In order to burn fat …let’s learn fat.
I feel like too many people get excited about loosing weight not realizing that it could just be water weight or worse, muscle!
The two main thing you need to know about loosing fat is how it’s stored and how its released.
How fat is stored:
Hormones control fat. Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate processes in our body. The 2 main hormones for fat storage is Leptin and Insulin.
- Leptin– is the hunger hormone. It controls hunger and feelings of satiety. It’s basically the gatekeeper of how much energy (Aka food) a person needs to take in. Its secreted by your fat cells (adipose tissue). So the more overweight you are the more leptin you have.
“So if I have all this leptin floating around then why am I overweight, tired and hungry all the time?”
You are leptin resistant.
Some reasons for leptin resistance are:
- consuming excess sugar. Especilly high Fructose Corn syrup.
- Consuming processed carbohydrates.
- Overeating
- Excessive Exercising- especially cardio.
- High Stress.
- Lack of sleep.
- Insulin– This is the storage hormone. It regulates the level of glucose (AKA sugar) in the blood by unlocking your cells to use the glucose for energy. When the body has too much glucose it then gets stored as fat.
How fat is released:
The release of fat from your storage cells require an enzyme called Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL). Enzymes are the things that do the work in the body. By the name of this enzyme you can guess that its effected by hormones… namely insulin which inhibits its use. So in other words if insulin is present HSL can’t be activated.
“Ok, so how do I activate this enzyme and fix my leptin resistance to get rid of all this fat and have more energy?”
Decrease your insulin.
“How do I decrease my insulin?”
Stop eating all the sugar and processed carbs. Every time you eat sugar and starchy or processed carbs it spikes your insulin.
Also eating frequently spikes insulin. You DO NOT need to eat every 3-4 hrs! Usually the reason why you need to eat frequent meals is because you’re eating a lot of carbs, raising your sugar then spiking insulin, crashing, getting hungry again and continuing this all day roller coaster ride. This is stressing out your body and causes insulin resistance.
“How do I stop eating all the sugar?”
You can start by NOT eating all the low-fat and processed foods.
No, I’m not gonna sit here and bash the main stream recommendation by big organizations but I want you to open your eyes and look around at what “society” says is healthy. The low fat, high carb diets have made us sick!!! And by high carbs I mean the whole grains, whole wheats, fruits we eat all year round and the sugar that has been added to everything! When you take the natural fat out of something it taste awful! So manufacturers add sugars and chemicals to make it edible.
All of this is not your fault… You’ve just been given the wrong information.
Did you know that eating healthy fats does not have a negative effect on blood sugar. 😃
I emphasize HEALTHY because if you go out and start eating all the fried everything that has been doused in industrial seed oils and oxidative fats then you’re gonna go down a whole different unhealthy road!
Some healthy fats include:
- Nuts and seeds (not roasted in industrial seed oils)
- Full fat dairy
- Avocado and avocado oil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- REAL butter not margarine
- Coconut of all forms
- Dark chocolate
- Full fat meats ONLY from humanly raised animals.
When you eat whole unprocessed foods you go low carb\low sugar by default.
Adopting this primal way of eating will get you healthy on the inside first and then magically the real fat loss will come. Be prepared for increased energy, better sleep, fat loss, decreased cravings and the possible reversal of many metabolic problems.
So lets do some homework.
1. Pay attention to what you’re eating and how you feel afterwards:
- Are you hungry in a few hour?
- Are you constantly hungry all day long?
- Are you tired often specially after eating.
- Do you have a headache?
- Do you have any gastrointestinal upset…gas, bloating, cramping?
Any or all of these are side effects of eating processed carbs and sugar.
2. Start looking at labels. When you go to the grocery store pick up that low fat food and compare it with the regular or higher fat food. Which one has more sugar?
Comment below on what you find and if you notice any of the above symptoms.
If you need help getting off the sugar roller coaster subscribe HERE to my email list and get my FREE e-book on “A beginners guide to a sugar free life.”