In my last post, I talked about necessity of fat, and attempted to dispel the greatest fat myth facing persons interested in nutrition today. I say attempted because I really want people to do their own research on the subject. I'm just planting a seed that suggests we shouldn't believe everything we hear, even if its mainstream. Read Gary Taubes blog. Read his book; Good Calories, Bad Calories. Check out blogs by Mark Sisson and Rob Wolfe.
So, picking up from the last post, if fat isn't making us fat, and we need fat, then why, why, why? Are so many of us having issues with weightloss, and specifically fatloss?
Hormones. Hormones are responsible for us keeping and/or losing fat. Insulin (a hormone) in particular is responsible for fat and nutrient storage. Insulin is released after a spike in blood sugar. Repeated and abuse of insulin release breaks the system, and insulin resistance results. The most telling symptom of insulin resistance is fat around the middle.
The solution? Regulate insulin. Eat foods that don't cause spikes in insulin. In order from affecting insulin least to greatest, the list looks like this: fat, protein, carbs. A diet low in carbohydrates is not going to cause the highs and lows in blood sugar, and therefore won't cause a roller coaster of insulin released.
Hormones being responsible for weight loss are precisely the reason why you can do everything right one week...exercise, eat a calorie deficit that should equal a two pound loss, and yet NOTHING changes on the scale, or you see a gain. It has been shown over and over (and by how many long term success stories there are for people that lose weight) dieting only makes you fatter and weaker.
How does eating less and exercising more lead you astray? Stay tuned for Part 3: The exercise "more" myth.
Links to those books/blogs? :)
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