One Key to permanent Fat Loss – Controlling your Insulin levels

By Mark Guilbert (M.Dip. PTST)

Dear Friend,

When people apply the health management information, which we prescribe, they become successful in not only transforming their bodies, but also their lives.

However, what we’ve found is that many people don’t have a problem following their exercise programme; their biggest problem is transforming their eating patterns. Why? Well, following a well-balanced nutrition plan takes patience, perseverance and a proactive mindset. But remember, the foods we eat exert a profound influence on what happens within our bodies – both good and bad. By eating the correct balance of foods, we can alter what goes on « inside us » in a healthful way; however, eating the wrong foods can literally kill you. Most people don’t realise they’re slowly but surely digging their own graves with knifes and forks.

Therefore, I would like to briefly explain the importance of protein and carbohydrates being consumed together at each meal and if you’re going to be successful at building muscle and losing fat, why you will need to learn how to control insulin levels.

What is Insulin?

Insulin is a hormone released in response to the digestion of carbohydrates. Its main job is to store carbohydrates as glycogen in muscles, where they can be used for energy later on. Insulin also increases the amount of amino acids (from digested protein) transported into your muscle, thereby, stopping the breakdown of muscle tissue. Insulin works best when blood sugar levels are not too high or low. If blood sugar levels get too high, insulin is secreted in abundance to lower excess sugar in the blood. This excess sugar (carbohydrate) is stored as body fat. High blood sugar levels also reduce your ability to burn body fat.

In contrast, if blood sugar levels fall too low, muscle tissue is broken down, and converted into glucose to fuel the brain and provide energy. Therefore, if your goal is to get lean, you should try to keep your insulin levels stable throughout the day. This can be accomplished by eating protein-containing foods (protein is like “time-released insulin”) along with carbohydrates. Never eat simple (fast releasing) carbohydrates by themselves. That means don’t eat a baked potato or high sugar fruit without combining it with some protein or your insulin levels will “ spike, “ then “ dip. “

The only time I suggest that you deliberately spike insulin levels are following intense (excluding Energy Zone cardiovascular or muscular endurance weights) training sessions. You see, intense exercise « primes » your body’s ability to « manage » insulin in such a way that it preferentially shuttles amino acids and glucose into the lean tissue part of the body (muscle) and away from adipose tissue (fat). That’s why I suggest your highest carbohydrate meal of the day be the one that follows your weight training session. But even that meal should contain carbohydrates and protein.

The Power of L – Carnitine

The key to burning fat lies within your muscle. Muscles are engines and like all engines they require a fuel source. Your body uses two main fuels – carbohydrates and fats.

To burn body fat successfully, the fat has to be transported deep inside your muscles and the nutrient L – Carnitine, achieves this.

L – Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid whose job is to transport fat inside muscles so it can be burned for energy. Without sufficient L – Carnitine you would have trouble burning even an ounce of fat. Research shows that higher body L – Carnitine levels result in more fat loss.

Many people are deficient in L – Carnitine and even moderate exercise will reduce Carnitine levels by around twenty percent. That’s why protein is important in your nutrition plan. Amino acids (from digested protein) are transported into your muscles, one of them being L – Carnitine, which transports fat.

Don’t make the same mistake so many others make, which is to plan their training sessions but eat « accidentally. » If you don’t follow a proven nutrition strategy, your chances of success in this endeavour are slim to none. Try combining some protein with carbohydrates in every meal. It’s practical, it’s simple, and once you put it to work for you, you’ll notice a profound difference in the way you look and feel.

Wishing you a Very Healthy Existence!

MG Business Health Solutions