When your body stores instead of burns.
Insulin resistance is the single most common driver of stubborn weight, energy crashes, cravings, and metabolic dysfunction. The good news: it’s measurable, and it’s reversible.
Why your cycles, weight, and skin are connected
Insulin Resistance & PCOS — the cascade
Most clinics treat each symptom as its own problem. The cascade view shows how three root drivers create everything you’re experiencing — and why fixing the roots fixes the symptoms.
Insulin Resistance
Cells stop responding well to insulin. Pancreas pumps out more.
Chronic Inflammation
Often hidden — from gut, food sensitivities, or visceral fat.
HPA / Stress Axis
Cortisol stays elevated. Disrupts ovulation signaling.
Androgen Excess
High insulin signals ovaries to make more testosterone.
Ovulation Disruption
LH/FSH rhythm breaks down. Cycles become irregular.
Low SHBG
Less binding protein = more free androgens in circulation.
Irregular cycles
Cystic acne
Hair loss / hirsutism
Stubborn weight gain
The labs in your Metabolic Blueprint test each of these layers — insulin, inflammatory markers, free vs total testosterone, SHBG, DUTCH hormones — so the treatment plan addresses what’s actually driving your symptoms.
1 in 3 American adults has prediabetes (CDC).
80% of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it.
PCOS affects 8-13% of reproductive-age women.
Insulin resistance precedes Type 2 diabetes by 10+ years.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal and metabolic condition affecting an estimated 8-13% of reproductive-age women. The diagnostic Rotterdam criteria require two of three features: androgen excess (clinical or biochemical), ovulatory dysfunction, and polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound. Insulin resistance is present in 70-80% of women with PCOS and is the primary driver of the syndrome’s downstream effects including weight gain resistance, acne, hirsutism, irregular cycles, and elevated long-term risk of type 2 diabetes. Twin Cities Metabolism evaluates PCOS through fasting insulin, glucose tolerance testing, comprehensive hormone panels (DUTCH or serum), and treats the upstream insulin resistance rather than only managing the surface symptoms.
What insulin resistance actually looks like.
- · You crave carbs or sugar — especially in the afternoon or evening
- · You feel tired after meals, particularly carb-heavy ones
- · Belly fat that doesn’t budge no matter the workout
- · Energy crashes between meals
- · Your fasting glucose is “normal” but you’ve never had your fasting insulin checked
- · You’ve been told you’re “pre-diabetic” with no clear path forward
- · Skin tags, dark patches on the neck or armpits
- · Irregular menstrual cycles, acne in adulthood, unwanted hair growth (PCOS pattern in women)
- · Low libido, soft fat in the middle, fatigue (insulin + low-T pattern in men)
Most primary care labs check whether you’re already diabetic. Insulin resistance — the years-to-decades-long upstream cause — is measurable but rarely ordered. By the time it shows up on a standard panel, it’s already become a disease state. We catch it earlier.
What’s actually happening.
Insulin is the hormone that decides whether your body stores energy or burns it. When your cells become resistant to insulin’s signal, several things happen at once.
1. Your body keeps secreting more insulin to compensate.
Chronically high insulin levels lock you into storage mode. Even when you eat less, you store rather than burn.
3. In women: insulin resistance drives androgen excess.
This is PCOS. Insulin tells the ovaries to make more testosterone, which causes irregular cycles, acne, and unwanted hair growth.
5. Long term, it becomes pre-diabetes and then diabetes.
This trajectory is preventable — but only if it’s identified before disease ranges trigger.
2. Blood sugar swings drive cravings and crashes.
What you experience as “willpower failures” are mostly hormonal — you’re not weak, you’re hyperinsulinemic.
4. In men: insulin resistance often pairs with low testosterone.
Belly fat converts testosterone to estrogen. The cycle is self-reinforcing.
The workup we typically run.
- · Fasting insulin + glucose + HbA1c + HOMA-IR — the full insulin/glucose picture, not just one number
- · Comprehensive blood chemistry — including triglycerides, HDL, ApoB, fasting glucose patterns
- · DUTCH hormone panel — measures androgen excess, cortisol patterns, sex hormones
- · InBody body composition — visceral fat and lean mass — both move with insulin resistance
- · CGM (continuous glucose monitor) — for advanced cases, a 2-week CGM shows your real-time glucose response. (Standard within The Reset.)
- · Inflammatory markers — hs-CRP, homocysteine
We choose what’s needed for your case at the free consult. Most workups land at 3-5 panels.
What patients say.
I am no longer pre-diabetic.
“After six months of seeing Dr Jared I feel the best I have in over four years. My health and weight aren’t yet where I want them and I will continue to see him until all my issues are resolved. Thanks to him I am no longer pre-diabetic and my thyroid symptoms are almost completely gone.”
— Patient testimonial, Google review
Got OFF the meds and returned my blood sugar to normal.
“my metformin prescription was going up, then glimepiride, my blood sugars were still going up, the docs just said diabetes is a degenerative disease, expect insulin down the road. dr jared said probably i could get OFF the meds AND return my blood sugar to normal. and i have done exactly that! thank you dr jared, totally worth it, so glad i have done it.”
— Patient testimonial, Google review
Listening when doctors wouldn’t.
“Thank you Dr Jared, first of all for listening. Listening when doctors wouldn’t. For believing that my life could be better even without prescription medication. I highly recommend a consultation for anyone with fatigue, depression, muscle aches, PCOS or hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities, or trouble losing weight that is interested in healing your body inside out without standard drug treatment.”
— Patient testimonial, Google review
Frequently asked.
My fasting glucose is normal. Could I still have insulin resistance?
Yes — frequently. Fasting glucose is one of the last things to rise. By the time fasting glucose is elevated, you’ve usually had insulin resistance for years. Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR catch it much earlier.
I have PCOS. Is this the right approach?
Most cases of PCOS are insulin-resistance-driven. Addressing the insulin pattern often resolves the androgen excess, the cycle irregularity, and the weight pattern. We use the DUTCH hormone panel to map exactly what’s happening in your case.
Can I reverse this without medication?
Most patients can, when caught early. Our approach is targeted nutrition + specific supplementation + body composition changes — the medication conversation is between you and your prescribing physician.
How fast can I see change in my labs?
Fasting insulin and triglycerides typically move within 6-12 weeks. HbA1c is a 3-month rolling average, so it takes 3-4 months to fully reflect changes. Body composition usually starts shifting in weeks 8-16.
I’ve tried low-carb and it didn’t work. What’s different here?
Low-carb works for some insulin resistance patterns and not others. Some patients need more carbs at certain times of day. Some need to address gut inflammation first. The “right diet” depends on what your case actually says.
Where to go from here
Two ways to test what’s actually driving your case. HSA/FSA eligible · Telehealth nationwide · No referral required
START SMALL
Comprehensive Assessment
$195 · ~45 min · 3-page report
InBody Scan + RMR Test + Dr Jared’s analysis. The 45-minute clinical snapshot.
FULL DIAGNOSTIC
Metabolic Blueprint
~$1,250 · lab workup · written report
Blood chemistry, gut, hormones — the cascade tested in full. The diagnostic foundation behind every program.
Most patients with insulin resistance or PCOS start with the Comprehensive Assessment to confirm the cascade is what’s driving things, then move to the Blueprint when ready for full investigation.
Find out where your insulin actually is.
A free consult is the first step. Or start with a scan — the InBody captures visceral fat (a key insulin resistance marker) directly.
No referral required · Open to the public
Important: The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Twin Cities Metabolism provides functional medicine consultation, not emergency care. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or visit your nearest emergency room. Always consult with your qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about your health, medications, or treatment plan.
Not sure if insulin resistance or PCOS is your situation? Take our 90-second quiz →