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Your metabolism plays a vital role in energy balance and body weight. The secret to achieving good health and your ideal body weight is to gain a better understanding of how your metabolism works and how you can make it work for you, instead of against you.
When our blood sugar levels are low and we need more energy, if food is unavailable, glucagon is released from the pancreas. It’s job is the complete opposite to that of insulin. Glucagon goes into the cells and causes fat to be released and converted into energy. Below is an explanation of how differently the body metabolises carbohydrates, proteins and fats:
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are converted immediately into sugar by the body. They have a direct effect on insulin and no effect on glucagon. When they are eaten, blood glucose levels spike and insulin is released to bring it back down. This is why we may get hungry at 11am after we have eaten a bowl of cereal and sugar for breakfast, we get a surge of energy, but within a couple of hours, we crash and feel hungry again. Fat burning will not take place when insulin levels are high. When we eat a high carbohydrate meal, our blood sugar levels are high, therefore insulin levels are high, and the fat burning switch is turned off because glucagon levels are suppressed.
Protein: Protein has a mild effect on insulin in the body. When we eat protein, our blood sugar levels rise gradually, a small amount of insulin is released, we feel full and don’t get the ‘sugar crash’. Protein is great for providing sustained energy for the body. It takes the body a long period of time to digest and helps the body build lean muscle mass, heal itself and is an essential macro nutrient as part of a healthy diet.
Fat: Fat has NO effect on insulin. It only causes a rise of glucagon, meaning we burn body fat when we eat fat. When we eat good fats like coconut oil, olive oil, nuts and good quality organic butter, our blood sugar levels aren’t affected, we have sustained energy and the release of glucagon causes our body to burn its own energy stores. If you are on a low-fat diet trying to lose weight, chances are you are constantly hungry, fighting the willpower to resist the 3pm chocolate fix, and still wondering why you aren’t losing weight. This is all to do with unbalanced hormones wrecking havoc on your body because of the foods you are eating.
I can’t emphasise the importance of getting enough healthy fats in your diet, particularly if you are trying to lose weight. Not only will the sugar cravings go away, you will also have more energy for your workouts and the nourishment your body needs to restore itself to it’s optimum body weight.
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