Insulin & Weight Gain: Why It Happens + How to Manage It

Insulin therapy is essential for managing diabetes, but it often comes with a frustrating side effect—weight gain. This article explores why insulin can lead to fat storage, how diet and activity levels play a role, and what strategies you can use to avoid unwanted weight gain. Learn how to take control of your health with realistic, doctor-backed advice.

Key Takeaways

• Over 60% of people with type 1 diabetes are overweight or obese, often due to insulin therapy.
• Insulin promotes fat storage when there’s excess glucose in the bloodstream.
• Weight gain can be managed with a low-carb diet, regular exercise, and mindful portion control.
• WHO recommends 150+ minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to manage blood sugar and weight.
• Skipping meals or stopping insulin isn’t the answer—work with your healthcare provider on safe alternatives.
• Medications like Metformin or pramlintide may help reduce the need for higher insulin doses and support weight loss.

The Science Behind Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, which are the same as glucose. Insulin helps the body absorb glucose during digestion by stimulating liver cells, muscles, and fat. The body either uses the glucose for energy or stores it as fat.

With type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas makes enough insulin, but the body’s cells do not use it properly. The pancreas reacts by making more insulin. This is insulin resistance. Insulin resistance, ultimately, diabetes can be managed and reversed by losing weight.

How Insulin Makes You Gain Weight

High blood sugar levels can be caused by more carbohydrate intake than the body can process. If the cells do not remove the glucose from the blood, the body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars; tissues store the glucose as fat.

When taking insulin for diabetes management, the body absorbs glucose and converts excess blood sugar to fat. If treatment is not working effectively, blood glucose levels can be very high, which can cause weight gain.

A person with diabetes on insulin therapy may be eating more to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Increased calorie intake can lead to weight gain.

Lifestyle Factors To Avoid Insulin Weight Gain

Diet

What you eat and how you eat dramatically impacts weight gain. High carbohydrate intake, processed foods, and sugary drinks increase weight gain. When you use insulin to manage diabetes, it is essential to have a low-calorie diet and engage in physical activity.

Sustainable diet tips

Eat for your physical hunger: Several emotions, aside from actual hunger, make you want to eat. These include boredom, depression, and stress. Eating for physical hunger will help you not overeat.

Choose satisfying and nutritious foods: Foods high in fiber and healthy fats keep you fuller for longer. Eat foods from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. If you indulge in a treat or craving, eat a small portion.

Track calorie intake and portion control: It is helpful to track your calorie intake so you do not eat more calories than your body needs or even fewer calories because you are avoiding gaining weight. Watching your calories will also help you learn the portion sizes that work for you and how often you must eat daily to make up for the calories you require.

Don’t skip meals: Skipping meals on insulin as a person with diabetes could cause low blood sugar. Although you may be tempted to skip meals to help you lose weight, you will most likely overeat in your next meal because you are starving.

The American Diabetes Association recommendation: The ADA recommends a Diabetes Plate Method when meal planning. Use a plate about 9 inches (ca. 23 cm) wide and adapt these simple steps.

• Fill half the plate with non-starchy vegetables. These include leafy salad greens, peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts. These are lower in carbohydrates and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
• Fill one-quarter of the plate with complex carbohydrates like whole grain bread or pasta, brown rice, quinoa, oats, and dairy products like low-fat yogurt.
• Fill the other quarter of the plate with lean protein, such as fish, turkey, chicken, tofu, tempeh, and beans.

Stick to water or unsweetened tea always.

Avoid added sugars, refined carbohydrates, processed foods, high-fat foods, like:

• fast foods
• fried foods
• cookies
• candy
• cakes

Exercise Habits

Regular exercise and physical activity burn calories, promote fat and weight loss, and regulate high blood glucose levels.

A 2019 study suggests that a regimented exercise schedule could have significant benefits for people who are insulin-resistant and have type 2 diabetes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise weekly for adults 18 to 64.

Exercising improves blood sugar levels, so it’s best to discuss with your healthcare provider how exercising will affect your blood sugar levels and medications. You may need to adjust your medications or take some snacks to avoid low blood sugar levels.

Aerobic and resistance exercises can help you lose weight. Aerobics help burn calories and glucose, and resistance helps build muscle. Glucose fuels muscles, so the more muscle, the more healthy weight you have. Strength training preserves lean body mass as you age.

Aerobic activities can be anything that raises your heartbeat, like:

• Walking
• Biking
• Running
• Dancing
• Rigorous house chores
• Stair steppers
• Elliptical machines

Strength or resistance training involves:

• Body weight exercises
• Free weights
• Weight machines

Other Lifestyle Factors:

• reducing body inflammation
• getting enough sleep
• moderating stress levels

Insulin and Weight Loss

Weight loss is often a symptom of untreated type 1 and 2 diabetes. With type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks cells of the pancreas that make insulin, so it doesn’t produce insulin. There is no insulin to move the glucose into the body’s cells; the glucose builds up in the bloodstream. The kidneys remove the sugar during urination. Sugar is not used for energy; the body makes up for energy by burning fat and muscle for energy, causing weight loss. Not using insulin as required can cause high blood sugar levels, diabetic ketoacidosis, and potentially lead to death.

People with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. In this case, the pancreas typically can make insulin, but the body can’t use it well. This makes the pancreas produce more insulin, and it eventually wears out. Obesity and overweight can increase a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes. Research shows you may reduce the chance of developing type 2 diabetes by over 50 percent in adults at high risk by losing 5 to 7 percent of body weight.

Personalized Approaches to Insulin and Weight

Your healthcare professional can help you plan for weight loss and maintain a healthy weight. Your team can help you set realistic weight goals to reach your ideal body mass index. Your doctor may also be able to recommend other diabetes medications so you can reduce your insulin dose.

This may help you gain less weight. Medications like exenatide (Bydureon), Metformin (Glucovance), and pramlintide (SymlinPen) can help regulate blood sugar levels and help with weight loss. Your healthcare professional can tell you what medications are the best for you.

Common Missteps in Managing Insulin and Weight

If you are on insulin therapy, it is for a good cause; you should not stop taking insulin to prevent weight gain. You can have complications like kidney diseases, peripheral neuropathy, and poorly healing wounds. Insulin therapy may be the best way to reduce blood glucose and manage diabetes. If you have weight gain concerns, talk to your doctor and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels, helps break down fats and protein, and promotes fat storage. High insulin levels in the body can lead to weight gain because insulin resistance or treatment can lead to weight gain.

Some strategies can help you avoid gaining weight because of insulin therapy. These include physical activity, exercise, and a healthy diet.

You should talk to a healthcare professional about your options and what is best for you.