Concerns
Weight and blood sugar
Your weight has crept up even though you eat much as before, and what worked a few years ago no longer does. Perhaps you have been told to eat less and move more, as if you had not already tried.
It is not a question of willpower. Blood sugar and insulin, sleep, stress, the thyroid and hormones all affect both hunger and where the body stores fat. Many people who come to us have tried several diets and are tired of starting again.
Does this sound familiar?
- You eat as before but still gain weight.
- Weight gathers around your middle in a way it did not before.
- You feel tired and crave something sweet after meals.
- You have lost weight several times, and put it back on.
- You have been told to eat less and move more, but nobody has asked why.
Why is it hard to get help?
An ordinary blood sugar test shows whether you have diabetes, but not whether your body has started working hard to keep blood sugar down. Insulin can rise for years before blood sugar does, and fasting insulin is rarely measured.
Weight is also about sleep, stress, hormones and muscle as much as calories. That is hard to go through in a short appointment, so the advice is often the same as last time.
With us, we measure what shows how your metabolism actually works, and we start from your life when we make a plan.
What happens in the body when your weight changes?
When you eat, blood sugar rises and insulin helps the body deal with it. If that happens often and a lot, your cells become less sensitive to insulin. The body then needs more insulin, and high insulin makes it easier to store fat, especially around the middle.
Lack of sleep increases hunger hormones, stress raises cortisol, and when oestrogen falls in the menopause, fat often moves to the stomach. That is why the same habits can give a different weight at 50 than at 35.
What could be behind it?
We often find that insulin has started to rise long before blood sugar does. It does not show in an ordinary blood sugar test, but it can be measured.
Insulin resistance
The body needs more insulin to keep blood sugar normal. High insulin makes it easier to store fat around the middle.
Read the guide: Blood sugar and diabetes risk →The thyroid
A slow thyroid can cause weight gain, feeling cold and tiredness.
Read the guide: Thyroid health →The menopause
As oestrogen falls, fat often moves to the stomach, and many women gain weight despite the same habits.
Read the guide: Women's health →Sleep
Too little sleep increases hunger and sugar cravings the next day.
Stress
Long-term stress and high cortisol can increase appetite and fat around the middle.
Read the guide: Hormone balance →Medicines
Some medicines, such as certain antidepressants and cortisone, can affect weight. Never change a medicine without talking to your doctor.
What you can do yourself
- Eat protein and vegetables first in a meal. It softens the rise in blood sugar.
- Take a ten-minute walk after eating.
- Do strength training twice a week. Muscle takes care of blood sugar.
- Sleep seven to eight hours. Too little sleep increases hunger the next day.
- Eat regularly rather than skipping meals and eating a lot later.
- Measure your waist rather than only your weight. It says more about blood sugar and insulin.
What we look at
Your history
How your weight has changed over time, what you have tried before and what has happened in your life in the same period.
Food, sleep and movement
When and what you eat, how you sleep, how much you move and whether you do strength training.
Tests with a purpose
We only suggest tests that could change the next step. Here that often means fasting insulin, fasting glucose, HbA1c, blood lipids and the thyroid.
Tests that may be relevant
How it works
Four steps
- 01
Tell us about you
You fill in a health questionnaire about your symptoms, your sleep, what you eat and your daily life.
- 02
Take your blood test
You give a blood sample at a lab near you, in Stockholm or at any of more than 100 sampling locations across Sweden. We help you choose the tests that answer your questions.
- 03
Go through your results
You receive a personal health report and a session with one of our practitioners, and we make a plan together.
- 04
Follow up
We follow how you are getting on and adjust the plan. A new blood test after three to six months shows how your results have changed.
When to get medical help
Contact your health centre soon if you also have any of these:
- You are gaining weight quickly without explanation, or your legs are swelling.
- You are very thirsty, pass urine often or are losing weight without trying.
- Thoughts about food and weight are taking over your daily life. Contact your health centre or 1177.
Call 112 in an emergency. Call 1177 for advice on where to get care.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I gaining weight when I eat as usual?
It is common from around 40. Muscle mass falls, sleep gets worse, and in women the menopause changes where the body stores fat. Insulin resistance and a slow thyroid can also contribute, and both can be measured.
Can the menopause make it harder to lose weight?
Yes. Falling oestrogen means fat more often collects around the middle, and poorer sleep increases hunger. What worked before may need adjusting. Many women we see get better results from strength training, protein and sleep than from eating even less.
Do I need to go on a diet?
Not necessarily. We start from your results, your daily life and what is realistic for you to change. It is often more about when and what you eat, sleep and movement than about counting calories.
What are the symptoms of insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance often causes no clear symptoms for years. Some people notice weight gain around the middle, strong tiredness or cravings after meals, skin tags or darker patches of skin on the neck or in the armpits. It is also closely linked to PCOS. Fasting insulin together with fasting glucose shows it long before HbA1c rises.
Why do I get a blood-sugar crash?
Feeling shaky, hungry, irritable or light-headed a few hours after eating can be a sign that your blood sugar rose quickly and then fell too far. In people without diabetes, this is often linked to meals rich in refined carbohydrates. If it happens often, or you feel faint, talk to a doctor. Many people we see recognise it as an afternoon slump with sugar cravings.
What is included in a Health Assessment?
A health questionnaire, a personal health report and a short session with one of our practitioners. You add the blood test depending on what you want to look into, and we help you choose. If you have a long-term condition and want to find out whether your diet and lifestyle may be contributing, or you need a referral to our doctor, we also offer longer appointments.
Do I need a referral?
No. You book yourself, and the blood sample is taken at a lab near you. We have sampling locations in Stockholm and at more than 100 places across Sweden.
Would you like help understanding what drives your weight? Read about the Health Assessment →
Read more
Sources
Reviewed by
Wellth Team
Wellth
Our content is written and reviewed by Wellth, and fact-checked against peer-reviewed research and current Swedish clinical guidelines.
Learn more about our team →Important to know
Wellth does not diagnose or treat disease. We work with diet, lifestyle and preventive health, alongside the care you already have.
Our reports and sessions do not replace medical advice, and a test result should not be read as a diagnosis. We use both standard healthcare reference ranges and optimal ranges. A value can therefore be normal by healthcare standards and still fall outside the range associated with good health. That does not mean disease, but it can be a chance to act early.
Supplements are only recommended by a nutritional therapist as part of a consultation, never automatically from a test result.
If anything in your results needs to be looked at by a doctor, we will tell you clearly. Contact your healthcare provider if you are worried about your health. Call 1177 for advice, or 112 in an emergency.