Women most frequently crave chocolate, ice cream and bread while men crave protein foods like hot dogs and eggs.

You may not realize that you actually are craving carbs. Most of us associate carbs with bread, rice, pasta and potato. But did you know that there are many foods that you might crave because of the "hidden carbs?" Foods like hot dogs, Swiss cheese and deli meats; even artificial sweeteners with maltodextrin or dextrose; coffee and cream and sugar-free gelatin contain hidden carbs.

Starting at age 35, women gain an average of 1.5 pounds of fat per year.

Some people, especially people of Asian descent, may be insulin resistant even though their waists are narrow. The reason is that people of Asian ancestry are believed to carry their “belly” fat internally. People of Asian ethnicity are also believed to carry their fat tissue around the body more evenly so it may not be as apparent.

Many people who believe they are getting enough chromium in their diet actually may not be, due to food processing methods that remove the naturally occurring chromium in commonly consumed foods. You would need to eat more than 9 cups of cooked broccoli a day to get the amount of chromium in one chromium picolinate capsule.

You need to eat more than 9 cups of cooked broccoli to get the amount of chromium in one chromium picolinate capsule.

Nutritional chromium is found in small amounts in many foods including spinach, whole grains and beets; however, most foods contain less than 1 to 2 mcg per serving. Even a "perfect diet" based on the current recommended dietary guidelines may not provide the 200-1000 mcg of chromium needed to obtain beneficial effects on insulin function.

At any given time, 1 in every 5 people feels tired, moreso women than men.

Most of us think of being fatigued as being physically tired, but did you know that the fatigue associated with insulin resistance is sometimes more mental rather than physical. The inability to focus, sometimes called “brain fog,” is the most evident symptom.

In 2004, there were more than 47 million women in America between the ages of 40 and 65 years of age.

With approximately 95 million Americans having some degree of insulin resistance and increasing numbers of young people developing insulin resistance each year, being under 40 is becoming less of a “rule out” factor than it once was. Be sure to consider all of the factors when assessing your risk.

With a family history of type 2 diabetes, the risk of developing the disease increases up to 6 times.

Family history is not the only risk factor to consider. In fact, a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle are very strong risk factors for developing insulin resistance.