You may have heard that hormones strongly influence your weight loss progress. But do you know that insulin is a hormone too? It does have a strong influence on your body’s ability to burn fat and lose weight. It is because of the reason that hormones have such a strong influence on your body that SARMs are so immensely effective. SARMs act similarly to particular hormones in your body (such as testosterone) which will help gain muscle and burn fat. However, insulin is another hormone that will strongly influence weight loss progress.
Generally, unless you’ve researched how exactly insulin works when you’re dieting and how exactly it influences the fat burning process, it all can be a bit confusing. Today, we’re here to shed light on this topic and help better understand the connection between insulin and weight loss. A better understanding of this connection is likely to provide better results in the gym, particularly when it comes to fat burning. On the other hand, misunderstanding this connection may slow down your progress.
What is Insulin? What Does It Do?
Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas and is a vital hormone for numerous different functions within the human body. Although it has different functions, the most relevant for us, and for our topic, is the relationship between insulin and glucose.
Glucose is the product that is created when carbohydrates are broken down and absorbed into your blood. You most likely heard about blood sugar levels. Well, blood glucose levels are the same thing. These levels spike when you eat carbohydrates. The more you eat, the more they spike. Especially sugar (sugar is a carbohydrate).
So, you eat sugar and starch (carbohydrates, in short), and your blood glucose increases. The more carbs you eat, the more the level tends to spike. Nonetheless, your body needs to work to regulate those levels. In case your blood glucose/sugar levels stay too high for too long (such as your body cannot reduce the level enough for whatever reason), the body can suffer damage to your organs, nerves, and blood vessels.
- That’s why, for your body to stop blood glucose (sugar) from getting too high, your pancreas starts to produce insulin. Insulin is what helps reduce blood sugar (glucose) levels. That’s because this hormone works like a taxi for blood glucose. It basically takes it out of your bloodstream, storing it in muscle and fat cells. This way, the body can later use it as an energy source.
That explains why insulin has such a strong connection with the amount and type of food you eat. I guess you already started realizing why it helps burn body fat.
How Does Insulin Affect Weight Loss?
Based on the information I earlier shared, it is pretty obvious that fat loss and insulin sensitivity are closely connected. Insulin, as you can see, is a good hormone that is vital for bodily functions. Nevertheless, suppose the insulin levels stay too high for too long (usually, as a result of eating too many carbs for too long, but other reasons can occur too). In that case, you can develop a condition called insulin resistance.
This is a problem because, with such a condition, the body will need to produce higher levels of insulin in order to get the job done. There are different theories as to why people experience such issues, but mostly it has to do with lifestyle choices such as fitness, diet, whether you smoke, drink, and others.
If you have a lot of insulin circulating in your body, it would be detrimental. That’s because insulin will stop an important process in the body – lipolysis. This is the process where your body takes fatty acids stored as body fat to use as energy. If this process is stopped, it would be much harder to burn fat. Not only that, but high insulin levels can also cause a process called lipogenesis. This is the process when fat is moved from your bloodstream into fat cells. In other words, the process that basically packs on fat.
So, as you can see, insulin is definitely a vital hormone that is very important for your body. It is not bad and you should not fear it. Not enough of this hormone will make you feel extremely bad, unable to grow muscle, poor energy, low strength, and numerous other negative effects. However, if it’s in abundance, it will lead to numerous other issues, such as the inability to burn fat!
How To Lower Insulin To Lose Weight
Eat fewer carbs
Carbohydrates are increasing the blood glucose levels way more than proteins or fats. Therefore, if you consume fewer carb-heavy foodstuffs, you will generate less blood glucose. As a result, your body (pancreas) will need to produce less insulin to process it all. That means that your fatty acids will not be drawn from your cells as a by-product. This is the reason why you can see professional bodybuilders reducing their carbs, but not fat or protein, from their diets when trying to cut calories and burn fat. A low carb diet helps you shed fat easily, mainly because your insulin levels do not spike so much.
Keep your portions small
Huge portions are a huge no as long as you want to keep your insulin levels low. Huge portions will skyrocket your insulin. Regularly eating enormous portions will increase your insulin resistance over time. If it happens, your body will need to produce more and more insulin in order to deal with the same amount of blood glucose. This will definitely hinder your weight loss goals. People with high insulin resistance struggle to burn fat and lose weight!
Try apple cider vinegar
Isn’t it a true miracle fluid? I mean… It has a lot of benefits proven by studies and one of them is that it can help lose weight. The second is that it helps prevent a spike in your blood sugar and insulin levels post-meal, which basically helps with the first benefit. There are numerous other benefits it has too. Generally, just two tbs of this liquid and you’ll reap its benefits. It also helps you stay full for longer. Studies say that it helps you stay fuller for longer because it will delay the emptying of your stomach. As a result, the carbohydrates and sugars you consume will be absorbed by your body more gradually.
Avoid added sugar
Do I even need to explain it? Avoid sugar to avoid high blood sugar levels. Without high blood sugar levels, your body will not need to create a lot of insulin. That’s not exactly rocket science. In fact, one of the best ways to lower your insulin for weight loss is to avoid consuming sugar. Especially the added sugar you can find in almost any food nowadays. You just can’t expect to lower insulin chowing down mountains of sugar. Studies suggest that sugary foods will offer way bigger spikes in blood glucose levels. And if your blood glucose goes over the roof, the insulin will start flooding.
Intermittent fasting
I’m quite sure that you’ve heard about intermittent fasting by now. There are a lot of studies proving it effective, with a lot of people achieving excellent weight loss results by only consuming their meals in a particular window of time each day. Intermittent fasting seems to help increase HGH levels (by the way, MK-677 also helps increase HGH levels) and decrease insulin levels, both of which are extremely helpful for your weight loss journey. According to studies, insulin levels drop by an average of 57% over a three week period of intermittent fasting.
Drink green tea
I tend to believe that green tea is a miracle drink and more dieticians seem to agree with me. This wonder drink is packed with antioxidants. At the same time, this wonder drink is very helpful in combating insulin resistance. This is the main reason why insulin levels shoot up and hinder your weight loss results. Therefore, I guess it is pretty obvious – if you want to lower your insulin and/or lose weight – guzzle green tea. Moreover, it is supposed to help increase your sensitivity to insulin, which means that your body will need to produce less insulin in order to do its job of lowering blood sugar levels. I assume it’s common sense that you need to drink sugarless green tea.
Be active and exercise a lot
If you’re here reading how to lower insulin levels, you’re most likely a person who is already having a great physique. This means that you are most likely already being very active and you’re already exercising a lot. However, you should ensure you keep on doing it. According to studies, people with sedentary lifestyles will have a significantly higher insulin spike after meal times than those who are constantly on the move. Aerobic exercise seems to be particularly helpful for this.
Eat salmon (and other fatty fish)
Salmon is not only extremely delicious, but it is a brilliant food. It has a huge nutritional value, being a perfect source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, essential to support your goals. These will be extremely helpful for a lot of internal processes, including keeping your insulin at a reasonable level. But there are numerous other fatty fish that you can have besides salmon. Mackerel, sardines, anchovies, and herring – go for whichever you love most. Fish oil supplements will help too, but enjoying a tasty meal is not only… tasty, but it will provide numerous other essential micro and macronutrients.
Eat your protein in moderation
According to studies, dairy protein may increase your insulin if you consume it in large amounts. Nonetheless, if your protein comes from lean meats such as poultry (chicken, turkey) or fish with healthy fats (salmon, mackerel) you will not spike your insulin that much, and will offer what your body needs to burn fat. Dairy and beef proteins are helpful too, and they are delicious, but have them in moderation as you may spike your insulin after mealtimes.
Insulin and Fat Loss Conclusion
I really hope that by now, you have a great idea of what insulin is and what it does to your body. I hope you understand that insulin is an extremely important hormone to support your goals and help you stay healthy. It most certainly does not make you fat. However, it can hinder your weight loss goals if it’s too high. To avoid too much insulin wiggling around your body, you need to avoid consuming the wrong type and amount of foods, while focusing on the ones that can actually help. Keep an eye on your diet and exercise levels, and you’re surely going to burn fat, avoiding high insulin resistance.
Lastly, you can get a lot of help when it comes to weight loss and fat burning at SARMS.to. We provide the best quality SARMs (and other compounds) on the market for the best prices. You don’t have to worry about quality while ensuring you save money as we provide the lowest prices of these products from popular manufacturers. These are compounds that help gain muscle and burn fat more efficiently!
