Insulin Resistance Lack of energy, low metabolism, and fat inches around the waist are the first symptoms of insulin resistance. So what exactly is it? I'm going to get a little technical here so stay with me. Anytime you eat carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, chips, pastries, beer, pasta, rice and sweets), it is converted into sugar by your body during digestion. In order to use the sugar, your body then releases insulin required by your cells to convert the sugar into energy. But since our modern diet can be so heavily comprised of carbohydrates and sugar, your cells start to be insensitive to your own insulin due to this abundance, over time. In other words, your cells start to resist your own insulin and therefore, your body has to produce more insulin to get the same job done. Left untreated over time, your over-production of insulin will reach chronic levels. Now, the big problem is this excess insulin is very bad for you! Excess insulin signals your body to store sugar as fat, and go into fat saving mode. Your metabolism slows down and makes it impossible for you to lose weight no matter how hard you try. You're always tired and hungry. So what do you do? You eat even more making you even more insulin resistant. A vicious cycle isn't it? The Hibernation Effect As you can see, insulin resistance causes excessive levels of sugar and insulin in your blood stream. Both sugar and insulin are destructive in excessive quantities, and have the effect of accelerating the aging process itself as well as contributing to heart disease, organ failure, and many other negative side effects. Typically, Excessive Insulin tells your body to store fat constantly Excessive Insulin inhibits the body from releasing fat for energy Excessive Insulin tells the liver to make more Cholesterol, leading to heart disease Excessive Insulin causes salt retention and contributes to High Blood Pressure, which can lead to heart failure. Excessive Insulin can accelerate the aging process, as more stress is place on the body. We've all seen a 34-year old looking 60 because of the biological stress. Bottom line is Insulin Resistance inhibits you from losing weight no matter how hard you try to starve yourself. Too often, people go to their doctor complaining of low energy and weight gain and are likely told, "Well, you're getting older, what do you expect?" But this is NOT normal…there are lots of people who seem to have unlimited energy right through their sixties, seventies, and beyond. Low energy and weight gain is NOT a natural part of aging but rather they are the first symptoms of a problem called insulin resistance syndrome, which with time, leads to full-blown diabetes and heart disease.