WEIGHT GAIN AND INSULIN

Can’t lose fat, this might be why …

The process of gaining weight isn’t as simple as one might think. The model of “calories in/calories out” that many of us are familiar with is flawed and doesn’t take into account the complex hormonal and biochemical pathways involved in energy balance, weight gain, and weight loss in the body.

While a standard guidebook for nutrition would be nice, the truth is that each individual must determine the personalized diet that supports their body’s highest level of functioning.

For decades we believed the Caloric Reduction as Primary (CRaP) hypothesis of weight gain that turned out to be as useful as a half-built bridge. Study after study showed that reducing calories did NOT lead to weight loss. Patient after patient tried to lose weight by restricting calories with consistent failure. But practitioners couldn’t abandon the calorie model so what was left to do? Blame the patient, of course!

Since patients were not losing weight, there were only 2 possibilities. Either the advice to eat low fat, calorie- restricted diet, exercise more was wrong or the patient was not following this advice.

But, of course, the problem was the CRaP hypothesis. It was just wrong. Increased calories did not cause weight gain. So, what was the real cause of weight gain? INSULIN.

Insulin is our body’s main anabolic hormone, meaning it promotes “building” in the body (e.g. the storage of fat), rather than breaking things down. Insulin tells our cells to take up glucose from the blood for use, or, if there’s excess, for storage. Because weight loss generally requires us to burn through fat stores, we need to control our insulin so that we signal to the body that it should burn fat, rather than store more of it. Calories didn’t cause weight loss. Exercise didn’t work either.

When there is more glucose in the bloodstream than what the body needs to meet energy demands, increased insulin levels signal to the liver and muscles to store glucose in chains of glycogen. Once the liver and muscles are filled to the brim with glycogen, the excess glucose is turned into fat (triglycerides) and sent out in the blood to be stored in the fat cells around the body. You can think of the liver and muscle as short term, limited storage space for energy in the form of glycogen, and fat cells as long term, essentially unlimited storage space for energy in the form of triglycerides.

When we’re not eating– if we’re between meals, sleeping, or fasting–the lack of dietary glucose causes insulin levels to fall. This signals to our body that we should burn stored energy, starting with glycogen. Once the stores of glycogen run out, we start burning fat. The goal of weight loss is to burn excess stored fat by mobilizing it and bringing it to parts of the body that can use it for fuel. It’s important to note that the anabolic (storage) signal of insulin prevents the body from tapping into fat for energy as long as insulin levels are high. This part of the story is simple: we need to lower our insulin levels to burn stored fat

You might think… Ok !… This is all great but what is my first step ? There are few strategies to lower insulin. Fasting ( personalized), controlling carbohydrates, focusing on protein, reducing snacking, filling with fat, exercise but as discussed earlier KNOWING your blood glucose ( fasting glucose, minimizing spikes, maintaining healthy range) is a key. If weight is an issue and diets don’t seem to work, finding out how individual body reacts to specific foods could be an answer. Specifically different carbohydrates. Sleep/lack of sleep, food combination, lifestyle affect individual blood glucose as well.

Personalized data-driven approach is the key. With the help of health coach , your practitioner ( if they can do insulin test), blood glucose monitors, CGM ( there are few companies who offer this service) you can learn so much about your body and how your lifestyle affects your overall health and body composition.

Insulin is important when it works! We will discuss in upcoming articles, what happens when it does not work properly.