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How To Manage Weight Gain Caused By Insulin?

By Dhwani Jerajani +2 more

Insulin in layman terms is the key that unlocks the cell for sugar to get in, which in turn allows your body to use the food that you eat. Sometimes, the key has difficulty getting into the lock or either get stuck. Hence the term ‘resistant’ is used to describe the condition when your body is unable to breakdown food properly. If your body develops a resistance to insulin, you will be unable to make use of the food you take in, which can raise your cravings for ever-increasing amounts of carbohydrates and induce a feeling of fatigue.

Weight Gain and Insulin

Insulin related weight gain

If your insulin is not working properly, it sets up a flow of effects that don’t work in your favour. This increases cholesterol or triglycerides which can lead to a fatty liver and the ability to store fat more easily. The typical insulin-resistant body has thin legs and arms and stores much of the fat in the abdominal region, which is usually referred to as ‘belly fat’. This type of body is also notorious as apple-shaped. If you have a different body shape, you may still be insulin resistant, but to a smaller degree compared to the apple-shaped types.

In addition, once you start taking insulin injections (if you suffer from type 2 diabetes) and start getting your blood  glucose manageable, you now have sufficient insulin circulating in your blood to aid the glucose get into the body’s cells where it can be made use of as energy. So the glucose created by the food you eat is no longer accumulating in your bloodstream and being excreted out as urine. This also results in you gaining weight.

Some people quickly connect taking insulin with weight gain. They will sometimes cut back on their insulin injections and let their blood glucose run high once they find out they can lose a few kilograms in a few days time by doing so. Regrettably, when they go back to using the right amount of insulin to maintain proper control, they are disappointed to discover that they gain the weight back – and perhaps even more – in an equally speedy fashion.

Influencing insulin intake to drop weight is an unhealthy pattern to get into. Letting your blood glucose run high can lead to long-term complications – and erratic weight problems when you try to get your blood glucose back to a standard range.

Managing Insulin Related Weight Gain

A proper diet, achieved by eating regular, nutritionally-rich meals is very effective at calming down the system. Include healthy sources of protein and balance them with natural carbohydrates, such as vegetables and fresh fruits. Carbohydrates coming from vegetables and fruits seem to have less of a consequence on insulin resistance than starches, even if they are whole grains.

Research shows that regular exercise can make your insulin work up to 50% better. Exercise quite literally opens up the floodgates of the cells and allows the sugar or glucose to get in.

  If you are lacking sleep, ghrelin, the hormone that increases your appetite, increases. Higher levels of ghrelin in combination with insulin resistance are a perfect combination of fatigue and weight gain.

Also, consult your doctor to arrive at a plan specifically made to control your diabetes and insulin-related weight gain.     

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

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