Understanding Insulin Resistance

(Jamie) #1

I’ve been re-reading Phinney and Volek’s The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. I just finished the chapter on insulin resistance. I don’t understand how insulin resistance locks in fat. If insulin controls fat storage and our cells become resistant, how does fat still get stored? Is it only muscle that becomes resistant? Are fat cells less resistant?

I just had my insulin and A1c tested. My fasting insulin was 7.1 uIU/mL and A1c was 5.4. Insulin was 5.1 three years ago.

I also had an NMR Profile run and my LP-IR score was 63. This, per the report, is high. I don’t understand how that is when fasting insulin wasn’t terribly high and neither is A1c.

My LDL pattern is slightly in pattern B (20.3). Not good. Three years ago, I was pattern A. Triglycerides are 110. LDL-C 113. HDL-C is 33. Terrible. LDL-P is 1206.

I’ve been doing LCHF since 2011. Lost 115 pounds in the first four years. In the last two, I’ve really struggled to keep that up. In fact, I’ve gained 60 pounds. I’m re-evaluating what I’m doing and going back through the books I’ve read during this time, trying to understand what might be going on. I find it very hard to lose weight with LCHF now. And I find that I’m now having issues with cravings in the evenings.

Giving up is not an option. Appreciate pointers to anything that will help me understand insulin resistance better.

(Trish) #2

Fat still gets stored because resistant doesn’t mean it can’t get in just that it’s being stubborn accepting it and requiring more and more to do the job of breaching the cell wall. Think narcotic pain medication. …after time tolerance is built up and one needs more and higher doses. At high enough dose the pain still gets better but now you need 80 mg of percocet instead of 20 mg.

(Roy D) #3

When cells become insulin resistant (aka insulin insensitive), the pancreas is forced to raise the level of insulin in the blood to drive blood glucose levels down. The presence of insulin promotes the transfer of glucose from the blood into fat cells. Higher levels of insulin prevent the transfer of fat from exiting fat cells back into the blood.