Why am I insulin resistant in the first place?
You are usually insulin resistant because your body has been dealing with a long-term mismatch between fuel coming in and your ability to use or store that fuel well. In the script, Dr. Kenny explains that this is less about one bad carb or weak willpower, and more about sustained energy overload, low muscle demand, and stress chemistry pushing the system out of balance.
It is not just about eating too much sugar
One of the most helpful parts of the video is that it clears up a common misunderstanding. Insulin resistance is not the same thing as high blood sugar, and it is not simply proof that you ate too many carbs.
At its core, insulin resistance means your cells are not responding to insulin’s signal as well as they used to. Insulin is trying to move glucose out of the bloodstream and into tissues for energy or storage, but over time the signal becomes less effective. Then the pancreas has to make more insulin just to keep up. For a while, your standard glucose labs may still look “fine,” even though the system is quietly working harder underneath.
The deeper driver is energy overload
Dr. Kenny makes the root-cause question very clear. The more useful question is not “What did I do wrong?” but “Why are my cells resisting the signal in the first place?”
His answer is sustained energy overload.
That means:
- more incoming fuel than your body can process well
- a repeated mismatch between intake and metabolic capacity
- cells gradually protecting themselves from taking in more
As a functional medicine practitioner, I like this frame because it is practical and less shame-based. Your body is not being stubborn just to frustrate you. It is adapting to a load it can no longer handle smoothly.
Why the usual advice may not work
This is also why “eat less sugar, move more, try harder” often feels incomplete. Two people can follow similar advice and get very different results. The script points out that this is because insulin resistance is more complex than one food villain or one dieting strategy.
Dr. Kenny highlights a few key levers:
- Carbohydrate load, because carbs are the most direct glucose source
- Protein intake, because it supports satiety and lean muscle
- Dietary fat, which can be a steadier fuel source when used in the right context
- Muscle mass and resistance training, because muscle acts like a major place for glucose to go
At Dr. Kenny’s clinic, we often see that people are not failing. Their capacity side is just too low for the amount of incoming fuel and stress their system is dealing with. That is a very different conversation than blaming yourself.
Think input and capacity, not punishment
The script ends with a simple but powerful lens. Insulin resistance becomes more predictable when you think about two sides of the equation:
- Input: the fuel and signals coming in
- Capacity: what your tissues, especially muscle, can do with that fuel
That is why chronic restriction or fasting is not always the best starting point, especially if the body is already stressed. Sometimes the better move is not more punishment. It is creating a better balance between what is coming in and what your body can actually handle. That is where the detective work starts to pay off.
Additional Resources:
- If you want the bigger root-cause map behind heart markers, Are there natural ways to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol without medication? helps connect cholesterol with blood sugar, stress physiology, and inflammation.
- If your numbers may be reflecting a liver processing issue as much as a diet issue, What foods actually help my liver heal? adds helpful context on production, clearance, and metabolic load.
- In BEST Supplements To Lower Cholesterol Naturally | Doctor Explains, Dr. Kenny explains why there is not one magic supplement, and why bergamot, plant sterols, and soluble fiber each work at different checkpoints in the cholesterol story.
- A 2024 randomized trial found that bergamot extract lowered LDL and total cholesterol over four months, making it a promising option when liver-side cholesterol regulation seems to be part of the pattern.
If you want to stop guessing and understand what your cholesterol pattern is really saying
Answered by Dr. Kenny Mittelstadt, DACM, DC, IFMCP
Certified functional medicine practitioner specializing in advanced lab testing and personalized healing protocols to uncover root causes of health roadblocks.