BODY POSITIVITY AND YOUR HEALTH
This is a sensitive subject, so please try and keep an open mind and stay with me as we dive in. There is a huge movement right now around body positivity, body acceptance, and an anti-diet culture. On one hand, I’m for it. I do not think anyone should be judged for how their body looks and I do not think we should hate and judge ourselves because our body does not look like what society tells us it should look like. And, I am so sick and tired of the eat less/move more and calorie counting failed experiment we've all been enduring. That has seriously just got to go!
Here’s where my concern comes in, in an attempt to be body positive and anti-diet, we need to be careful to not accept poor health as normal and inevitable. Excess body weight is a symptom of imbalance in the body. Period. It is not any different than any other symptom like gas, or bloating, or a food sensitivity. We don’t judge people for those. We don’t think we have somehow failed as a human because of any of those symptoms. And nor should we with weight gain. But, we should dig and address what the underlying cause is so we can fix it and enjoy good health. And just to be completely clear here, there is not some ideal weight, there is not some magic number on the scale or size of clothing that you should fit into. A healthy weight is going to be different for every single person. We could all eat the exact same diet and we would all look different. That is one of the things that makes us unique and special and should be celebrated.
So if weight gain is a symptom, what is the root cause? Very likely it is a hormone imbalance and the most common hormone that has become imbalanced with weight gain is insulin. Insulin is the hormone that signals the body to store body fat. When we eat in a way that keeps our insulin level high, weight gain becomes almost inevitable.
It is estimated that as many as 70% of people with excess weight are insulin resistant which is a condition where the cells of the body have become resistant to insulin. (You can learn more HERE.) The body has to get glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells, and the key to opening the cells is insulin. So when the cells become resistant to insulin, the body’s solution is to produce more and more to try and force those cells open. This is a vicious cycle as the cells become more and more resistant. And as you’ve just learned, another job of insulin is as the fat-storage hormone. So the body pumping out all that extra insulin to try and get the glucose into the cells creates an environment where weight gain becomes very easy and weight loss becomes next to impossible.
In the early 1900’s it was understood that we gained weight because of a hormone imbalance. However, in the mid-1900s that thinking began to shift. The dogma that weight gain was a calorie issue took hold. We started to be told, and eventually believe, that we needed to eat less and move more in order to stay in a calorie deficit if we wanted to avoid gaining weight. The problem with that theory is that it’s overly simplified and that is not how our body works. Our body uses the fuel we give it for way more than just exercise, so thinking that all calories are equal and that the only way to use excess calories is to exercise is blatantly wrong. If you’d like to learn more about why calories in calories out doesn’t work, check out the video I did HERE on that subject.
Sadly, long-held dogma, like calories in/calories out, is hard to overcome. There is so much wrapped up in this belief it’s going to take a very long time for the faulty theory to go away entirely. But, that doesn’t mean we have to wait. We can take control of our health and not worry about the rest of the world catching up.
Ultimately, our hormones are what will dictate how our body uses the food we give it. They will tell our body to use it for things such as energy, building muscle, controlling our heart rate, making bigger bones, growing our nails and hair, regulating our temperature, or storing fat, just to name a few. Our body produces thousands of hormones and more and more are being discovered every day. The majority of those hormones have nothing to do with our food, but there are many that do, and by far the one that has the biggest influence is insulin.
I hope you’re starting to understand why weight gain is not something to be ashamed of, and it’s also not something that must be accepted as inevitable. It is a symptom and that symptom is very likely too much insulin. And that is good news!
The reason that is good news is that you can control how much insulin your body is producing by focusing on what you eat and how often you eat. I’m not saying it’s easy, making dietary changes rarely is. But what I will tell you is, it’s possible, and doing it right is a heck of a lot easier than cutting calories and getting on the treadmill!
Here are some very practical steps you can take to start lowering the level of insulin in your body.
The foods that cause the body to release the most insulin are carbohydrates, particularly the starchy, sugary, and processed ones. So work on getting those out of the diet. I recently heard Dr. Ben Bickman say “avoid boxes, bags, and barcodes”. I love it and I’m borrowing it because it’s so perfect!
Focus on eating healthy proteins and fats with every single meal. You will get a lot of bang for your buck by eating fatty cuts of animal proteins as you’re getting both protein and fat. Protein does not raise blood sugar but will raise insulin if you’re eating too many carbs. But combining it with fat, which has almost zero impact on insulin, keeps it’s in check. A great diet that focuses on fat and protein is the keto diet. It really is the ultimate diet for managing insulin!
If you are eating a meal with starchier foods, eat those last. Starting your meal with the protein and fat on your plate will slow down the absorption of the carbs which will mean less of a blood sugar hit, also meaning less of a spike of insulin.
Cut down on snacking. Every time you eat, you spike your blood sugar which raises your insulin. So eating less often means less insulin.
Building on that last one, implement a practice of intermittent fasting. This one is HUGE in terms of lowering insulin levels. It doesn’t have to be drastic, and you can start gentle and build up. Start with just 12 hours and utilize the time you’re asleep. Finish up your dinner at 7 pm and don’t eat again until 7 am the next morning. When that is easy, try going 14 hours, and then 16.
I have just been talking about food in this article but I do want to mention stress here as well as it can have a big impact on insulin levels. When we are stressed, our adrenals release cortisol, our stress hormone. Cortisol raises blood sugar, and as you now know, blood sugar causes a release of insulin. So do what you can to manage your stress!
I hope this has given you encouragement and a sense of empowerment. We all deserve to be healthy and feel good in our bodies. We do not need to accept or believe that weight gain is our fault, that we are weak and unmotivated, and we just need to try harder. We have been given bad information from all of our trusted sources. Together let’s take back control of our health, stop giving money to those that have made us sick, and live the lives we deserve and desire!