Hi there! Katie here, and I have created this page to help you get clear on what truly drives the progression of poor health which may involve some unhealthy weight gain.
Now, understand that everyone's health story is unique and that there are innumerable factors that interact in complex patterns to create your state of health. This means that it's just not possible to understand how each and every factor impacts your health in any sort of attempt to control everything you do.
That being said, I have found that there is one particular physiological factor that plays a stronger role than any other, and that's what I want to teach you about here:
Insulin
You may want to begin by watching these two whiteboard videos on insulin and its connection to fat accumulation and insulin resistance.
Video 1 - Insulin action on adipose tissue, excess fat accumulation, and insulin resistance
Video 2: The progression of insulin resistance across multiple tissues
Continue reading on about fat balance and energy signaling (including the strong role of insulin!)
First up, I've written a few posts aimed at getting clear on the role that energy balance has to play in health, including why fat accumulation may or may not actually be a problem!
Then, we dive into what I have found to be the true problem driving the large rates of poor health and chronic disease: insulin.
To wrap things up, I have an article about how this all ties into the bigger picture that is the human body.
Enjoy 🙂
What is energy regulation and why do we care?
As we think about taking action to create healthy bodies, the primary thought that has made its way to the center of our society is the following: to be healthy and manage my weight, I need to think about how much energy I consume and how much energy I expend.
The problem: this approach to weight management is insufficient when it comes to creating healthy bodies that are able to make it through the years at a healthy weight.
With this page, my hope is to help you understand why this is, along with an alternative approach to managing a healthy weight while also building a healthy body.
That approach: energy regulation.
Maybe it isn't the case that the problem is that we can't control our weight, but instead, that the modern human body has lost its ability to regulate energy, overall, resulting in one symptom that is the excess accumulation of fat.
And if the accumulation of excess fat is just one symptom, is it really worth our time to focus on this, or should our attention be elsewhere?
Energy Balance vs. Energy Signaling
Gaps and Limitations of Energy Balance in Weight Loss
Calorie balance has been the reigning model of weight management for decades. But does it deserve to be?
Fueling Your Body and Energy Signaling
Calorie balance tells us to focus on eating less. But personally, I want a strong, well-functioning body that is being fueled by what I eat.
The Excess Fat Accumulation Problem
A 4-part series on why we accumulate excess fat and what we can do about it
How much fat accumulation is unhealthy?
It may be important to think about excess fat accumulation. Or it may not. Here's a short look at why.
Insulin - A primary driver of energy signaling as the body's pro-energy storage hormone
Understanding Insulin
This article captures much of what you need to know about insulin. It is the 4th installment in my series, An Argument to Forget About Calories. You can read the entire series beginning here, or jump in at this article to learn about insulin and its role in driving the accumulation of fat.
The Insulin Spike
A short walkthrough of insulin and blood sugar dynamics
Understanding the Complexity of Metabolism
Interested in learning more about the complexity of metabolism? Here's a deeper dive into how your mind and body work together as a complex network to manage energy.
Keeping various sub-systems in mind
How to Overload the Liver
A summary of the liver and its role in regulating energy throughout the entire body. Use this as one additional piece to building your own understanding of how different sub-systems interact to create a state of metabolic homeostasis.