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The Importance of Maintaining Good Blood Sugar Levels
Are you experiencing highs and lows in your energy level? Maybe more "lows" than "highs"! Is losing weight a challenge, even though you're careful about what you eat? Or, maybe you're gaining weight. These are just a couple of the more common symptoms associated with irregular blood sugar levels. Here are some others you may not know about:
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Blood Sugar & How It Relates to Fat Loss
This illustration shows how blood sugar levels can dramatically affect fat
loss. We begin our day with low blood sugar. Many
Americans will start their day eating foods and beverages that have high
levels of sugar and stimulants.
The result is a rapid rise in blood sugar (represented by the red line) to
above normal. The body reacts by over-producing the
hormone insulin - which causes the blood sugar to come crashing down to
below normal levels. Insulin also signals our body to store
fat!
When we keep blood sugar in the normal range (represented by the green
line), it allows the hormone glucagon to go to work
releasing fat. The TLC programs help put your blood sugar in the proper
zone. This is one of the secrets to "turning on on the fat
burning furnace".
How can you control your blood sugar levels? The most obvious is to avoid stimulants, alcohol, refined foods, and cigarettes. Beyond these, you will need to pay special attention to proper food combining and timing meals so that glucose levels remain stable throughout the day.
- Food Combining. Each food we eat is digested and absorbed at a different rate. For example, a baked potato is digested and converted to blood sugar very quickly. The result can be a rapid rise, then fall in blood sugar -- you feel like you're ready for a nap! We can control this reaction by eating a slower absorbing food with the potato -- e.g. cottage cheese or chili. This slows the absorption rate
- Timing Meals. Have you ever watched the way a child wants to eat? They seem to want a 'snack' every couple of hours! That's because we are designed to eat smaller, more frequent meals. However, our culture has trained us to eat "three square meals" each day.
Eating smaller, nutrient dense meals can do wonders. Your digestive system works better, blood sugar stabilizes, and your metabolism speeds up.