Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss Help
Lose Excess Fat - How the Hormone Insulin Affects Weight Control
Oct 16, 2009
Numerous hormones play a role in making some people store more fat than others and insulin is a hormone well worth worrying about when it comes to weight control.
What Does Insulin Do?
Simply put, according to the Medical Nutritional Institute, each cell in the body needs a continuous supply of glucose to satisfy its energy requirements. Glucose, however, cannot penetrate the outer membrane of a cell without the assistance of insulin, which plays the role of gatekeeper, opening a "door" so that glucose can gain access.
Insulin stimulates the body to convert glucose into fat and then helps to block the fat from the cells from being released. Put another way, it converts all a person's excess energy into fat and squirrels it away into fat cells. Once safely tucked away, insulin guards the fat by blocking its release from the fat cells.
Insulin Resistance Explained
For various biochemical reasons, the body may become less sensitive to its own insulin and compensates by producing more. Higher insulin levels not only cause the body to produce even more fat, it also makes it more difficult to lose or control weight by blocking the release of fat from the fat cells. This explains why so many people battle to lose weight.
How to Identify Insulin Resistance
Typically, if an overweight man has a waist size of more than 102cm (40 inches) and a woman has a waist size of more than 88cm (35 inches), he or she has a 90% chance of having insulin resistance.
Insulin Resistance - What can be Done?
The following options are ways of combating insulin resistance and may provide a way to lose excess fat:
Dietary Modification: Low sugar, low carbohydrate diets work by keeping blood sugar levels even, and this affects the subsequent release of insulin. Low carb diets usually eliminate processed food, sugar, cakes, cookies, white bread etc. and encourage servings of protein with vegetables or salads.
Insulin resistance diet plans are usually designed to reduce energy intake as well as assist with the lowering of insulin levels.
Medication: A doctor may suggest products that help, in different ways, to lower blood glucose levels.
Weight Control Exercise: Exercise increases insulin sensitivity, which makes the body's insulin more effective. This means that a person needs less to get the same job done. By needing less, the body produces less, causing insulin levels to drop. Exercise, especially weight training also stimulates the release of growth hormone, one of the most powerful fat burning substances in the body. Try to get at least 30 minutes of strenuous exercise each day including resistance/weight training.
If a person is concerned about his or her weight and suspects insulin resistance may be part of the problem, they should see a medical professional for a full evaluation and diet plan. Never start a diet or start a strenuous exercise program without consulting a doctor first.
Related Articles that May Interest the Reader:
Why Diets Make you Fat: An article on Regulating weight, enhancing health and increasing energy levels.
The Dangers of Sugar: An article highlighting certain aspects of refined sugar and alternatives that are healthier.
How to Balance Hormones Naturally: Controlling debilitating menopausal symptoms through supplements and exercise.
Source:
Article "A matter of fat", Medical Nutritional Institute, Dischem Magazine pages 46 - 48
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