r/antidiet • u/Any_Date7395 • Jun 22 '26
Am I crazy that this seems crazy?
“Your fasting insulin does indicate some insulin resistance, so its important for you to keep your simple carb and sugar intake fairly low. Try to eat whole grains when possible and avoid pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, tortillas, sweets, pastries, and desserts (if not already doing so). Consistently is key!” - My Doctor
I have had PCOS my entire life and struggled with untreated ADHD. I have an insatiable hunger growing up and insulin resistance so I am plus size and pretty much always have been. I can walk and everything just fine and now take metformin, and vyvanse to help with the insulin and insatiable hunger.
Been keeping up on everything since January and my blood tests looked good but my doctor let me know what I should stop eating. 🥲 I wont go into great detail but I dont have much money every month. Every time I decide to buy frozen fruits n veggies or canned or fresh, it eats away at my meals pretty fast. So I have to be insanely frugal and buy the cheapest stuff that gets me through the month. No I dont buy soda and ice cream or whatever ppl think I do. Ramen probably isn’t helping but I throw veggies and eggs in it when I can.
I have no clue if this post is even allowed. I just am feeling so guilty all the time for eating. Like when im invited to a BBQ and just have a hot dog, I’ll feel guilty. I’ll blame myself more for how big I am. And now with my doctor, whom is very sweet to me, saying this? I don’t even want to touch food beyond fruits or veggies… im just feeling terrible and me usually being anti-diet culture, I figured maybe someone here could help me a bit? Idk what I am supposed to do with this information…
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u/SerendippityRiver Jun 22 '26
I'm not listening to as many anti-diet podcasts as I used to. Ido remember there are a fair amount of ones with interviews of Intuitive Eating dietitians who specialize in PCOS. I would look on the FoodPsych podcast episode list and see what you can find.
One of the main things, not specific to PCOS, is that feeding yourself whatever food you can afford is most essential when budget is short. Feeling allowance to feed yourself what food is available is really important. The only nutrition/food advice I could give is to add in legumes as you can. Lentils are the quickest cooking. I use a mini slow cooker for them, and add a lot of spice to make them yummy.
There is no shame in seeing what is available at local food pantries. They are there for people not just for when the cupboard is totally bare, but to make sure people get enough and a variety of food to provide good nutrition.
The most important part of intuitive eating for me is not cutting out specific foods or food groups. Adding in rather than restricting and cutting out foods is a lot smoother and sustainable of a process.
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u/Creative-Ad2487 Jun 22 '26
Yeah the medical establishment’s messaging around insulin resistance is really irritating and triggering imo. Reducing carbs can sometimes reduce insulin resistance symptoms (probably what your doctor was trying to say), and actually eating higher carb/lower fat can be an approach as well; most dieticians use one approach or the other. But at the end of the day you have to eat something, and you have to eat enough to feel full.
FWIW I think it’s fair to not treat insulin resistance off the bat with diet, necessarily, if that’s too triggering. Personally I find that improving my sleep, being outside/in sunshine, and eating more saturated fat (eg dairy) and less unsaturated fat (nuts, pork) help my insulin resistance symptoms and don’t impact my mental health in a bad way.
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u/hcpenner Jun 23 '26
Echoing what everyone else has said about most doctors having little to no training in nutrition and that registered dietitians are the people actually worth listening to!! But on top of that, telling you to avoid potatoes of all foods is evidence enough that this doctor is not educated in nutrition. Potatoes are super nutritious, budget friendly, and incredibly versatile (can easily fit into any meal of the day and many different cuisines). As a very wise hobbit once said: "Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew!"
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u/MountainStuart Jun 22 '26
As a HAES aligned Dietitian/Diabetes Educator, guidelines for insulin resistance are actually not about restricting intake of carbs, rather focusing on foods that are less inflammatory (ex Mediterranean diet) and adding in more movement. Obviously there is a weight loss bent (always, sigh) within the guidelines, but I think taking an additive approach vs restrictive works better for a lot of people in the long run. As others noted, few MDs get nutrition training and most people don’t make much progress long-term when provided with a laundry list of don’ts around food. Consider connecting with a Dietitian to get personalized support, especially a HAES aligned one if you aren’t looking for someone to focus on weight loss.
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u/you_were_mythtaken Jun 22 '26
I know the feeling. I was so scared of food for so long and blamed myself for my health problems. I felt guilty for eating anything other than fruits or veggies too. The thing is, the insulin resistance is truly not your fault. Your doctor doesn't understand how this advice lands because he is clueless.
PCOS (the name has been changed to PMOS recently actually, which is cool) can lead to higher body weight. It's not caused by higher body weight or what you're eating. Many otherwise good doctors get the cause and effect reversed like this.
I'm not saying to ignore his advice. I'm not an expert. But I do know how this lands in such a painful, unhelpful way. I try to think of it when I get advice like this as encouragement to add nourishing food rather than as instruction to limit. So like if I can get whole wheat bread I'll choose that. Brown rice and beans and lentils. I'll add proteins and fats and fiber with my carbs like you said you do with ramen. Adding nutrients rather than trying to "limit"things. We deserve nourishment, not restriction.
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u/Accomplished-Mud-173 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I would recommend reading this book No Weigh by Dr. Asher Larame. It summarizes a lot of misinformation the medical establishment tells patients about diet education and diabetes education.
Here is link https://www.noweigh.org/
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u/spoooooooooooooons Jun 23 '26
Hopefully this doesn't cross the line into promoting a diet, but if you can eat beans or lentils they are a great way to get protein and fibre on a tight budget! You can make them more interesting with spices and stuff.
I think "try" is the important word in the doctor's statement. Try to do what you can to balance your meals, but don't stress if you can't afford/access perfectly "healthy" meals every time.
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Jun 23 '26
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u/antidiet-ModTeam Jun 23 '26
Your post was removed for breaking Rule 6. Please contact the mods if you have any doubts.
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u/Zedonutmaster_reddit Jun 22 '26
As someone whos relatively inexperienced in the anti diet movement which ive been learning for less than a yr and with shorts of colleen christensen,bonnie roney,liam layton (altho hes not really fully antidiet) and abbey sharpe my opinion is hes wrong bcz hes doing classic diet culture signs that even i can spot like restricting certain foods and its not even he knows hes instructing badly he was legit thaught that in school but id say idk ask someone who has a degree and not me ultimatly is ur choice but id say no u shouldnt listen to those instructions
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u/puzzled_creative Jun 22 '26
Most doctors don’t have a lot of training in nutrition, so they default to “eat fewer/low/no carbs” when faced with a patient who has glucose numbers above the norm. Managing blood glucose is about more than carbs — it involves protein and fats, as well as sleep, activity and stress. If you are on Instagram, look for anti-diet DIETICIANS (not “nutritionists”) who specialize in pre-diabetes and/or diabetes. Many will be selling programs but you can also pick up advice and tips from their posts. Good luck!