Insulin is an important hormone that helps store the nutrients from the food eaten.
It causes most of the body’s cells to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as
glycogen in the liver and muscles. When it is low, glucose is not absorbed, allowing the
body to use fat for energy.
When you eat simple carbs there is a quick increase in blood sugar, which causes an
insulin spike. The overdose of insulin prevents the burning of fat as an energy source,
and encourages further fat storage.
It doesn’t matter how hard you exercise, nor if calorie intake is restricted.
When insulin reduces the blood sugar, it often over-corrects, so you now have low
blood sugar. The body normally combats low blood sugar by releasing energy from
stored fat, which is what we want to achieve, but the insulin spike wont allow this.
The only source of energy in this circumstance is PROTEIN.( I.E. you are getting fatter
while losing muscle)
Women are even more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Stubborn lower body fat
reacts a bit differently than the rest of the woman’s body. Many women have very
lean upper bodies compared to their lower body. One of the reasons for this is that
the fat on the lower body is much more sensitive to insulin spikes than the upper
body. So she may lose fat from the upper body, while maintaining downstairs.
You can eat a moderately high GI meal immediately after a workout. (small serve)
The Glycaemic Index ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood
glucose levels, from 0 – 100+, with sugar being the highest. Low GI foods (< 55) will
ensure stable insulin and blood glucose, and encourage fat to be burnt for energy.
Carbs create body fat, not natural fats. That is because all carbohydrates turn into glucose in the body, which causes
2 main reactions : 1. Glucose increases blood sugar levels, so your pancreas has to produce insulin in order to maintain them.
2. Your body doesn’t know how to handle so much sugar/glucose, so it turns it into fat to get it out of your bloodstream
The more carbs and sugar you eat, the more your cells become accustomed to burning sugar/glucose as their fuel.
After awhile, that makes you crave carbs and sugars, preferring it to fat.
Before bodyfat can be used as a fuel source, your body must burn all of the available sugar first, before it is able to burn bodyfat.
The best source of energy for maintaining your weight is natural fats. The reason you are overweight is because your body isn’t able to burn fat. That is because your body cannot release and burn up fatty tissues when glucose and insulin levels are high.
When your sugar levels accumulate in your blood, insulin will be released to take that sugar and store it. At the same time insulin inhibits the release of fat located in fat tissues.
Insulin stores nutrients in the form of glycogen, mainly in the liver and muscles. But there is a limited amount of glycogen that can be stored, and any excess sugar and carbohydrate is stored as fat ( triglycerides ). So if your test levels are high it is because of excess carbs/glucose.
