Saturday, September 11 2021

Did You Know It’s Not Fat That’s Making You Fat?

By kathyloups97 on Saturday, September 11 2021, 19:53 - Health & Wellness

One scroll through your Instagram feed and a hundred pictures of mouth-watering foods show up! Lip-smacking and gorgeous-looking desserts make for excellent photos. One filter was added and we’re good to go. Sharing the picture with the whole world and telling everyone that we have willingly, happily consumed oodles of sugar and are on the way to becoming fat. Yes, that’s right. Those Instagram-worthy desserts will sure as hell garner lots of likes and make you an Insta-celebrity, but have you thought about what that sugar will do to your body?

Let’s see how sugar works after entering your body to understand why we must consume less of it. The first question that pops into our mind is that, How does sugar make you fat if there’s no fat in it?

Have you ever heard of the hormone Insulin? It is one of the key hormones that regulate human metabolism and energy use. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas, then travels in the blood to peripheral cells like muscle cells. Insulin is a major hormone in the body, and is released in high levels anytime you ingest what would be considered a “simple” carbohydrate, which would include, but not be limited to fruit juice, white bread, white rice, bagels, croissants, pretzels, doughnuts, wafers, waffles, corn chips, cornflakes, cake, jelly beans, sugary drinks, cakes, beer, and anything that has high fructose corn syrup on the nutritional label.

Two actions occur when the insulin levels are spiked. First, the body’s fat-burning process is shut down so that the sugar that has just been ingested can be immediately used for energy. Then, insulin takes all that sugar and puts it into your muscles. Well, not quite!

Actually, most of us, except those Ironman sorts of athletes and those regularly working out, walk around with fairly full energy stores in the muscles buying on bestlegalsteroids.co. As soon as the muscle's energy stores are full, the excess sugars are converted to fat and, just like the fatty acids released from the liver, fats are stored as adipose tissue on our waistline. (Ugh..now, you understand, why exactly you do not have the flat belly) But that’s not all. After the blood sugar has been reduced by going into the muscles or being converted to fat in the liver, the feedback mechanism that tells the body to stop producing insulin is slightly delayed, so blood sugar levels fall even lower, below normal measurements. This causes an immediate increase in appetite, which is usually remedied by eating more food.

The production of a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol triggers the release of stored sugar from the liver to bring blood sugar levels back up, which, combined with the meal you eat from your appetite increase, begins the entire “fat storage, metabolic decrease” process over again. It’s a vicious cycle.

So you see, all the carbs and sugars you consume trigger a weight-gaining mechanism in your body while you have been under the impression that only consumption of fats was evil! Those of us who have a sedentary lifestyle and are mostly sitting down throughout the day and still consuming doughnuts and cupcakes, a warning for you. You might want to stop unless you want to become Little Miss/Mister Chubby!

Sugar and carb consumption is harmless when done right after working out, because then you’re quite depleted and the insulin won’t contribute to fat storage, rather it will build muscles. This is because after you work out, your muscles are depleted of glycogen and the sugar you consume will serve to restore that glycogen in your muscles. So no fat gaining! To stay healthy, we must follow a simple rule. Less sugar, more exercise. It’s as simple as that!

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Tuesday, March 31 2020

Lies About Food We Tell Ourselves

By kathyloups97 on Tuesday, March 31 2020, 08:56 - Health & Wellness

There are a number of myths associated with losing weight and getting fit. However, it's the lies that we choose to believe that get us in the end. The lies that we tell ourselves about food are the reason that most of us fail at our diets and healthy eating habits. There are a great number of ways that the mind persuades us to justify having one cupcake because we didn't have lunch, or skip the gym because we parked far away from the grocery store and used the stairs at work. But in reality, all we are including beauty wellness influencers doing by telling ourselves these lies is hurting ourselves and our progress in our goals. Here are a few common lies we tell ourselves about food and what it can do to us in the long run.

Lie: Salad is always a healthier choice Truth: Sometimes. A lot of times salads your order at restaurants are loaded with unhealthy extras that make them just as bad (and sometimes worse) than other items on the menu. Salad additions like cheese, nuts, high-calorie dressings and croutons can make this meal high in calories and fat. Many people tell themselves that if they order a salad they are making a healthy choice because it starts with a bed or lettuce and veggies, but this isn't always true. Depending on where you're eating, another meal like a chicken sandwich on a whole wheat roll may be healthier than a salad piled with unhealthy ingredients.

Lie: Fast food is cheaper than cooking something at home. Truth: Eating out all the time adds up quickly. You are much better off meal planning and buying healthy ingredients at the store than choosing the drive through or take out menu all of the time. Pick up a package of ground turkey, a tomato and an onion, a head of lettuce, some thin sandwich rolls, and a bag of baby carrots. That'll likely cost under $20, and it'll give you FIVE meals of turkey burgers with baby carrots on the side. Five fast-food value meals, on the other hand, would probably cost you more.

Lie: A side to your meal is a must Truth: You don't always need something to go with the main item. A major lie we tell ourselves about food is that we need side dishes because it's customary to add them to whatever our main course might be. But this isn't necessary. Most restaurants offer two side items with their main dishes but these can cause the calories of a meal to add up quickly. Don't believe that its necessary to order a couple of sides with your main order. You can often opt for just the main part of the dish and save yourself some money and some extra calories.

Lie: Asking for special orders is too much of a hassle Truth: It is worth it to get what you want and need for your diet. Most people trying to be more health conscious will tell themselves that they will take a meal as it comes, even if that means it doesn't fit into their diet. Don't lie to yourself and believe that it's too much of a hassle to ask for no mayonnaise or grilled chicken instead of fried. Most places will easily accommodate the customer so you can get your food the way you want it, and so it fits into your healthy eating and diet concerns.

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