Do you have trouble losing weight? Frequent sweet cravings that don’t go away even after you eat a sweet? Constant hunger?
Early insulin resistance may be the culprit!
Mary, is one of my wonderful clients who is now 45 years old. She came to me a few years ago asking for help with weight loss. She’s always been a very driven individual, often sacrificing a normal schedule to run her own, now successful business. This led to years of irregular meal times and going hours without a proper meal, eating on the go, under stressful conditions. Over the years, she slowly saw her weight increase. It’s not like she didn’t exercise, she did.
It was time for a change but after months of exercising, even with a personal trainer, she didn’t see much change.
The solution for Mary, and many others?
Have your fasting insulin (and fasting glucose) levels tested. Fasting insulin is an early indicator of just how hard your body is working to control your blood sugar levels and therefore, is often elevated long before fasting glucose shows changes.
After confirming an elevated fasting insulin through lab work, my clients are then recommended a customized supplement plan, and guided through a series of lifestyle & dietary changes. The one thing I recommend to everyone – intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting is an extremely safe, flexible way to kickstart your metabolism. Firstly, it helps our cells to clean themselves. To function properly, your body must constantly work towards removing damaged cells or cells with faulty parts or machinery. While this is a naturally occurring process, high insulin and high glucose in the body shuts this naturally occurring process down.
Secondly, whenever you eat a meal, your body ultimately decides if it wants to burn fat or store fat. When your insulin levels are constantly high, it doesn’t matter what you do, your body is ALWAYS going to store it as fat, making weight loss impossible.
How do you get started with intermittent fasting? The easiest way is to cut out one meal from your day. This is called 18:6. This means that you eat for just 6 hours a day and fast for 18 hours. For many this means eating between 12pm and 6pm.
The secret to successful intermittent fasting? Three things:
- Adjust it so that it works for you
- Don’t overeat when you start eating for the day
- Slow down when you are eating
For many of my clients, intermittent fasting has been the key to their successful weight loss. Energy improves, they’re finally able to do the things that they love to do, they feel good about the way they look and are no longer at the mercy of their cravings and constant hunger. And of course, they have reduced the risk of obesity-related conditions, ensuring years of health to come.
If you would like guidance and support on incorporating this into your lifestyle, be sure to give our office a call!