where the problem lies. Did you realize that, just by changing the macronutrient proportions of your diet, you could lose weight EASILY, and WITHOUT HUNGER? And keep it off, just so long as you continue to eat that way. By now you surely must know that I am suggesting you eat a Very Low Carb diet. If you do, you will lose weight. And you can do it without hunger, and without exercise (if you want to).

Likewise, treating type 2 diabetes as a condition that is within the purview of the medical profession is a surefire way to assure that you remain (metabolically) sick. Consider this: The Standard of Care goal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is that your A1c be ≤7.0%. That means the ADA’s goal is for you to always be “diabetic” since the threshold for diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is ≥6.5%. Your doctor will consider that you’re “in good control” if, with quarterly tests, and more meds as needed, you have an A1c of ≤7.0%. Wahoo! You’re permanently sick, but in “good control.”

That’s all your doctor can do in a clinical setting. Besides, most doctors know zilch about nutrition, and what they do know is mostly wrong. It is guided by USDA/HHS’s ChooseMyPlate.gov and ADA’s Create Your Plate. They just want to be paid the maximum reimbursement (w/o penalty) under Medicare and other insurance rules, and to do that they must advocate for the USDA/HHS “lifestyle formulary” to eat a “plant-based diet,” “move more” (and take a statin).

Do you see what’s wrong with this picture? Do you see that YOU, BY MAKING JUST ONE CHANGE, CAN ADDRESS BOTH OBESITY AND TYPE 2 DIABETES? Type 2 diabetes and obesity are both dietary diseases! YOU can treat them both YOURSELF. Your doctor only sees you from time to time in the office, but YOU can manage both diseases EVERY DAY, by what you eat. You have a choice: your doctor can monitor your diseases, or YOU can take control of them.

The “dietary solution” for weight loss (eating Very Low Carb) is the same “prescription” for T2D management. You will both 1) lose weight generally but specifically visceral fat in your liver and pancreas, thereby improving their function and 2) lower your high blood sugar (caused by Insulin Resistance) and improve your A1c and type 2 diabetes.

If you’re a man, take a look at these pics (Type 2 Diabetes #355, Before and After), for how I managed to lose my “beer belly” and recently achieve an A1c of 5.0%. By the government’s clinical standard, I am now “non-diabetic.”

If you’re a woman, read this Harvard Women's Health Watch article.  Belly fat creates serious health risks, but if you follow the advice to eat a Low Carb Diet (not the same-old, same-old establishment advice that Harvard still dishes out), you can achieve the same result (without hunger), and TAKE AIM AT YOUR BELLY FAT.

If you go Low Carb, your doctor will be very happy the next time the nurse weighs you in and takes your blood. The scale and lab tests will show you made a good decision. You lost weight, improved your blood sugar and your cholesterol in the same way, and YOU did it YOURSELF, without hunger…and even without exercise (if you want).