EAT MORE - WEIGH LESS!
Part 2 of 3
I left off yesterday making the statement that it's more calorie management than it is calorie restriction.
The key to fat loss is to feed enough nutrients to the body so it will not feed on itself, maintaining
normal blood sugar throughout the day and allowing the muscle to burn
the fat. The basic rule is you must burn more calories than you eat in
order to lose weight. TRUE, however it's more complicated than that if
you want to lose just fat.
Here's where knowing what to eat
and when to eat plays a valuable roll in fat loss. There are a million
different diets out there and guess what there are a million that don't
work! The key to fat loss is NOT a diet, it is a life style change and
educating yourself on the proper foods and beneficial supplements that
will make your fat loss permanent.
First and most importantly
you must feed your body the proper amounts of protein throughout the
day. Protein should be consumed in amounts proportionate to your
personal needs.
For example; A 25 year old male with body weight of
215lbs and has a body-fat percentage of 12% can easily consume 25-40
grams of protein per meal where a female same age at 125lbs and 18% body
fat should consume 15-25 grams of protein per meal.
The key is to
keep the body in a positive nitrogen balance so your body will burn fat
and leave the muscle alone. Eating to much protein at one sitting can
cause your body to store the excess calories as fat. Not all proteins
are created equal while some are excellent other proteins can cause
health issues. That's why you should understand the Protein Efficiency
Ratio (PER) of the foods you eat.
I will be going into more details about protein assimilation at the seminar on March 20 at the Studio.
The next step is learning what the Glycemic Index is all about.
The Glycemic Index (GI) relates to the way your body’s sugar levels
respond to certain foods. Foods are given a rating from 0 –100 on the
glycemic index with glucose in the highest position. High Glycemic Index
foods (such as simple carbohydrates) will increase the body’s sugar
levels rapidly whereas low glycemic index foods will increase the body’s
sugar levels slowly. A good understanding of the glycemic index can
assist in weight loss and help control diabetes.
The glycemic
index is complicated and cannot be generalised to all people. Different
people will have different reactions to food. The body’s response to
food will relate to several factors including; age, activity level,
insulin levels, time of day, amount of fiber and fat in the food, how
refined (processed) the food is, and what was eaten with the food. In
addition to this, other factors such as the ratio of carbohydrates to
fat and protein as well as how the food was cooked (eg. Boiled compared
to fried or baked) and metabolism will determine the way your body’s
sugar level responds after eating. Foods that have a low glycemic index
will have little effect on the body’s sugar levels. Comparatively, foods
that have a high glycemic index will have an instant affect on blood
sugar levels. Ratings on the glycemic index have resulted from numerous
studies; however, individuals should test their own reactions to food in
relation to the glycemic index.
Here is a link to a Glycemic
Index Chart online, although I do not agree with it 100% it is fairly
close and will give you an idea as to how your blood sugar goes up and
down based on the foods you eat.
http://www.glycemicindex.ca/glycemicindexfoods.pdf
As I stated before just counting calories does not work you have to
know what the calories you are eating are doing in your body. That's why
it's important to educate yourself on the foods you eat.
We will get into more details at the March 20 Seminar on Carbohydrates and their glycemic rating.
Tomorrow I will talk about healthy fats and how they can aid you in
dropping unwanted fat pounds. I will also talk about the percentages of
proteins, carbs and fats you should be eating (This will surprise you)
and I will also talk about one of the most important things that most
nutritionist leave out when they design a nutrition program for someone.
Nutrition 101
Part 3
What is a Carbohydrate?
What are carbohydrates?
Yesterday I defined what a calorie was and that it did not display nutritional value, calorie measurement marks the energy units in foods. Once you break foods down they go into 3 categories Fat, Proteins and Carbohydrates. Within each of these three groups there are a numbers of subset groups in each. Today we will focus on one category and that is Carbohydrates.
The simplest way to understand carbohydrates is to break down what they do for us. Our bodies break down carbohydrates in order to make glucose. Glucose is a sugar that our body uses to give us energy. Carbohydrates generally provide us with fiber, vitamins and minerals.
What Are the Different Kinds of Carbohydrates?
There are two kinds of carbohydrates: simple and complex. We get our simple carbohydrates from foods such as milk, milk products, fruit or table sugar. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, come from starches like whole grain-cereal, whole grain bread, beans, potatoes, and starchy vegetables.
As I stated before there are subset categories in each of the three nutrient groups. Simple and complex is a basic subset yet we can further break these groups down into the types of sugars these foods contain. We can also measure them on a ratio scale like the Glycemic Index Ratio. This scale measures the speed at which the carbohydrate is broken down into fructose and glucose in the body. The higher the number the faster the carb converts to sugar in the body. The lower the number the slower the carb converts into usable energy. Too high of a number is typically found in simple carbs and the lower numbered carbs are typically found in the complex carbohydrates.
The trick to staying lean is to keep your blood sugar normal all day long by eating complex carbs based on your activity levels for the next 3 hours. By keeping blood sugar levels in normal range your body can not store fat and makes it difficult to burn muscle fiber.
That is why it is so important to understand what type of carbs you need throughout the day.
As I have already mentioned there are many subsets in carbohydrates so I will briefly give you the description of these different catagories. Carbohydrates may be classified into monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and heterosaccharides. The most fundamental type is the simple sugars called monosaccharides, such as glucose, galactose, and fructose. These simple sugars can combine with each other to form more complex type. The combination of two simple sugars is called disaccharide whereas carbohydrates consisting of two to ten simple sugars are called oligosaccharides, and those with a larger number are called polysaccharides.
Carbohydrates are produced in green plants by photosynthesis and serve as a major source of energy in animal diets. They also serve as structural components, such as cellulose in plants and chitin in some animals. Their derivatives play an essential role in the working process of the immune system, fertilization, pathogenesis, blood clotting and development.
Bottom line is understanding carbohydrates can be made very complex. Each and everyone of us eat or have eaten carbohydrates on a daily basis. However simple carbs have become the general populations worst enemy. The introduction of fructose and in particular high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become societies number one problem. You see our bodies are not designed to eat high amounts of the sugars and the proof is in the population. HFCS can be compared to crack rock cocaine in its ability to cause addiction. It triggers L-Dopamine response in the brain the exact same way as cocaine or a number of illegal and legal prescription drugs do. HFCS triggers the pleasure center in the brain and it shuts down the production of Leptin (a protein hormone that controls hunger). The more HFCS you consume you more damage you do to your body and its functions. The list of damage HFCS is far too long to list here in this article,
Fact: Obesity is at an all time high, diabetes and cancer are also at epidemic levels. 50% of all Americans are now overweight! Obesity rates in some states are passing 30% of the population.
Fact: Look back in history and you will see a distinct relationship between disease and sugar consumption. The history goes back several hundred years. However HFCS is the new kid on the block and disease and obesity have exploded since it entered our food supplies.
I will be posting a 5 part series on the history of Sugar and the health damages it causes.
