Diet Coke Nutrition Facts Does Better Energy Equal Better Fat Loss.
For thrill-seekers riding a roller-coaster can be a real blast. But it's considerably less fun when the ride you're on is the alternating highs and lows of your energy level. Not to mention the effect this may be having on your waistline, without you being aware of it. In this article I'm going to talk about a subject which is near and dear to my heart, and should be to yours, especially if your goal is fat loss. Understanding how your body reacts to sugar can give you head start on your nutrition plan.
So let's break this down, and I'll try to simplify it as much as possible. When you ingest a simple sugar, it is quickly absorbeb by the body, and almost immediately enters the bloodstream. So, for that moment, you have what is known as "high blood-sugar." Your body then reacts by asking the pancreas to make more of a hormone called insulin. What insulin does is take the excess sugar out of the bloodstream and transport it into your muscles where it can be stored and used later on. So it basically functions as a "storing" hormone, and your body switches into a fuel-storing mode.
The problem with that is, while your pancreas is churning out more insulin to help regulate your bloodsugar, it manufactures a lot less of its "release" hormone, known as glucagon. Glucagon is needed to release fat from the adipose cell where it is stored and transport it into the muscle where it can be burned as energy. So effectively, when you take in a simple sugar, you are turning off your body's fat burning mechanism!
In my live seminars I use a pretty cool visual demonstration with a can of Coke or Pepsi and a bag of sugar to drive home this point. You can try this at home. A can of cola has approximately 40 grams of sugar. That's the equivalent of 10 teaspoons! Take an empty glass and dump 10 teaspoons of sugar into it, you'll see where I'm going with this. It's disgusting! And when you consider that, according to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian consumes a staggering 55lbs. of sugar per year, is it any wonder so many people struggle to lose weight?
So it would be easy to make the mistake of thinking you can just get on a treadmill or do a spin-class and burn fat. But it is important to understand that fat loss is a two-step process. If you don't first release the fat, you can't burn it. That means that if you are not in a state where your body is hormonally willing to release fat, you can do cardio all day long and it won't burn any. In fact, it is much more likely that you'll burn muscle tissue.
Not to worry, it gets better! There's another side to this story. If we can get you to a place where insulin release is stabilized, such that your body is still able to produce glucagon, you can release fat on a much more consistent basis. This means you can burn more fat, almost around the clock! Now isn't that a place you'd like to get to? It really isn't that hard to do. It starts by avoiding simple sugars in your diet and replacing them with higher quality, non-refined, complex carbohydrates (e.g. brown rice, oatmeal, yams).
Ok, so what does all this have to do with fluctuating energy levels? Well, actually it turns out insulin does such a good job of removing the sugar from your bloodstream that you end up with low bloodsugar. This explains the brief window of high energy, followed by the "crash" that occurs when taking in a sugary treat. So when your energy levels are more consistent, it a sign that insulin release is more stable...welcome to the fat-burning zone!
Many of my clients report that when following my recommendations they no longer experience the periodic fatigue or what's sometimes referred to as the "early afternoon lull." They find themselves more productive throughout the day. Now isn't that a nice little added bonus! But more importantly it is one of the key indications that your body is making that metabolic "shift" from a storing mode to a burning mode. When you're there, drastic changes become possible.
So what about those who say: "I can't give up my sugar, I'm a carb addict!" Funny, huh? I actually hear this from people though. To these people I say, the truth will set you free! While the notion of the carbohydrate addict is clever, and has been used to sell a lot of books, there really is no such thing. That's right, I'm taking the shackles off right now. We create our own appetite! Remember I explained how the rise in insulin leaves you with residual low bloodsugar and feeling tired? Well, your body is trying to protect you, so it sends these little "neuro-transmitters" or messages to the brain saying "we're losing power, get some quick energy in here!" This you experience as a craving for something sweet.
If you are what you perceive to be a carbohydrate addict, you need to take my three day "sugar detox." It works like this. For three days, you are not gonna eat any sugar! The first day, you may feel tired and irritable. The second day, you may have a headache, even a bit of insomnia. But by the end of the third day, you won't crave sugar anymore. It's that simple. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you won't want your favorite foods every now and then, it just won't be that overpowering urge that you may be used to feeling right now. So cast off your chains, sugar addicts, you don't need them anymore! And you won't need any 12-step programs if you just follow what I recommend.
It's truly amazing what happens when you take out the simple sugars and start to put it some more supportive food options, not only will you experience improved energy and fat metabolism, but after a little while your body starts to "get it" and you actually may end up craving brown rice! Sceptical? I don't doubt it. But I've seen it happen many times before.
Ok, now let's wrap this up. For you to gain maximum benefit from what you've just read, you need to:
1. Know which foods contain simple sugars so you can avoid them
2. At first, avoid sugar for three straight days, and be sure to replace them with high quality, non-refined, complex carbohydrates such as yams, brown rice, oatmeal, tomatoes and long-grain basmati rice, just to give a few examples
3. Re-read this article and try to understand what happens in your body when you take in a simple sugar, so you can be informed and make better choices
4. Look for changes in your energy or your appetite that tell us it's working!
Diet Coke Nutrition Facts.