Do you suffer from belly fat, love handles or bingo wings?

Hormonal imbalance- Excess insulin

Over the next few newsletters I will be selecting certain hormones that cause us to store fat in certain body areas and discuss if you have an excess or low level of each hormone and what to do to combat the problem. I’ll talk about man boobs, belly fat, love handles, bingo wings, back fat, pear shapes etc…

This week I am talking about insulin. I have written about insulin many times before so instead of repeating myself just have a read of some of my other blogs on my website www.energise-personaltraining.com. In short, insulin is released to regulate our blood sugar levels when we consume carbohydrates. The broken down carbs (sugars) are then stored in our muscles/ organs and unfortunately our fat cells.

Firstly, to access if you suffer from excess insulin, do you suffer from any of the below symptoms:

·         Age spots and wrinkling

·         Sagging skin

·         Cellulite

·         Skin tags

·         Fat gain around love handles and or abdomen

·         Fat over triceps

·         General weight gain/ obesity

·         Hypoglyceamia- craving for sweets, carbs or constant hunger

·         Fatigue after eating

·         Sleep disruption

·         Diabetes type 2

·         Acanthosis nigricans (a skin condition characterised by light brown to black patches on neck and underarm)

·         Abnormal hair growth on chin and neck (women)

·         Vision changes or cataracts

·         Infertility or irregular periods

·         Shrinking or sagging breasts

·         Menopause for women and Andropause for men

·         Heart disease

·         High cholesterol or high blood pressure

·         Burning feet at night

·         Water retention in face

·         Gout

·         Poor memory/ concentration

If you tick yes to 9 or more you are definitely suffering from excess insulin. Plus in general if you struggle to lose weight from the love handles, stomach and back of arms this is a sign of excess insulin.

Causes of insulin overload include:

·         Consuming too many carbs, especially nutrient poor carbs, such as processed foods, sugary drinks, foods containing high fructose corn syrup, packaged low fat foods and artificial sweeteners.

·         Not enough protein in your diet

·         Not enough fat intake

·         Not enough fibre in your diet

·         Lack of exercise

·         Poor liver function and toxin exposure

·         Ageing- Sorry!

So if you fall into this category this is what you need to do:

1.       Cut out processed foods, sugary drinks, packaged low fat foods such as yoghurts, sweets, white carbs- pasta, rice, breads and pastries. Cut them all out completely for 21 days and see what a difference this makes.

2.       Booze. Alcohol is full of carbs and sits right on the hips and bingo wings. Cut this out for 21 days

3.       Make sure you have protein and plenty of vegetables in every meal

4.       Make sure you are exercising at least 3 times a week if not 5.

Make all these changes for 21 days and I will guarantee you will lose body fat in all these areas. Other improvements will include, better sleep patterns, reduction in cellulite, improved skin, improved energy levels throughout the day and better control of your hunger and sugar cravings.

21 days is not long at all and it will make a big difference to your goals