Have you been struggling for a long-time losing weight and simply nothing seems to work?
Let me tell you that you are not alone, many of us find ourselves in the same situation.
I’ve also been there. I’ve been struggling with losing belly fat for a long time. I’ve always been a very active person, and I’ve always thought that I ate the right way. Yes, I ate healthy, but I didn’t have a good structure.
I didn’t know that I suppose to eat the foods in a certain order, or I would’ve snacked mostly in the first part of the day, and I would’ve eaten the important meals in the evening or eat a lot before bed.
I hit the gym about 5 times a week and in the other day I would’ve done some other type of exercise, like running, walking, playing tennis or dancing. But my weight mostly stayed the same. I’ve never been overweight, but I always wanted to get rid of the last layer of my belly fat. It’s something that I feel I always had, it’s been always there with me.
Then I decided to do a deep research and find out if there is something else, I am missing out in the whole game and stop blaming my hormones. I felt there is something else I could do to help my body burning more fat by itself.
Was then when I started losing my undesired belly fat when I understood this: What Is the insulin resistance and how does it affect our body when it comes to weight loss.
Let me break down for you what does it mean to have insulin resistance.
What is insulin resistance?
- Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
- The pancreas puts insulin into the bloodstream.
- Insulin travels throughout the body in the blood.
- It helps regulate blood glucose (blood sugar) levels.
- It lowers the amount of sugar in the bloodstream.
- It helps facilitate the movement of glucose out of the blood, allowing sugar to enter the cells.
- Over time, your cells stop responding well to insulin.
- This means your cells in your muscles, fat and liver don’t open and can’t easily take the glucose from your blood, resulting in excessive sugar in the blood.
- This is known as insulin resistance.
- Your blood sugar remains high, which causes your pancreas to keep releasing more insulin to make your cells respond and to help glucose enter your cells.
- Over time the pancreas wears out and can’t produce large amounts of insulin anymore.
- Lowering your sugar and carbs lowers your need for insulin and lower your risk for insulin resistance.
- As the blood sugar level drops, the pancreas puts less insulin into the bloodstream.
- Insulin resistance may be present years before a prediabetic diagnosis is made. You may continue to have normal blood glucose results, but your body is increasingly requiring more insulin “behind the scenes” to bring your blood sugars under control.
What does it mean to have insulin spikes?
Every time you eat sugar or carbs, your blood glucose rises. To remove that excess glucose from the blood, your body releases insulin. If this happens occasionally, it’s totally normal. But when you have frequent insulin spikes, several times a day, every day, your pancreas needs to release more and more insulin to do the same job.
Insulin is not just a blood sugar hormone – it’s also a fat-storage hormone.
When insulin is high, your body gets the signal to store fat and stop burning fat, especially around the belly (visceral fat). So repeated insulin spikes make it very hard to lose body fat, and the body keeps storing energy, instead of burning it.
On the other hand, when insulin stays low and stable your body gets the signal that it’s safe to burn stored fat. And therefore, less fat storage, easier weight loss.
What changes can we do to avoid insulin spikes?
Below I will share with you the changes I’ve made in my lifestyle to keep in balance my insulin and to avoid many insulins spikes a day. It didn’t take much time for the results to appear once I made those changes.
- Change the order of your foods
1. Start every meal with fiber – It can be veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, or leafy greens salads.
2. Then eat protein and healthy fats.
3. And finish with carbs or sweets.
This order slows down sugar absorption (how quickly the sugar from the food you eat enters your bloodstream) and reduces insulin spikes. Do Not Start your meals with sugary foods or unhealthy carbs. They will really spike your insulin level. ( the energy will be store as fat, it would not be burn by your body).
This order slows down sugar absorption (how quickly the sugar from the food you eat enters your bloodstream) and reduces insulin spikes. Do Not Start your meals with sugary foods or unhealthy carbs. They will really spike your insulin level. ( the energy will be store as fat, it would not be burn by your body).
- Eat more protein a day
I used not to eat enough proteins with my meals. This will make me still be hungry after having my meals and therefore I felt I needed to snack all day, I needed sugary stuff, my body was craving, because I was still hungry after eating.
So is very important to prioritize proteins like fish ( choose whenever possible wild caught, not farm raised), Organic red meat, organic eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, quinoa, almond butter etc…
- Lower your carbs intake and opt for better carbs options
Choosing the right carbs that won’t spike my insulin levels was crucial for me in the loosing belly fat process. I gave up on floury carbs. I switched to almond flour options.
Choose whole carbs over refined – brown rice, quinoa, or oats release energy more slowly.
- Lower your dairy intake
I am a person that couldn’t live without my cheeses. Every day cheese, almost at every meal. I just loved it. Unfortunately, they are very inflammatory and made me feel very bloated. You don’t have to give up completely to your cheese, but eat very little.
- Stop drinking coffee on empty stomach
This is probably one of the most common mistakes we all do. Drinking coffee without cream or sugar on an empty stomach can also spike your insulin levels.
- Avoid sugary drinks
The sweet drinks cause the fastest insulin spikes in your body.
- Prioritize your sleep
When we don’t sleep enough, we are stressed. Sleep help reduce your cortisol level.
Final thoughts…
For me, understanding insulin resistance helped me stop fighting against my own body and start working with it.
Once I began paying attention to how I ate, not just what I ate, everything started to improve: the cravings, the bloating, the stubborn belly fat.
I realized that wellness isn’t only about calories or workouts; it’s about balance, awareness, and giving your body what it truly needs to function at its best.
Small, consistent changes can completely shift how your body responds and how you feel every day on your Journey to Wellness.
