Are Calories Important in Weight Loss is a question contemplated by modern research into losing weight. The standing axiom is that more energy has to be burned than consumed to lose weight. It may be true but there is so much more.
In new research by Herman Pontzer in his book Burn, he claims calories are not the direct cause of weight gain. The real cause is insulin resistance caused by too much insulin. Obesity is a hormonal disease. Insulin is produced by the pancreas to adjust the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. Diabetics have most likely had too much insulin for up to 7 years before they get insulin resistance.
The Basics of Weight Gain
Most foods cause an insulin spike. In their book Insulin Resistance Diet, Cheryle R. Hart M.D. and Mary Kay Grossman R.D. say that some foods like grapefruit don’t cause spikes. Protein is one of the three macronutrients with carbohydrates and fat that can balance blood sugar. Hart and Grossman claim that carbs have to be balanced in meals with protein to neutralize spikes. Good fats do not cause a big insulin spike and one reason high fat diets are touted for weight loss.
Carbohydrates convert to glucose which is sugar in the blood stream. High carbohydrate diets are considered by many diet plans to be the most healthy. But the body can only accommodate so many calories of carbohydrates. The liver converts them to glycogen and transports glucose to the muscles, keeps some in store for energy requirements, and allows about 100 calories of glucose to circulate in the blood stream.
Excess glucose is then sent to fat. If a body has not been exercised, it probably has no receptors in the muscles for glucose. Therefore glucose by passes muscles and goes directly to fat. This is a reason weight lifting or resistance exercises are great for burning energy. Glucose is energy. Fat can be burned for energy. Protein is used by muscle for fuel. Muscles soak up glucose for fuel and recovery.
The body is designed to prevent starvation. It doesn’t know what is in your mind when you decide to go on a calorie restricted diet. It thinks you are starving. Therefore, it slows metabolism which is the behind the scenes burner of at least 60% of our calorie consumption. It supplies energy for digestion, the brain, the heart and all the organs. It will slow down and rob many functions of energy in order to balance the loss of calorie consumption.
Therefore, bodies plateau at weight loss and quickly regain weight. The metabolism can become so slow, you can’t eat normal and keep the weight off. This is when exercise becomes important. You don’t want to over exercise while losing weight, but you need exercise once you have reached the desired weight to keep from regaining. Exercise will help burn glucose from a more normal diet. Exercise will help offset the fact your metabolism will remain low as though you are still starving for a long time.
The trick becomes in understanding how the body burns energy and what triggers insulin production. Of course, sugar is the one evil everyone agrees upon. Too much insulin creates insulin resistance and then the cells won’t accept glucose so everything turns to fat. This is why obesity is a hormonal disease.
Read a good book to get ready.
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