The Reason You Can’t Lose Weight!

There is a common misconception that you have to starve yourself to lose weight. This is simply not true! On the contrary, you must eat to lose weight. It is the Glycemic index that can help you determines what happens in your body. Let me explain.

Your body needs glucose, which is a form of sugar, and is the main fuel for the body. The body is constantly trying to maintain blood sugar levels and it is the carbohydrates we eat that turns into glucose which goes directly into the blood stream to feed all the cells of the body. Glucose is the only fuel your brain uses and it is the brain that uses more energy than any other part of your body. If your blood sugar goes down, it starves the brain and a wide variety of symptoms can occur such as feeling weak and sluggish, drowsy, dizzy, confused, headache, irritability, trembling, rapid heart beat, and even anxiety and panic attacks.

Carbohydrates alone do not make a healthy body. We need a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, water and exercise to maintain health. The biggest difficulty that we have with weight problems is over indulging in high glycemic foods. These are the foods that contain too much sugar or foods that are refined carbohydrates. If you over indulge in carbohydrates, (which produce insulin) then the excess glucose gets stored as fat. You can counter that by eating protein with it, (which produces glucagons). Glucagons promote the utilization of fat to be used for energy. Insulin and glucagons in balance maintain normal blood sugar levels. A body in a high insulin state promotes excess stored fat and disease.

The foods that are high on the glycemic index are foods such as the root family, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, yams etc. If you want to eat potatoes then I’d opt for the yams or sweet potato (without the honey and brown sugar). They are the lowest on the glycemic scale. Also rice, pasta, corn, most breads are high on the scale as well as some fruits like bananas, apricots and pineapple.

Some low index foods are vegetables such as broccoli, the lettuce and cabbage family, various beans, dairy and soy.

I would also like to make a mention about fat. Fat in it self is not the bad guy. Our diets require fat to remain healthy. Fat provides fuel for the body plus it helps in the development of cell membranes and hormones and also helps to insulate our bodies. Fat in our foods is what gives us that satisfied feeling. You don’t need very much fat intake. Stick with good fats like olive oil and stay away from saturated or trans fats.

Portion size is very important. The rule to remember is; if you have approximately 3 oz. of protein and you have a high index carb. then eat only 3oz of that carb. It is a one to one ratio. A protein and a low index carb. would be 3 oz of protein and 6 oz of carb. It is a 1 to 2 ratio.

If you eat 6 small meals per day in the correct ratio then you should easily be able to lose weight.

Enjoy!

"Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor."

The Easy Side Of Weight Loss

This article was written to answer many of the most frequently asked questions on this topic. I hope you find this information helpful.

There is the familiar story of your teenage years and how active you were playing sports, going out with friends and having a good time. Because of your high activity level and age your metabolism is also high so your weight has not ever been a problem. As a matter of fact, whoever even thinks about it' Over time you develop a taste for fatty junk food and you sure do love those hamburgers, fries and pop. Your metabolism helps burn off most of the excess calories from the junk food and so any extra weight goes unnoticed.

As you move into adulthood priorities change and somehow sports disappears from your life and the focus now becomes more on work and social activities such as parties and drinks. You notice that you have some extra weight but by now you've programmed your lifestyle habits into your subconscious and weight loss is still not something that is thought of. As you get to your 30's and 40's you have now noticed a considerable amount of body fat and you begin to see the health problems associated with your unhealthy lifestyle. Now you are concerned.

What you have done in your life to date is set the cause and effect of your lifestyle choices in motion, accumulating all the little unhealthy lifestyle habits along the way until the weight issue has become bigger year after year, and so have you. Hang on. There is good news.

The good news is that you can turn around the negative cause and effect in such a way as to achieve health and weight loss by making steady improvements to your lifestyle across multiple areas. This will cause your new weight loss to grow and gather speed and lead you back to health. The most important thing to realize is that while you may not see immediate results from the slight changes to your lifestyle, the combination of little improvements across lots of lifestyle areas over time will achieve the weight loss you're looking for.

Here's how to get started:

1. Get Active - To burn off some of the body fat and strengthen your heart you need to do some form of exercise. A starting point might be walking as it is a low impact, low risk activity. Start out with a short walk at first and and then walk farther and for longer each time. The important thing to remember is to choose an exercise you like to do so you will stay with it.

2. Eat Healthy - Little by little, replace high fat and high sugar foods with healthier alternatives. First start with perhaps one meal a day and progress from there. After a while you will be more accustomed to healthy food and will make better food choices. It is true the healtheir you eat, the less you want the the old eating habits back.

3. Eat Smaller Meals - It is better to have frequent smaller meals than three large meals, so try cutting down your portion sizes and have a piece of fruit between meals for snacks.
Eating healthy keeps you fuller longer.

4. Cut Sugar Drinks - Eliminate soda drinks from your diet as they wreak havoc with your blood sugar, add body fat, and interfere with your hormonal system.

5. Reduce Alcohol - Alcohol has the same effects as soda drinks on your body so try to reduce your consumption.

6. Drink a lot of Water - Water helps eliminate all the body's byproducts and is needed to flush the body of the waste associated with weight loss. It also helps give you that full feeling. There is an easy way to drink enough water each day. Just drink three twelve ounce glasses of water with each meal. I chose the one right sized glass for each meal or start with one glass of water with each meal and work up to the three glasses. There, you're done and it's easy.

7. Get Lots of Sleep - A large proportion of the people who get inadequate sleep are overweight. That's because sleep deprivation has an enormous negative effect on the body's hormonal system among other things.

8. Eat Slower - Most people eat way too fast, which leads to poor digestion and overeating. Eat slower and savor your food and you will feel fuller on less food.

There is no quick fix when it comes to weight loss, but if you make gradual improvements in several areas, the combined effect will put the brakes on obesity your weight issues will be a thing of the past.

Thank you for visiting. Go ahead and look around to find additional helpful tips and information.