Weight Loss Archives - Lilli Health

The Truth About Intuitive Eating: When It Works and When It Doesn’t

Posted on March 23, 2025 - 8:12 pm by Ali Chappell

“Just eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.”

Sounds simple, right?

That’s the promise behind intuitive eating—the new wellness buzzword that encourages us to listen to our bodies, honor our hunger cues, and ditch diet culture for good. And in theory, it’s a beautiful idea. I love the idea of trusting your body again. But here’s the part no one is saying out loud:

If your hormones are out of whack—especially your insulin and appetite hormones—your body is lying to you.

Let’s break this down.

Insulin Resistance Hijacks Appetite Hormones

Your hunger and fullness aren’t just emotional. They’re biological. You have actual hormones whose job it is to regulate how much you eat:

Ghrelin tells you you’re hungry.
Leptin tells you you’re full.
GLP-1 helps you feel satisfied and slows digestion.

But when you have insulin resistance, this whole system gets flipped upside down. Chronically high insulin levels make your brain resistant to leptin, so you don’t hear the “I’m full” signal. They ramp up ghrelin, so you feel hungry even when you shouldn’t. And they suppress GLP-1, making it harder to feel satisfied after eating.

Your body doesn’t feel “off”—it feels like it’s in survival mode. It tells you to eat again… and again… and again.

And it’s not your fault. These hormones are supposed to work in harmony. But insulin resistance scrambles the signal. That’s why telling someone with insulin resistance to “eat intuitively” is a joke.

Here’s how serious this issue has become: We now have an entire class of medications—GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy—designed to override the body’s broken appetite system. They flood your system with GLP-1 because your body struggles to make enough on its own to feel full.

But why are your appetite signals messed up in the first place? Because insulin resistance is disrupting your appetite hormones. Instead of looking at why those signals are off, we’re trying to medicate around them. And while those meds have their place, the root cause is still being ignored.

Why You Feel So Different From “Naturally Thin” People

If you’ve ever looked at someone who seems effortlessly thin and thought:

How do they eat so little?
Why are they not hungry all the time?
Do they know some secret I don’t?
Are they just stronger than me? More disciplined?

Here’s the truth: they’re probably just less hungry. Not because they’re better than you—because their appetite hormones are working like they’re supposed to.

Their body sends clear signals. They eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full—and they’re not battling cravings or a growling stomach two hours later.

Meanwhile, if you’re insulin resistant, your hunger cues are completely out of sync. Your brain is getting told to eat even when your body has plenty of fuel stored. So yeah, intuitive eating is hard when your own hormones are sabotaging you.

Here’s the Real Path to Intuitive Eating

You want to be able to trust your body again? To eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and not feel like food is running your life?

You have to fix insulin first.

The only way to truly eat intuitively is to first repair the hormonal signals that drive hunger and fullness. And that means lowering insulin.

That’s where a Low Insulin Lifestyle comes in. It’s not about restriction or punishment. It’s about eating in a way that brings your hormones back into balance—so your body can finally send the right signals at the right time.

Only then does intuitive eating actually become intuitive.

Bottom Line

If your hormones are screaming “Eat! Eat! Eat!” all day long, intuitive eating won’t feel empowering—it’ll feel like a battle you keep losing.

Before you can trust your hunger cues, you have to teach your hormones how to whisper again.
And the only way to do that is by bringing insulin down.

So no, you’re not broken.
You’re just trying to “eat intuitively” with a hormone system that’s been hijacked.

Balance insulin first—and your body will start talking sense again.

References

Verdich C, et al. The role of postprandial releases of insulin and incretin hormones in meal-induced satiety–effect of obesity and weight reduction. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001. Read more

Abdul-Ghani M, et al. Managing insulin resistance: the forgotten pathophysiological component of type 2 diabetes. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2024. Read more

Lilli vs. Low-Fat: Why Fat Was Never the Problem

Posted on March 20, 2025 - 3:30 am by Ali Chappell

For decades, we were told that eating fat makes you fat and that a low-fat diet was the key to improving insulin resistance. And while some studies suggested that lowering fat intake could help with insulin sensitivity, there’s a huge catch that no one talked about.

It’s not just about the fat—it’s about what you eat with it.

The Real Problem: Fat + Starch = Metabolic Chaos

The real issue isn’t fat itself—it’s fat and starch together.

When you eat fat, it breaks down into free fatty acids that circulate in your bloodstream. When you eat starch (or sugar), it floods your bloodstream with glucose. If both of these are present at the same time, your metabolism gets completely overwhelmed.

Think of it like putting gum in a lock. The lock is your insulin receptors, the key is insulin, and fat + starch is the gum that clogs the whole system. Your pancreas overreacts and sends out more insulin, worsening the vicious cycle.

So what was the solution in the past? Reduce fat intake.

Because no one was about to recommend eating fewer grains (since our entire food and agricultural economy was built on wheat and corn), fat became the scapegoat. The theory was that if we removed fat, we could eliminate the metabolic mess.

But what actually happened?

People ate more sugar and starch instead.
Food companies replaced fat with sugar. (Does anyone remember SnackWell’s cookies? Probably aging myself with that one.)
Insulin resistance skyrocketed.
Obesity rates climbed higher than ever before.

When you eat low-fat, high-starch foods, insulin levels stay elevated all day long, making fat burning nearly impossible. So instead of solving the problem, we made it worse.

The High-Fat Studies That Confused Everyone

If you’ve ever seen a study that talks about high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance, it’s important to look at the details.

In these studies, researchers don’t just feed animals fat—they combine a high-fat diet with high-starch lab chow. Of course, this combination leads to insulin resistance! But instead of blaming the starch, fat took the fall.

The real issue is not fat alone—it’s fat combined with too much glucose.

If you remove the excess glucose, fat is easily used for energy because insulin levels stay low. Instead of being stored, fat is burned.

The Red Meat Myth: The Study That Doesn’t Exist

Somewhere along the way, red meat became the enemy. It was lumped in with ultra-processed foods, sugary sodas, and refined grains—without anyone actually questioning why.

Here’s what’s missing from the conversation: The meat that most people eat is typically sandwiched between two slices of bread, served with a baked potato or french fries, wrapped in a tortilla, or placed over a bed of rice.

There are no prospective studies where researchers took participants and had them continue eating red meat but swapped out the bread, baked potato, french fries, tortilla, or rice that typically comes with it. No study has looked at the health effects of red meat served with roasted vegetables instead of starch.

That study simply does not exist.

Instead, the research we do have looks at people eating red meat in the context of a high-starch, high-sugar, highly processed diet. Of course, if you eat a burger with fries and a soda, that’s a metabolic disaster. But was it the red meat—or was it the insulin spike from everything else?

This is why context matters. Red meat isn’t the problem. It’s what you eat with it that determines how it affects your metabolism.

Your Body Needs Fat, Not Starch

Fat isn’t just fuel—it’s essential for every cell in your body.

Your hormones are built from fat.
Your brain is made of fat.
Your skin, hair, and nails need fat to stay healthy.
Fat keeps you full and provides long-lasting energy.

When people started cutting fat, they unknowingly created new problems:

Dry skin, dry hair, and brittle nails
Mood swings and brain fog
Hormonal imbalances
Constant hunger and cravings

We were never meant to survive on starch alone. We need fat—but we don’t need all that extra glucose.

The Bottom Line

The low-fat diet failed because it ignored the real issue. It wasn’t fat that was causing insulin resistance—it was the combination of fat and starch.

Instead of reducing fat, we should have reduced starch. If we had done that, we wouldn’t have seen the explosion of insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity that followed the low-fat craze.

When you follow a Low Insulin Lifestyle, you can enjoy healthy fats without worrying about insulin spikes. Because when insulin stays low, your body knows exactly what to do with fat—it burns it for fuel.

So don’t blame fat for what the starch did.

Lilli vs. High-Protein Diets: Finding the Right Balance

Posted on March 20, 2025 - 3:15 am by Ali Chappell

High-protein diets are everywhere, with many people believing that piling on protein is the secret to weight loss and metabolic health. But more isn’t always better—especially when it comes to insulin levels.

Lilli prioritizes protein, but not at the expense of fat and nonstarchy vegetables. Protein is an essential part of the equation, but it’s not the star of the show.

Before You Start Loading Up on Protein

Before you start ramping up your daily protein intake, there are a few important things to consider.

For one, don’t read “get more protein” as “eat more meat.” Protein isn’t just found in meat—nuts, seeds, and even green vegetables contain protein and should be part of the equation. Overloading on animal protein while neglecting fat and nonstarchy vegetables can lead to unintended insulin spikes and metabolic imbalances.

And stop thinking you need to multiply grams of protein by the number of stars in the sky to reach your goals. That’s just a marketing gimmick by the protein powder industry.

The Problem with High-Protein Diets

While protein is critical for muscle repair, hormone production, and overall health, too much—especially without fat—can backfire.

Protein Can Still Spike Insulin – While it doesn’t spike insulin as much as carbs, certain proteins—especially whey protein and very lean meats—can significantly increase insulin secretion. This is why true ketogenic diets limit protein—to avoid excessive insulin response.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) in Excess Can Be Problematic – While BCAAs are important for muscle repair, too much can overstimulate insulin release, particularly leucine, which is found in high amounts in whey protein. If you overconsume BCAAs, you may be unintentionally spiking insulin—just like eating too many carbs.
Excess Protein Can Be Converted to Glucose – The body can turn extra protein into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. Eating large amounts of protein—especially without fat—can work against insulin control and make fat loss more difficult.
Leaner Doesn’t Always Mean Better – While trimming excess fat is never a bad idea, especially when buying conventional meat, grass-fed and finished, wild-caught, or free-range meats are naturally leaner and more balanced. There’s no need to go out of your way to pick the leanest cut possible.

The Truth About “Complete Proteins”

One of the biggest marketing buzzwords in the protein industry—especially with whey protein powders—is “complete protein.” The idea is that a “complete protein” contains all nine essential amino acids in the right ratios.

But here’s the reality: The idea that every meal needs a complete protein has long been debunked.

When you eat protein, your body breaks it down into amino acids and stores them in an “amino acid pool” to be used as needed. As long as you’re eating a variety of protein sources throughout the day, you’ll get all the amino acids you need.

So, if you want to use protein powder and prefer collagen or bone broth protein (which I still recommend prioritizing whole proteins over shakes), don’t be deterred by claims that they aren’t “complete.” Your body doesn’t need every amino acid in perfect balance at every meal—it needs access to a variety of them over time.

How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

While getting enough protein is important, there’s a point of diminishing returns. More protein doesn’t always mean better results, and excess protein won’t magically turn into muscle—it will either be burned for energy or stored.

For most people, the ideal intake is 1.0-1.5g/kg of body weight per day. This is more than enough to support muscle maintenance and repair, even if you’re active. There are rare situations—like post-surgery recovery or chemotherapy—where higher protein intake might be needed, but for the vast majority of people, this range is optimal.

How Lilli is Different

Instead of focusing solely on protein, Lilli encourages a balanced approach:

Protein + Fat + Nonstarchy Vegetables or Whole Fruit – All three work together to stabilize insulin, keep you full, and prevent blood sugar swings.
No Overconsumption – You don’t need to force-feed protein. When eaten in its natural form—like whole cuts of meat, eggs, and fish—it’s naturally satisfying.
Avoiding Protein Powders – Unlike whole food sources, whey protein and other protein isolates can cause rapid insulin spikes, making them less ideal for metabolic health.
A Sustainable Approach – Unlike high-protein diets that often require constant tracking, Lilli allows you to eat intuitively by choosing foods that support metabolic health without micromanaging macros.

The Bottom Line

Lilli doesn’t ignore protein—it prioritizes it appropriately alongside fat and nonstarchy vegetables. Instead of treating protein as the only important nutrient, this approach focuses on balance and sustainability for long-term metabolic health. Protein is important, but overloading on it—especially in the form of whey or BCAAs—can be counterproductive when trying to lower insulin levels.

Stick to 1.0-1.5g/kg of body weight, and you’ll be getting all you need—and then some—without unnecessary insulin spikes. And don’t fall for the marketing gimmick that every meal needs a “complete protein.” Your body is smarter than that.

Lilli vs. Tracking Macros: Food Freedom Over Food Tracking

Posted on March 20, 2025 - 2:47 am by Ali Chappell

If you’ve ever followed a macro-based diet, you know the drill—meticulously tracking protein, carbs, and fats to hit a specific ratio every day. While this approach works for some (at least in the short term), it can also become overwhelming, time-consuming, and, most importantly, it doesn’t address insulin resistance directly.

A Low Insulin Lifestyle takes a completely different approach. Instead of obsessing over hitting macro targets, you focus on the only thing that truly matters—keeping insulin levels low so your body can work the way it’s supposed to.

The Problem with Macro Counting

Traditional macro-based diets treat food like a math equation:

Calories in, calories out – Based on the idea that as long as you stay within your calorie range, you’ll lose weight.
Carbs, protein, and fat in a set ratio – Usually a split like 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat (or another variation depending on the plan).
No real focus on food quality – You can technically hit your macros while eating processed, insulin-spiking foods. Ever seen the acronym “IIFYM”?

The issue? Not all calories, carbs, or proteins affect the body the same way. A diet that looks good on paper might be wreaking havoc on your insulin levels, keeping you stuck in a cycle of hunger, cravings, and metabolic dysfunction.

How a Low Insulin Lifestyle Is Different

Instead of counting macros, this lifestyle prioritizes insulin first—which naturally leads to fat loss, better energy, and improved metabolic health without the need to track every bite.

1. Stop Counting Carbs—Focus on Insulin Instead

Traditional macro tracking focuses on total carbohydrate intake, but not all carbs are created equal. Fiber-rich, non-starchy vegetables affect insulin very differently than processed starches or sugar.

That’s why a Low Insulin Lifestyle doesn’t have a set carb number—because it depends on the type of carbs you eat. Instead of obsessing over hitting a specific number, you simply focus on eating foods that keep insulin low.

2. Fat Is Not the Enemy

Many macro-based diets still push a low-fat mindset, often encouraging people to keep fat intake to 20-30% of their total calories. But fat is essential, especially when reducing insulin levels.

Healthy fats help keep you full, stabilize blood sugar, and prevent cravings. The right balance of fat in the diet makes it easier to eat intuitively and avoid overeating.

Unlike macro tracking, a Low Insulin Lifestyle doesn’t put an upper limit on fat intake—because fat does not spike insulin.

3. You Don’t Need to Obsess Over Protein

Protein is essential for muscle growth, satiety, and metabolic health—but too much protein, especially without fat, can still spike insulin.

Most macro-based diets encourage high protein intake, which often means lean proteins without fat (like skinless chicken breast, egg whites, or protein shakes). The problem? Excess protein, especially without fat, can trigger excess insulin secretion.

That said, it’s never a bad idea to trim excess fat, especially if you’re buying traditional meats and poultry. However, if you’re purchasing grass-fed and finished, wild-caught, or free-range meats, these are naturally leaner, so there’s no need to go for the ultra-lean cuts. Choosing whole, high-quality proteins ensures you get the best balance of nutrients while keeping insulin levels stable.

The Bottom Line: Food Freedom Over Food Tracking

Lilli takes the guesswork out of eating. Instead of worrying about whether you’re hitting the “perfect” macro ratio, you focus on what really matters—keeping insulin low by eating foods that don’t spike insulin and avoiding ones that do.

No more calorie counting
No more worrying about whether your macros are “balanced”
No more stress over hitting arbitrary numbers
No more wondering IIFYM (if it fits your macros)

Just eat foods that don’t spike insulin and avoid foods that do. It’s that simple. Now the real question is, what will you do with all the time you’re no longer wasting on micromanaging every bite?

Lilli vs. A Plant-Based Diet: Can You Do Both?

Posted on March 20, 2025 - 2:35 am by Ali Chappell

Absolutely! You can follow a Low Insulin Lifestyle while being plant-based—you just need to be mindful of where your protein is coming from. Many plant-based diets rely on high-starch foods like grains, beans, and legumes as primary protein sources, which can drive up insulin levels. But with a few strategic swaps, you can enjoy a plant-based approach while keeping insulin low and metabolism balanced.

The Challenge with Traditional Plant-Based Proteins

Most plant-based proteins come from starchy or highly processed sources, including:

Legumes like black beans, chickpeas, and lentils – While high in protein, they also contain a significant amount of starch, which breaks down into glucose and spikes insulin.
Whole grains like quinoa and brown rice – While often promoted as healthy, they are still primarily starch, meaning they require a large amount insulin to be secreted.
Plant-based meat substitutes – Many contain fillers, starches, and inflammatory seed oils, making them less ideal for an insulin-friendly lifestyle.

For someone managing insulin resistance, PCOS, or metabolic health, these foods can make it harder to regulate insulin levels—even if they’re technically “healthy” by typical standards.

The Low Insulin Lifestyle Approach to Plant-Based Eating

Instead of relying on starch-heavy proteins, focus on low-starch, plant-based protein sources that provide high-quality nutrition without spiking insulin. These include:

1. Minimally Processed Soy

Soy is one of the best plant-based protein sources when eaten in its unprocessed or minimally processed forms, including:

Edamame – Whole, young soybeans that are naturally high in protein and fiber with minimal starch.
Tofu – A versatile, complete protein with virtually no starch, making it an excellent insulin friendly plant-based option.
Tempeh – A fermented form of soy that contains fiber, protein, and probiotics to support gut health while keeping insulin stable.

Soy has been unfairly demonized in some circles, but in its whole-food form, it is one of the most insulin-friendly plant proteins available.

2. Lupini Beans

Unlike traditional beans, lupini beans are almost entirely protein and fiber, with very little starch. They provide an excellent plant-based protein option without the insulin spike of other legumes.

3. Nuts and Seeds

Almonds, walnuts, and macadamia nuts – Great for protein and healthy fats without starch.
Sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds – High in protein, fiber, and omega-3s, all of which support metabolic health and insulin balance.
Hemp seeds – One of the few plant-based complete proteins, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids. Unlike many other plant proteins, hemp seeds are naturally low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, making them an ideal protein source for a Low Insulin Lifestyle. They also contain a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which support inflammation control and hormone health.

Nuts and seeds not only provide essential nutrients but also help keep blood sugar stable by slowing down digestion and reducing insulin spikes.

The Bottom Line

A plant-based diet can absolutely work within a Low Insulin Lifestyle—it just requires shifting focus away from starch-heavy proteins to insulin friendly, whole-food plant-based options.

Swap lentils and beans for edamame or lupini beans.
Replace grains with nutrient-dense nuts and seeds.
Switch to plant-based protein powders such as pumpkin seed protein or hemp seed protein powder.

If you’re plant-based and want to follow a Low Insulin Lifestyle, it’s absolutely possible. It’s all about choosing the right foods that nourish your body while keeping insulin low and stable.

Stop Counting, Start Living: Break Free from Food Tracking with Lilli

Posted on March 20, 2025 - 2:04 am by Ali Chappell

For so many of us, tracking food has been drilled into our brains as the only way to control our weight and health. Calories, carbs, points, macros—we’ve been told that if we just keep logging every bite, every sip, every gram, we’ll finally see results. But if that actually worked long-term, wouldn’t we all have reached our goals by now?

At some point, you have to ask yourself: Is this how I want to live forever?

The truth is, tracking food is exhausting. It takes up valuable mental space and turns every meal into a math equation. And worst of all, it doesn’t even address the real issue behind weight gain and insulin resistance: your hormones, specifically insulin.

Why Tracking Doesn’t Work

Most people assume weight loss is just about eating less and moving more. But if you have insulin resistance, your body is playing by a completely different rulebook.

You can count every calorie, every macro, every carb—and still not lose weight. Why? Because if insulin levels are high, your body won’t burn fat. It doesn’t matter how much you restrict yourself; if insulin is elevated, fat-burning is switched off.

Tracking food might make you feel like you’re in control, but it’s not actually solving the problem. It’s just adding stress, making you overthink every meal, and setting you up for failure when you inevitably get tired of logging every. single. bite.

Why You Shouldn’t Count Carbs

Low-carb diets have been marketed as the holy grail for weight loss, but not all carbs are the same when it comes to insulin. The goal of a Low Insulin Lifestyle is not to eliminate carbs altogether—it’s to avoid the ones that spike insulin.

What matters isn’t the total number of carbs, but rather the source.

A banana and a slice of bread may have the same grams of carbs, but they don’t affect insulin the same way.
Whole fruits and non-starchy vegetables contain fiber, which slows digestion and helps keep insulin stable.
Starchy carbs like grains, beans, and potatoes flood the bloodstream with glucose, leading to insulin spikes.

If you focus on counting total carbs instead of choosing the right carbs, you might avoid foods that are actually beneficial while still eating foods that keep insulin high.

Why You Need Fat

For decades, we were told that fat is bad and that eating fat makes you fat. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Fat is essential for hormone regulation, brain function, heart health, and long-term metabolic health.

Fat does not spike insulin the way carbs do. This is why eating healthy fats can actually help regulate hunger and keep your blood sugar stable.

But when people cut fat, they often end up increasing carbs instead—which just keeps insulin high.

Some benefits of eating enough healthy fats:

Fat slows digestion, helping keep you full and satisfied and reducing cravings.
Fat is necessary for absorbing fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).
Fat is the body’s preferred long-term fuel source when insulin is low.
Fat makes your skin healthy, hair shiny, and nails strong.

If you’re still afraid of fat, it’s time to rethink everything you’ve been taught.

Why You Shouldn’t Obsess Over Protein

Protein is essential, but more isn’t always better. Certain proteins—especially whey protein—can still stimulate insulin secretion.

A common mistake people make when cutting carbs is overloading on protein, thinking the more the better. But excess protein can be converted into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. This is why true ketogenic diets actually limit protein intake—to prevent insulin spikes from excessive protein consumption.

So why does a Low Insulin Lifestyle allow unlimited meat, poultry, fish, and eggs? The answer is simple: when eaten in their natural state, these foods are incredibly satiating, making it difficult to overconsume them. When paired with nonstarchy vegetables, they provide balanced nutrition without unnecessary insulin spikes. The key is focusing on whole food sources rather than processed protein powders.

The Freedom of a Low Insulin Lifestyle

Instead of tracking every little thing, the Low Insulin Lifestyle focuses on one simple principle: Eat the foods that don’t spike insulin, and avoid the ones that do. That’s it. No calorie counting, no weighing your food, no obsessing over macros.

When you eat this way, your body naturally regulates hunger and energy. You don’t have to force yourself to eat less, your body does it for you because it’s finally working with you, not against you.

What Happens When You Stop Tracking

Imagine sitting down to a meal and just… eating. Not measuring. Not logging. Not worrying about whether you hit the “right” macros. Just eating until you feel satisfied and moving on with your day.

That’s what food freedom feels like.

When you stop tracking and start focusing on eating the right foods, everything changes:

You eat when you’re hungry, not because an app tells you to.
You stop stressing over whether you went over your calories for the day.
You listen to your body instead of numbers on a screen.
You free up mental space for things that actually matter.

And the best part? You finally start seeing results that last.

Stop Tracking, Start Living

Food shouldn’t be something you have to micromanage. It should fuel you, nourish you, and let you live your life. A Low Insulin Lifestyle isn’t about restriction—it’s about freedom. Freedom from tracking. Freedom from the cycle of dieting and failing. Freedom from the belief that weight loss is just about willpower. So if you’re tired of logging every meal and feeling like food controls your life, maybe it’s time to try something different. Stop tracking. Start living. And let your body do what it was meant to do.

Why High Insulin Levels Make You Crave Carbs and Sugar and How To Fix It

Posted on March 19, 2025 - 3:39 am by Ali Chappell

If you feel like you’re constantly craving carbs and sugar, it’s not just a matter of willpower—it’s your hormones. Cravings aren’t random; they are a direct response to high insulin levels and how they affect your brain, blood sugar, and appetite hormones.

When insulin is elevated, your body gets stuck in a cycle of hunger, energy crashes, and intense cravings for quick sugar fixes. The more often this cycle happens, the stronger those cravings become. This is why people who struggle with insulin resistance often feel completely controlled by their cravings.

But understanding why this happens can help you finally break the cycle.

How Insulin Triggers Carb Cravings

1. Your Body Can’t Access Energy, So It Craves Sugar

Your body is designed to get energy from two main sources:

Glucose (from starch, sugar, and even protein in rare cases)
Stored body fat or the fat you eat

But when insulin is too high and isn’t working properly—as in insulin resistance—your body struggles to access both.

Glucose can’t get into your cells efficiently because insulin isn’t doing its job properly. This means that even though there’s plenty of glucose in your bloodstream, your cells are essentially “starving” for energy.
At the same time, high insulin blocks fat-burning. So not only can’t your body access glucose properly, but it also can’t use fat for fuel.

With both major energy sources unavailable, your brain sends intense cravings for quick energy—sugar and starch. It’s not just a habit—it’s a biological survival response.

This is why insulin-resistant people constantly feel hungry and fatigued, even when they have eaten or have plenty of stored fat available. Their body just can’t access it.

2. Insulin Clears Sugar Too Quickly—Then Leaves You Crashing

Sometimes when you eat foods that spike insulin—like bread, pasta, rice, sugary snacks, or even “healthy” options like oatmeal or granola—your body rapidly absorbs the sugar into your bloodstream.

In response, your pancreas releases insulin to clear that sugar out and store it in your muscles, liver, or fat cells. But here’s the problem:

If too much insulin is released (which happens when insulin resistance is present), it sometimes clears sugar out too aggressively.
Blood sugar drops too low, leaving you feeling shaky, tired, irritable, and craving more sugar or carbs to “fix” it.

This is the blood sugar rollercoaster—a constant cycle of spikes and crashes that keeps you craving quick, high-carb foods all day long.

3. Insulin Disrupts Your Appetite Hormones

High insulin doesn’t just affect blood sugar—it also throws off the hormones that control hunger and cravings.

Ghrelin (your hunger hormone) stays high, making you feel hungrier than you should.
Leptin (your fullness hormone) gets blocked, so your brain never fully registers that you’re satisfied.
GLP-1 (a hormone that naturally suppresses appetite) gets blunted, making it harder to feel full.

This is why people with high insulin often feel hungry even after eating. Their hormones are pushing them to keep eating, even when their body has had enough.

4. Insulin Hijacks Your Dopamine System

Dopamine is the brain’s reward chemical, and high-carb, sugary foods trigger massive dopamine surges. This is why junk food feels addictive—your brain starts associating these foods with quick pleasure and energy.

But when insulin is constantly high, your brain becomes desensitized to dopamine. This means:

You need more and more sugar and carbs to get the same level of satisfaction.
You start craving carbs even when you’re not physically hungry.
The cycle repeats, reinforcing compulsive eating and making it harder to stop.

This is the same mechanism seen in drug addiction, which is why sugar cravings can feel so overpowering.

Breaking the Cycle: How to Stop Carb Cravings for Good

The only way to truly stop cravings is to lower insulin and stabilize blood sugar. When insulin drops to normal levels, your appetite hormones reset, your energy stabilizes, and your cravings disappear.

1. Eat to Keep Insulin Low

Focus on protein, healthy fats, and fiber from non-starchy vegetables at every meal.
Avoid high-insulin foods like sugar, starch, and dairy.

2. Don’t Eat Small, Frequent Meals

Every time you eat, insulin is released. Constant snacking keeps insulin elevated all day long.
Instead, eat larger, more satisfying meals that keep you full for hours.

3. Prioritize Sleep and Stress Management

Lack of sleep raises cortisol, which raises insulin—leading to stronger cravings.
High stress also increases sugar cravings, so daily stress management (like walking, deep breathing, or yoga) helps stabilize appetite hormones.

The Bottom Line

If you feel addicted to carbs and sugar, it’s not your fault—it’s insulin driving the cravings. High insulin creates a vicious cycle of energy crashes, hunger, and dopamine-driven urges for quick carbs.

By keeping insulin low and stable, your appetite hormones reset, your energy stays steady, and cravings naturally fade away. When insulin is under control, food stops feeling like an obsession—and cravings become a thing of the past.

Hunger Hormones & Insulin: Why You’re Always Hungry

Posted on March 19, 2025 - 2:56 am by Ali Chappell

If you’ve ever felt like your hunger is out of control, you’re not alone. Appetite isn’t just about willpower—it’s controlled by hormones. Your body has an entire system of hunger and fullness signals designed to regulate how much you eat and when. The problem? Insulin plays a major role in how these appetite hormones work, and when insulin is high or dysregulated, your hunger signals get completely out of balance.

This is why so many people struggle with constant cravings, extreme hunger, and feeling like they’re never truly satisfied after meals. It’s not a lack of discipline—it’s a hormonal issue that can only be fixed by getting insulin under control.

Let’s break down the key appetite hormones, what they do, and how insulin affects them.

1. Ghrelin: The Hunger Hormone

Ghrelin is your body’s main hunger signal. It’s produced in the stomach and tells your brain that it’s time to eat. When ghrelin rises, you feel hungry. After eating, ghrelin drops, signaling that you’re full.

How Insulin Affects Ghrelin:
When insulin is high, ghrelin doesn’t drop properly after eating. This means that even after a meal, you may still feel hungry because your body hasn’t registered that you’ve eaten enough.

Ever eaten a big meal and still felt like you could eat more? That’s insulin blunting your ghrelin response. This is especially common when meals are high in starch and sugar, which spike insulin and interfere with normal hunger regulation.

✔ How to Fix It: Keep insulin low by eating meals rich in protein, healthy fats, and fiber. This helps ghrelin respond properly, so you actually feel full after meals.

2. Leptin: The Fullness Hormone

Leptin is the hormone that tells your brain, “I have enough energy, stop eating.” It’s produced by your fat cells and helps regulate metabolism and appetite. More body fat = more leptin, which should mean more appetite control.

How Insulin Affects Leptin:
When insulin is chronically high, it blocks leptin signals in the brain—a condition known as “leptin resistance.”

This means your brain doesn’t “hear” the fullness signals leptin is sending, so it keeps telling you to eat, even when you don’t need more food. This is why people with insulin resistance often feel like they are always hungry, even when they are overweight. Their brain isn’t responding to leptin the way it should.

✔ How to Fix It: Lowering insulin restores leptin sensitivity, allowing your body to recognize fullness again. Through lowering insulin levels, a Low Insulin Lifestyle helps regulate leptin levels so your brain actually gets the message when you’ve had enough food.

3. GLP-1: The Natural Appetite Suppressant

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone that slows digestion, reduces appetite, and promotes satiety. It’s one of the reasons why you feel full longer after eating protein and fiber-rich foods. GLP-1 is also the hormone that GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are designed to mimic.

How Insulin Affects GLP-1:
Chronically high insulin levels blunt GLP-1’s appetite-suppressing effects. This is why some people feel hungry just an hour or two after eating a meal high in processed carbs—their body isn’t producing enough GLP-1 to keep them satisfied.

✔ How to Fix It: Protein, fiber, and healthy fats naturally stimulate GLP-1, while avoiding high insulin spikes helps keep it functioning properly. This is why eating an insulin-friendly diet naturally reduces hunger and cravings without the need for medications.

4. CCK: The Fat-Digesting Hormone That Keeps You Satisfied

CCK (cholecystokinin) is released when you eat fat and protein, and it tells your brain, “You’re full.” It also helps slow digestion so you feel satisfied longer after meals.

How Insulin Affects CCK:
When insulin is chronically high, CCK levels are disrupted, leading to reduced satiety signals. If your body isn’t registering CCK properly, you might feel like you need to keep eating, even if you’ve already had enough.

✔ How to Fix It: Eating enough healthy fats and proteins supports CCK production and improves satiety. Low-fat, high-carb diets disrupt CCK and lead to constant hunger, which is why eating enough fat is key for long-term appetite control.

5. Cortisol: The Stress Hormone That Triggers Cravings

Cortisol isn’t technically an appetite hormone, but it plays a huge role in hunger and cravings. When cortisol is high, it increases insulin and triggers intense cravings for sugar and processed carbs. This is why stress eating is so common—your body is literally pushing you to eat high-carb foods to deal with stress.

How Insulin Affects Cortisol:
High insulin levels keep cortisol elevated, and high cortisol keeps insulin elevated. It’s a vicious cycle that leads to more cravings, more stress eating, and more fat storage—especially around the belly.

✔ How to Fix It: Keeping insulin stable helps regulate cortisol. Managing stress through sleep, walking, and proper nutrition can help prevent cortisol-driven hunger and cravings.

Why a Low Insulin Lifestyle Balances Your Appetite Hormones

When insulin is too high, your hunger and fullness hormones get thrown off. You feel hungrier than you should, less satisfied after eating, and more likely to overeat—especially in a calorie deficit.

By keeping insulin low and stable, you allow ghrelin, leptin, GLP-1, and CCK to function properly. This means:

You actually feel full after meals.
Your cravings decrease.
You no longer feel like you’re starving between meals.
Your body learns to regulate food intake naturally.

The best part? This happens without counting calories or forcing yourself to restrict. Your body simply starts working the way it was designed to.

The Bottom Line

Hunger and cravings aren’t about willpower—they’re about hormones. When insulin is high, appetite hormones get out of balance, leading to constant hunger, cravings, and difficulty losing weight.

By following a Low Insulin Lifestyle, you allow these hormones to reset, making it easier to eat the right amount naturally—without the constant struggle. Hunger becomes manageable, fullness actually lasts, and your body starts working with you instead of against you.

References

Lim GE, Huang GJ, Flora N, LeRoith D, Rhodes CJ, Brubaker PL. Insulin regulates glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion from the enteroendocrine L cell. Endocrinology. 2009. Read more

Kumar R, Mal K, Razaq MK, Magsi M, Memon MK, Memon S, Afroz MN, Siddiqui HF, Rizwan A. Association of Leptin With Obesity and Insulin Resistance. Cureus. 2020. Read more

Ziemke F, Mantzoros CS. Adiponectin in insulin resistance: lessons from translational research. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jan;91(1):258S-261S. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.28449C. Epub 2009. Read more

Keeping It Off: Why Lilli Makes Weight Loss Sustainable

Posted on March 19, 2025 - 2:35 am by Ali Chappell

Losing weight is one thing—keeping it off is another. The reason so many people regain the weight they lost after dieting isn’t because they lack willpower. It’s because traditional calorie-focused dieting forces the body into a metabolic crisis.

When you restrict calories but still keep insulin high (by eating starches, sugars, or frequent small meals), your body burns muscle instead of fat. And your body does not want to lose muscle. Muscle is essential for survival, so when your body senses muscle loss, it slows down your metabolism to prevent further loss and increases hunger signals to push you to eat more.

This is why people who lose weight through calorie-restriction and exercise alone often feel exhausted, hungry, and constantly thinking about food. Their body isn’t burning fat efficiently, and because insulin is still high, it struggles to access stored body fat for fuel. Instead, it keeps screaming for more food.

The worst part? That hunger doesn’t go away when they regain the weight. Once the body has gone through a period of starvation while insulin was high, it does everything it can to prevent that from happening again. It keeps hunger signals elevated long after the weight is regained, leading to an endless cycle of yo-yo dieting.

Trust me, I lived that life for almost 15 years.

Why a Low Insulin Lifestyle Prevents Weight Regain

With a Low Insulin Lifestyle, weight loss doesn’t feel like a crisis to your body. Your body isn’t stressed about the weight loss—it’s thriving.

Instead of breaking down muscle, your body efficiently burns stored fat for fuel. That’s what body fat is supposed to be used for. Your metabolism doesn’t need to slow down, and your hunger signals stay balanced because your body is getting energy from its own fat stores.

This is why weight loss on a Low Insulin Lifestyle doesn’t rebound like it does with traditional diets. Your body isn’t in panic mode. It’s not trying to “fix” anything by forcing you to overeat or slowing your metabolism to compensate. It’s simply working as it was designed to—burning stored fat for fuel, preserving muscle, and keeping hunger in check.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how effortless it is to maintain the body I have now. It might sound impossible, but it couldn’t be more true. Some people may think giving up potatoes or rice is too much effort, but I don’t even think about them anymore—my body doesn’t crave them at all. My treats? An extra piece of dark chocolate and a glass of wine.

This is Even More Important for Patients Using GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic

For those using GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro, keeping insulin low becomes even more critical. These drugs work by stimulating insulin secretion to help lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, but this increased insulin response also leads to muscle loss.

This is why so many people on GLP-1 drugs lose significant amounts of muscle mass along with fat—because high insulin prevents the body from efficiently burning stored fat, forcing it to pull from muscle instead.

For people on these medications, following a Low Insulin Lifestyle is crucial to:

Ensure fat loss instead of muscle loss.
Support metabolic health long-term.
Improve the likelihood of keeping the weight off after stopping the medication.

Many people struggle with weight regain after stopping GLP-1 therapy, not because the medication failed, but because their weight loss was driven by a process that wasn’t sustainable for their metabolism. By keeping insulin levels balanced through food choices, the body is more likely to continue burning fat and maintaining lean muscle, making long-term weight loss success much more achievable.

The Bottom Line

Weight loss is only sustainable when your body isn’t fighting you every step of the way. A Low Insulin Lifestyle allows your body to burn fat naturally, without muscle loss, metabolic slowdown, or out-of-control hunger. For patients on GLP-1 drugs, this approach is even more important to prevent muscle loss and ensure lasting results. This isn’t just about losing weight—it’s about keeping it off for good.

Tracking Progress Beyond the Scale: Why Non-Scale Victories Matter

Posted on March 19, 2025 - 2:12 am by Ali Chappell

When it comes to weight loss, most people focus only on the number on the scale. But that number doesn’t always reflect what’s happening inside your body. The scale doesn’t measure progress—it just measures weight. And weight can fluctuate for so many reasons that relying on it alone can be misleading.

If you’re following a Low Insulin Lifestyle, you’re making powerful changes that go beyond the scale. Many of the benefits happen long before you see a dramatic drop in weight, and some changes don’t show up as weight loss at all—but they are still huge victories for your health.

Immediate Changes: The First Few Weeks

One of the first things people notice when they start lowering insulin is how much better they feel—almost immediately.

Many people report:

Less fatigue and more energy throughout the day.
Fewer cravings and better control around food.
Less bloating and puffiness as their body releases excess water.

If you’ve struggled with hunger, blood sugar crashes, or feeling out of control with food, you may find that those issues improve within days of making changes—even before the scale moves.

Fast weight loss is also common in the first 1-2 weeks as the body sheds stored water. This happens because high insulin levels cause water retention, and as insulin levels drop, the body starts to flush it out. Many people lose several pounds in the first week just from this shift alone.

After the initial water loss, fat loss typically continues at a steady pace of around 2 pounds per week—without the need to count calories or carbs. But the scale isn’t always the best measure of progress. How your clothes fit tells you more. A more defined waist, looser jeans, or a better fit in your favorite outfits are clear signs that your body composition is improving. And because this lifestyle ensures fat loss over muscle loss, even small amounts of weight loss will make a noticeable difference in how you look and feel.

Deeper Changes: Beyond Weight Loss

Beyond just feeling better and losing fat, a Low Insulin Lifestyle also improves your overall health. Many people report:

Improved sleep—falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer.
Better moods—less irritability, fewer mood swings, and a greater sense of calm.
More stable energy levels throughout the day, with fewer afternoon crashes.

And one of the most exciting changes? Improved menstrual cycles. Many women see more regular periods, fewer PMS symptoms, and less painful cramps as their hormones start to balance. These shifts are not just about weight—they are signs that your metabolism and hormones are healing.

How to Track Progress Without the Scale

If you only rely on the scale, you’re missing half the picture. Here’s how to measure progress more accurately:

Take progress photos. A picture will show body composition changes that the scale won’t.
Track how your clothes fit. Jeans, leggings, and fitted shirts are a great way to gauge fat loss.
Pay attention to energy and cravings. Feeling less hungry during the day is a huge win.
Notice how you sleep and how you feel. Less bloating, better digestion, and clearer skin all signal metabolic improvements.

The Bottom Line

The scale doesn’t tell the whole story. Some of the biggest changes—better energy, fewer cravings, improved sleep, and balanced hormones—aren’t reflected in a number. Fat loss is just one part of a much bigger picture, and as your body adjusts, you’ll start feeling better in ways that go beyond weight.

If the scale isn’t moving as fast as you’d like, don’t get discouraged. Pay attention to the non-scale victories that prove your body is changing for the better.

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