A health expert has revealed the top physical signs your body is heading towards Type 2 diabetes – and the one thing you need to do to get your health back on track. Former personal trainer and health advocate Rav Malik (pictured) shared that your body develops several markers of insulin resistance before it turns diabetic. Insulin resistance is a clinical condition in which insulin, the hormone secreted by the pancreas to control blood glucose levels in the body is no longer working as efficiently as it should.

Insulin has a profound effect on the body’s ability to burn fat and lose weight, and if you’re insulin resistant, you will find it difficult to lose weight even if you’re eating in a calorie deficit. In order to ensure your insulin levels remain within the recommended range, you need to decrease your intake of processed sugars and refocus your diet to include more protein. 

Rav (pictured), the founder of The Feel great System, shared a video outlining the various signs, such as cracks on the back of your neck and swollen feet. He revealed that your skin will also start to change, with the appearance of skin tags and pigmentation around your neck and knuckles. Another surefire sign is when your belly fat is ‘hard’ and ‘dense’ instead of soft.

‘If you touch your stomach fat and it’s hard and dense – you’re insulin resistant because the body is stuck in storage mode,’ he said. ‘Your feet will also start to swell because your body is retaining water and your blood pressure is higher,’ he added. ‘Your neck will get fatter and make it difficult for you to sleep, and you may even develop sleep apnea.’

The health expert also revealed that having ‘flabby’ arms is a sign of insulin resistance. ‘Our body is so tightly regulated, so whenever we eat food it increases our blood sugar,’ Rav shared. For example, a high-sugar meal like cereal will increase a body’s insulin levels by a significant amount and it’ll take longer for it to come back down to it’s base amount. It makes you hungry, tired, and want to eat more – but here’s where the problem lies. If you’re constantly eating lots of sugar – your insulin doesn’t go down and your body starts to become resistant to it.’ 

That will cause you to develop Hyperinsulinemia, which is when the amount of insulin in the blood is higher than what’s considered healthy. ‘The new normal leads to sickness – you start experiencing the physical symptoms but you also start looking older, craving sugar, feeling intense hunger, and have difficulty concentrating.’ One way to fight Hyperinsulinemia is to regulate the amount of processed sugars you consume and replace it with natural sugars like fruit and vegetables. Many thanked Rav for sharing his knowledge. ‘Wow, I didn’t know there were so many signs to look out for. I’m going to do a physical check before visiting my doctor – thank you!’ one said. ‘I knew I should be concerned about the sudden pigmentation – thanks for sharing,’ another added.