Thread: Will they put me on metformin?

I'm 16, 5'2 and 150 pounds.
I've been gaining weight light crazy up until a month ago. When the Dr. finally believed me about my weight gain- when it jumped 10 pounds in 4 weeks, that something was wrong. I was finally diagnosed with pcos, insulin resistances, and high testosterone levels. Since then i've cut out all carbs except vegetables (Eat clean-chicken, egg whites, vegetables) and countinued working out, now doing insanity and am almost finished with month one. And nothing! I can't lose any weight Although i don't think i'm gaining it or at least not in that increased rate I was, I still want to lose an easy 20 pounds before summer!! Im' going to see an endricrenologist March 2nd. Will he put me on metformin or anything? Will metformin make it possible to lose the weight? I'm desperate

I'm so sorry about your weight loss troubles. I am also insulin resistant, except I have Type 2 diabetes, so I know what you're going through right now.

Metformin can help insulin resistant people lose weight. Metformin has two functions: suppresses some of the liver's production of glucose, which tends to be high in people with Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, and improves the uptake of glucose into cells. Both of these help lower insulin levels. You need less insulin if your liver is producing less glucose. You also need less insulin to push glucose cells with Metformin. With lower insulin levels, you should expect weight loss.

Insulin is absolutely necessary to live, but when you have high amounts of insulin circulating--due to insulin resistance, for example--a lot of what you eat gets moved into fat cells. Fat cells are less resistant to insulin than, say, muscle cells. And guess which fat cells are most insulin sensitive? Probably where you and every other insulin-resistant person gains the most weight: the belly.

Metformin almost never causes hypoglycemia, either, and has very few side effects. So, if your endocrinologist does recommend Metformin, I say take it! Make your life a little easier.

Exercise and low carbing are also important because exercise helps with the uptake of glucose into cells like Metformin (which lowers insulin, which reduces fat storage on the body) and low carbing literally produces less sugar in the blood (which also lowers insulin levels). Be careful, though, not to "protein load." Many low carbers make that mistake at first because protein has zero carbohydrates. While that's true, protein converts to glucose, too, just more slowly, and at a rate of about 58%. If you're getting most of your nutrition from protein and carbohydrates, even if they're just veggies, that could be throwing off the ratio of fatrotein:carbohydrate your body needs to lose weight. Although most doctors won't tell you to do this, you should probably increase your FAT (healthy fats, including saturated; avoid man-made fats) intake to lose weight. I eat 60-70% fat most days. I try not to exceed 2-3 ounces of protein in a sitting. Carbohydrates are the smallest part of my diet and they come from veggies, nuts, and seeds. A high-fat diet when accompanied by a low-carbohydrate diet will put your body into ketosis where you're burning fat rather than glucose for fuel, which has many benefits for a person with insulin resistance.

Experiment with your diet and try my ideas if you're open to them. I practice what I preach. I lost 135 pounds by following this diet plan. It took me a few years and I got lax for a while, but the bulk of it came off in the pats year. I probably don't workout as much as you, either. 2-3 mile walks after dinner 4-5 times a week. That's it.

Metformin is a common medication for PCOS and for insulin resistance. Insulin allows glucose to enter the cells where it can be used as energy or stored eventually as fat, with insulin resistance, it takes more insulin to get the same glucose into the cells, the excess insulin doesn't cause fat, it's still a matter of how much glucose gets into your cells, if it's more than you need, it eventually becomes fat. Metformin does suppress your appetite and it does slow down your absorption of glucose so it may help you lose weight but don't expect it to solve your problems, you still have to eat less and do more to lose weight.