Did you know that if a person is insulin resistant, like in the cases of insulin-resistant PCOS where individuals struggle with their weight and develop hirsutism, that they can also have symptoms of:
- Tingling sensation in the hands and feet
- Feeling hungry even after a meal
- Frequent infections
- Increased or frequent urination.
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Weight gain
- And even experiencing extreme thirst?
If you don’t know what insulin resistance is, it’s when the pancreas keeps pumping out insulin in an effort to move glucose through the cells telling the body to store fat, which is why weight is generally an issue.
Maybe you’ve tried every diet under the sun and you’re super confused about what to eat to lean down. Well, that’s exactly why I decided to produce a video about:
The Diet for Insulin Resistance
Pssst…if you struggle with insulin resistant-PCOS I have a free guide that you can download here.
Morning – Intermittent Fasting
The first thing I’d advise if you have insulin resistance, drop the notion that you need to be eating five meals a day. In fact, I normally suggest that individuals intermittently fast. Meaning you don’t eat for 16hrs after the last meal from the evening before. (Water is fine and many people will also have buttered coffee during that fasting morning window.)
Lunch & Dinner
Then lunch and dinner can actually be quite simple, stick to fibre-rich vegetables like broccoli and fatty cuts of meat and fish and add in other healthy fats like avocado. It’s also not enough to just go gluten-free, because most often people will just substitute one starch for another. Usually I’d suggest a grain-free diet because it’s also easier on the gut.
Support your gut and liver
Individuals with insulin resistance have been shown to have gut dysbiosis, meaning there are more bad guys at the gut party than good.
Now if you’re someone who has tried these recommendations and you feel it hasn’t worked, then chances are you need to support your liver with bitter foods like watercress, apple cider vinegar and citrus fruits like lemon. And let’s not forget hydration. If you’re dehydrated, your stress hormones will shoot up and you’ll struggle at managing your blood sugar too.
Let’s not forget about lifestyle…
Now despite this video being all about diet, it’s important to mention that if you are staying up until all hours of the night, you will struggle with food.
And you’ll also struggle at managing your stress if sleep isn’t a priority. When I’m tired I want to eat everything in my fridge! The reason for this is that we’ll crave higher caloric and higher carb foods during this time, so if you’re not getting in your zzz’s then that’s the first place to start!