sugar and fat loss

I actually talked about this a little in our first meeting, but I have been asked several times for more detail so I thought I would talk about it some more. Enjoy!!

Today now more than ever sugar is everywhere! Glucose, Fructose, and Sucrose are in everything we eat, so how bad is it really? Sugar is chemically addictive and is responsible for your potential to store fat. If your body composition levels are higher than you would like, and you have a sweet tooth, you can bet the two conditions are related. On the plus side, you can take control of your metabolism and be on the road to fat loss in no time!

When you eat a simple sugar, even one that is in a “fat-free” food, all of that sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream immediately, and for the moment you experience an elevation in blood sugar. In response to the temporary hyperglycemic condition, your pancreas will increase its production of insulin. Insulin’s job is to remove excess sugar from the bloodstream and store it in the muscles and in the liver as glycogen (stored form of carbohydrate.) There is also another hormone produced by the pancreas called glucagon. While insulin’s job is to “store” nutrients, glucagon does the opposite. It is a “releasing” hormone. In fact, glucagon is the hormone primarily responsible for releasing bodyfat. When the pancreas has to suddenly make increased amounts of insulin to deal with sugar induced blood glucose levels, it will back off the production of glucagon. Now, fat loss will come to a grinding halt!

Pay close attention because it gets worse! Your pancreas actually makes more insulin than you need. So 30 to 45 minutes after the rush from your sugary snack, you actually end up with residual low blood sugar. In order to restore normal blood sugar levels, you begin to get cravings for……wait for it……..sugar! So, if you eat sugar then you are pretty much guaranteed to crave sugar.

The goal is to stop the insulin / blood sugar roller coaster. If you eat right in a supportive manor (lean protein, fibrous carbs, with some healthful fats every 2 to 3 hours) the fibrous carbs (complex carbs) will provide a slow release of sugars preventing those sudden insulin spikes and the insulin/glucagon levels will remain stable (along with stabilizing sugar cravings.) If you abandon sugar you will usually experience severe cravings the first few days. Typically, on day one you experience a headache. Then on day two, the headache may become worse and may be accompanied by insomnia. Work to get through those first three days and those sugar cravings will become an old memory! Your blood sugar levels will stabilize, energy levels are consistent, and fat release can take place all day long.

But, if you absolutely must eat sugar or eat foods that contain sugar (like fruit) eat them with protein. Protein will slow the absorption rate and minimize the insulin spike that you should be avoiding. Plus, protein is very thermogenic, meaning it actually speeds up your metabolism. That’s right, 25 to 30 calories out of every 100 calories you eat from protein are used just to break down and metabolize the protein! Now there is some food for thought.