Spending 30 days in Africa changed my life.
Not only has it been a lifelong dream to travel there, but it enriched my life in so many more ways than I could have ever imagined.
In the last 6 years, I’ve gained about 12-15 pounds of body fat due to menopause. I was eventually able to stop the weight gain, but I wasn’t able to lose it. It was beyond frustrating. Why was my body not responding?! 😩
While I was in Africa, I didn’t do a single exercise. I barely even walked anywhere. We’d spend 6 hours a day in the back of a truck counting animals. I was also eating way more than I usually do. Plus, our meals were super carb heavy.
I was prepared to put on a few extra pounds, but the complete opposite happened.
I lost weight.
After a whole month?! How could that be? I actually lost weight?
Insulin Sensitivity
I had to really dive in and figure out what I was doing differently in Africa, that would have allowed me to lose the weight I was trying so hard to lose back home.
After analyzing my every move, I realized that before traveling, I was used to grazing all day, every day. But while I was away, I’d have long stretches of not eating.
I’ve always suspected that I had an insulin sensitivity. But after seeing doctors in the past, my insulin levels were always a smidge away from ‘normal’. I was always viewed as ‘healthy’ according to their numbers.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps to make sure the cells in our bodies can absorb the glucose into cells for energy and storage.
When you have low insulin sensitivity, also known as insulin resistance, your cells don’t
respond effectively to insulin. So the body produces more insulin to compensate, which can lead to higher levels of insulin in the bloodstream.
High levels of insulin can cause the body to store more energy as fat, leading to weight gain. Insulin resistance can also increase appetite and cravings for high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods, which as we know, also contributes to weight gain.
Make sure to check back every Friday for a new blog! I’ll be sharing more juicy nuggets and daily lifestyle changes that I’ll be making along the way!
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