Are love handles (muffin top) a symptom of insulin resistance?

[badassmofo]

Ive heard Peter Attia say several times that he believes metformin to be somewhat toxic to cellular mitichondria and that outside of type 2 diabetics who refuse to reverse their disease, people should treat IR with fasting, exercise, and carb removal over the drug.

So you don't believe in using metformin or berberine? Doesn't matter to me either way, just curious. I don't think the people that have benefited greatly from metformin would agree with Peter Attia but that's the great thing about America, we can all choose to believe what we want.

 

[badassmofo]

I gota admit I don't know much about insulin resistance but I do know that people carry fat in different places , were all different in some way.

I carry fat on my chest and lower back before any where else Ive noticed as Ive lost all this weight.

I got vascularity up my quads to my hips , down my chest half way now , arms n traps back until the moobs n low back which is like warm butter.

It could be that you are just predisposed to losing the fat on that part of your body ,, last and it wont fade until you are exceptionally lean.

No expert just a guess based on what i've discovered on my own.

Yeah many areas are common on people as far as where fat shows first and where it disappears.
Others don't follow the common trend.
It seems anytime my fat increases the first spot I notice is the handles.

 

[TomJ]

I've never heard of that. Its not like metformin has a bad safety profile. For better bioavailability/effectiveness I prefer something that has been on the market for ages, is more cost effective and works quite well for people.

A lot of the studies on berbarine efficacy use metformin as the standard they are comparing to for that exact reason.

It's been around forever, it's well studied, and it's effects and safety profile are very well understood.

The main issue I see in the discussion of metformin is that a lot of people have GI issues from it. Lower quality berbarines can also cause some GI issues it seems, but seem to be less common.

 

[TODAY]

A lot of the studies on berbarine efficacy use metformin as the standard they are comparing to for that exact reason.

It's been around forever, it's well studied, and it's effects and safety profile are very well understood.

The main issue I see in the discussion of metformin is that a lot of people have GI issues from it. Lower quality berbarines can also cause some GI issues it seems, but seem to be less common.

I haven't personally found a brand of berberine that doesn't cause GI distress.

I'd guess that it has more to do with individual gut flora than it does supplement quality.

 

[TomJ]

I haven't personally found a brand of berberine that doesn't cause GI distress.

I'd guess that it has more to do with individual gut flora than it does supplement quality.

Yeah I've heard of people having issues with berbarine, and not metformin, and vice versa.

I've simply heard that lower quality ones, or the low bioavailability ones are what cause issues more often, this is all 3rd party anecdotes though. I don't have personal experience to say.

So definitely sounds like an individual thing.
I've never used met, and only been using berbarine for about a month, but haven't noticed any problems with it yet.

 

[TODAY]

Yeah I've heard of people having issues with berbarine, and not metformin, and vice versa.

So definitely sounds like an individual thing.
I've never used met, and only been using berbarine for about a month, but haven't noticed any problems with it yet.

It took a week or two for the bloating, discomfort, and absolutely rancid farts to set in for me.

 

[TomJ]

It took a week or two for the bloating, discomfort, and absolutely rancid farts to set in for me.

Fingers crossed that doesn't happen here.

Gf would slit my throat

 

[TODAY]

Fingers crossed that doesn't happen here.

Gf would slit my throat

To this day, it is the only substance that is 100% banned in my household.

 

[roidmedangerfield]

Why not just reverse your insulin resistance altogether? Its extremely easy to do

Well, of course. But how does one do that? Are you going to say burn more calories? Exercise more? I work out three days a week but I do brisk walks everyday. On days I train I do thirty to thirty-five minutes of walking. On days off from the gym I do seventy minutes of walking.

I'm open to ideas. That's why I created this thread.

 

[roidmedangerfield]

Apparently I was taking my berberine incorrectly. I read the instructions and it said it can be taken with our without food. So I was taking my entire dose in the morning with my other vitamins, supplements and medications.

I just purchased the Thorne brand that @TomJ mentioned in a previous post. It's coming today. I'll be sure to take one 500mg pill three times a day at each meal.

 

[roidmedangerfield]

By the way, I just wanted to throw this out there. You might think it's hokey but I was seeing an acupuncturist for a short while. When he asked me what I'd like to focus on I told him about my higher than normal blood sugar levels in the morning. He told me to reduce carbs but I told him I was trying to be as big and muscular as possible. He worked with me and inserted those pins all over me.

I went to him twice. And I must say, that the next day that he worked on me after the two times I saw him my blood sugar was at 75 and 78 respectively! It has never been that low ever in the morning upon waking up. I really think something was working but I obviously can't afford to go everyday to an acupuncturist nor do I have the time.

 

[Gadawg]

Well, of course. But how does one do that? Are you going to say burn more calories? Exercise more? I work out three days a week but I do brisk walks everyday. On days I train I do thirty to thirty-five minutes of walking. On days off from the gym I do seventy minutes of walking.

I'm open to ideas. That's why I created this thread.

Time restricted feeding

A few multi day fasts

Zone 2 cardio (walking isnt exercise)

Take your pick

 

[CJ]

Well, of course. But how does one do that? Are you going to say burn more calories? Exercise more? I work out three days a week but I do brisk walks everyday. On days I train I do thirty to thirty-five minutes of walking. On days off from the gym I do seventy minutes of walking.

I'm open to ideas. That's why I created this thread.

Exercise and weight loss.

 

[roidmedangerfield]

Time restricted feeding

A few multi day fasts

Zone 2 cardio (walking isnt exercise)

Take your pick

Zone 2 cardio? Is that the same as low intensity steady state cardio? Working at 60-70% of one's maximum target heart rate? At my age my target heart rate calculated from my maximum at 70% is 117.6bpm. I said "brisk" walks. Brisk walking puts me at 121bpm. My shirt and shorts are fairly wet from sweat and my calves, overall legs and glutes get a mild pump or burn from my walks. Walking is exercise when you lunge forward with larger strides than normal and swing your arms a bit and do it with vigorous effort. I wasn't talking about taking some leisurely stroll.

I'm more than likely going to have to lower carbs which I've been experimenting with on my days off from the gym as of this week. I'll look into fasting as well. Thanks for the input.

 

[Gadawg]

Zone 2 cardio? Is that the same as low intensity steady state cardio? Working at 60-70% of one's maximum target heart rate? At my age my target heart rate calculated from my maximum at 70% is 117.6bpm. I said "brisk" walks. Brisk walking puts me at 121bpm. My shirt and shorts are fairly wet from sweat and my calves, overall legs and glutes get a mild pump or burn from my walks. Walking is exercise when you lunge forward with larger strides than normal and swing your arms a bit and do it with vigorous effort. I wasn't talking about taking some leisurely stroll.

I'm more than likely going to have to lower carbs which I've been experimenting with on my days off from the gym as of this week. I'll look into fasting as well. Thanks for the input.

You will not lose any muscle doing reasonable fasting so dont stress over it.

 

[Badleroybrown]

I've been struggling with lower back fat for some time. In my case it's not horrible. In fact when I look straight into the mirror or take selfies directly facing the camera with my shirt off it's barely noticeable. But the moment I turn to the side I'm bothered by the little bit of bulge I see at the lower back area. I really want to tighten this area up

From my reading, quite a few sources assert that lower back fat is indicative of insulin resistance. My last A1C was 5.4. I'm going to get another A1C test since that was back in August of 2022. But so far I'm not prediabetic. I do experience the Dawn Phenomenon and have tested my blood sugar which has been 114-120 in the morning. It's almost never under 100. However, when I go get my bloodwork for my doctor's visits it has always been under 100. But that's usually an hour or two after waking up. More time has passed as opposed to me taking my own glucose readings with my own testing supplies almost immediately after waking up.

I'm going to guess that some of you are just going to tell me to restrict calories to lose the love handles. I really think there is something to be said about the claims that love handles are symptomatic of insulin resistance. I read this article from 2017 on T-Nation found here:

How to Eliminate Love Handles & Muffin Tops A fat waist is symptomatic of insulin insensitivity. You need to attack it with a combo of specific eating strategies, diet, exercise, and supplements. Here's how.

As mentioned in the article above I do notice that when I take psyllium fiber daily that my waist looks tighter overall, especially in the morning when I wake up. Morning abs! I'm fully aware that T-Nation is almost always pushing out articles to promote some type of expensive supplement to buy. The article I'm providing is pushing a product called Indigo-3G which is a partitioning agent supposedly capable of improving insulin resistance. It's $65 a month. Do products like this really work? I checked out the reviews on T-Nation and also on amazon.com. The reviews on amazon seem more realistic compared to the ones on T-Nation which give me the impression that they're fake.

Admittedly I'm bigorexic. I'll never be a Dorian Yates but I hate to lose any of the size I've gained thus far. I don't expect to be ripped. I look pretty pumped up at 5'10" and 235lb. I'm actually content with my abs. They're visible. Not razor sharp but fine by me. I'd just like to get my lower back area to match my abs. I do low impact cardio 35-70 minutes everyday of brisk walking (for the past five weeks consistently). I take berberine at two capsules a day (the recommended amount stated on the bottle) which has 1200mg of berberine per serving. I don't know if it's doing much to lower my morning glucose readings. Do I need to take more?

Assuming that lower back fat is a symptom of insulin resistance as stated in the T-Nation article I posted above, what are ways someone can improve IR?

Bro how old are you…

I have some and you know what..
WGAF!!!
I was 360+++ pounds at one at one time in my life..

I have blood numbers. Except for cholesterol.. tad high..

I embrace the back fat..
I would have to get to about 210 to even try and make them go away..
No thanks..
I am 240lbs with noticble abs.

If I was at a pool with other people and took my shirt off i confident..
Women don’t give a duck about a little back fat if that is what your after.. I am not.. I’m married
But I know they look. Then look at there normal looking guy and would love me and my tiny bit of back fat pounding away at them..

Little do they know they would get that anabolic dick like they never had before..

Anyway..
Embrace it… like PF says.
Everybody is different..

Do like I do when your in a group.

rip your shirt off over your head like.
“I’m here Motherfucker”

 

[roidmedangerfield]

Bro how old are you…

I have some and you know what..
WGAF!!!

I'm fifty-two.

The thing is, before i went back on gear I was pretty lean at about 200lb. I used to intermittent fast and only ate during an eight hour window. Then I did the Bodyopus diet by the late Dan Duchaine. It's basically a keto style of eating and then carb up on weekends. I looked my best and was very lean and defined. But in clothes I kinda looked like a rail. I should try and find some photos to share here.

It was the best of both worlds. During the week, I ate my protein with cheese, peanut butter, almond butter, macadamia nuts, etc. Then on weekends, starting on Friday afternoons, I'd switch to simple carbs. On Monday I'd start the keto again. I typically looked my best by Tuesday/Wednesday. Just the right amount of glycogen in the muscles for that full pumped look before I started deflating and go flat by Friday.

I'd like to try and get really lean while I'm still able to get away with taking gear at my age. Just want to see what I can achieve without resorting to DNP (which I'd never feel comfortable doing in the first place).

 

[BigBaldBeardGuy]

I'm fifty-two.

The thing is, before i went back on gear I was pretty lean at about 200lb. I used to intermittent fast and only ate during an eight hour window. Then I did the Bodyopus diet by the late Dan Duchaine. It's basically a keto style of eating and then carb up on weekends. I looked my best and was very lean and defined. But in clothes I kinda looked like a rail. I should try and find some photos to share here.

It was the best of both worlds. During the week, I ate my protein with cheese, peanut butter, almond butter, macadamia nuts, etc. Then on weekends, starting on Friday afternoons, I'd switch to simple carbs. On Monday I'd start the keto again. I typically looked my best by Tuesday/Wednesday. Just the right amount of glycogen in the muscles for that full pumped look before I started deflating and go flat by Friday.

I'd like to try and get really lean while I'm still able to get away with taking gear at my age. Just want to see what I can achieve without resorting to DNP (which I'd never feel comfortable doing in the first place).

Why not do the Body Opus diet again?

 

[Badleroybrown]

@roidmedangerfield . Do what @BigBaldBeardGuy said.

If it worked in the last do it again..

But bro… at 52 there are certain things we gotta be excepting..

Unlesss you are going to go hardcore all the way and restrict yourself thru diet and training to achieve the “non muffin too look”

Fuck that… I love to train and I eat what I want but don’t iver do it…
I have a pretty good diet during the week..

I eat to fuel my body..
On the weekends it’s all about whatever I want…
But at the same time. Between work the gym and the work I do around my house it burns that shit off..
Take Fri and sat for example.

Got in the scale tues morn..
244.6.
Work and then started tearing the shingles off my roof.
Yesterday I was 1 pound lighter…
Went to a grad part yesterday. Still worked and got in the scale this am.
244.3..

WGAF. Not stressing about it..
It’s all about what you want and I guess you want to be “lean”

Nah I will take large. Like I said I am 48. Not looking to be ripped. Just in shape, large and scary..

Was at a grad party and a guy I know but don’t see often came up to me with his wife and we were talking.

He said he wants the secret he said he can understand the veins in my arms but how in the hell do I have veins bulging out of my calves..

I laughed and I said as I put a chicken wing in my mouth that it was because I ate the spicy ones not the bbq…

Makes it all worth while.

 

[Achillesking]

It took a week or two for the bloating, discomfort, and absolutely rancid farts to set in for me.

You couldn’t have paid me a years salary to guess I would become full aroused when reading this thread. Bravo sir