My mum didn’t look right.
It was 2019. I’d popped up north (UK) for a visit.
She’s normally energetic. Always busy with something. Garden projects. Seeing friends. Walking her dog.
But when I arrived, she was… different.
Pale skin. Low energy. Moving slowly.
She kept sitting down, resting.
Which wasn’t like her at all.
My mum raised me on her own from birth.
We’re close.
When she’s not well, I go into “over-protection mode.”
Something was wrong and I could tell.
Over the next few days, I noticed more things:
She was constantly thirsty.
Her skin looked dry.
And she was eating differently.
More snacks. More sweet things.
Now, my mum has always had a bit of a sweet tooth. But never like this.
Cake after lunch isn’t her normal behaviour.
I pressed her about it.
Eventually she admitted she’d been having something sweet most days.
Sometimes twice a day.
“Since when?”
“I don’t know. Maybe since I met Rich?”
Richard is her boyfriend. Lovely man.
They’d been together about 6 months at this point.
It all clicked into place.
Since meeting Rich, mum’s lifestyle had changed.
They went for coffee dates (she’d have cake).
Weekend getaways (eating out more, desserts with dinner).
Cozy nights in (ice cream while watching TV).
She was happier than she’d been in years. In that honeymoon phase. Living her best life.
But she’d unknowingly gone from having sweets occasionally to having them almost daily.
Multiple times per day sometimes.
I reccomend she get a blood sguar test to check her insulin resistance levels.
“Don’t be silly. I eat healthy. I’m not obese. Diabetes is for people who eat rubbish all the time.”
She genuinely believed she was eating healthy overall.
And she was, technically.
Home-cooked meals. Lots of vegetables. Lean proteins.
But she’d added carbs and sugar throughout the day without realising the cumulative effect.
Each carb spike wasn’t huge. But the frequency was constant.
Her body was being exposed to insulin all day long.
I finally convinced her to see her GP and request a diabetes screening.
The results came back a week later.
Type 2 diabetes.
She called me anxious…
“How did this happen? I don’t understand. I eat healthy foods.”
This is what most people don’t get about insulin resistance.
It’s not just about eating “healthy” vs “unhealthy” foods.
It’s about frequency of carbohydrate intake.
Every time you eat carbs (even healthy carbs like oats, sweet potato, or fruit), your body releases insulin.
Insulin is the key that unlocks your cells so they can absorb glucose (and vital nutrients) from your blood.
But the more often you expose your body to insulin, the less sensitive your cells become to it.
Think of it like hearing a fire alarm go off constantly.
Eventually, you stop reacting to it.
Your cells do the same thing with insulin.
This is called insulin resistance.
And it’s the path to Type 2 diabetes.
My mum had been spiking her insulin 5-6 times per day for months.
Her cells had become resistant.
They’d stopped responding to insulin properly.
Your nsulin resistance controls:
- How well your body absorbs carbs to build muscle, OR WORSE, store as fat.
- How well your body uses stored fat for energy OR WORSE, create uncontrollable carb cravings.
- Your health markers (like cholesterol levels).
It’s the bottom of the ice-berg (the real problem) you can’t see…
If you’re struggling to build lean muscle, lose weight, and battling low energy…
Chances are you have some form of insulin resistance.
And until you fix it, your body will keep fighting against you.
The good news?
Type 2 diabetes caused by insulin resistance is often reversible.
You just need to re-sensitise your cells to insulin.
Here’s what we did:
One simple rule: No carbs after 2pm.
That’s it.
Breakfast: Eggs, avocado, vegetables. Could include some oats or toast if she wanted.
Lunch: Whatever she wanted. Carbs included.
Dinner: Protein, healthy fats, vegetables. ZERO carbs.
No potatoes. No rice. No pasta. No bread. No dessert.
This gave her body a long window every evening and through the night without any insulin spikes.
From 2pm until she woke up the next morning…
…roughly 16-18 hours, her cells had time to re-sensitize to insulin.
I helped her find alternatives for evening meals:
- Cauliflower rice instead of regular rice
- Courgette noodles instead of pasta
- More vegetables to fill the plate
- Bigger portions of protein and healthy fats (kept her full)
Rich was supportive.
He adjusted his eating too to make it easier for her.
After about a week, she stopped missing the carbs at dinner.
After two weeks, she said: “I actually feel better. More energized.”
After 12 weeks, she went back for another blood test.
Her blood glucose levels were back in the normal range.
She’s maintained this approach to this day.
Still eats carbs. Still has treats.
But not constantly throughout the day.
And her diabetes? Never came back.
Most people think about diabetes as “eat too much sugar and you’ll get diabetes.”
But it’s more nuanced than that.
You can eat relatively healthy foods and still develop insulin resistance if you’re spiking insulin constantly.
Frequency matters as much as quantity.
The solution isn’t never eating carbs.
It’s giving your body breaks from insulin spikes.
Long enough breaks that your cells can re-sensitise.
This is why I teach carb timing in detail in all my Programs…
I call it the The Lean Lifestyle Nutrition Blueprint.
Not because carbs are bad.
But because timing them strategically prevents insulin resistance.
The lean muscle / fat loss strategy is simple:
If you work out in the morning, have carbs at breakfast and lunch (your body uses them for energy and recovery).
Keep dinner carb-free (gives your cells overnight to re-sensitize).
If you work out in the evening, flip it.
Carb-free breakfast, carbs at lunch and dinner.
The goal is one long window each day without insulin spikes.
This keeps your insulin sensitivity optimal.
Which means:
- Better energy (no afternoon crashes)
- Easier fat loss (body can access fat stores)
- Better muscle building (nutrients go to muscles, not fat cells)
- Reduced diabetes risk
My mum’s situation was a wake-up call for me too.
Because I realised how many people are walking around with declining insulin sensitivity and don’t know it.
They’re eating “healthy.”
Following advice to have 4-5 small meals per day.
All good foods. But constant insulin spikes.
My mum got lucky. We caught it early and reversed it.
But prevention is so much easier than reversal.
Here’s to your Fitness Freedom!
Coach Adam
Founder, Fitness Freedom Athletes
P.S.
Rich lost 15 pounds following the same approach even though he didn’t have diabetes. He just liked how he felt with better insulin sensitivity. More energy, better sleep, easier to maintain weight. These Lean Lifestyle Nutrition Bueprint principles work for everyone, not just people with blood sugar issues.
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