5 Ways to Lower Insulin Levels (Naturally) for Weight Loss
Table of Contents
1. Well-formulated low carbohydrate diet
Carbohydrates are the primary nutrient that promotes the release of insulin in our bodies. The good news is that carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient for life. We are designed to survive without taking ANY carbohydrate in our diet. We can make all the glucose we need from protein and fat.
But it must be a well-formulated low carbohydrate diet. There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to approach low carbohydrate diets.
When done correctly, a low carbohydrate diet will lead to low insulin levels, which will allow you to use your own fat stores for energy. This in turn will lead to decreased hunger, meaning you naturally take in less food.
I am an advocate of low carbohydrate diets that are predominantly made from real (unprocessed) foods with an adequate amount of protein, supplemented with healthy fats.
2. Fasting
Fasting is the opposite of feeding. Insulin levels will naturally be low when you are fasting. Extending the time we spend in the fasting state (low insulin levels) leads to longer periods when our bodies are not exposed to raised insulin levels.
Now fasting can sound pretty scary but there is a lot we can do to make it much easier. I, like many, quite naturally fell into a pattern of fasting after a few weeks of being on a low carbohydrate diet simply because I didn’t feel hungry!
3. Exercise
Exercise allows our muscles to use glucose effectively without the need for insulin. It’s amazing. Resistance training and high-intensity exercise (or a combination of the two) are particularly good.
Of course, exercise is fantastic on so many levels but the above is far more important than exercising simply to burn more calories. Think about it… have you ever been hungry after exercise? Of course. You burn more energy, your hunger increases to compensate. Hunger is just your body’s way of trying to correct the imbalance that you have created.
4. Reduce Stress
A little bit of stress can be a good thing. It prepares our body for action by raising our blood glucose levels. In short bursts, and at the right time, this is normal!
But being stressed for long periods of time will cause persistently raised blood glucose levels, which will get stored as insulin is produced.
We’re not designed live in a constant state of stress, and if you are, then this could seriously undermine your weight loss efforts.
5. Sleep Well
There is a reason that people who work night shifts are significantly more likely to be obese and have type 2 diabetes.
Sleep deprivation causes elevated blood glucose levels (as you are putting your body under stress) and your body will produce more insulin in response to this.
You might be able to get away with sleep deprivation in the short term, but longer term it will catch up with you.
Conclusion
So hopefully now you’ll understand why you can forget about calorie counting and just start to manage your insulin levels if you want to lose weight. In this post, I’ve given you 5 different ways in which to achieve that.
If you want some additional help with all of this then I’d love you to sign up for my free 15-day carb dodging challenge, where we’ll get you started on a properly formulated low carbohydrate diet.
