Insulin - Gatekeeper of stored fat

MommaSherryB

Stabilize glucose/sugar to lose weight

Snippet from article:

The best way to decide which diet is best for you is to get to the bottom of what makes each diet effective. Assuming you are going to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day, the key to fat loss is to get your insulin levels down. This is important because insulin is the gatekeeper of stored fat. When insulin is high, fat stays put! When insulin drops, fat begins to be mobilized.

Eating carbs, whether it be a potato or a piece of candy, is what triggers insulin release. This is the primary reason lowcarb diets are so effective (they lower insulin). If you can keep carb intake below say 25 grams per day, your insulin levels will stay low and stored body fat will be mobilized throughout the day. The added protein also helps boost metabolic rate on a low-carb diet.

If you are a carb junky there is still hope, but it’s going to require a little more effort. You can lower insulin levels during a low-fat diet, but it will require your burning the carbs rather than simply not eating them. The goal is to create a carb deficit. By engaging in a good amount of daily exercise you are burning through the carbs that you eat and forcing the body to drop insulin levels and mobilize stored fat. Even when you eat a meal with carbohydrates after exercise, the muscles will quickly soak up the carbs and leave the body in a carb depleted state, causing insulin levels to drop.

So on the one hand, a low-carb diet is going to be well suited for someone who can’t or won’t do a lot of exercise. On the flip side a low-fat diet is well suited for someone who is going to be burning a lot of calories through intense exercise. Whichever option sounds the most like you is obviously the most effective route to choose.
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MommaSherryB

How Does the Glycemic Index Work?
The glycemic index is based on the principle that the over consumption of processed carbohydrates is bad for the body. Refined and high-sugar carbohydrates, which have a high glycemic index, will raise blood sugar when consumed. As a result, the body must produce large quantities of insulin in order to lower blood glucose to acceptable levels. Since insulin is a hormone responsible for storing fat in our bodies, you must control it in order to allow your body to release stored fat. Otherwise, insulin serves as a gatekeeper, trapping fat in your cells.

In order to lower the amount of insulin your body produces, you must eat foods containing fewer processed carbohydrates. More natural, less processed foods generally have less of an impact on your blood glucose levels, triggering less insulin release. These foods, which have a lower impact on blood glucose, are foods with a lower glycemic index.

What Is the Goal?
Good Calories, Bad Calories- the effects of high sugar and high glycemic foods: When you eat high glycemic foods, such as white bread, potatoes, brownies and jam, your blood sugar soars and insulin rises. Instead of absorbing nutrients from those foods and eliminating the rest as waste, insulin causes your body to store it as fat.

Consequently, you become hungrier even though you just ate, because your body is seeking nutrients. This leads to a vicious cycle of craving and feeding without ever supplying yourself with adequate nutrition. Eating low glycemic index foods provides a way of stopping this vicious cycle in its tracks

MommaSherryB

The goal of a low glycemic diet is to consume foods that minimally impact blood glucose in order to stabilize it. Without wildly fluctuating blood glucose levels, your body produces less insulin. Instead of storing fat, your body begins to absorb nutrients from the foods you eat, and your fat cells have a fighting chance of releasing the fat they store. This results in stable blood glucose levels as well as lower carbohydrate and sugar cravings, leading to even more stable blood sugar.

By following a low glycemic diet, you may find yourself losing weight while increasing your overall health. As with any diet, in order to gain the maximum benefit, incorporate exercise into your lifestyle.

How Do I Know Which Foods To Choose?
You can view the Glycemic Index Database in order to determine the glycemic index of common carbohydrate containing foods. A glycemic index of 100 is very high. Low glycemic diets recommend consuming foods with value of about 30 or less on the glycemic index. These foods will provide greater satiety by stabilizing blood sugar levels.

Assume any food high in sugar is also high on the glycemic index. Cakes, pies, candy, juices, and even sweet potatoes can send blood sugar levels into overdrive. High starch vegetables and fruits can contribute to this effect. On the other hand, high protein foods such as beans, meats and cheeses are generally low on the index, as are the low-starch vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms, eggplant and green beans. The Low Glycemic Diet is very similar to the South Beach Diet. It seeks to stabilize blood sugar levels, decrease cravings, and ultimately lower body fat while increasing heart health. In order to work effectively, dieters must also watch their overall fat intake. While it is better to eat more healthy fats than over-processed carbohydrates, simple number crunching demonstrates weight loss will not occur if you eat several hundred calories of low glycemic almonds every day.

Selecting a low-glycemic diet can help you control your blood sugar. With the reduction in insulin secretions, your body can finally release stored fat as fuel. If you would like to try this diet to control type 2 diabetes or facilitate weight loss, talk with your doctor or endocrinologist

Scarletthosay

What a great post ! This is just what I need to keep me on track today !
Thanks for the info and I sure hope to see more from your post. You are very
motivating! Thanks again,
Scarlett

MommaSherryB

You are welcome. I think keeping insulin levels stable throughout the day will help most people lose weight/maintain weight. Diabetes runs in my family and I feel that strongly influences my sensitivity to insulin fluctuations. I tried low fat, low calorie and the thing that has worked the best for me overall and during plateaus is a diabetic type food choice.

I dont consider it a diet anymore because I eat alot but am still able to lose. I dont eat beef (takes me along time to digest). I eat chicken, turkey and all kinds of seafood. I either bake or grill it. If I want it fried, I do it slowly in olive oil. I eat alot of fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts.

I completely cut out white potatoes, white flour, white rice, white bread, white sugar. Those things were keeping my eat a plateau regardless of how much I exercised. It didnt make sense to me until I started reading about insulin.

Another thing that has made my life alot better is choosing several meals for breakfast and then eating one of them every day. Same for lunch/snacks/supper. If I know what I am going to eat then I wont go off the wagon and regret it. I dont eat out at all. I like to cook meals ahead of time and freeze some. Hope this helps.

MommaSherryB

Keeping insulin stable helps with weight loss:
Step 1: Eat in 3s
What’s the key to eating in 3s? It’s easy! Eat every 3 hours, and divide your plate into thirds: one-third protein, one-third fat, and one-third carbs. Our bodies “want” to eat every 3 hours, as it’s their natural eating schedule dating back from early mankind. Wait longer and your body goes into starvation mode, as it assumes food is scarce and packs on fat for the future instead of burning it away immediately. Be sure to eat within 1 hour of waking up, then every 3 hours thereafter.