The Kitchen Sink Guide to Blood Sugar: Understanding Insulin Resistance | Dr. Kerri Fullerton ND

How one simple metaphor helps explain insulin resistance, diabetes, and what your body’s really trying to do

When I first started talking to patients about insulin resistance, I noticed the same expression appear again and again: that slightly glazed look that says, I’m nodding, but I don’t actually know what you just said.

It wasn’t that people didn’t care. They cared deeply. But most explanations of insulin resistance sound like a bad high school biology lecture, heavy on jargon, light on meaning.

Then one day, standing in my kitchen, it clicked for me: this is just like my sink.

That simple metaphor has since helped hundreds of people finally understand what’s going on in their bodies, not as something broken but as something communicating. Once they could see what insulin was doing, and why the drain was backing up, they could get behind the strategies that helped and ditch the ones that didn’t.

So, let’s head into the kitchen together.

How Insulin Works – Meet the Faucet and the Drain

To understand insulin resistance, we first need to understand insulin itself.

Imagine your bloodstream as a kitchen sink. When you eat, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, your body’s main source of energy. That’s like turning on the faucet and letting water (glucose) flow into the sink (your bloodstream).

Now, your cells, the ones that need energy, are waiting nearby with empty mugs. Insulin, the hormone made by your pancreas, acts like the drain, letting glucose flow out of the sink and into the cells, where it can be used as fuel.

When everything’s running smoothly, water flows in, water flows out, and your sink doesn’t backup.

But what happens when that drain starts to clog?

What Is Insulin Resistance – The Slow Drain

Insulin resistance happens when the body’s cells stop responding to insulin’s message as efficiently. It’s not that your body isn’t producing insulin; it’s that the message isn’t getting through clearly.

Picture your drain getting a little sluggish. The faucet’s still running, but the water isn’t leaving as quickly. The sink starts filling up. That’s your blood sugar rising.

Your body, ever the problem-solver, tells the pancreas to send in more insulin to push harder on that drain. For a while, this works. But over time, the system gets tired. The pancreas can’t keep up, and eventually, blood sugar stays higher than it should.

This stage, insulin resistance, is like having standing water in your sink. It’s a warning sign, not a failure. And it’s absolutely manageable when you understand what’s happening.

When I started explaining insulin resistance this way, patients stopped blaming themselves. It’s not a willpower issue or a “too much sugar” problem. It’s a communication issue. And communication can be improved.

Read more about Navigating Diabetes

Why Controlling Carb Flow Matters – Managing the Faucet

Here’s where nutrition comes in, not as a set of rules but as a way to help your plumbing system flow smoothly.

If insulin is the drain, carbohydrates are the water flowing from the faucet. And you don’t want to turn the faucet off completely (your body still needs carbs for energy, brain function, and pleasure). What you want is a steady, gentle flow instead of a burst that backs up the sink.

This is why pairing carbohydrates with protein, fibre, or fat helps. It slows the rate at which glucose enters the bloodstream; the faucet trickles instead of gushing, giving the drain (insulin) time to keep up.

The beauty of this approach is that it’s not about restriction. It’s about rhythm. It’s about learning how your unique sink responds and finding that steady, satisfying flow.

Read: Intuitive Eating with Diabetes

When the Slow Drain Becomes a Standing Sink – How Insulin Resistance Turns Into Diabetes

Here’s the thing about insulin resistance: it’s not a disease. It’s a state, a slowdown in how well your body responds to insulin. It can stay that way for years, even decades, without progressing.

Some people with insulin resistance never develop diabetes. Others do. The difference depends on a mix of genetics, stress, sleep, medications, illness, and just plain biology. There’s no moral to it, no fault to assign.

In the kitchen-sink world, this is when the drain is still moving water, just slower than before; standing water starts to accumulate. With the right care, you can help it flow better. However, if the drain continues to slow down and the faucet remains running, water will eventually accumulate in the sink (high blood sugar).

That’s diabetes: when your body can no longer clear the “water” (glucose) efficiently, no matter how long you wait. There’s always some left standing.

This shift doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t mean your body has failed you. It means your system needs some extra support. Tools like medication, movement, and steady nutrition help keep things flowing, even when the drain can’t clear completely on its own.

So while insulin resistance and diabetes share the same plumbing, they’re not the same problem. One is a slow drain you can often clear; the other is a system that needs regular care and a few helping hands.

When the Sink Stays Full – Understanding Long-Term Effects

So what happens if that slow drain goes unchecked?

When water sits too long in a sink, it doesn’t necessarily overflow right away, but it does start to build up residue. You know that grimy film that clings to the sides and the drain? That’s what happens in the body when glucose lingers in the bloodstream for too long.

Over time, that sticky environment allows other things to cling where they shouldn’t. Cholesterol and fats can start to stick to vessel walls. The longer the water stands still, the more build-up there is, and the harder it becomes for everything to move freely again.

That’s why unmanaged diabetes is linked with complications like cardiovascular disease, kidney strain, and nerve damage. It isn’t punishment or failure; it’s the natural wear and tear of a system that’s been working under pressure for too long.

But here’s the important part: this still isn’t about blame. You wouldn’t shame yourself for a gunky drain; you’d get curious about what’s causing the buildup and figure out how to clean it out safely. The same goes for blood sugar. The earlier we understand what’s happening, the more effectively we can care for it.

Read: What Happens After a Diabetes Diagnosis

For a compassionate, weight-neutral perspective on diabetes care, I often refer patients to Megrette Fletcher’s work. Megrette is a registered dietitian who’s been instrumental in teaching providers like me how to support people living with diabetes without centering weight or shame.

How to Care for the Drain – Supporting Your Body Without Shame

Once you understand how your sink works, it’s much easier to care for it.

• Medication: Think of certain diabetes medications as professional-grade drain cleaner. They don’t mean your sink is broken; they help reduce the pressure so the system can flow again.
• Movement: Moving your body acts like running warm water through the pipes. It helps clear the line and keeps things flowing.
• Sleep and stress management: Chronic stress and poor sleep tighten the plumbing. Managing them helps the drain function better.
• Nutrition: Gentle, consistent eating patterns prevent buildup and help insulin do its job.
• Supplements: At certain stages, targeted supplements can provide additional support alongside nutrition and lifestyle care. They’re one more tool in the toolbox—not a replacement for the foundation of consistent, compassionate self-care.

The key here is curiosity, not control. You’re not fixing your body; you’re partnering with it.

And if you’ve been told that managing insulin resistance means cutting carbs, losing weight, or giving up everything you love, I want you to know: there’s another way. A way rooted in science, sustainability, and self-respect.

The Bigger Picture – Compassion as a Form of Maintenance

When people first come to me with a new diagnosis or a blood sugar scare, I often see the same mix of fear and self-blame. It makes sense. Most health messages around diabetes are drenched in guilt.

But you can’t shame yourself into better health any more than you can unclog a sink by yelling at it.

What works is understanding, patience, and practical care. When you know what’s really happening in your body, you can make sense of what supports it. And when you release the shame, you make room for change that actually lasts.

Your body isn’t broken. It’s brilliant. It’s adaptable. And it’s always on your side.

So next time someone throws around the term insulin resistance like a moral failing, remember your sink. Remember the faucet, the drain, and the flow. And maybe share the metaphor with someone else who needs to hear it.

Because understanding your body shouldn’t feel like plumbing school. It should feel like coming home.

If you’ve been trying to make sense of all the blood-sugar talk online, I hope this helped connect a few dots — and reminded you that your body isn’t the problem.

If you’d like more support applying a weight-neutral approach to your own blood sugars, I’d love to help.
You can book a free discovery call to see if working together feels like the right fit, or start by downloading my free guide, Eat Like You Trust Yourself.

Rooting for your peace and your power,
Kerri