50 TOP TIPS FOR FAT LOSS- TIP 19

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Avoid the situation where you have free fatty acids and fat storage hormones in your blood stream

AT THE SAME TIME

Fatty acids are derived from triglycerides or phospholipids and when they aren’t attached to other molecules, they are known as “free” fatty acids. They are important sources of fuel because, when metabolized, they yield large quantities of ATP (energy). Many cell types can use either glucose or fatty acids for this purpose. However, the heart and skeletal muscle prefer fatty acids, whereas the brain cannot use fatty acids as a source of fuel; it relies on glucose.

Here’s the thing, when there’s too much glucose in the blood stream, the body converts this to fatty acids through a process called fatty acid synthesis and when there’s too much fatty acids in the blood stream, the body converts this to body fat.

If we eat normal, regular unprocessed foods from organic sources, our body receives various hormonal signals through the digestion of these foods that tells us, we are either full or hungry.  When we eat processed foods made with large quantities of refined sugar & salt, or drink sugary, caffeinated juices and soft drinks, these hormonal signals that we should receive don’t get delivered to the brain.  In effect we miss out on the, “I’m full or I’m hungry” message and have a tendency to over indulge.

As a result, large amounts of free fatty acids are released into the blood stream at precisely the same time as large amounts of insulin are.  The issue with this is that insulin is attempting to lower the blood sugar levels and it does this by opening the pathways to enable cells to suck up glucose out of the blood stream.  This has a knock on effect in that it prevents the body from using body fat as an energy source.  Sort of like a double whammy, here’s a whole truck load of fat for energy, but you can’t use any of it so you’ll just have to store it.

It’s this exact vicious cycle that most obese people find themselves trapped in.  Lacking in energy because of poor choices of food, they find themselves reaching for sugary salty snacks and drinks for the energy hit, which raises their blood sugar levels dramatically, causing insulin to be released from the pancreas, creating large amounts of fatty acids while at the same time stopping the body from using body fat for energy and at the same time creating more body fat .

So what’s the answer?  It’s simple but mighty difficult to implement.  If body fat loss is your goal, you simply have to avoid the situation where large amounts of fatty acids and insulin are present in your blood stream at the same time.  How you ask?

Well firstly, avoid those exact same foods and drinks that create large quantities of fatty acids.  Now contrary to popular belief, we don’t eat a lot of fat.  (Check the stats but its well below the 40% we have been instructed to lower it to)  We are drinking it, in the form of sugary laden soft drinks, sodas, fruit juices and energy drinks and flavoured milk.  Secondly eat foods that cause a slow release of energy into the blood stream.

Tomorrow we talk about focusing your training on muscle growth.  Till then have a great Sunday and I’ll see you all tomorrow.