Living with Insulin Resistance: Daily Struggles You Shouldn’t Ignore

Monica Saxena

| Wellness Blogger| Certified in Holistic Health & Nutrition | Fully Accredited Professional Nutritionist |

Strange things happen in our bodies; every organ has a specific function, and our body works according to that. When we eat food, our body breaks down the carbohydrates present in food into glucose, which enters our bloodstream, and as a result, blood sugar (glucose) rises. The rise in sugar levels in our bloodstream signals the pancreas to release insulin (a hormone produced by the pancreas). Insulin signals certain cells (muscle, fat, liver) to absorb glucose from the blood. This absorbed glucose is used for energy or stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen or converted into fat for later use. This way, insulin produced in the pancreas helps lower blood glucose and keep it at normal levels.

When Your Body Stops Listening to Insulin

Sometimes things in your life, especially health, don’t go as planned; your body cells sometimes become resistant and stop responding properly to insulin. To maintain proper sugar levels, the pancreas produces more insulin to compensate and to keep blood sugar levels in check. Over time, body cells become less sensitive or resistant to insulin, leading to high insulin production and high blood sugar levels as the pancreas may struggle to keep up, leading to prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.

Insulin Resistance

The condition where body cells stop responding effectively to insulin is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a silent disruptor of everyday life. Over time, this can lead to higher insulin production, blood sugar imbalances, and increased fat storage, particularly around the belly.

For many people, signs of insulin resistance don’t just show up in lab reports. For some who are ignorant about their condition, it reveals itself in the daily struggles that can feel confusing, frustrating, and even exhausting. From constant fatigue to unshakable sugar cravings, the condition can badly affect not just your metabolism, but your mood, mental clarity, and quality of life.

In this post, we’ll explore the real-life daily symptoms and challenges of living with insulin resistance and why recognising them early can help prevent long-term health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or PCOS complications.

Common Causes of Insulin Resistance:

The lifestyle we lead, the food we typically eat, and the amount of physical activity we engage in all make significant contributions to our health. Insulin resistance can develop due to a combination of lifestyle, genetic, and hormonal factors. One of the most common causes of insulin resistance is being overweight, especially having excess fat around the belly, which affects how the body responds to insulin.

A diet high in sugar, refined carbs, and processed foods also contributes to insulin resistance, as these foods cause frequent spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.

Top unhealthy foods

Lack of physical activity is another key factor; regular movement and being physically active through walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming generally helps cells use insulin more effectively. In addition, chronic stress, poor sleep, and hormonal imbalances (such as in PCOS or thyroid disorders) can also trigger or worsen insulin resistance.

Stay active always

Signs and Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

Some of the symptoms are initially not prominent, but silently start affecting your daily life

1. Constant Fatigue, No Matter What You Eat or How Long You Sleep

Tiredness is the most common sign of insulin resistance that we often confuse with a lack of proper nutrition or long working hours. Feeling tired after a long day is usually a normal thing, but with insulin resistance, you feel drained even after 8 hours of sleep or shortly after a full meal. Why? Because glucose, which your body needs as a main source of energy, is not entering your body cells properly. Instead, it is there in your bloodstream, leaving you with low energy at the cellular level. The real-life impact of such a condition is, you may struggle to get out of bed, feel sleepy after lunch, or rely on coffee multiple times a day.

2. Cravings You Can’t Control—Especially for Carbs and Sugar

If you constantly crave bread, sweets, or salty snacks, it may be more than just a habit. Insulin resistance causes blood sugar spikes and drops, creating intense hunger signals, often for fast-digesting carbohydrates that worsen the problem. It will lead you to eat a carb-heavy snack to feel better, but crash again in 1–2 hours, starting a cycle of cravings.

3. Brain Fog and Trouble Concentrating

If you suffer from brain fog or find it hard to remember things, then it is insulin resistance that is making you struggle. Your brain runs on glucose, but when your cells are not able to absorb it efficiently, your cognitive function suffers. This leads to poor concentration at times, frequent forgetfulness, and a general sense of "mental cloudiness," often referred to as brain fog. Brain fog may make you struggle to finish tasks, forget appointments, or feel disconnected in conversations.

4. Weight Gain That Feels Impossible to Reverse

The worst thing is that weight gain, especially around the abdomen, is a hallmark of insulin resistance. The body’s elevated insulin levels promote fat storage, particularly visceral fat around organs. This fat isn’t just cosmetic—it increases inflammation and further worsens insulin sensitivity. No matter how much you may diet or exercise regularly but you still gain weight, or after many hard weeks of workout, you find the weight scale unmoving.

5. Post-Meal Crashes and Sleepiness

Often, people feel sleepy or sluggish, especially after having carbohydrate-rich meals. Are you the one? This is due to post-meal blood sugar fluctuations. Insulin spikes sharply to manage the sugar from your carbohydrate-rich meal, which can drop your blood sugar suddenly, making you feel tired, irritable, or sleepy. In these kinds of situations, most of the time after lunch or dinner, you may feel like you need a small nap or a hot cup of coffee just to stay alert.

6. Mood Swings, Anxiety, and Irritability

Insulin resistance makes you moody and anxious. Often, you will find people around you complaining about your frequent mood swings and irritable behaviour. You will feel yourself prone to anxiety in daily life situations or stressful moments. Hormonal imbalances arising from fluctuating amounts of insulin and glucose levels can impact your brain chemicals, like serotonin and dopamine. This can lead to mood swings, anxiety, irritability, or even depressive symptoms. You may feel emotionally vulnerable and reactive, overwhelmed by small issues and even sometimes more anxious than usual.

7. Sleep Disruptions and Night-Time Hunger

People with insulin resistance often complain about poor sleep quality and often find it difficult to fall or stay asleep. Along with sleep issues, they may feel hungry at night, especially before bed or even in the middle of the night. This happens because insulin resistance doesn’t just affect blood sugar—it also affects other hormones that control sleep and hunger. As a result, you might have trouble falling asleep, wake up often, or feel hungry even if you ate dinner. As this is the body’s way of trying to fix low or unstable blood sugar levels, craving for sweets or carbs becomes a cycle, you may wake up tired despite 8 hours in bed or feel hungry around midnight.

Poor sleep makes insulin resistance worse, and insulin resistance makes it harder to sleep well. Over time, this can lead to tiredness during the day, weight gain, and more cravings. Taking steps to manage insulin resistance can help break this cycle and improve your sleep.

8. Dark Patches of Skin (Acanthosis Nigricans)

One visible sign of insulin resistance is acanthosis nigricans—dark, velvety patches that commonly appear on the neck, underarms, groin, or elbows. This is due to excess insulin affecting skin cell growth. These patches may affect your confidence and are often misdiagnosed as skin infections or dirt buildup.

9. Frustration Around Food Choices

Food choices are something you will find hard to come to terms with, as most of the time, nothing seems to work. The food vs weight struggle often takes the mental peace away, and you will feel guilty if you indulge yourself in your favourite food. One of the biggest mental struggles of insulin resistance is food confusion. You may try different diets—low-carb, low-fat, intermittent fasting, only to feel like nothing works. You might eat less and exercise more, yet still gain weight or feel unwell and unsure about what your body really needs.

What Can You Do to Reverse or Manage Insulin Resistance?

While insulin resistance can itself make you vulnerable and struggle to be fit, lose weight, eat right and feel overwhelmed, the good news is that it is reversible in many cases. It can be tackled, but you need consistent lifestyle changes like diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management, which can make a huge difference.

Remember that you need to follow a strict and specific goal-oriented life. These goals can be eating low-glycemic, high-fibre foods, and moving your body daily, where even walking helps! You also need to manage stress and sleep.

How to Reverse or Manage It:

Here’s a step-by-step approach:

1. Lose Excess Weight

The best measure to manage insulin resistance is to lose some weight; even a 5–10% weight loss can dramatically improve insulin sensitivity. If it is a tough thing to do, try doing daily exercise, especially strength training, to tone down the loose body muscles around your belly. Belly fat is metabolically active and worsens insulin resistance.

2. Eat a Balanced, Low-Glycemic Diet

Aim to intake foods that don’t spike your blood sugar quickly, with focus on high-fibre vegetables (spinach, broccoli, okra), Low-glycemic fruits (berries, apples, pears), whole grains (quinoa, oats, brown rice), lean proteins (chicken, fish, tofu, dal) and healthy fats (avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil).

It is better to limit or avoid certain food ingredients from daily food like refined carbs (white bread, pasta, pastries), sugary foods/drinks, trans fats (fried snacks, packaged baked goods).

3. Exercise Regularly

Be physically active, aerobic exercise and strength training are powerful tools to stay fit and active. Aerobic exercises like walking, cycling, and swimming for at least 30+ minutes/day are extremely beneficial if you are suffering from insulin resistance. Besides this, strength training for 2–3 days/week can help you improve your condition and feel better. Even short walks after meals help regulate glucose.

4. Sleep Well

Poor sleep increases insulin resistance, whereas good quality sleep will help tide you down from many health-related problems. Try to sleep well like a baby and aim for 7–8 hours of quality sleep each night. Avoid screens 1 hour before bed and maintain a sleep routine.

5. Manage Stress

Chronic stress releases cortisol, a stress hormone, which worsens insulin resistance. Try: meditation, deep breathing, yoga, journaling, and nature walks, anything which makes you stress-free. PCOS, hypothyroidism, or fatty liver can also worsen insulin resistance. Managing these conditions can help improve insulin sensitivity.

6. Consider Medication (if needed)

If you feel that lifestyle changes are not enough for you or you are not getting any better, you can see a medical practitioner. Going by your lab reports, doctors may prescribe you medicines that can improve insulin sensitivity.

There are medicines available in the market for weight loss and insulin control, for those who find it tough or who are not able to control their lifestyle. But medicines should always be taken under medical supervision.

Top Foods That Improve Insulin Sensitivity

1. Non-Starchy Vegetables

Starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn, peas, and sweet potatoes contain more carbohydrates than non-starchy veggies, so they can raise your blood sugar more quickly if consumed in large amounts.

However, when consumed in moderation and paired with fibre, protein, or healthy fats, some starchy vegetables—especially sweet potatoes—can still be part of a balanced diet for managing insulin resistance. Other examples are broccoli, spinach, kale, cauliflower, zucchini, okra, and bell peppers.

2. Low-Glycemic Fruits

These fruits, due to their low glycemic index, provide natural sweetness without spiking your blood sugar. Best examples: Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), apples, pears, kiwi, pomegranate. Besides, berries are rich in anthocyanins, compounds that improve insulin sensitivity.

3. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are excellent for insulin resistance because they contain healthy fats, fibre, protein, and magnesium, all of which help improve insulin function and stabilise blood sugar. Good choices include almonds, walnuts, pistachios, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and pumpkin seeds—just remember to enjoy them in moderation due to their high calorie content.

4. Fatty Fish

For fish lovers, especially, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. Eating these fatty fish 2–3 times a week can support better blood sugar control and heart health, which is important for managing insulin resistance. Vegetarian alternatives for omega-3 fatty acids are walnuts, flaxseeds, and algae-based omega-3 supplements.

5. Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are rich in fibre and digest slowly, in this way helping to prevent blood sugar spikes and improve insulin sensitivity. Some great options for insulin resistance include quinoa, oats, brown rice, barley, sweet potatoes, and whole wheat, which can keep you full longer and support steady energy levels.

6. Legumes

Legumes are a great plant-based protein and fibre source that helps regulate blood sugar and helps in fighting insulin resistance. Best examples are lentils, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, and moong dal.

7. Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices commonly available in the kitchen, like cinnamon, turmeric, and fenugreek, help improve insulin sensitivity and support blood sugar control naturally. They are of great help if you include them in your daily meals or teas; this can be an easy and effective way to manage insulin resistance.

8. Protein-Rich Foods

Protein-rich foods are essential for managing insulin resistance because they slow down the absorption of sugar, help control cravings, and support muscle health, which improves insulin sensitivity. Best examples are eggs, paneer, tofu, Greek yogurt, chicken, fish, but better to choose unprocessed and minimally cooked options.

9. Green Tea

Green tea is rich in antioxidants called catechins, which immensely help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. If you drink 1–2 cups of unsweetened green tea daily, it will support better blood sugar control and assist with weight management, which is important for reversing insulin resistance.

10. Healthy Fats

Healthy fats can play an important role in managing and improving insulin resistance if regularly used in your daily diet. They help reduce inflammation, stabilise blood sugar, and keep you full longer, which can reduce cravings for sugar and carbs. Including the right kinds of fats in your meals can support better insulin function, support cellular health and reduce insulin resistance. Some best examples of healthy fats are avocados, olive oil, coconut oil (in moderation), seeds, and nuts.

Bonus Tip:

Drink plenty of water, as drinking enough water helps flush out excess glucose through urine from your body and supports better metabolic and insulin function. Staying well-hydrated is an easy way to reduce hunger and cravings, which can be triggered by mild dehydration.

If you relate to these daily struggles, it’s not just in your head—it could be insulin resistance. The condition is common, underdiagnosed, but very manageable. Getting informed is the first step to taking back control of your health.

Start small. Be kind to yourself. And know that healing is possible.

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