I've been traveling quite a bit the past few months and have gotten the chance to meet many people from all across the globe.
One common weight loss and health concern is the area around the waist often referred to as the "spare tire" or "love handles.
" Admittedly, the area above the hips and lower back can be one of the toughest areas of body fat to overcome, partially because of genetic predisposition, sometimes because of a lack of willpower, but mostly because of nutrition misinformation and bad lifestyle practices.
You see, the fat deposits around your waist and hips are a direct reflection of your body's sensitivity to insulin.
Issues with this powerful hormone can eventually lead to obesity and diabetes if left by the wayside, so it's a wise idea to gain control now, before it's too late! While I certainly don't want to bore you with too much science, a general understanding of how insulin works in your body is essential to making the right lifestyle choices when deciding what to eat.
Insulin is a hormone that is made and secreted by the pancreas.
It's primary function in the body is to deliver sugar from the blood to the body's cells.
It is the ONLY hormone that you have complete control over based on the food decisions that you make.
To give you an analogy, pretend your home is a cell in your body, a unit of blood sugar is a box or package, and insulin is the FedEx delivery truck.
When someone is insulin sensitive (a good thing), his or her body is very efficient and only needs to produce a small amount of insulin in order to effectively drive sugars into the cells for use.
Using the FedEx analogy, one driver can deliver multiple boxes to multiple households in a neighborhood.
In an insulin sensitive person that exercises with weights, about 80% of the sugars are driven into muscle and liver tissue for storage, about 15% is delivered to the brain for cognitive function, and around 5% is delivered to body fat for storage.
Now let's look at someone who is insulin resistant.
In this example, 25 FedEx trucks are required to deliver 1 package to 1 house.
In other words, if you are insulin resistant, your body has to produce a highly unnecessary amount of insulin to do its job.
Even then, the blood sugar isn't being used effectively.
For the person who has trouble with insulin management, roughly 80% of the blood sugar is delivered straight to the fat cells for storage, 15% is delivered to the brain, and only 5% delivered to the muscles and liver to be used for fuel.
The massive amounts of insulin are then left to run rampant in your body, wreaking havoc at every corner.
Insulin is the hormone of aging and if you aren't sensitive to it, your body's cells are likely aging at a much faster rate than your chronological age dictates.
Your metabolism and ability to process certain foods will diminish and create a vicious fat-storing cycle that is tough to overcome and could eventually lead to diabetes.
You may eat exactly what your best friend eats and he or she gets leaner while you continue to get fatter.
Sound familiar? If so, you need to learn the keys to insulin management, which will be presented in this multiple part series.
Stay tuned for the next part of this article.
One common weight loss and health concern is the area around the waist often referred to as the "spare tire" or "love handles.
" Admittedly, the area above the hips and lower back can be one of the toughest areas of body fat to overcome, partially because of genetic predisposition, sometimes because of a lack of willpower, but mostly because of nutrition misinformation and bad lifestyle practices.
You see, the fat deposits around your waist and hips are a direct reflection of your body's sensitivity to insulin.
Issues with this powerful hormone can eventually lead to obesity and diabetes if left by the wayside, so it's a wise idea to gain control now, before it's too late! While I certainly don't want to bore you with too much science, a general understanding of how insulin works in your body is essential to making the right lifestyle choices when deciding what to eat.
Insulin is a hormone that is made and secreted by the pancreas.
It's primary function in the body is to deliver sugar from the blood to the body's cells.
It is the ONLY hormone that you have complete control over based on the food decisions that you make.
To give you an analogy, pretend your home is a cell in your body, a unit of blood sugar is a box or package, and insulin is the FedEx delivery truck.
When someone is insulin sensitive (a good thing), his or her body is very efficient and only needs to produce a small amount of insulin in order to effectively drive sugars into the cells for use.
Using the FedEx analogy, one driver can deliver multiple boxes to multiple households in a neighborhood.
In an insulin sensitive person that exercises with weights, about 80% of the sugars are driven into muscle and liver tissue for storage, about 15% is delivered to the brain for cognitive function, and around 5% is delivered to body fat for storage.
Now let's look at someone who is insulin resistant.
In this example, 25 FedEx trucks are required to deliver 1 package to 1 house.
In other words, if you are insulin resistant, your body has to produce a highly unnecessary amount of insulin to do its job.
Even then, the blood sugar isn't being used effectively.
For the person who has trouble with insulin management, roughly 80% of the blood sugar is delivered straight to the fat cells for storage, 15% is delivered to the brain, and only 5% delivered to the muscles and liver to be used for fuel.
The massive amounts of insulin are then left to run rampant in your body, wreaking havoc at every corner.
Insulin is the hormone of aging and if you aren't sensitive to it, your body's cells are likely aging at a much faster rate than your chronological age dictates.
Your metabolism and ability to process certain foods will diminish and create a vicious fat-storing cycle that is tough to overcome and could eventually lead to diabetes.
You may eat exactly what your best friend eats and he or she gets leaner while you continue to get fatter.
Sound familiar? If so, you need to learn the keys to insulin management, which will be presented in this multiple part series.
Stay tuned for the next part of this article.
Source...