Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 5 min read
The short version
Insulin resistance is the quiet root under high blood sugar, cravings, and stubborn weight. The good news is it responds fast when you work with your body instead of against it.
The one thing under everything
Most of what people come to me with, the crashes, the cravings, the number creeping up, traces back to one thing. Insulin has been running high for a long time and the body has stopped listening to it.
You do not fix that by starving yourself. You fix it by making each meal easier on your blood sugar, one steady habit at a time, until your body starts responding again.
Working with your body, not against it
Insulin resistance: when your cells stop responding well to insulin, so your body keeps making more of it.
Do not start with restriction. Start with foods that work with your metabolism.
Find your real numbers, fasting insulin tells you more than glucose alone.
Fiber before meals and a daily tea both soften the spike.
Steady beats strict, and it moves faster than you think.
D
From the community
I cut sugar, pasta, and bread five weeks ago. My joint inflammation is gone and I am finally feeling better.
Sources and further reading
Chlorogenic acid and blood sugar.
Soluble fiber and the glucose response.
Read next
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Blood sugar and A1c
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 4 min read
The short version
Your A1c is one number, not the whole story. It is an average, and the daily swings underneath it are the part you actually feel, and the part you can change.
An average hides the swings
A1c tells you roughly where your blood sugar has been over about three months. It is useful, but it hides the ups and downs inside each day.
Those swings are what leave you tired an hour after eating and hungry again too soon. Flatten the swings and the average tends to follow.
The swings are what you feel
A1c: a rough average of your blood sugar over about three months.
Your A1c is not diabetes. We have been treating the smoke instead of the fire.
A1c is a three month average, not today's reading.
The spikes between meals drive the tired, hungry cycle.
Fiber first and a short walk after eating both flatten the spike.
Ask about fasting insulin, not just glucose.
K
From the community
I gave up sugar and started checking. My reading this morning was 96 and I have lost eight pounds.
Sources and further reading
Understanding your A1c.
What fasting insulin shows.
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Fiber before meals
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 3 min read
The short version
Leading a meal with soluble fiber slows how fast carbs reach your blood, so you feel full sooner and crash less after.
Order matters
The order you eat in matters more than people think. A little soluble fiber before the carbs puts a soft brake on the whole meal.
You end up fuller on less, steadier afterward, and far less likely to be raiding the cupboard an hour later.
Soluble fiber: a gentle fiber that slows digestion and softens the blood sugar spike.
Fiber first is the simplest habit with the biggest payoff.
Soluble fiber slows digestion and softens the spike.
Fuller sooner means fewer cravings later.
Easiest when it is automatic before your first meal.
Works best paired with the daily tea.
M
From the community
The most asked question under my videos is simple. What fiber do you use, and when.
Sources and further reading
Soluble fiber and appetite.
Meal order and blood sugar.
Read next
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The daily tea habit
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 4 min read
The short version
A daily cup of yerba mate is rich in chlorogenic acid, which many people find helps steady energy and appetite through the morning, without the sugar and the crash.
The morning sets the tone
The morning drink sets the tone for the day. Yerba mate gives a clean, steady lift instead of the spike and slump of coffee and sugar.
It is naturally rich in chlorogenic acid, and it is sugar free, which is why it is the easiest habit for most people to keep.
Chlorogenic acid: a natural plant compound in yerba mate linked to steadier blood sugar and appetite.
This little cup does more for insulin than people realize.
Yerba mate is naturally rich in chlorogenic acid.
Steady morning energy and clarity without sugar.
Helps quiet appetite through the morning.
Sugar free and easy to keep up.
J
From the community
People ask when to drink it and whether it breaks a fast. Morning, and it fits a fasting window.
Sources and further reading
Yerba mate and chlorogenic acid.
Morning routines and appetite.
Read next
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Fasting and your window
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 4 min read
The short version
A simple eating window, like eating within eight hours and resting for sixteen, gives your body a longer break from constant insulin. Start where you are and stretch it slowly.
A rest, not a diet
Fasting is not about eating less at the table. It is about giving your body a longer, calmer stretch with no food, so insulin can come down.
Begin with whatever window feels easy and widen it over time. The morning tea makes the longer stretch far easier to hold.
Start where you are, then stretch it
Eating window: the hours in the day when you eat, with the rest of the day as a rest for your body.
Start where you are, and stretch the window slowly.
Pick a window that fits your life, like 16:8.
The morning tea makes the fast easier to hold.
Break the fast gently with fiber and protein.
Consistency matters more than perfection.
R
From the community
I am never hungry in the morning, so I just do not eat breakfast. That is a window already.
Sources and further reading
Intermittent fasting basics.
Breaking a fast gently.
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Cravings and sugar
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 3 min read
The short version
Cravings are not a willpower problem, they are chemistry. When your blood sugar steadies, the food noise gets quieter on its own.
It is chemistry, not character
When blood sugar spikes and crashes, your body screams for the next quick fix. That is the food noise so many people live with.
Steady the blood sugar and the noise fades. Most people feel the shift within about two weeks of easing off added sugar.
Food noise: the constant background pull toward food that eases when blood sugar steadies.
What would happen if you gave up sugar for two weeks? The first thing you notice is your face.
Steady blood sugar quiets cravings.
Two weeks off added sugar is often enough to feel it.
Swap, do not just cut.
Fiber and tea take the edge off.
S
From the community
It felt impossible until my blood sugar leveled out. Then the cravings just went quiet.
Sources and further reading
Sugar and cravings.
The two week reset.
Read next
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Fatty liver and triglycerides
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 4 min read
The short version
Extra sugar and refined carbs get stored in the liver over time. Easing that load, plus a daily habit or two, is how many people start to turn it around.
Where the overflow goes
When blood sugar is high again and again, the overflow gets packed into the liver. Over time that shows up as a fatty liver and rising triglycerides.
Cut the spikes and you ease the load at the source. A steady daily habit gives the liver room to catch up.
Triglycerides: a form of fat in the blood that tends to rise with too much sugar and refined carbs.
This is how I reverse fatty liver, the simple way.
The liver stores the overflow from constant spikes.
Cutting the spikes eases the load.
A daily tea habit is an easy anchor.
Small and steady beats a crash.
T
From the community
I did not feel it happening, and I did not feel it turning around either, until my numbers moved.
Sources and further reading
Fatty liver and blood sugar.
Triglycerides explained.
Read next
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Stress and the whole you
Written by Dr. Marla Jirak · Updated recently · 3 min read
The short version
Health is physical, emotional, and spiritual. When one gets off track you feel stuck, and steadying stress is often the missing piece under everything else.
The piece under the pieces
You can do everything right with food and still feel stuck if stress is running the show, because stress keeps blood sugar and cravings high on its own.
A few simple skills protect all your other progress. And if you are caring for someone else, you need that support most of all.
Chronic stress: stress that stays switched on, quietly working against your blood sugar and your sleep.
When these areas get off track, a person feels stuck.
Chronic stress keeps blood sugar and cravings high.
Simple stress skills protect the rest of your progress.
Caregivers need support here most of all.
You do not have to do this alone.
L
From the community
I came for the blood sugar help and stayed for the calm. I did not expect that part.
