Many people find that despite exercising and following diet plans, they do not shed body fat as quickly as they’d hoped. This is, understandably, demotivating and can lead people to give up, thinking that all that effort doesn’t make a difference! ‘I might as well drink all this wine tonight as I’m going to stay this weight anyway’. But there are some deep misconceptions and a general lack of awareness about how what we eat affects out body’s hormones-and this is one of the leading factors in preventing the body shredding fat.
The key hormone in this process is insulin. Reducing the amount of insulin your body makes, and increasing your body’s sensitivity to it, goes a great way towards reducing body fat, because: Less energy is stored in fat cells. We are also more sensitive to leptin, the hormone that stops us feeling hungry. How can you reduce levels of insulin? The first thing we should do is significantly reduce the amount of sugar in the diet. Completely cut out fizzy drinks, fruit juice, and flavoured water and, of course, sweet foods (cakes!) The sugar glucose is responsible for making the liver produce insulin. Less sugar in the blood means less insulin released into the blood steam. Eat more fibre. Eating food that is high in fibre will reduce the rate at which sugar enters the blood stream. There are plenty of foods packed full of this stuff, including beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains. Exercise. Yes it’s obvious that exercise is good for you but it’s also the quality of exercise that is particularly important. Muscles consume a lot of glucose. Exercise will increase their demand for more glucose, thus lowering blood sugar levels. This will not happen unless you have the correct quantity of quality weight training, high intensity training and some low intensity “cardio” in your fitness programme. Feel free to get in touch with me via my Facebook page if you are interested in finding out more. The other hormone that has a big impact on fat retention is Ghrelin. Ghrelin is the hormone that lurks around in the back of your mind telling you you want a doughnut on the way to work or encouraging you to eat your lunch at 10:30 – it’s the hunger hormone. Reducing levels of this hormone will help you to stop the snacking and not have to buy second lunch. If we have less of this hormone then we will have less desire to start snacking. How can you reduce levels of ghrelin? Eat a high protein breakfast! This could include omelettes, scrambled eggs, salmon or peanut butter. Protein reduces your hunger hormone, reduces insulin and requires more energy to break down. Don’t eat late in the evening. Night eating between 8pm – 6am is particularly risky. You are not going to burn calories quickly when you are asleep. [Unless you are one of those irritating people who thrash around] Sleep. Without adequate sleep your body will not be able to regulate blood sugar as effectively. It’s worth mentioning that sleep deprivation can also weaken the immune system, which will put a stop to any strenuous workouts you have planned. I would recommend reading Dr. Robert Lustig’s “Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth About Sugar, Obesity and Disease” for a more detailed explanation of these topics.
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Canterbury Strength Weightlifting Club
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