Insulin

And here's why, because I can't help but throw in a little bit of teaching.

Research points to getting in somewhere about 20 to 30 grams of protein within that first hour or so of waking, and that helps your body use insulin the way it's supposed to and helps keep your cortisol from swinging too high or crashing too low as the day gets going.

And this is why the timing matters.

Right when you wake up, your cortisol naturally surges, and that's normal.

God gave you a body that's designed to work with you, not against you.

You were never meant to figure it all out on your own.

So if you'd like someone to walk this out with you, come find us at mendmymetabolism.com/insulin.

I'd love to support you.

Today, we're going to connect both of those dots.

There's a hormone in your body called leptin, and when insulin blocks it, that one signal getting stuck is enough to keep you reaching for food you didn't want while being stuck on the couch with no motivation to move.

And neither one is a character flaw.

I'm walking you through exactly why this happens in midlife and exactly what to do about it.

Now here's where it breaks down.

Insulin and leptin, they talk to each other.

And when insulin is chronically high, which happens with insulin resistance, it blocks leptin from getting its message through.

It's like leptin is knocking on the door, but insulin is holding the door shut as hard as it can, not allowing it to get in.

That's what most people think, but Dr. Boz frames it entirely differently.

She says insulin literally insulates.

Insulates, like keeps things in.

Exactly.

It's fundamentally a hormone designed for growth and, crucially, for storing energy to help us survive famines.