Ahh hormones, those lovely messengers that travel all over the body telling everyone else what to do. Except when we can’t get them to do what we want, then they’re not so lovely. Hormones are vital and extremely complex. In this post, I want to touch on insulin and the role it plays in, or in some cases against, weight loss. Foremost, insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. When we consume sugar or carbohydrates, the pancreas signals insulin to go to work. If we continually eat carbohydrates, especially refined carbs, the body will continue to signal for its release. So the cycle starts. Our bodies can only use so much glucose; thus, when excess glucose is present in the blood and your cells are no longer responding to the insulin, they become resistant. The excess is then stored as fat. Rinse, repeat. Insulin resistance can become tricky because it can often present as asymptomatic, meaning most people don’t even know there is a problem. But there will be signs… such as excess weight (specifically around the midsection), cravings for sugar, feeling hungry, and of course fatigue. Less commonly recognized symptoms can include high blood pressure, skin tags and skin darkening, migraines, and even ED. The good news is when we get the body’s insulin response working efficiently, these symptoms usually resolve themselves. Which begs the question: how do we get insulin under control and start losing some weight? The most important player here is what goes in your mouth, or doesn’t.
One of the fastest ways to lower insulin levels is to start fasting. The more time we can go between meals, the longer the body has to process what we have ingested. When this happens, our food is broken down and our insulin levels have a chance to drop back down to a lower level. Most find intermittent fasting easiest to do by skipping breakfast. While harder to do, skipping your last meal can yield more dramatic results. Ultimately do what works best for you and your schedule. When you break your fast, try to do so with protein macros, veggies and little to no carbs so as to keep blood sugar and insulin levels low. Do this for a few days. The body needs roughly 72 hours to make metabolic adjustments. Now once you’ve successfully reset your insulin levels, you want to keep them there. How do you do that? If you will simply stop eating seed oils (canola, soybean, etc. ((overly abundant with inflammatory omega 6s)), artificial sweeteners and or high-fructose corn syrup, you should be able to keep those levels in a safe range. Yes, even if you’re eating carbohydrates. Read labels, cut the crap. That simple.
The second option to reduce insulin levels is to exercise. Burn off the carbohydrates you’ve signaled to the body as fuel. You don’t have to run to the gym for two hours of weight-lifting. This can look like taking a brisk walk after a meal for 5-10 minutes.
Lastly, the best option is changing what you put into your body in the first place. Well sourced meat, fresh vegetables and healthy fats are not going to spike your insulin response in a dangerous manner, the way processed foods will. Trying to manage blood sugar and insulin while consuming bad fats and fake sugar is like spitting in the wind. Your body and brain are built to use two forms of fuel- glucose and ketones (one from carbs and one from fats, respectively). Adulterated forms of these such as HFCS, aspartame (amino sugar), hydrogenated and seed oils are recipes for disaster. If you haven’t done a keto diet or you’re currently doing a “dirty keto” diet, please see additional reading to address the most effective way to take this approach. When your body adjusts to a ketogenic state it will increase insulin sensitivity and become more effective at regulating blood sugar levels. However, the same is true in reverse. If you start reintroducing carbs after doing keto, do so slowly to maintain healthy rises in blood sugar and insulin response. When insulin and blood sugar levels are under control, you’ll notice weight will begin to fall.
One caveat- a great way to reset insulin levels and blood sugar response can be via a keto diet. I personally do not think that a keto, long term, is beneficial to your health. I speak from personal experience and emerging research is backing this opinion. I have another blog post about different dieting approaches. The long-term effects on your hormones (including insulin) that might surprise you.
Stay Haute out there-Jenn
If you’re curious for more information on this topic I suggest reading “How Not to Get Sick” by Benjamin Bikman. Here is a link to his new book https://amzn.to/4bPgfK1
The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight loss by Jason Fung
“Fast This Way” by Dave Asprey for an efficient way to get the most out of your efforts https://amzn.to/4izn98h