What is metabolic syndrome and how do I fix it?
Metabolic syndrome isn’t just one thing. It’s a cluster of symptoms that have the same root cause. Just like anything with the label of “syndrome”, each person with it may experience some but not all of the symptoms. Generally, a diagnosis is given with you having at least three of the symptoms.
How is metabolic syndrome diagnosed?
Generally, you need to have 3 or more signs, which include:
Increased abdominal body fat with a waist circumference of >40” in men or >35” in women.
Elevated triglycerides >150mg/dL (1.7mmol/L)
Low HDL: men <40mg/dL (1.04mmol/L), women <50mg/dL (1.29 mmol/L)
High blood pressure: >130/>85 mmHg
FBG (fasting blood glucose): >100mg/dL (5.6mmol/L)
Also commonly seen in metabolic syndrome are:
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Take the metabolic syndrome quiz and get feedback.
Take this quiz online and send me your results. You can book a free 30-minute call with me to talk about what it means and what some of your options are.
Is metabolic syndrome lifelong?
It usually is, but it doesn’t have to be.
In the US, over 30% of adults have metabolic syndrome and most of them don’t know it. Because of that, nothing is done about it, and the disease progresses throughout life just getting worse.
But metabolic syndrome is caused primarily by diet and lifestyle factors which means it can be reversed that way too. Once people know they have it and understand what causes it, they can be smart about reversing it.
Can you lose weight with metabolic syndrome?
Absolutely. But it’s not easy the way most people go about it.
When I first meet a lot of my clients, they tell me, “My doctor told me I need to lose weight because that’s causing metabolic syndrome.” But it’s the opposite. The metabolic syndrome and underlying metabolic dysfunction are causing weight gain and making it hard to lose it. When we address the metabolic dysfunction underneath these symptoms and the weight gain, THEN the weight will come off and it won’t be such a struggle.
In fact, it’s the yo-yo diet cycle that is often one of the contributing factors to metabolic syndrome.
The old way of losing weight is by caloric restriction and focusing on the number on the scale. So what I see many people doing is undereating, overdoing cardio, increasing stress, and actually lowering their metabolic rate. Even worse, they don’t eat enough protein and they end up losing as much muscle as fat. As we know, muscle mass is essential for maintaining good metabolic health. So when you give up on this diet (because you’re hungry!) you end up gaining it all back as fat and your body composition has now tipped in favor of a higher fat percentage. As I talk about in my article on body composition, this is a recipe for disaster.
There is a much easier way to lose weight with metabolic syndrome when you focus on the root cause.
What causes metabolic syndrome?
The root cause of metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance or hyperinsulinemia.
You might recognize insulin as the hormone that helps us regulate blood sugar. But it does so much more in the body.
When we eat in a way that causes our blood sugar and insulin levels to be chronically elevated, over time it leads to insulin resistance. This means our cells are full of energy and don’t need it anymore. So they no longer respond to insulin and blood sugar starts to go up. The body responds by making more and more insulin to regulate blood sugar. So we can eventually bring blood sugars down, but only with much higher levels of insulin.
The higher insulin also acts as a fat storage switch. When insulin is high, you are in fat storage mode. You cannot burn fat for fuel as long as your insulin levels are high. This leads to more stubborn belly fat and low energy levels.
Elevated insulin also causes higher blood pressure, high triglycerides, higher inflammation (pain), hormone dysregulation, problems with PCOS, and erectile dysfunction. In fact, blood sugar issues are the root cause of erectile dysfunction.
Does metabolic syndrome cause heart disease?
Yes. 100%
If it’s left untreated, that is the natural progression.
Is metabolic syndrome diabetes?
No, but it can develop into diabetes.
Typically, metabolic syndrome is present with prediabetes. Prediabetes is the diagnosis given when fasting blood sugar and A1c levels start to get higher. Metabolic syndrome is when we notice other symptoms like high blood pressure, belly fat and elevated triglycerides too. They have the same root cause… insulin resistance.
Some people never develop diabetes from metabolic syndrome. They tend to die of cardiovascular disease first.
No, I’m not sugar-coating this. It’s important to know what’s at risk here.
Is metabolic syndrome reversible?
It is definitely reversible. But you have to approach it from its root cause: Blood sugar dysregulation and insulin resistance.
How do I fix metabolic syndrome naturally?
In a nutshell, get better blood sugar control to get your insulin levels down.
I know your doctor probably told you to lose weight to fix it. I’m guessing that you’ve tried that and if you know how to do that, you’d have done it by now.
There are actually a variety of things that can cause your blood sugar to be dysregulated and raise your insulin levels.
High intake of simple carbohydrates
Low protein intake
Poor sleep
High stress
Sweet drinks
Medications
Chronic pain
In my clinical experience, the best and fastest way to find out what is contributing to your blood sugar issues and correct it is by using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for 1-3 months.
Sure, you can do it the old-fashioned way - Follow a strict diet where you take out all our old foods, eat totally new foods, restrict calories, restrict fat, zero desserts, exercise regularly… lose some weight and improve things but then SOMETHING gets you off track and you never get back and you lose all your gains and feel like a failure.
The problem with the old method is that you don’t know what’s helping and what’s hurting! So you end up doing MORE than you need and that’s unsustainable. You make a little progress, but you work so hard and don’t know what’s moving the needle, and you fall off the wagon. When you are on a diet, you can go OFF your diet. What you need is to understand exactly what moves the needle for you and the minumum effort needed to start making progress.
With a CGM, you can see immediately if sleep is an issue and put your efforts there. You can identify a problem with breakfast and it takes you just a few days to find a new one that works for you. Maybe what you put in your coffee spikes your blood sugar! Easy fix. Notice if stressful phone calls spike your blood sugar and learn how to mitigate that. And when you DO eat a meal that wasn’t the best choice, you can learn how to mitigate that spike in blood sugar with some simple strategies like taking a walk after meals. Using a CGM, you can find the minimum effective dose of healthy to move the needle and spend more time on the rest of your life.
“Using a CGM, you can find the minimum effective dose of healthy to move the needle and spend more time on the rest of your life.”
Is metabolic syndrome JUST about blood sugar?
For most people, blood sugar gets you about 80% home, but there are other factors.
Sleep is a big one. Poor sleep raises stress hormone levels, which increase insulin resistance. Even if you are doing all the right things during the day, poor sleep can thwart your efforts.
Some medications can be problematic too. When on medications that are known to lead to diabetes, it’s that much more critical to pay attention to your blood sugar to minimize the impact on your health.
Exercise tends to be a non-negotiable here. Any kind of exercise save for OVER-exercising helps with metabolic syndrome. But I’ve had clients make use of a CGM to really master their blood sugar when they couldn’t exercise.
Will a CGM help me lose weight?
Yes. If your excess weight is due to visceral adipose tissue (ie belly fat), then getting better blood sugar control will help you unlock that belly fat and lose it.
The problem with other weight loss methods with you have insulin resistance is they focus on caloric restriction. You need to get your insulin levels down and keep your protein intake up.
During my 4-week “Hack Your Blood Sugar Using a CGM” program, participants spend the first 2 weeks learning the basics of metabolism and how to apply this knowledge to “hack” their blood sugar. During this time, they are the scientists and the subjects. They just observe how their usual diet and lifestyle affect their blood sugar. They learn to connect the dots. Without trying very hard, changes start to happen. During the next 2 weeks, they start to get better blood sugar control as we troubleshoot their CGM data together and I give them more personalized tips on how to hack it. I use the term “hack” because while we do try to make healthier choices, we often find ways to hack in some of our favorite foods with less of a harmful impact on blood sugar. We use our new metabolism knowledge to do this. After 4 weeks, people have the tools they need to continue on their own and typically report continued improvements including weight loss, better sleep, less pain, lower lipids, better A1c, and better hormone balance.
I find simply using a CGM without the education or support is less effective. A little bit of support on the front end can really fast-track the improvements, which is very motivating. We all need some early wins to keep us moving in the right direction.
Has anyone ever said this to you? Gah! Watch my FREE webinar where we discuss weight loss with metabolic syndrome.
Sometimes, the calorie restriction strategy just makes things worse. I find it helpful to focus on healing the metabolism, then the weight will come off more easily.
Take the Metabolic Syndrome Quiz
I know we just covered A LOT of information about Metabolic Syndrome what it is and what you can do about it. Do you still have questions and/or wonder if you have it? Take my Metabolic Syndrome Quiz, and it sends me your results confidentially. You can book a FREE 30-minute call with me to talk about what it means and what some of your options are.
Stop guessing at what to eat and see exactly how your body responds to food in real time.
These are not just for people with diabetes. ANYONE can access this technology for under $90/month to give them a window into their metabolism. This guide gives you some information about how to get started.