Insulin isn’t what’s making you fat

Many people have success with low carb diets.

But instead of attributing the success to an overall reduction of carbohydrates and therefore a reduction in total calories consumed, some draw the conclusion that their weight gain (and loss) was due to insulin.

Insulin is what our body uses to transport energy throughout the body and into the cells.

Therefore with less carbohydrates, the body requires less insulin.

So blaming insulin for fat gain is like blaming an ambulance for a car crash. Just because there is one at the scene, it doesn’t mean it caused the crash.

Hormones do many things, but creating energy from nowhere is certainly not one of them.

Insulin resistance is commonly associated with obesity, which is when insulin can't do its job properly.

If someone is too overweight (obese) and the energy stores of their muscles are full, when they eat more energy, no matter how much insulin their pancreas produces, there is nowhere for that energy to go, everywhere is full, and so it remains in the bloodstream.

Therefore, to improve insulin sensitivity (and potentially reverse Type 2 diabetes), we need to start emptying the body’s energy stores and free up some space. In other words, we need to lose fat (to reduce the energy stores) and exercise (to burn more energy).

People don't become obese because they're insulin resistant. They're insulin resistant because they're obese.