One of the unfortunate side effects of having diabetes is that it can lead to weight gain and insulin resistance. If you have diabetes, your body senses high levels of sugar in your blood and will store it as fat. The two most common types of diabetes are Type 1 and Type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body doesn’t respond appropriately to it. In type 2 diabetes, the body’s cells don’t respond properly to insulin because the body has too much of it. 

This makes the blood glucose levels higher than normal. When these two things happen together, there is more fat storage and less ability to process sugar. This is why people with diabetes often struggle with weight management issues. Fortunately, there are many lifestyle changes you can make that will help manage your condition while also helping you lose weight. Keep reading to learn more…

Diabetes and Weight Gain

When someone loses weight, their diabetes medications often need to be adjusted to account for the change in weight. This can cause even more weight loss in some cases. Not only can you lose weight, but it is common to also lose muscle mass while someone is diabetic. The insulin-dependent cells in your muscles that are responsible for sugar metabolism process and use sugar less efficiently, so they rely more on glucose, which is stored as fat. 

So, when you lose weight, you also lose muscle mass and have less muscle to be strong. This can be very unhealthy and dangerous, especially in certain populations, such as the obese. In an Alpilean article in SDGLN, experts talked about why people have trouble with their weight. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions.

Insulin Resistance Causes Weight Gain

Insulin resistance is a bad side effect of diabetes that happens when the cells in your body stop responding to insulin in the right way. Insulin is a hormone that is made by your pancreas. It tells your cells to get energy from the sugar in your bloodstream. Normally, your pancreas produces about 200 to 500 units of insulin. The higher the amount of insulin in the blood, the more sugar the cells will take in for energy. 

You can have too much or too little insulin, but your body usually balances it out and doesn’t have too much or too little. When the cells don’t respond to insulin and don’t take in glucose, this is called insulin resistance. Over time, the hormone “wears out” your cells, and they start to actively reject it. This means that insulin has to work at a higher level to get into the cell, creating even more resistance.

Stupor alternating with periods of intense hunger

If you have diabetes, you may experience different kinds of hunger. For example, you might feel a “stupor” kind of hunger, where you just want to lie down and do nothing, or you might feel “satisfied” and full after having a small snack, or you might be in between the two. 

Each of these kinds of hunger is very uncomfortable. 

It is important to eat often to avoid feeling these extremes of hunger. Specifically, you should eat every 2 to 3 hours. This will help to keep your blood sugar from dropping too low and causing a “stupor” or “satisfied” feeling.

Targeting the Root Cause: Hunger vs. Boredom

Hunger is not pleasant, but it is necessary to survive. If you do not eat, your body will start breaking down muscle in order to make glucose for energy. If you have diabetes, you will lose muscle even if you don’t eat. The best strategy is to avoid this entirely by eating frequently. 

This can be challenging because you may feel like you are just “bored” by eating. You may be thinking, “What’s the point?” “I’m just going to lose weight, and I won’t even feel it.” However, not eating has a dramatic effect on your health. Not only will you be at risk for losing muscle and gaining more weight, but you will also experience many unpleasant side effects.

Summary

When someone has diabetes, their pancreas either does not produce enough insulin or the body does not respond appropriately to it. This causes high levels of sugar in the blood. When these two things happen together, there is more fat storage and less ability to process sugar. This is why people with diabetes often struggle with weight management issues. Fortunately, there are many lifestyle changes you can make that will help manage your condition while also helping you lose weight. Keep reading to learn more.