Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas. It plays a significant role in processing ingested food to be used by the body. It is responsible for regulating the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, facilitating the use of glucose, and stopping its production when it is present in excess.
However, when the body becomes less sensitive to the action of this hormone, even though it is being released under normal conditions, it is considered to suffer from insulin resistance and for which it is not known precisely why it develops. It is a disease that can be dangerous if not kept under control since it can lead to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and promote weight problems.
Therefore, if you are one of the patients with this disorder and wonder how to lose weight if you have insulin resistance, we invite you to continue reading this FastlyHealarticle.
Table of Contents
Why do I gain weight if I have insulin resistance?
Under normal conditions, when food is consumed, it is metabolized, and the glucose acquired passes into the bloodstream. In its presence, the pancreas secretes the hormone known as insulin, which helps transport glucose to cells and stores it in the liver, muscles, and adipose tissue to be converted into the energy that the body needs to function correctly.
Patients with insulin resistance are often overweight or obese and may not know how these problems are related to hormone disruption or why it is difficult for them to lose weight. The reason is that the body does not react to the effect of insulin. Therefore, glucose cannot be taken to the cells to be used. In an attempt to solve this situation, the pancreas produces a more significant amount of this hormone, resulting in excess insulin and glucose in the blood.
By having high insulin, fat metabolism is blocked. On the other hand, excess glucose is transformed into triglycerides, causing a more significant fat accumulation, especially in the abdomen and hips. In addition, since they do not have enough energy, many of the patients follow a sedentary lifestyle, making it easier to gain body weight.
Regular exercise to lose weight with insulin resistance
Although it is known that exercising regularly offers many benefits to people’s health, it is also the best answer to the question of how to lose weight if I have insulin resistance. This is achieved because the metabolism is activated when exercising, making the muscle cells more sensitive to this hormone. They use the excess without the body having to produce more. Thus, not only is insulin resistance controlled but at the same time, calories are being burned and will help in the weight loss process.
It is advisable for patients with insulin resistance to regularly practice some physical activity for 30 minutes, starting with a short time and low-impact exercises so that the body gets used to it and avoids injury. These routines can combine cardiovascular exercises, such as walking, swimming, cycling, and even dancing, with anaerobic activities, such as weight lifting.
Adding anaerobic exercise to people with insulin resistance is ideal because this is the only way to increase muscle mass, which can be deteriorated by excess glucose in the blood. In addition, with these exercises, the muscles are activated for longer and continue to burn calories for up to two hours after finishing the routine. However, because force is used in these activities, a professional must supervise them to offer better training for each condition and not cause injuries.
You can expand this information by consulting the article What exercises to do if I have insulin resistance.
Eat several times a day to lose weight with insulin resistance.
Eating several times a day does not mean that you can consume any food in large quantities, since this advice should be done by following a healthy diet. The purpose of spreading the food over several meals is to accelerate the metabolism, improve digestion, reduce the feeling of hunger and avoid overeating, which favors a constant flow of glucose and, consequently, not more is released insulin.
In general, it is advisable to divide the total food intake into 5 or 6 small portions to consume them throughout the day, preferably establishing strict schedules to avoid skipping meals and avoid accumulating hunger, wanting to eat more, or eating unhealthy foods. Making this a routine will help people with insulin resistance to lose weight, but mood and daily performance will also improve.
In the following article, you can see the best diet to lose weight with insulin resistance.
Moderate carbohydrate intake improves insulin resistance.
A characteristic of carbohydrates is that they raise blood glucose and can be estimated by the glycemic index. The higher this index is in a food, its absorption rate is slower, and blood glucose increases faster, causing a more fantastic release of insulin. Despite this, the correct thing is not to eliminate carbohydrate intake from the diet but to choose those with a low index since energy is obtained for the body through them.
According to the American Diabetes Association [1], carbohydrates with a low glycemic index are vegetable stew, legumes, such as red beans and lentils, non-starchy vegetables, most fruits, cereals, and their derivatives of Whole grain, for example, barley bread, rye, whole wheat, and bran cereal. In addition, they can be combined with meats and fats, as they help reduce the glucose in the food.
The minimum daily amount of carbohydrates ingested should be 120 grams. Still, the specific proportion of how much of these foods can be included in the diet depends on several factors, such as age, health status, exercise, and lifestyle in general. For this reason, a nutritionist should design a balanced diet for each case and for the patient with insulin resistance to lose weight.
Medical treatment for insulin resistance
The insulin level can be controlled by changing habits to healthier ones. Still, in some cases, the specialist may indicate the administration of drugs that help improve this condition, especially if the patient cannot significantly reduce the amount. Of insulin or blood glucose, if you are at high risk of developing complications, such as diabetes and cardiovascular problems, or those with a high degree of obesity and need to lose weight.
Treatment with drugs may include those whose action is to stimulate the effect of insulin at the post-receptor level in skeletal muscle to use glucose at the strength and adipose tissue level, decrease insulin resistance, improve tolerance to insulin. Glucose cause a reduction in glucose production by the liver. In addition to achieving control of this alteration, another benefit is that patients with insulin resistance can lose weight more quickly.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to lose weight if I have insulin resistance, we recommend that you enter our Endocrine System category.
References
https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/recipes-nutrition
https://www.joslin.org/patient-care/multicultural-programs/latinx-diabetes-initiative
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.