Using Protein to Your Advantage with Diabetes

I’m a big fan of protein, not just because it builds muscle and helps me get stronger in terms of my powerlifting training, but because I can literally use protein to help my body burn fat, stablize my blood sugar, and use it for glucose fuel before I even reach for a carbohydrate.

It’s true: carbs are the quickest, most efficient form of energy. When you eat carbs, it doesn’t take long to feel the boost of energy (spike in your blood sugar), and your brain responds with hormones and chemicals that make you feel goooooood.

However, as we’ve talked about before, you need insulin for those carbs, and insulin stores fat if you’re getting too much or consuming too many carbs. (That’s also why you might gain bodyfat if your blood sugars are always high, because you’re always trying to bring it down with more insulin.) For diabetics, this is a crucial part of weight control. I’ve watched my weight fluctuate over the past two years as I went from carb-filled-nutrition to low carb & high protein to carbs-filled again. I started eating more carbs again when I began powerlifting, and while I did gain considerably more muscle with this, I also gained fat, too.

But let me tell you more about protein & diabetes.

When I’ve had to follow low-carb protocols for weightloss sake over a long period of time or over a short period of time for weigh-ins before a competition, protein is my savoir. Not only does it help me burn fat because our bodies have to work so much harder to digest protein than they do in order to digest carbs,  some of it also turns into glucose and we can use that for energy.

When you eat a portion of protein over 20 grams (that is every portion for me), about 50% of that can be converted to glucose! Which means…you would need some insulin to cover that glucose. If you eat a really huge chicken breast, you’re going to getting at least 30 grams of protein, which means you’ll need to cover about 15 extra grams of carbohydrate that have nothing to do with the potato or rice on your plate.

FOR EXAMPLE: When I eat low-carb, I often eat 45-60 grams of protein at a meal for my powerlifting training, and I almost always take 3-4 units of insulin. You would think because there are no carbs in this, I wouldn’t need so much insulin. But I use a 10 to 1 carbohydrate to insulin ratio, so %50 of 60 grams of protein would be 30 grams of glucose in my blood; therefore, I will need at least 3 units of insulin. If I’ve added ketchup or vegetables to this I’ll add another unit. Even if I add almonds, I’ll take 4 units because fats will slow down the absobrtion of my meal.

These are things I’ve figured out by taking notes and checking my blood sugar often, like a science experiment.

PROTEIN FOR LOW BLOOD SUGARS?

So, also during these low-carbs phases of my training, I am sure to have some low blood sugars. And I want to treat that low blood sugar with as little carbs as possible because 1. It’ll mess up that anabolic state I’ve put my body in, burning fat for fuel and using protein as it’s primary source of energy. 2. Carbs will spike my blood sugar if I eat too much and then I’ll have to take insulin…etc.