It is true that some people honestly have more difficulty losing weight than others. If you watch, it is surprising how little food some overweight people actually eat. One of the reasons some people have problems losing weight is that they may have metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is an abnormality of metabolism that is associated with heart disease, high cholesterol and triglycerides, Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure. The easiest way to tell if you have metabolic syndrome is to measure your waist. A waist measurement larger than 35 inches in women, or 40 inches in men, suggests that you might have metabolic syndrome.

One of the reasons it’s hard to lose weight if you have metabolic syndrome is that you probably also have insulin resistance. Some people have inherited the tendency toward insulin resistance. Being overweight and sedentary definitely makes it worse. If you have insulin resistance, it is harder to lose weight because insulin doesn’t work as it should to help you burn off calories, so more of your calories get turned into fat.

The best way to manage insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome is to lose weight and exercise. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It sounds familiar because you’ve tried a hundred times to lose weight, and you can’t, and exercise must makes you tired.

Let’s start by acknowledging that you have it rough. It is harder for you to lose weight. You need more help than other people do, so talk to your doctor—and make sure you find a doctor who understands metabolic syndrome and doesn’t tell you to just eat less and exercise more.

Then let’s talk about the Glycemic Index. This is a guide that helps you choose foods that will make it easier for you to lose weight. Foods with a high glycemic index shoot your blood sugar up fast. Since insulin doesn’t work well for you, more of the food gets converted into fat. So you want to choose foods with a low glycemic index.

For the most part, foods with a low glycemic index will be fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. You can find lists of specific low glycemic foods in books, magazines and on the internet.

Eating a low calorie diet rich in foods with a low glycemic index and exercising will help you lose weight. Your weight loss will probably be harder and take longer than it does for other people, but you can do it.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 28th, 2006 at 1:23 am and is filed under Weight-Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.