THE INSULIN RESISTANCE PROBLEM
Remember that toast we talked about last time?
What’s actually happening when you eat it?
At 35, you eat toast. Your body breaks it down into glucose. Your pancreas releases insulin. Insulin escorts the glucose into your cells for energy. Blood sugar stays stable. You feel fine for hours.
At 50, you eat the same toast. Glucose hits your bloodstream. Your pancreas releases insulin.
The problem is your cells don’t respond as well to insulin anymore.
So, your pancreas releases MORE insulin. Eventually the glucose gets into your cells, but now you’ve got high insulin levels floating around. Which tells your body to STORE fat, not burn it. And an hour later, you crash and you’re starving again.
This is insulin resistance. And it’s exhausting.
WHAT IS INSULIN RESISTANCE IN PLAIN ENGLISH?
Insulin is like a key that unlocks your cells so glucose can get in for energy.
Insulin resistance is when your cells stop responding to that key.
The door’s stuck.
So, your body keeps making more keys, more insulin, to force it open.
High insulin levels tell your body:
- Store fat, especially around your middle
- Don’t burn stored fat
- Stay hungry because your cells aren’t getting energy efficiently
This is why you can eat less, move more and still not lose weight.
Your insulin levels are keeping you in fat-storage mode.
WHY YOUR CELLS STOP LISTENING TO INSULIN AFTER 50
This isn’t random. And it’s not just because you’ve eaten too much sugar.
What’s changed is:
1. The Oestrogen Drop
Remember last time? Oestrogen drops by 80-90%.
Oestrogen plays a crucial role in insulin sensitivity as it helps your cells respond efficiently to insulin signals.
When oestrogen drops during menopause:
- Your cells become less responsive to insulin
- Your body needs MORE insulin to do the same job
- This happens regardless of your diet or lifestyle
It’s not what you’ve done. It’s what your hormones are doing.
2. Muscle Mass Decline
Muscle is your body’s main glucose storage site. When you eat carbs, muscle tissue soaks up most of that glucose.
But you’re losing 3-8% of muscle mass per decade after 30.
Less muscle means:
- Fewer places for glucose to go
- More glucose staying in your bloodstream
- Your pancreas having to release more insulin to deal with it
Less muscle = worse insulin sensitivity.
3. Visceral Fat Accumulation
That belly fat that appeared around menopause? It’s not just sitting there.
Visceral fat is metabolically active and not in a good way. It:
- Releases inflammatory compounds
- Interferes with insulin signalling
- Makes insulin resistance WORSE
- Creates a vicious cycle. Insulin resistance causes belly fat, which worsens insulin resistance
4. Inflammation
Lower oestrogen = less anti-inflammatory protection.
Inflammation interferes with insulin receptors on your cells. The signal gets disrupted.
Sources of inflammation in your 50s:
- Visceral fat
- Poor sleep, thank you menopause
- Chronic stress, your overfull life
- Ultra-processed foods
5. Decades of Standard Diet Advice
If you’ve followed the healthy advice, high-carb, low-fat, low sugar (which is usually packed with artificial sweeteners) eat every 2-3 hours, you’ve been spiking your insulin multiple times a day for decades.
Toast for breakfast. Snack mid-morning. Sandwich for lunch. Biscuit with tea. Pasta for dinner.
Your cells have been hammered with insulin signals constantly.
Eventually, they get tired of responding. They become resistant.
It’s like someone shouting at you all day. Eventually, you stop listening.
6. The Perfect Storm
Add all these together:
- Oestrogen drops (reduces insulin sensitivity)
- Muscle declines (fewer glucose storage sites)
- Belly fat increases (creates inflammation)
- Inflammation rises (disrupts insulin signalling)
- Years of constant insulin spikes (cells stop responding)
And you’ve got insulin resistance.
It’s not your fault. It’s biology meeting decades of rubbish dietary advice.
THE SYMPTOMS
How do you know if you’re insulin resistant?
Tick the ones that sound familiar:
- Can’t lose weight even when eating less
- Tired after meals, especially carb-heavy meals
- Hungry again 1-2 hours after eating
- Crave carbs and sugar constantly
- Fat around your middle that won’t budge
- Brain fog
- Energy crashes mid-morning or mid-afternoon
- Skin tags (especially on neck, underarms)
- Dark patches of skin on neck or armpits
- Difficulty losing weight from your middle (even when losing elsewhere)
If you ticked 3 or more, it’s possible insulin resistance is likely playing a role.
Sound familiar?
THE TOAST PROBLEM
Here’s why that slice of toast or cereal, or juice or pastry at breakfast is sabotaging your entire day:
You eat it. Blood sugar spikes. Insulin surges. Within an hour, blood sugar crashes. You’re starving. You reach for a snack (probably carbs because that’s what your body’s craving). Blood sugar spikes again. More insulin. Another crash.
You spend the entire day, day after day, on this rollercoaster.
Chasing your blood sugar. Feeling exhausted. Constantly hungry.
And wondering why you have no willpower.
It’s not willpower. It’s biochemistry.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
The solution isn’t never eat carbs again.
The solution is:
Eat protein first. Especially at breakfast. Protein stabilises blood sugar. So, start your day with eggs, Greek yogurt, smoked salmon, something with actual protein. Not toast. Not cereal. Not Juice.
Stop grazing. Eating constantly keeps insulin elevated. Give your body breaks between meals. This is where intermittent fasting can help and we’ll talk about this in a few episodes down the line.
Choose complex carbs. From nature, not factories. Vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables, fruit especially berries, brown, black or red rice, oats. Not processed food in bags or boxes with barcodes.
We’ll dive deeper into all of this in the coming blog episodes.
For now, just understand that insulin resistance is a HUGE piece of the puzzle.
WHAT ABOUT MEDICATION?
Some women are prescribed metformin for insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. This can be helpful and improve insulin sensitivity and can support weight loss.
But medication alone won’t fix the problem if you’re still eating in a way that spikes insulin constantly.
The lifestyle changes we’re discussing work whether you’re on medication or not. In fact, many of my clients who’ve implemented these strategies have been able to reduce or eliminate their medication (always under GP supervision, of course).
THE GOOD NEWS
Insulin resistance is reversible.
You can improve your insulin sensitivity through:
- What you eat
- When you eat
- How much you eat
- How you move
- How you sleep
- How you manage stress
And the brilliant thing? Each of these strategies supports the others. Better sleep improves stress management. Lower stress improves sleep. Movement improves insulin sensitivity, which improves energy, which makes movement easier.
It takes time. Most women notice improvements in energy and cravings within 2-3 weeks. Weight loss and reduced belly fat take longer typically 8-12 weeks of consistent changes. But it is absolutely possible.
I reversed my pre-diabetes at 60, dropped 17kg and have kept it off.
You can do this too.
NEXT TIME
We’re talking about your nervous system.
Specifically, why your body thinks an Excel spreadsheet is an emergency. And what that’s doing to your weight.
Spoiler: cortisol and belly fat are best friends. Unfortunately.
Are you experiencing insulin resistance symptoms? You’re not alone.
This content is educational, not medical advice. If you are concerned about perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause symptoms or have questions about your hormonal health, please speak to your GP or a healthcare professional.
Marie xx
