Insulin, the key to weight loss

Insulin, the key to weight loss

Insulin - "The fat maker"

There are certain foods that cause blood sugar levels to rise considerably. The body responds by releasing a significant amount of a hormone called insulin.
It is responsible for keeping our blood sugar levels stabilized and storing the foods we eat into all the appropriate cells in the body. Picture insulin as a wheelbarrow carrying the foods you eat and placing them all in the appropriate places.

If you eat the wrong foods at the wrong times insulin can be your worst enemy by storing the foods you eat in fat cells. When this occurs you will gain weight.

The PRIMARY foods that are most hindering when it comes to losing weight are listed below.

Forbidden Foods:

1. ALL breads
2. Potato
3. Pastas
4. Any food or drink that contains more than 10 grams of sugars per serving. (2 teaspoons)

MOST meats are okay to eat considering they are not fried. If and when you do eat fried foods and/or foods high in fat eat them in small portions and make sure you do not eat ANY of the forbidden foods in the same meal.

Why? Because the forbidden foods cause insulin spikes and if you eat foods that contain fat - pork, hamburger meat, most red meats depending on preparation, fried foods, butters, cooking oils, etc. your body will store most of what you eat in fat cells. Remember, if fat cells increase in size so will you.

Important Technique: For optimal results try not to eat ANY of the forbidden foods a minimum of 4 hours before sleep or exercise.

Why is it best to not eat any of the forbidden foods before exercise? Because they will increase the glycogen levels in the muscles and liver which in turn causes the body to release insulin. This is bad for two reasons.

1. Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate which is used by the muscles as it's primary source of energy. If your muscles are full of glycogen from eating the forbidden foods NO stored fat will be utilized for energy.

2. Insulin prevents the body from breaking down and utilizing stored fat for energy.
The key to weight loss is to deplete glycogen levels in the muscles which in turn will decrease insulin levels. This makes your body capable of utilizing stored fat for energy before, during, and after exercise. For that matter all times of the day and night. This is why we recommend not eating any of the forbidden foods a minimum of 4 hours before sleep. By eating as we described above your body will be forced to revert to stored fat for energy even while you sleep. Fat is only used by the body for energy when it detects that everything is working well and it is being fed properly. If you starve yourself or go on a strict diet your body will revert to muscle proteins for energy and you will lose weight, however, most of the weight will come from muscle tissue. If this happens your body will become less firm and your metabolism will decrease and you will more than likely gain more weight in the form of fat when the diet is stopped. How many times have you heard of people going on diets and then after they stop the diet they gain all the weight back and then some?

AFTER exercise and/or early in the day ANY foods including the forbidden ones can be eaten because the body will utilize most of what you eat to replenish glycogen stores (Energy) in the muscles.

What To Eat

The easiest way to determine what to eat is to choose 1 serving of a PROTEIN FOOD - lean chicken breast, grilled lean steak, lean turkey breast, tuna, grilled or baked fish, etc. combined with a small serving of a STARCH FOOD such as - small red potato, rice, beans, corn, etc. Combined with a serving of ANY GREEN or colored VEGETABLE.

Remember, 1 protein food, 1 small starch food, and 1 green or colored vegetable.

Again, when eating a minimum of 4 hours before exercise and/or sleep you simply eliminate ANY forbidden foods and replace them with another green or colored vegetable, so now you have 1 protein food and 2 green or colored vegetables.

Remember, the key is to have your blood sugar and insulin levels stabilized before exercise so your body will use stored fat for energy.

One thing to remember is that sugars and white carbohydrate foods PREVENT the body from utilizing stored fat for energy therefore preventing weight loss. Protein foods on the other hand HELP the body to burn stored fat.

A good weight loss program will include a sufficient amount of lean protein foods, whole grains, green and colored vegetables, and a minimal amount of white colored foods with the exception of white protein foods (egg whites for example).

The Low Glycemic Index Diet

The Low Glycemic Index Diet

The Low Glycemic Index Diet has become quite popular because it provides numerous advantages. While the diet was first developed as a way for individuals who with diabetes to better manage their condition it quickly evolved into a weight to lose weight and even as a lifestyle change to effectively maintain weight loss.

One of the main reasons why people switch to a low GI diet is that they want to lose weight and this diet has proven to be effective in helping people to lose weight.

There are also many other advantages; however. For example, research indicates that diets that are based on low GI foods can also help to reduce the risk of developing many health conditions such as diabetes and cancer as well as heart disease.

Some research suggests that you can even cut the risk of developing these diseases in half by following the Low Glycemic Index Diet.

Another major benefit is the ability to lower blood pressure as well as lower cholesterol levels.
Additionally, individuals who have followed the diet have been found to have their body's ability to fight disease boosted. This is accomplished by strengthening the immune system, providing numerous other overall health benefits.

-Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
-Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
-Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
-Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
-Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
-Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
-Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
-Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance

The Low Glycemic Index Diet is able to bring about these benefits because it is based on consuming foods that are relatively low on the glycemic index and restriction consumption or avoiding foods that are high on the index.

The glycemic index itself ranks foods according to how fast the body is able to digest them. Those foods which are digest more slowly by the body and therefore do not raise the body's blood sugar levels as high rank low on the scale and are acceptable.

Other foods are digested slightly more quickly and dieters are therefore advised to proceed with caution regarding those foods; however, they are not restricted.

These foods rank from 56 to 69 on the glycemic index.

The final category consists of foods that are digested very quickly by the body, rapidly raising the body's blood sugar levels. These foods score between 70 and 110 on the glycemic index. For the most part, these foods consist of highly processed and refined foods such as sugary foods.

Most vegetables, as long as they are not starchy vegetables, are quite allowable on the Low Glycemic Index Diet. Fruits are also encouraged, unlike may other diets which warn against the consumption of too much fruit because they are considered to be high in natural sugars.

While the advantages of this diet are quite obvious it should be understood that this is not a diet which can be followed for a short period of time and then abandoned with the expectation of keeping the weight off. One of the important considerations of this diet is that it is more of a lifestyle change rather than a short term diet.

Moderate exercise is required in order to assure weight loss and continued weight loss maintenance.

Failure to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle can result in failure to lose weight or gaining weight back.
If you're ready to take advantage of a healthier lifestyle, reduce your chance of developing serious health conditions and lose weigh the Low Glycemic Index Diet may be just right for you.

More information in www.glycemicindex.com (University of Sydney)