Dr. Simonds and Michelle Kennedy, NP-C answered weight loss and health questions submitted by viewers. This episode was about diabetes, keto, ketosis, body contouring, and belly fat.
Q: Is diabetes reversible? What’s the best way to reverse it and how long would it take?
A: Yes, Type 2 diabetes is reversible! Adult-onset diabetes is a disease of excess insulin and can affect both adults and children. Those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes are generally overweight and have excess body fat due to their bodies being in a constant fat-storage mode. While the mainstream medical community would say that it’s not reversible, a growing number of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who treat this problem will disagree. We are finding great success with aggressive dietary interventions, physical activity, medications, and behavioral change. With these modifications, we are seeing patients reverse diabetes and get their numbers back to a normal range, all while losing weight.
Diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate intolerance due to excess insulin and sugar. An effective treatment is to avoid refined carbohydrates that can be milled down into a white powder such as flour, sugar, pasta, noodles, potatoes, cereals, bread, oatmeals, etc. These refined sugars and flours make blood sugar soar, especially when consumed without fiber, fats, or proteins which help slow down the spike. As blood sugar rises, so does insulin which causes you to store the sugar as fat.
The A1C test, also known as the hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c test is a simple blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. It’s one of the commonly used tests to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes and is also the main test to help you and your health care provider manage your diabetes. When we put patients on low-carb diets and prescribe weight loss medications, it doesn’t take long to correct diabetes. While the fasting blood sugar corrects very quickly, it may take months for the hemoglobin A1C to regulate and correct itself. We’ve seen fantastic results in reversing type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise. We’ve found these methods to be powerful and can be even more effective than medications that target diabetes.
Q: Why do men (my husband) get big bellies and women tend to gain weight all over?
A: We see this quite often! Men have a different hormonal makeup and as testosterone declines with age, extra belly fat can begin to accumulate. We see a lot of patients in our office and find that excess belly fat is a common problem with both men and women, largely due to the standard American diet of excess refined carbohydrates. Genetics also plays a huge role in how someone stores fat and loses weight.
Q: I’m having a hard time getting into ketosis. What could be happening?
A: It could be due to your testing method. If you’re using urine strips to test for ketones, be sure to check in the evenings only for the most accurate results. A surefire way to get into ketosis is to reduce carbohydrates to 20 grams per day, which should work after about 1 week. Remember, the goal is weight loss, so if you’re feeling good, have your cravings under control, are energized, and losing weight, that’s the most important.
Q: What makes your weight loss practice different than others I’ve seen?
A: Obesity is a very complex disease and we are here to help! If it were easy to be thin, then we’d all be thin. We don’t rely on just willpower alone and offer patients real solutions such as medications and individualized treatment plans. We are a medical practice that is completely judgment-free, and believe obesity is a medical problem, not a character flaw.
Q: My wife and I do keto and I’m able to lose weight easier than her. What can help speed up her weight loss?
A: This is a common thing we see at the practice. It’s good to look at the percentage of the total weight loss, not necessarily just the numbers. Remember, you’re not in a race against your spouse and need to focus on your own numbers. We know that it can be very difficult due to societal pressures and expectations, so please don’t let that influence you. It can take a lot of individualized help and men and women respond to weight loss differently. Just hang in there and be supportive and encouraging to each other.
Q: What’s the difference between cool sculpting vs Evoke or Evolve? Is one faster than the other?
A: We have a body contouring center located next to our Durham office that offers non-surgical body contouring options. Two of our current machines, Evoke (for face & neck) and Evolve (for the body) use bipolar radiofrequency that feels similar to a warm stone massage that reduces fat and tightens skin. The treatments are essentially painless. Cool sculpting uses cooling technology to dissolve fat but does not offer the skin tightening that Evoke and Evolve do.
We offer complimentary consultations too! Contact us for more information.
