Insulin Resistance

A good explanation:

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “insulin resistance” many times by now. It’s been used in many commercials to sell diet books, videos, specialty (expensive) diet foods, and a whole lot of other garbage. But insulin resistance is very real. Here’s how it can happen in your body …

Your cells need energy to carry on the many vital, complex functions they have. They get energy in the form of glucose, a simple sugar your body gets from the food you eat. But for this glucose to be used, it has to get inside your cells.

Insulin—a natural hormone produced in your pancreas—bonds to receptors on the outside of cells. There it acts like a key to let glucose enter. When the doorway no longer recognizes the insulin key, glucose stays in the blood rather than entering the cells.

The pancreas responds by releasing large amounts of insulin to lower the glucose levels. Your pancreas can compensate for this flood of glucose for a number of years by secreting more and more insulin. But after awhile, your cells become overwhelmed by all the insulin, and they start to respond to the insulin much more sluggishly.

The amount of glucose in your blood gets higher. The pancreas keeps receiving signals that glucose levels are high, so it ratchets up insulin production. The more insulin that’s released, the less effective it becomes, and the more resistant to insulin your body’s cells become.

This is insulin resistance!

Too much insulin = uncontrollable weight gain

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The key to controlling insulin resistance is to control blood sugar levels

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Eating for success

1. Eat less more often
Eat every three hours. Set your watch by it. Of course, if you do this, you’ll want to eat less at each meal. By eating this way, without even trying you’ll reduce your total food intake throughout the day. And spreading out your food intake keeps your insulin from having to respond to sudden huge surges of carbohydrates.

2. Start every day with a scrumptious “breakfast” of … almonds
Unless you’re allergic to almonds, start your day soon after you get up by eating 10 dry-roasted or raw, unsalted almonds. They wake up your liver and kidneys and get them ready for the later influx of food they have to deal with.

3. Stay away from simple and highly processed carbohydrates
We all love spaghetti and mashed potatoes. But make those your special occasion meals. If you’re going to eat carbs, make them complex carbs like you get in regular (not instant) oatmeal.

4. Eat more protein … within reason
Replace the processed carbs you’re reducing with good protein. Cheese, almonds, tuna (in water, not oil) and the like are great for those meals you’re now eating every three hours.

5. Always sit down for your meals
Make your meals special. Make them about social interaction rather than just eating. Use smaller plates. Take smaller bites. Put your fork down between bites. Talk to your spouse or a friend during the meal. The longer you take to eat, the less food you’ll consume. And you’ll walk away satisfied.

And if you don’t have the time to do this—like at the office—take a few extra minutes, lay a napkin on the desk, set out your lunch, and take your time eating, even if it means working during the meal.

6. Swear off the “hard stuff”… sodas, diet sodas, and packaged fruit juices!
This will be hard because we’re all programmed to want sodas. But sodas just jack up your blood sugar without giving you any nutrition.

And as I mentioned earlier, diet sodas are as bad if not worse than regular sodas. It will take awhile to kick the soda habit. But once you do, you’ll discover a broad new world of flavors available to you.

But what about fruit juice? Aren’t they good for you? Look at almost any can or box of juice you pick up. Up near the top is the infamous high fructose corn syrup. It is far better to skip fruit juices and eat the fresh fruit instead.

What will you drink? Water. Tea. Coffee in moderation. A little red wine. Sparkling water.

7. Fast foods are the fast lane to Metabolic Syndrome
Make your own convenience food instead of stopping at the local burger joint. String cheese is tasty, filling, and comes in reduced fat variety if you want.

If you must choose one of the big name fast food restaurants, opt for one of their “healthier” options. And when they ask, “supersize that?” remember they’re not really supersizing the food or drink. They’re supersizing you.

Forget strenuous exercises. You just need to move!
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t exercise strenuously if that’s your thing. Keep it up! But it’s not for everyone and just because someone works out two hours everyday doesn’t mean they’re healthier than you.

The key, though, is to move. Regular movement gets your heart pumping faster. It uses glucose pumping through your blood vessels, ultimately reducing your blood sugar and your insulin resistance.

The easiest way to start moving is to walk. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week. Start with an easy walk on flat ground if you haven’t pushed yourself in awhile. Go with a friend or partner. Talk about things of mutual interest and the 20 minutes is over before you know it. Soon, you’re stretching it into 30 minutes … or more.

If walking doesn’t thrill you, find another activity that does. Dance. Swim. Yoga. Ping pong.

Where are you going to find the time to do this? Let’s say you’re going to walk 20 minutes. It takes you 10 minutes to get to and from the park (or wherever) and another 10 minutes for warm up and cool down. That’s 40 minutes.

Is there a 60-minute TV show you can give up to make room for personal movement time? I’m sure you can find one every evening. Eliminate or record that program and shift your schedule to accommodate your personal movement program.

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