If You Don’t Understand Insulin, You Don’t Understand Fat Loss

Summary

Dr. Tessa Damm describes insulin as an important factor in how the body stores and uses energy. She says insulin rises after eating—especially after carbohydrates—and falls between meals. She presents this as a shift between storing energy and accessing fat stores, and suggests that frequent snacking and refined carbohydrates may keep insulin elevated.

She also says insulin sensitivity can change with age, including during perimenopause and menopause, and may be affected by stress and poor sleep.

Strategies and Tips Discussed

• Eat protein before carbohydrates: The speaker recommends starting a meal with protein, which she says may slow digestion and moderate the post-meal glucose and insulin response.
• Move after a meal: Take a 10–20-minute walk after the largest meal. If walking isn’t possible or safe, she suggests seated toe raises.
• Prioritize sleep: She presents adequate sleep as a way to support insulin sensitivity and notes that poor sleep may affect it the following day.
• Consider meal patterns: She cautions that frequent snacking and regularly eating refined carbohydrates may leave less time for insulin levels to fall.
• Review blood-test markers with care: The video suggests dividing triglycerides by HDL cholesterol as a rough indicator of metabolic health, with thresholds of below 1, 2 or more, and above 3. These are presented as indicators, not as a substitute for clinical assessment. She also says people with elevated A1C or prediabetes do not need this additional marker to suspect insulin resistance.
• Focus on habits rather than simply eating less: Her overall approach is to adjust food choices, meal order, movement, and sleep rather than relying only on calorie restriction and exercise.

Additional Context

The video promotes the presenter’s free masterclass and program. It cites examples of changes in liver fat after dietary changes and weight loss among program participants, but does not name the studies or provide detailed evidence in the subtitles.

Presenter/source: Dr. Tessa Damm. The video refers generally to clinical studies and imaging research but names no specific researchers or publications.