If you have struggled on a reduced calorie diet and still aren't seeing any results there may be a simple explanation to your problem. What I am going to have a look at today is insulin resistance and the effect that this has on weight management. Evidence shows that obesity is actually a health disorder that reduced calorie intake and physical exercise cannot cure.
So what is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone that is secreted into the blood stream by the pancreas and its role is to regulate blood sugar levels. It effectively acts as a messenger, transporting glucose (or blood sugar) into your bodys cells where it can be used as energy. Any excess glucose is turned into glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles and once these stores are used up, the rest is stored in the fat cells.
Insulin levels rise as a result of too much glucose in the blood and this effectively speeds up the process by which glucose is used or stored. Carbohydrates have a large impact on insulin levels, within a couple of hours of eating a high carb meal a lot of the glucose is stored away as fat.
The weight loss health disorder and the 2 keys to reversing it
As you gain weight your body starts to gain more of a resistance to insulin. This resistance is where your body does not efficiently use insulin so therefore the pancreas has to make more of it in order to regulate blood sugar levels. Insulin resistance is a result of extra fat tissue causing a rise in body cortisol. This closes the cell doors to incoming glucose, which means that it is stored as fat rather than used. The good news here is that by losing weight you also reduce this and therefore your resistance to insulin.
Reversing insulin resistance has largely to do with what you eat.
1. Carbohydrates have a large impact on glucose levels in the blood so therefore it is this source of energy that is the main key. Energy quality is very important because a complex carbohydrate source is more slowly digested and therefore the energy is slowly released. Eating more and losing weight is very logical. This is because foods that have less carbohydrate energy and high nutrient density are going to provide your body with all the required nutrients with low amounts of energy to expend. Green, leafy vegetables should form the basis of your diet.
2. It is a good idea to link different food groups. Protein is a very important food source and should be included with each meal. Certain studies have shown that protein does not cause insulin levels to spike so therefore is ideal for weight loss. It is also shown that the increased levels of amino acids in the blood triggers the release of another hormone called glucagon. Glucagon is also secreted into the blood stream from the pancreas. It's role is the opposite of insulin and that is to take fat storage and release it back into the blood stream to be used.
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