21 Early Warning Signs You Have Insulin Resistance (and what to do about it)

Insulin resistance could be the reason you are having trouble losing weight.

If you have a love/hate relationship with carbs, exercise, and healthy habits in general, read this article to find out if you have or are at risk for insulin resitance.

Do you have insulin resistance? It’s hard to simply answer yes or no, without a proper diagnosis

Diagnosing Insulin Resistance

Before proving you the insulin resistance self-test, there are a few ways your Dr. can diagnosis insulin resistance. These tests aren’t always conclusive and many times provide false-positives and/or false-negatives.

Let’s take a look at 4 tests you could have your Dr. prescribe:

Waist Circumference – A fairly simple test that determines if you have a waist measurement greater than 35 inches.

Fasting Glucose Levels – One of the most common tests done that measures glucose levels after you’ve fasted for a few hours. If your blood sugar is higher than normal (75-100 mg/dl) you could have insulin resistance.

Fasting Insulin Levels – In this test, levels of insulin are measured in the blood after fasting, instead of glucose. A fasting insulin level higher than 10uIU/ml is an indicator for insulin resistance.

Glucose Tolerance Tests – A complicated test that requires many blood tests throughout the day. This test is done if diabetes or hypoglycemia is suspected. Make sure your insulin levels are also tested if your Dr. suggests this particular test.

The problem with most tests, if they don’t reveal the entire picture and false-positives and false-negatives are very common.

The best way to begin your self-diagnosis for insulin resistance is to run through a quick symptom questionnaire, like the one below.

If you score high, then you probably have insulin and blood sugar issues that you should have addressed.

Read through the self-test list of health conditions and put a check by any items that apply to you.

29 Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

Do you have no or have you ever had any of the following?

• A family history of diabetes, overweight problems, abnormal cholesterol or triglycerides, heart disease, or stroke
• Frequent cravings for sweet or salty, crunchy snack food
• The need to eat often or eat excessive amounts of food
• A difficult time losing weight even if you exercise or cut back on your food intake
• A problem with weight gain even when eating small amounts of food
• Weight gain mostly around your waist
• Skin tags (small, painless, flappy skin growths) on your neck, chest, breasts, groin area, or underarms
• A history of irregular menstrual periods, especially skipping months
• A history of polycystic ovarian disease
• High triglyceride levels
• Low HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) levels (less than 35 mg/dl)
• High LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) levels (more than130 mg/dl)
• High or borderline high blood pressure
• Waist measurement of more than 53 inches
• The feeling that you are addicted to carbohydrates
• The feeling that you have no willpower when it comes to dieting
• Jitteriness, difficulty thinking, headaches, nausea that goes away when you eat
• Hypoglycemia
• Afternoon fatigue
• A Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher
• The belief that you are least 30 pounds overweight

If you marked a check beside 3 or more of these questions you are likely to have insulin resistance. The more checks you have, the more likely you are affected.

The Causes Of Insulin Resistance

There are several reasons for excess insulin, but these are the main culprits:

• Consuming too many nutrient-poor carbohydrates – the type found in processed foods, sugary drinks, and sodas; foods containing high-fructose corn syrup; packaged low-fat foods; excess use of sugar, fake honey, etc…
• Insufficient protein intakes and/or poor quality protein intake
• Inadequate fat intake and/or poor quality inflammatory fat intake
• Low fiber consumption
• Stress
• Inactivity, lack of good quality exercise
• Catabolism (anything that causes muscle loss, like overexercising, underexercising, stress, etc…)
• Sluggish liver and excess toxins
• Aging, excess oxidative stress/free radical production

Besides turning you into a walking (miserable) fat-storing machine, excess insulin will also make you feel bad. Heart palpitations, excess sweating (or lack of), poor concentration, weakness, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue, irritability, and impaired thinking and cognitive function.

The Solution to Insulin Resistance

Since insulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressue, and coronary heart disease it’s a good idea to immediately address your symptoms of insulin resistance.

Even the most severe cases of insulin resistance can be alleviate and even cured with the right lifestyle transformation program.

I suggest my clients take the 10-Minute Metabolism Audit to address any metabolism imbalances, which 90% of the time correct any insulin problems.

Balancing insulin levels is as simple as these 3 steps, assuming you don’t have access to a holistic nutritionist or are part of a program like my 3-Week Metabolism Diet clients.

First, we need to calm your pancreas and detox your liver by adding in the right anti-inflammatory foods and eliminating the inflammatory carbohydrates and fats that are negatively impacting your cells.

Second, we restore metabolically active tissue by incorporating the right metabolic exercise and balancing your macronutrients.

Third, we address any non-nutrition and exercise related habits that lead to poor choices, like lack of quality sleep, excess stress, smoking, alcohol, etc…

As simple as the process sounds, it’s far from it, as you probably already know.

You must constantly be fine-tuning and assessing your current state of health.

Pretty soon you’ll be able to cross off the early warning signs of insulin resistance as you being making better choices and transforming habits.

Insulin resistance is nothing to ignore, since it can quietly or not-so quietly destroy your quality of living and cause not only weight gain, but worse (cancer, diabetes, and heart disease).

The three step plan and my 10-Minute Metabolism Audit will give you the tools you need to take action and reverse insulin resistance.

If you’re ready to reverse insulin resistance and take control of your metabolism in 21 days, join us over at the 3-Week Metabolism Diet.

The key takeaway? Eat balanced meals with the right kinds of and amounts of carbs, fats, and protein to lose weight without deprivation and avoid the health hazards associated with insulin resistance.

Start your 3-week metabolism focused diet by clicking here ——–> Lose Up to 21 Pounds in 21 Days

Do you have any symptoms of insulin resistance? Let me know in the comments below and let’s figure this out together!