07/02/2017
Here is an overview of why eating more protein and fat, and less carbs, promotes fat loss.... An eating plan accompanies your training plan! Take 5 minutes to read this, it will change the way you think ( and eat )
Over the last forty years the modern diet has shifted. This shift is causing a global health concern with some countries numbering 70% of their population over the ideal weight. Why is this happening? Is it a lack of activity or a change in diet. Unfortunately it is both. The main focus of this article is modern day eating habits.
Metabolism is the process that changes nutrients to energy or stores them as fat. The type and amount of nutrient we eat affects metabolism. When our metabolism is working effectively we utilize nutrients more effectively and store less fat.
Nutrients include forms of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Fat has been maligned as the major concern in weight gain since the previously mentioned shift. But is it really the culprit ? The premise was that fat gives you heart disease and it is calorie rich. In addition it was interpreted that weight gain, or loss, is based on calories gained through eating and calories burned through exercise. There is now a bigger focus on what those calories are and how they affect our metabolism.
So what exactly has changed. Firstly, there is a greater ability to access sugary food. Before drive through burgers, we had to cook more often. This requires buying fresh produce that is not manipulated to increase sugar and often bad fats.
Here is a key issue in the modern diet. In general, protein is used to build and renew muscle. Fat is energy rich but low in sugar. Carbohydrate is converted to sugar and is seen by our metabolism the same way as sugar in its crystal form. Due to ease of availability and somewhat cost, and in addition the move away from fat, we are ingesting much more carbohydrate and much more sugar. Its a metabolic sugar overload.
When sugar, in either form, is present in our bloodstream, we produce hormones to decrease it. It is damaging to have high levels of sugar in the bloodstream for extended periods of time. Heart disease research is now more focused in this area than cholesterol. Interestingly our bodies seem to know this and move rapidly to decrease it.
The hormone insulin is released when blood sugar is high to help to reduce it. Insulin is the gatekeeper for storage of sugar in the muscles, liver and fat. Without it, as in the case of diabetes, blood sugar remains constantly high without medication.
So sugar is stored as glycogen, which is like filling up the energy tank. The glycogen tank is on standby, being stored within the muscles and in the liver. It is only released when demand for energy is reasonably high. This is especially true when blood sugar is high so that the levels of sugar can be lowered. The liver produces a short supply, in the area of about fifteen minutes, the muscles, up to about ninety minutes. So you can see we rarely empty the tank, if ever. You can see when a marathon runner has emptied the glycogen tank. Our body uses fat or glucose depending on our fitness level, the intensity of the exercise and the duration.
The effect of different carbohydrates on raising blood sugar varies wildly. The effect of one cup of potatoes is about the same as twenty five cups of spinach. So at Switchfit we say that the green carbohydrates are free, eat as many as you want.
So back to the modern day, high sugar, constant carbohydrate eating patterns. Now we have the scenario where insulin is being released on many occasions during the day. Its in overdrive. The reaction of trying to store the sugar means our “doors” to the muscles and liver are constantly being open and shut and our pancreas, which produces the insulin, is working overtime. Our metabolism efficiency is starting to be affected.
Now here is the main issue. When insulin is present, body fat cannot be utilised for energy. A one way gate is set up! Insulin wants to reduce as much sugar as possible from the bloodstream so it allows sugar to be stored as fat, but shuts of fat being used as an energy source. So when insulin is doing its mop up job, you can only increase body fat.
This brings us to another issue. Fat makes you feel fuller and stops cravings. Typically when you add olive oil to a salad that contains avacado, which has a high good fats, you dont feel cravings afterwards. Why? Its simple, fat does not increase blood sugar.
In the reverse, why do high sugar carbohydrates make you crave? Well insulin tends to be a bit aggressive. It often overshoots the work to be done, and temporarily pushes blood sugar to low. When blood sugar is low, we feel cravings. You can see there is a cycle here. The high sugar value carbohydrate pushes blood sugar high, insulin responds, blood sugar drops about an hour or two later, we crave, and we crave sugar. We eat food that we don't realise is really sugar, such as a croissant, and the cycle goes on. We are becoming “sugar burners” not fat burners.
Even when we try to do the right thing, modern day produce is working against us. Even if you substitute the croissant for a low fat yoghurt and an orange juice, the same pattern appears. Why, because the juice is sugary and the low fat yoghurt is full of sugar to make up for the lack of taste.
So what is the answer. Well start with no low fat products! The attached chart gives you a clear start to recognising where the sugary carbs are. Its all about metabolism repair. You dont have to quit bread for life. It is worth quitting, for example, bread for eight weeks, stopping the craving cycle, re energising and repairing your metabolism and maybe losing a few kilos if that is your aim.
We have proven with many members that being carbohydrate selective is much easier to stick to than counting calories and starving. If you increase good fats, it helps improve your metabolism, stops you craving and its nice to eat as well. Butter is back on the menu. Some of the quests point out the different feelings different food give. You will find that green beans cooked with a bit of butter taste delicious and leave you feeling fuller for longer. The kitchen is a resource of 150 meals. These meals will have you feeling fuller for longer and help restore your metabolism.
So how carbohydrate should you eat? We have to eat some dont we? Correct, carbohydrate replenishes glycogen. But the amount you need for metabolic repair is fairly low. An easy way to judge is “cups of carbs”. In general three to five cups of carbs a day is the target for the eight weeks. But remember juice, soft drink , and alcohol are all carbohydrate. But the upside is you get to choose. You can have some pasta, but best to have only one cup. It changes the ratio in the meal. Bigger salad with olive oil , smaller pasta. Results. The salad has almost zero increase in blood sugar. It is best to reduce bread to a minimum until you feel you are a fat burner again.
Life hacking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Life hacking refers to any trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method that increases productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life.
So what are some Life hacks you can use?
Satiate (the art of feeling satisfied and fuller)
Eat butter, it is a no sugar, high in vitamin K2, natural product. Tastes great too. Put in the pan, not on your bread.. Feeling hungry but don’t want a full meal? You want your blood sugar to stay low for a little longer? Cream in a coffee satiates . Add olive oil for good fats and satiation. Avocados are filling! Good fats, part of every salad! Protein is satiating and doesn't raise blood sugar. Add some something green where possible to balance the meal.
Windows
Keep your blood sugar low for extended periods of time. So you now know that blood sugar and the insulin response are problematic. Why not look to extend that fat burning window where sugar and insulin aren't around? Its called Intermittent fasting, but we don't really like that term, so we call it Windows, because fasting conjures up not eating and being really hungry. We look at it as a window of low blood sugar. Eat an early dinner and have a late breakfast. The cream in coffee hack is great for stalling breakfast. So dinner at 5pm and no blood sugar spikes until 10am is a great window. A couple of times a week really adds to your result. The window can include really low sugar foods like scrambled eggs with greens, no toast. The eggs are low in sugar but high in satiating protein.
Be mindful.
Eating is a joy. Put your knife and fork down between bites. The longer you take to eat, the more chance you have of feeling how full you really are.
Clean out the kitchen
The less temptation the better. Throw out the high sugar carbs, sauce jars, bread, confectionary and most food that comes in a container. Buy it, prepare it and eat it fresh. You will live a longer , healthier life. Its worth the effort.
Think ahead.
Tonight's roast chicken is tomorrow's chicken salad for work. The eating plans are fantastic in that way.
Fruit
Fruit is healthy but it contains a lot of sugar. It counts as a cup of carbs in each day, so we try to limit it to one piece per day. A different kind each day is best for a range of phytonutrients.
Exercise. The ultimate hack.
Exercise empties the energy tank. The tank has to be replenished through the food that we eat. If the food or sugar is being used to refill the tank with glycogen, its not being stored as fat. We get better at this the more that we do it. After exercise our metabolism remains more active for up to 48 hours. The more intense the exercise the greater the afterburn effect.
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