Thank you to Jared Lopez and my friends at Palm Beach County Boot Camp for all the encouragement on my health journey... Dedicating my post tonight to you guys!
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We all know that there's an obesity epidemic in our country. We are reminded of it on the news, at the doctor's office, and especially on those teeny tiny seats on airplanes! The fact remains 34% of Americans are obese and two-thirds are overweight.
People have proposed a lot of reasons why this is so, the main one being "Americans are gluttonous and lazy." Here's my response to that: When and why, exactly, did our culture become exponentially more lazy and gluttonous? Personally, I don't see it. The people that I know who are overweight are hardworking and intelligent people. They don't want to diet because everything they've tried either doesn't work or makes them feel awful. Many of them still try different diets and exercise regularly. Furthermore, many people who work physically demanding jobs (landscaper, farm worker, busboy, etc.) also suffer from obesity and the associated health issues.
This made me curious. For one thing, I was working out and eating what I thought was a healthy diet and I was not losing weight. In fact, there were times when I was gaining weight even when I didn't change a darn thing. Talk about frustrating! I realized how brave it was for someone 50+ lbs overweight to try and lose it. If I was exhausting myself with calorie restriction and exercise and hardly seeing results, imagine how discouraging it would be to someone with even more weight to lose. This is what inspired me to share my story, and, if it only helps one other person, I'll be overjoyed.
Here's what I have found in my research:
The real reason individuals struggle to lose weight has to do with insulin. Understanding insulin is essential to understanding weight loss.
Seventy percent (70%!) of people who are overweight are insulin resistant. Insulin resistance is when your body (pancreas, specifically) produces insulin in such high amounts that your body becomes resistance to its effects. Remember the post on insulin vs. leptin? Let's refresh: Insulin is a hormone that communicates with your body when you ingest carbohydrates. It tells your brain to stop burning energy and to start storing energy. Furthermore, it tells your liver, muscle, and fat cells to absorb the broken-down form of carbohydrates (glucose). Insulin's job is to clear the bloodstream of any of these simple sugars, replenish glycogen where you need it (muscles), and store the rest for a rainy day (i.e. a day with no food). When your body becomes insulin resistant, your body requires more insulin to do the same job as before. Clearing the bloodstream of sugar is your body's priority and it is flushing your body with insulin to achieve this goal.
This makes it difficult to lose weight because those high insulin levels are interfering with other hormones doing their work, such as leptin (the hormone that tells your brain that you are full). So, when you are insulin resistant, your body is storing, storing, storing the food you are putting in your body as fat. Meanwhile, you are still hungry even though you have plenty of energy stored away because your body is not able to start the metabolic process of burning fat.
For many people, insulin resistance leads to type II diabetes. This is when your insulin levels remain high, but your blood glucose levels also remain high. I.e., no matter how much insulin your body produces, it is not able to clear your bloodstream of all the sugar molecules. Insulin resistance is not only bad because it makes you gain weight, it also can lead to heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer's, and many other serious illnesses.
A strong case of insulin resistance also causes metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a biomarker doctors use to assess your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, etc. You have metabolic syndrome if you are overweight (particularly around the waist), have high blood pressure, and elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. (Note, high triglyceride levels are strongly correlated with diets high in carbohydrates. More on this later.)
Was I insulin resistant? I think I was to a lesser extent. Although I was not overweight (yet): I have a family history of diabetes; I was constantly hungry; and I had very low energy levels. This was compounded by the fact that I had a vitamin deficiency, which I found out about after my doctor ran a blood test. Specifically, I had a vitamin deficiency from following a low-fat diet. We all think we get all of our vitamins and micronutrients from fruits and veggies, but let me tell you what, I ate a LOT of veggies and fruits -- none of which contain vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products: beef, chicken, fish, seafood (clams), eggs, milk, cheese, and other all-natural, high-fat dairy products. B12 is also 100% essential to the body. It helps make DNA and keep cells healthy. It is also essential to the proper functioning of the central nervous system. A few other symptoms I had related to B12 deficiency included poor memory, pale skin/easily bruising, difficulty sleeping, moodiness, irritability, and mild depression. I also frequently got lightheaded when I was exercising.
B12 deficiency is not as common as insulin resistance. However, I want to make the point that if you are having trouble losing weight, it is most likely insulin-related, BUT it could also be a myriad of other reasons. Take the time to figure it out and you'll be really happy you did. You not only will look and feel much better, but your long-term health will be much improved. Talk to your doctor and have them run a few extra tests at your annual check-up. Do some independent research on the foods you eat. Critically assess all of your other potential symptoms. For me, I had been living with the forgetfulness and moodiness for so long that I just thought it was part of who I was, I didn't think it was related to my diet at all. Then I realized: MOST THINGS ARE RELATED TO YOUR DIET. Seriously. It's that important. Invest a little more time in taking care of yourself because YOU ARE WORTH IT.
