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Weight Loss for Insulin-Resistant People

According to information from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, insulin resistance is a condition that precedes the onset of full-fledged diabetes. When insulin resistant, your body is no longer capable of fully utilizing the hormone insulin, necessitating production of additional insulin to regulate blood sugar. Over time, this will lead to diabetes, as the pancreas will become chronically overworked while the body cells become even more resistant to insulin because of the increasing amounts with which they are being bombarded.

  1. Dietary Approach

    • Follow a diet that mirrors a diabetic dieting approach if you have been diagnosed with insulin resistance. The crux of a diabetic dietary approach is carbohydrate control, which involves eating no carbs other than those from whole grains, fruit and vegetables. Limiting yourself to slow-digesting carbs like these will naturally lower the amount of blood sugar that your body has available at any time. (The speed of carbohydrate digestion determines how much blood sugar is released into the body.) This, in turn, will lead to a cascading effect where less insulin has to be produced, giving your pancreas a break and your cells a lapse from their "normal" insulin onslaught, increasing your insulin sensitivity and staving off the onset of full-blown diabetes. Along with slow-digesting carbs, each meal should contain lean protein and healthy, natural fat from nuts, seeds, oils and fruits like avocados and coconuts. Consuming both protein and fat with your meals will further slow digestion, keeping your blood sugar levels even lower.

    Weight Control

    • Aim to consume a level of calories that will allow you to lose roughly one to two pounds per week, further delaying the onset of diabetes. Accomplish this by tracking your daily caloric intake using a notebook or a Word or Excel file on your computer. Attempt to eat roughly the same number of calories per day (around 1,800 to 2,000 is usually a good place to begin for weight loss). Weigh yourself at the end of every week, reducing or increasing calories by 200 if you are losing weight too slowly or too quickly. According to information from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, weight loss will also help to restore insulin sensitivity to your body.

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