Insulin Resistance & Weight Loss

Over 80 million people suffer from insulin resistance, a serious problem that, if left untreated, can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. One of the best ways to combat insulin resistance is to eat healthy foods and get plenty of exercise, both of which will help you lose weight and keep it off. By doing so, you will be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle and be much less likely to develop serious, life-threatening illnesses.

What Is Insulin Resistance?

• Insulin resistance is a condition that results when the body produces insulin but does not use it correctly. A hormone produced by the pancreas, insulin helps your body use glucose for energy. When you eat, your body breaks down your food into glucose that subsequently travels throughout your bloodstream to fuel the various cells in your body. When your blood glucose rises after a meal, your pancreas then releases insulin to help your cells take in the glucose. But if you are insulin resistant, your cells do not respond properly to insulin, so you need more in order to help the glucose enter the cells. Subsequently, the pancreas produces more, but eventually the pancreas can't keep up with the demand for more insulin, causing glucose to build up in the bloodstream, a condition that is usually a precursor to diabetes.

Improving Insulin Resistance: Diet

• Insulin resistance can be the result of heredity, being overweight and not exercising enough. Although you can't do much about your genetics, you can improve this condition by losing weight and keeping it off. One of the best ways to lose weight is to eat better and exercise more. If you think about how people evolved, they hunted for food (intense exercise) and ate natural foods. Unfortunately, our society has moved into a more sedentary lifestyle where many of us sit at desks all day and eat a great deal of processed, refined foods. In order to reverse this pattern, you need to stay away from foods that are high in refined carbohydrates like white breads, pasta and white rice as well as crackers, sugary cereals, potatoes and desserts. You should also avoid foods with trans fats, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. Instead, eat whole fresh foods with plenty of protein and complex carbohydrates like low-fat dairy, lean meats, legumes, high-fiber whole grains, and lots of fruits and vegetables, especially the leafy green ones. These types of foods take longer to digest and will keep your insulin levels from spiking. Healthy fats like the ones found in eggs, avocados, flax seed and cold water fish like tuna and salmon are also important in improving insulin resistance.

Exercise

• In addition to eating a healthy diet, exercise will help with both insulin resistance and weight loss. By doing just 30 minutes of exercise a day for three to five days a week, you can improve your metabolic functioning. You can also benefit from doing strength training exercises two to three times per week. Exercising also helps lower stress levels and helps you sleep better, which will in turn, help reduce surges in your blood glucose levels.

  So if you happen to be insulin resistant, don't despair, knowing that if you lose weight through a more healthy diet and by getting more exercise, you can improve your condition and maybe even eliminate it altogether.