One of the most amazing weight loss transformations I have ever witnessed was from a colleague at work. He was overweight but not obese.
Suddenly she discovered during a routine visit to the doctor that she had diabetes. He had no indication before his regular checkup. Diabetes is a blood sugar disorder caused by insufficient insulin production or the inability of cells to use insulin properly.
What is insulin? Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas and is released into the bloodstream in the digestive process. The purpose of insulin is to bring glucose, or blood sugar, into the cells to be used for energy. When insulin is under- or over-secreted, it causes stress on the body, and it usually manifests itself physically. Left unchecked, it could lead to excessive thirst, frequent urination, dry skin, blurred vision, fatigue, and many other conditions, including weight gain.
Glucose is created from digested food or carbohydrates that you just ate. It changes from the sweet sugar we taste in our food to the blood sugar our bodies can use. This is the energy for your cells.
Glucose is stored in the liver in the form of glycogen. When a person’s blood glucose changes, the liver converts stored glycogen to glucose and releases it into the bloodstream for low glucose levels. For high levels, the pancreas secretes insulin to signal the liver to stop glucose production. The pancreas continuously monitors blood sugar levels and reacts by injecting the correct amount of insulin into the system. It acts like a governor and responds directly to ingested sugar levels.
What you need to know about the glycemic index is to really understand how foods affect your insulin secretion. Understanding your insulin secretion is like learning to drive a car. You may know how to turn it on and start it, but that doesn’t mean you won’t crash it until you understand the rules of the road and how the machinery works. To do this, you need to know about carbohydrates.
The two types of carbohydrates that have a big impact on your weight are known as simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates have little nutritional value and are characterized by being dry and without fiber such as donuts, cakes, candies, cakes, cookies, breads, white flour products, etc. They are rapidly converted in your bloodstream triggering a 911 call to your pancreas to send out insulin to combat the flood of sugar. Usually, due to the extreme impact of sugar on the system, the pancreas reacts with a flood of insulin. When the insulin level is high, a large amount of glucose is rapidly removed from the blood, faster than it can be metabolized. This glucose is converted to fat in the cells. Over time this buildup is the layer of fat that covers your abs.
Complex carbohydrates are better for you. They have more fiber density and are characterized by being moist or juicy, hence the fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain sugar, but they also often contain fiber. Therefore, fruits and vegetables are digested more slowly in the system. The 911 call to the pancreas is avoided and therefore an excess of insulin is not produced. The fruit is metabolized in cells efficiently without excess sugar being stored in fat cells.
Going back to my colleague, he lost 50 pounds in two months. All of that weight loss was the result of following the glycemic index of foods and an eating plan. He is unable to exercise due to a back injury and has not exercised for many years. His secret was that he never ate a meal that had more than 40 carbs per session. Second, I would also eat protein snacks or glycemic index friendly snacks (low complex pods) in between meals. This kept her insulin levels stable throughout the day. He said he was actually eating more now than before the weight loss.
What is the glycemic index?
The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale of 0 to 100 by the extent to which they increase blood sugar levels. It measures how much your blood glucose levels rise after you eat. Low glycemic index foods are less than 55 and produce a small increase in insulin levels. An intermediate glycemic index food is between 56-70 and a high glycemic index food is above 70.
Avoiding high-glycemic foods is a good start to losing weight and getting your abs back. High glycemic foods are not necessarily all the good things you like to eat. Believe it or not, a Snickers bar is classified as a low glycemic food with a rating of 40. It doesn’t mean you should eat a Snickers bar 5 times a day. There are a lot of empty calories in a chocolate bar. The nuts in the chocolate bar digest more slowly, giving it a lower ranking. Ice cream has a glycemic index of 61. Again, not something to indulge in too much, but it does show that you can switch up your diet and not miss out on all your favorite foods.
Learning how to eat and paying attention to how your body reacts will help you reach your weight loss goals. Spend some time on the glycemic index, and then build your plan around it. You can read much more about losing weight and getting firmer abs at Best Abs Diet.
