I’m not shy in my disagreement with the calorie counting theory with regards to weight loss, fat loss and health. I don’t completely disagree with it. I just don’t think it tells the whole story.
One of the shortfalls is due to the fact we have lots of hormones at work in the human body at any one time. Estrogens, testosterone, cortisol, growth hormones, are all relevant to us and our journey from fat to fit (or even fit to fitter…) however it seems clear to all that when it comes to developing a lean, toned body, insulin (or controlling insulin) seems key.
Don’t believe me?
Take, for example, a type 1 diabetic. A type 1 diabetic can eat whatever he wants and doesn’t gain a pound. A type 1 diabetic loses weight because, quite simply, his pancreas does not produce enough insulin. Without insulin the sugar in his bloodstream cannot get into his cells to get fat. Without insulin you cannot gain weight.
Sounds rather glamorous, right? It’s also worth noting that without insulin you cannot build muscle (a metabolically active tissue essential for looking good) and will die. Not so glam now, right?
However, understanding and controlling this hormone could be the answer many of you are looking for in the battle against the bulge.
Have you ever had the misfortune of seeing two people on the exact same diet get very different results? One loses lots of weight whilst the other is left scratching her head as she seems to of put on a pound.
People are different and the sooner this simple fact is understood the better. When this occurs the calorie counting diet can be left wanting. You can either eat less and less and become more miserable or you can wonder, is there something else going on here?
The body has millions of biochemical reactions a minute. Amongst these are the suppression and innovation of many different hormones. The question of how to stimulate the desired hormones to stimulate fat loss might seem like a complicated one but in fact it’s remarkably simple.
You could use a synthetic variety from your doctor which comes with numerous unwanted side effect or you could use something that is cheap and available to all.
What is this wonder drug? …Food!
Understanding your body’s response to food is important when it comes to fat-loss, fitness and health in general. Your choice of food quite simply determines your body’s hormonal response to it.
This is not isolated to insulin. It is relevant to estrogens, testosterone, cortisol, growth hormones, too. All of which have huge implications on the way your body stores fat (and quite possibly where your body stores fat), your metabolic rate and fitness, too.
However, for the time being let’s take a look at the bigger picture regarding insulin…
When you eat any meal your blood sugar rises. Your body knows it needs to keep blood sugar within a healthy range. To keep blood sugar in a healthy range it releases insulin from your pancreas to guide sugar into muscle cells. This is where it can be used for energy. Or as is more often the case it will guide sugar into adipose tissue to be stored as fat.
In essence insulin has two jobs…
1. Get blood sugar back to normal
2. To guide sugar to cells where it can be used for energy or stored for later use.
When this works it is AWESOME. But, more often than not, people eat far too much sugars and starches (carbohydrates), not enough healthy fats, protein or fibre, and as a result blood sugar goes through the roof.
When this happens the pancreas bangs out a huge amount of insulin to deal with the insult and to regulate blood sugar.
The assists the blood sugar to its preferred source, the muscle cells, but they only have limited availability and soon become resistant to insulin and begin turning the sugar away.
To remove the sugar from the blood stream the pancreas will give another blast of insulin into the blood stream and as the muscle cells do not offer the sugar and insulin a friendly reception they go to the next best place, the fat cells.
Meanwhile, the pancreas has pumped the blood stream with an elevated level of insulin this leads to a sharp reduction in blood sugar, crashing tiredness, cravings and weight gain.
When this happens on a regular occasion the cells become less hospitable to insulin and more often than not store sugar as fat.
Hence the reason sugar makes you fat and not fat.
This is called insulin resistance and is essentially a major factor in a new age condition called Syndrome X. (…I don’t want to go off track so if you want to know more google it!)
I’m not negating the calorie counting theory completely. If you eat too much and do not exercise, independent of any metabolic disorder (hormone imbalance, etc) you will get fat.
BUT for many of us we recognise that it’s easier for some people to get fat than others. This is probably to do with some degree of insulin resistance.
If you have a normal insulin response to food you will quite possibly thrive (for a while at least) on a calorie-controlled diet (slimming world, weight watchers, etc)
HOWEVER if you are one of the many people (most of whom are undiagnosed) who are somewhat insulin insensitive then calorie counting diets will spell disaster.
What’s the score?
At the end of the day you will need to eat food that produces a balanced hormonal response in order to accelerate fat-loss.
To do this you will NOT want high levels of insulin in your bloodstream.
Whilst you have high levels of insulin your body will more likely store more fat.
Your body does not burn fat in the presence of high levels of insulin.
You must also understand insulin is not the enemy here. You need insulin to live. You must create a balance between insulin and its opposing hormone glucagons (this increases blood sugar when its to low) for optimal health and fat loss.
What can I do to create a balanced hormonal response?
Avoid starches and sugars (energy dense carbohydrates) such as bread, pasta and cereal and to a lesser extent potatoes and rice. Take it easy on the fruit (sugars sugar) and avoid large meals in general. These will all spike blood sugar. Try eating a little more protein at each meal and snack. This will raise blood sugar slowly, keep it there for a longer period of time and slowly bring it down.
Balance your blood sugar TODAY and turn your body into a fat burning furnace!
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