With elevated levels of this hormone, you will have difficulty losing weight, no matter how much you exercise and how much you diet!
In order to understand this, it is essential to understand how fat is created and builds up in the body. Once we understand this concept then we can tackle weight loss.
Our bodies have strong amazing messengers called hormones! These hormones are produced by glands, such as the pancreas, adrenal glands, thyroid glands, ovaries and testes. Hormones have very strong effects in our bodies, for example, if a man has too much estrogen he may develop breasts.
A hormone that doesn’t let you lose weight is called: INSULIN
Many people associate Insulin with diabetes. This however, is not accurate, as insulin plays a role in every one of us, every single day to help balance blood sugar levels.
Let me show you how this works…
Metabolism is how energy is produced within our body and our cells. Our bodies are made up of approx 37 trillion cells that create energy for us.
Our cells have these amazing power houses within them called mitochondria. And these mitochondria can transform what we eat fats, proteins, carbohydrates and water into energy in the form of ATP.
Therefore, if our cells are producing adequate amounts of ATP, you will feel energized, awake and vibrant. If your cells are not producing ATP efficiently you may experience, low energy levels, fatigue, and even brain fog.
The standard American diet is high in refined carbohydrates and sugars, which are consumed multiple times throughout the day. Think of the donuts, bagels for breakfast, sandwiches or pizza for lunch, the KitKat bar as a snack, soda, or sweet carbonated drinks for “hydration” and pasta for dinner.
These are all forms of carbohydrates which once ingested are glucose that is circulating in the bloodstream.
With each one of these meals the levels of glucose in the bloodstream increases. The body in turn reacts and tells your pancreas to produce Insulin.
The job of insulin is to take the free floating glucose into the cell so that it can be used for the production of energy.
The way that insulin presents glucose to the cells is by knocking on the insulin receptors (proteins found on the cell membrane) and then the cell “opens up” and takes in the glucose. The cells can then use the glucose and produce the energy needed.
When cells are presented with more glucose than is needed they begin to store this glucose as FAT. So the more glucose you take in, the more insulin will be telling the cells to take glucose in and the more FAT you will be storing.
*High levels of glucose in the blood-stream can be very damaging to your kidneys, eyes, nerves, can make healing difficult, and make you more prone to infections.
Which is why increased fat storage, weight gain and obesity can be seen as a protective mechanism by the body, which is trying to prevent high levels of circulating glucose harming organ systems. This is an attempt to delay the development of diabetes by your own body!
Okay, so what happens when you are consuming more carbohydrates and refined foods than you actually need?
Here’s an example:
Every time you eat a donut it spikes your blood sugar levels and so your pancreas releases insulin. Your cells “open up”, take the glucose in and store the excess as fat. Later that day, you have a slice of pizza or a sandwich and again your blood sugar levels spike, causing a spike in insulin. This continues to happen multiple times a day, and this goes on for months and maybe years, and so you continue to store fat.
However, something is also happening to the cells who are constantly being “told” by insulin to “open up” and take in the glucose…
What happens to the cells is that with time and constant exposure to insulin, they develop what is called INSULIN resistance.
This is similar to a telemarketer that at first calls you once or twice a day and you answer, and then he/she is suddenly calling you 10-15 times a day, and so you end up ignoring most of the calls , and perhaps answer one if any. This is how cells react when they have become insulin resistant.
The cycle that is then created is very tricky because the cells that are insulin resistant are no longer opening their “door” when insulin is knocking for them to take glucose in.
Which means that these cells are producing less energy. This decrease in energy triggers the individual to eat more carbohydrates.
Because the cells have become insulin resistant and are not responding to the amount of insulin secreted, the pancreas produces even more insulin!, in an attempt to decrease the large amounts of glucose circulating in the bloodstream.
This is all very important, because if insulin is a storage signaling hormone and its levels are high in your bloodstream, then your body will not be burning fat and you will not be losing weight.
Therefore addressing Insulin and insulin resistance may be what you are missing and why you are having a hard time losing that weight, even though you are dieting and exercising.
I hope this information was useful to you!
-If you find you are struggling to lose weight regardless of the diet and exercise regimen you are doing, consider seeing a doctor that is trained to address Insulin resistance.

– Dr. Anayibe Ramos
“ Where healing meets happiness”