Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas after eating. It breaks down the glucose in food and turns it into energy that it sends to cells so they can do their jobs.
But when blood glucose gets too high, metabolism changes. Instead of breaking down fat for energy, the body stores the extra glucose as fat to use later.
What is insulin sensitivity?
This means how your body responds to insulin. If your body is sensitive to insulin, it means it's working well. But if your body resists insulin, it means it's not using insulin the way it should. This stops glucose from entering cells to be broken down for energy. Instead, the body turns glucose into fat and stores it.
Insulin resistance and gaining weight:
Regulating blood glucose isn't insulin's only job. It also helps break down proteins and fats. During digestion, insulin tells liver cells, fat cells, and muscles to absorb glucose and use it for energy. But if there's more glucose than your body needs, it will store it as fat for long-term use.
So when you eat food with more calories than your body needs, this causes weight gain and stores more fat, especially in your belly and thighs.
Weight gain is more common in diabetic patients. A report from the WHO shows that 90% of type 2 diabetics suffer from overweight or obesity.
So managing glucose levels in diabetics using external insulin can control your blood sugar but it can also cause weight gain and fat storage.
The solution is to follow a healthy diet fit for diabetics and try to lose excess weight and exercise to reduce the effect of insulin resistance in the body.
Tips to avoid obesity:
If you have insulin resistance, keeping a healthy weight can be quite hard. Many think cutting starch, a big glucose source, is the fix. That sounds logical but you should know all food eventually turns into glucose. So what you really need to do is count the calories you eat. Getting too many calories means a big spike in blood glucose and that means more fat storage.
So writing down what you eat and counting calories before eating will really help especially at first. Over time, you won’t even need to weigh your food or check calorie counts because you’ll get used to it and it becomes a routine.
Also, exercising regularly helps regulate blood glucose, burn calories, and burn fat. Studies show that following a structured exercise program has many benefits for diabetics and those with insulin resistance.
Also sleep, you have to get enough sleep if you rely on external insulin. If you don’t get 7-8 hours of sleep every night, your insulin sensitivity is likely to be affected.
You can follow these tips to get better sleep:
- Go to sleep at the same time every day
- Turn off all electronic devices at least two hours before bed.
- Use blackout curtains to help you fall asleep faster
- Avoid morning naps
- White noise is also good to cover up outside noise
Healthy diet to avoid weight gain:
Some foods help prevent weight gain while others do the opposite and cause weight gain and high blood sugar. So following a healthy diet that suits you with nutrients and unprocessed foods is the best way to lose weight and stay healthy.
Important healthy foods in your diet:
- Fresh fruits
- Whole grains
- Foods rich in fatty acids especially Omega 3 like avocado
- Yogurt
- Healthy proteins like soy products, fish, and poultry
Foods you should avoid:
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Foods with added sugar
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Processed foods
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Refined starches
- Hydrogenated oils
Insulin's importance is due to its key role in regulating blood sugar levels and breaking down proteins and fats for energy. It also triggers the body to store fats that will be used later for energy. So if you have insulin resistance, it means your insulin levels are off, which leads to storing more fat and gaining extra weight.
