I’m going to write a longer post on this because it’s I feel like it’s such an important concept. The idea that when we become insulin resistant our bodies can no longer see or access our fat reserves. It’s as if it’s not even there and it certainly isn’t a source of fuel as it should be. This is an endocrine disorder. There are some really good researchers who know a lot about this. One is Dr. Jason Fung. He discusses how cutting calories does not work to make you lose weight. We are so obsessed with calories that we forget about the other side of the picture – the hormonal effect from food. It’s your physiology that’s key, not the physics of thermodynamics. Industry however, loves the thermodynamic view of food, because if a calorie is a calorie, then low-calorie processed foods are easy to market and sell. It’s crazy when you think about it, because over the course of human history, nobody counted calories and we didn’t have the obesity issues we have today. Unfortunately today we fight our bodies. Insulin is the hormone that makes you gain fat. but if your fat cells expand to a certain size, it generates leptin which then turns down your appetite. This is the negative feedback loop that occurs in a healthy person. If however, you begin stimulating insulin at a higher rate and all the time from a high sugar and carb intake, then you become leptin resistant and your natural satiety signal stops. Your feedback loop becomes broken. You are always hungry and you keep gaining weight. What can you do about this? It’s insulin that must be addressed. It’s a hormonal issue. This is why decreasing both the level of the insulin response, as well as the frequency of the insulin response is vital. It takes time for this to happen because insulin must get to low levels for a significant amount of time in order to solve the problem. This is were you can see how often you eat having an massive impact combined with your body’s response to sugar and carbohydrates. Insulin must fall in order for your body to see the fat (aka fuel) that is already on it. My Mum told me I’d ruin my dinner with all that snacking. She was right! Dr. Jason Fung has a great talk if you want to learn more.
Why can’t my body see its fat fuel? Insulin and Leptin Resistance perhaps?
