“Just eat less and move more” is the worst advice ever given to women with insulin resistance.
Systems thinking is trending on LinkedIn right now (coaches talking about ditching calorie counting for blood sugar stability).
Which is fantastic.
But let me explain why this isn’t just another trend; it’s how your body has always worked.
Calories in ≠ calories out.
Your body isn’t a simple calculator.
Your body is a complex adaptive system with multiple feedback loops.
Or, to put it another way – It is an open system, and so is subject to the 2nd law of Thermodynamics, not the 1st.
Here’s what actually happens when you “just eat less”:
- Calorie restriction triggers metabolic adaptation signalling as your body perceives “famine”
- It downregulates thyroid function to conserve energy (makes you colder)
- It increases cortisol to mobilise muscle protein conversion into glucose for energy
- It increased ghrelin (the hunger hormone) to encourage you to eat more
- It prioritises fat storage over fat conversion (insulin resistance) into free fatty acids for energy to keep you alive as long as possible
You’re not lacking willpower.
Your body is doing exactly what it’s designed to do: protect you from starvation and keep you alive as long as possible.
Systems Thinking Accounts for This:
Instead of fighting your biology, you work with the system:
→ Stabilise insulin first (stop the blood sugar rollercoaster)
→ Restore metabolic flexibility (re-teach your body to release and use fat for fuel)
→ Account for hormonal variables (cycle-syncing, stress response, sleep quality)
→ Build sustainable habits (choice architecture, not restriction)
I’ve lived with wobbles for decades while working in IT infrastructure.
Same problem-solving framework.
Different system.
You don’t force a broken server to work harder.
You debug the system.
Why This Matters Right Now:
The coaching world is finally catching up to what those of us living with metabolic dysfunction have known forever:
Restriction doesn’t work long-term.
Systems correction does.
If you’ve spent years “eating less and moving more” with zero sustainable results?
That’s not your failure.
That’s the approach failing you.
Your body isn’t the problem.
The calorie-counting paradigm is.
What Diet Prison™️advice are you DONE with?
(Mine: ‘you just need more willpower’)
Drop yours in the comments.
