Blood sugar levels impact weight management through the insulin response to carbohydrate consumption. Weight loss and Blood Sugar Levels go hand in hand.  When you eat, your body converts carbohydrates into glucose, prompting insulin release to facilitate glucose utilization or storage as fat. Elevated insulin levels, often caused by high-carb diets, can lead to increased fat storage and contribute to weight gain. Fluctuations in blood sugar also influence hunger and cravings, with low levels triggering overeating and high levels leading to subsequent hunger. Prolonged exposure to high insulin levels may result in insulin resistance, making it harder for the body to regulate blood sugar and manage weight effectively.

To support weight management, maintaining stable blood sugar levels through a balanced diet that includes complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and healthy fats is crucial.  Choosing foods with a low glycemic index helps prevent rapid blood sugar fluctuations. Prioritizing a diet that supports stable blood sugar not only curbs hunger and cravings but also promotes efficient energy use and storage. For personalized guidance on blood sugar levels and weight management, consulting with a healthcare professional, functional medicine doctor or a registered dietitian is recommended.  Learn more about functional medicine, weight loss and blood sugar levels now!

How Weight Loss and Blood Sugar Levels Are Linked

Insulin vs Glucagon

In essence, the impact of blood sugar control on weight loss is largely mediated by insulin. Maintaining stable blood sugar levels through a balanced diet and mindful food choices helps regulate insulin secretion. This, in turn, promotes more effective energy utilization, reduces the likelihood of excess fat storage, and supports the body’s ability to shed unwanted weight. Understanding and managing insulin levels is crucial for those aiming to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

The Relationship Between Insulin and Weight Gain – Insulin makes you fat!

Let’s recap. When you eat certain foods that cause a large increase in blood sugar, these foods include breads, pastas, cake, cookies, candy bars, soft drinks, etc., your pancreas (an organ in your abdomen) releases large amounts of a hormone called insulin. Insulin has several important functions, but we will focus on those that pertain to weight- gain. First, insulin helps the sugar in your blood (glucose) enter the cells of your body where it can be used as fuel. It also has another function (or side effect) and that is to increase body fat! The reason for this is simple, when all your cells have been “fed” the extra glucose needs to go someplace; that someplace is body fat. Insulin not only leads to the creation of more fat in the body, but it also prevents the body from burning fat. If you don’t burn fat and use it as fuel, you simply cannot lose weight. To understand how this happens, we need to mention one more hormone that is also produced by the pancreas, and that is glucagon.  Read on to learn how glucagon works.

Furthermore, the rapid and excessive release of insulin, often triggered by consuming high-glycemic foods, can lead to a subsequent drop in blood sugar levels. This drop can result in increased feelings of hunger and cravings for more high-carbohydrate foods, creating a cycle that contributes to overeating and weight gain. Thus, the choices we make in our diet not only impact immediate blood sugar levels but can set the stage for prolonged insulin spikes and their effects on body weight. Adopting a diet that promotes balanced blood sugar levels helps break this cycle and supports more sustainable and effective weight management.

The Relationship Between Insulin and Weight Gain – Glucagon makes you thin!

Insulin not only leads to the creation of more fat in the body, it also prevents the body from burning fat. If you don’t burn fat and use is as fuel, you simply cannot lose weight. In order to understand how this happens, we need to mention one more hormone that is also produced by the pancreas; glucagon. Insulin and glucagon essentially have opposite functions in the body. Insulin causes glucose to be stored as fat and glucagon breaks down this fat so the body can use it as fuel. You could also look at it this way; insulin wants to build up fat in the body and glucagon wants to tear it down and burn it. Both hormones are necessary but many people have too much insulin activity and not enough glucagon action and balance is determined by what you are eating.

Insulin and glucagon essentially have opposite functions in the body. Insulin can cause glucose to be stored as fat and glucagon is the hormone that causes fat to be broken down so the body can use it as fuel. You could also look at it this way; excess insulin wants to build up fat in the body and glucagon causes fat to be burned up and used. Both hormones are necessary, but many people have too much insulin activity and not enough glucagon action.  The balance between the two is determined by what you are eating.

A Deeper Dive

To delve deeper into this dynamic, imagine insulin as the builder that accumulates fat in the body, while glucagon acts as the demolisher, breaking down stored fat for energy. Both hormones are necessary for the body’s overall function, but an imbalance in their activities can have significant implications for weight management. Unfortunately, many individuals experience an excess of insulin activity, often influenced by dietary choices that lead to persistent insulin spikes. Achieving a balance between insulin and glucagon actions is crucial, and this equilibrium is heavily influenced by the composition of one’s diet. Opting for a diet that supports balanced insulin and glucagon activity is fundamental for effective weight loss by allowing the body to utilize stored fat as a source of energy.

Foods that hurt weight loss

The key to insulin and glucagon balance can be found in the foods you eat. In order to keep insulin levels lower, you need to eat foods that don’t cause sharp increases in blood sugar. Some of the worst offenders are the grain-based; foods like pasta, breads, crackers, cookies, rice cakes and cereals. Other foods that can cause blood sugar to go to high are dried fruits, melons, pineapple and bananas. Of course, sweets and desserts should not be consumed.

Finding A Food Balance

Achieving a balance between insulin and glucagon hinges on the types of foods you choose to include in your diet. To maintain lower insulin levels, it’s essential to opt for foods that do not trigger sharp increases in blood sugar. Among the notable culprits are grain-based foods such as pasta, breads, crackers, cookies, rice cakes, and cereals. These items tend to have a high glycemic index, meaning they cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels, prompting the pancreas to release more insulin.

Additionally, certain fruits can contribute to elevated blood sugar levels. Dried fruits, melons, pineapple, and bananas, though nutritious, can cause a more pronounced increase in blood sugar. The natural sugars in these fruits are released quickly into the bloodstream, leading to a surge in insulin production. It’s important to be mindful of the overall carbohydrate content of your diet, even when it comes to seemingly healthy fruit choices.

Caution With Sweets

Sweets and desserts, which are often laden with refined sugars and simple carbohydrates, should be approached with caution. Consumption of these items can result in rapid blood sugar spikes, prompting an insulin surge that not only promotes fat storage but also inhibits the body’s ability to burn existing fat. Striking a balance in your diet by choosing whole, unprocessed foods and incorporating a variety of nutrient-dense options can help regulate blood sugar levels, support a more favorable insulin to glucagon ratio, and ultimately contribute to effective weight management.

Foods that help with weight loss

If your goal is weight loss, promoting more glucagon activity while minimizing insulin activity becomes a pivotal strategy. Non-starchy vegetables emerge as star players in this approach. These vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and peppers, are not only rich in essential nutrients and fiber but also have a minimal impact on blood sugar levels. Their consumption encourages a more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream, helping to maintain a balance between insulin and glucagon.

Nuts and Seeds

Incorporating nuts and seeds into your diet is another effective way to foster glucagon activity. These nutrient-dense sources of healthy fats and protein provide sustained energy, promoting a feeling of fullness while minimizing the insulin response. Moreover, healthy meats, such as lean proteins and fatty fish, contribute to satiety and support the breakdown of stored fat by encouraging glucagon release.

Healthy Fats

Including healthy fats, like those found in avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish, can also contribute to a favorable hormonal balance for weight loss. These fats not only provide a steady source of energy but also help regulate insulin levels. In terms of fruit choices, options like apples, cherries, pears, plums, and grapefruit are preferable due to their lower sugar content and slower impact on blood sugar.

By focusing on a diet rich in non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy meats, and fats, along with moderate fruit consumption, you create an environment that supports glucagon activity. This, in turn, helps the body break down stored fat for energy, facilitating weight loss. It’s essential to approach weight loss not just as a matter of reducing calories but as a holistic strategy that considers the hormonal responses to different foods and encourages a sustainable and healthful approach to achieving your weight goals.

How To Lose Weight Naturally

While there are other factors that can lead to weight-gain such as thyroid problems, certain medications, inflammation, hormonal imbalances, and poor digestion health, proper blood sugar control is essential for weight loss. 

Millions of Americans do not have healthy blood sugar balance (unknown and undiagnosed to many) and are overweight.  If you suspect you have a problem with blood sugar or if you are struggling with weight management, I recommend you seek the advice of a qualified health professional to help address this problem.  Not only will blood sugar issues prevent you from losing weight, but they may also contribute to weight gain AND they may possibly be an early warning sign of more significant health issues that may be present now or in the future.  

At Naperville Integrated Wellness, we can help you determine if you have a blood sugar imbalance and/or insulin resistance problem.  We evaluate your symptoms and obtain a thorough health history during your first visit.  Additionally, we will obtain a thorough blood panel to evaluate potential health conditions, including diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), and more.  We will then propose a custom program based on the findings.

Schedule A Weight Loss and Blood Sugar Appointment Today

While there are other factors that can lead to weight-gain such as thyroid problems, certain medications, inflammation, hormonal imbalances and poor digestion health just to name a few; proper blood sugar control is essential for weight loss. Millions of Americans do not have healthy blood sugar balance (unknown to them) and are overweight. At Naperville Integrated Wellness, we can help you determine through consultation and proper blood tests if you have a blood sugar and insulin imbalance problem. For more information about our clinic and functional medicine, contact us today!

It is your body, your health and your life.

If you would like more information about functional medicine and how Dr. Borkowski may be able to support you in your health journey, call (630) 210-8391, or reach out to us at napervilleintegratedwellness.com.

The purpose of functional medicine is:

Understanding how the body works, knowing how and where to investigate health issues, knowing what to look for, understanding the significance of what is found and creating a plan of action to reverse and correct the root cause the health problems.

My wish for you…health, happiness, and a better quality of life! It is your body, your health, and your life.  Take charge now. 

Never assume that what you have been told is the truth. Do your own research, inform yourself and ask questions. Always consider the source when gathering information; there is no shortage of false, misleading, and completely biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources