Like I did last night. I don't always do that but when I do I really hate it. I talked about belly fat in my last blog and the battle women have combating the gradual increase of belly fat with age. I work hard for flat abs and fantasize about a six pack so why did I overeat when I know those extra calories are going right to my waist. I decided to do some research.
There is no simple answer but a couple of things popped out that I know I can control.
One is controlling the amount of sugar I consume. Our brain communicates to us when it's time to stop eating. Before it can do that however it needs a signal from our fat to tell it how much energy our body has available and what to do with it. Studies have shown that the hormone leptin is the primary communicator between our fat and brain. So why didn't leptin let my brain know it was time to stop eating last night? Too much sugar.
In doing this blog I decided to write down everything I had eaten and was surprised to see too many high sugar items. Two "protein bars" with 13 grams of sugar each, yogurt with 9 grams, pomegranate juice with 27!! grams, and two glasses of red wine (not sure of the exact amount there) Too much sugar and I didn't even enjoy a truly rich decadent dessert!
So what happens when your diet is full of sugar, or refined grains, and processed foods is that you become leptin resistant. Which means your brain can no longer hear the leptin say "stop eating!" It's like being in a room with a strong odor for a period of time. Soon, you stop being able to smell the odor because the signal no longer gets through. You've become resistant to the smell.
Make sense? Similar to insulin spikes from too much sugar which can make one insulin resistant resulting in diabetes.
So what to do to avoid this situation. I'm not going to give up yogurt but maybe I can learn to like plain sweetened with fresh fruit only. I will give up the protein bars or find a truly healthy one that isn't sweetened with fructose (not to mention soy additives). All sugars are not created equal so don't think the answer is to avoid fruit because it converts to glucose. Fructose is a cheap form of sugar and your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than the glucose that comes from good complex carbs.
I'm not going to give up that occasional dessert but I will control these daily, sneaky sugary products masked by presumably healthy choices.
I eat a lot of fruit. I put different ones all over my salad, everyday. Sometimes it just doesn't fill me up. I do like the "no sugar added" orange shebert, too. I'm sure sugar is sneaking in my diet in places, but the "I can't get full" sure gets old for me! Thanks for the info on it, Beth!
ReplyDeleteDo you include protein? We typically get plenty of carbs (the good ones and the bad ones) and fat (good and bad) but not enough protein which helps keeps the blood sugar stabilized and reduces cravings. Stay healthy!
ReplyDeletegoat feta, some chicken, Greek yogurt .... can you give me some more choices? Don't eat beef anymore. Was eating peanut butter whole wheat toast, till I saw the fat grams in it. YIKES!
ReplyDeleteThe much maligned egg is a perfect protein. The cholesterol in egg is not the same as cholesterol from fatty red meat. Also, fat from peanut butter is the good kind too. So if you're keeping the saturated and trans fat out of you diet I wouldn't think having peanut butter would do anything but good. You can also snack on almonds, maybe gross but canned sardines, oysters are great proteins and good omega 3's.
ReplyDeleteI eat every three hours, all day till dusk. Lots of fruit, spinach, carrots, romaine, goat feta as I said. When I was eating the peanut butter toast every day, my weight was creeping up. So I switched it to apple butter. Thanks for your protein suggestions, Beth. I'll be adding them to my diet. Not so much on the sardines, though. :)
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