Just about everyone that has ever dealt with extra body weight knows how to lose it. In fact, as I alluded to in a previous blog, most of us that have struggled with excess weight are experts on the subject of weight loss.
But, do you really understand why we gain weight?
Of course! You might say. You consume more calories than you burn!
In the basic sense, that is true. But is it calories in general, or calories from specific foods?
In the 1960's the US dietary guidelines shifted to a diet low in fat. Not just for lowering risk of heart disease, but for losing/maintaining weight. Thus the low-fat, low-calorie diet was born. So was a much more serious problem.
When the food manufacturers were pressured to produce food products lower in fat it created a problem for them. When they took out the fat it also eliminated good taste. To solve this problem they added sugar to the food. Afterall, there is no fat in sugar. So they could legally sell it as a low-fat product.
So now America, and eventually the world, has been sold on a lower fat diet, but higher in simple carbohydrates. And ever since, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses, has escalated to epidemic proportions. To give this some perspective:
In 1965 there were about 4,000,000 Americans with type 2 diabetes
By 2015 that number increased to nearly 25,000,000
Coincidence? Let's take a look at why the human body actually gains fat weight.
There are 4 types of fat:
Saturated Fat
Trans Fat
Polyunsaturated Fat
Monounsaturated Fat
Unfortunately we have been sold a lie that eating fat makes us fat. In fact, Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated, both very healthy fats in moderation, are actually helpful to lose weight. They are beneficial to our metabolism, and are excellent at making us feel full longer.
Saturated and Trans fats do not cause weight gain. Trans fat especially, is dangerous to our health, as it raises our LDL (bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL (good cholesterol). Along with Saturated fat, it contributes to heart disease, such as clogging arteries.
So if fat doesn't cause weight gain, what does? The basic answer to this is excessive carbohydrates - especially simple carbs vs. complex. To simplify this:
Simple Carbs: A Snickers bar has 25 grams of carbohydrates, coming from 21 grams (5 tsp) of added sugar and 1 gram of fiber
Complex Carbs: A Sweet Potato has 27 grams of carbohydrates, coming from 6 grams of natural sugar and 4 grams of fiber
Simple carbs will spike your blood sugar quickly and lower it abruptly, giving you that energy crash, making you feel tired. Simple carb food is also digested very quickly, meaning you will be hungry sooner - leading to overeating.
Food with complex carbs will raise your blood sugar slowly - and not as high - and come down slowly, without the energy crash. Our body also digests these foods much slower, meaning you will be full longer without the urge to eat when you shouldn't. What's also interesting is our bodies will burn more calories just digesting complex carbs, than simple.
Our body's insulin converts the sugars in carbohydrates to glucose, which is what our bodies run on for energy. What we do not burn up gets stored as fat. So it is in this sense that consuming more calories than we burn causes weight gain is true.
To understand this process just a little further - when we consistently consume more sugars/carbs than our insulin can keep up with - we are now at risk for type 2 diabetes.
So when you really understand the mechanics of weight gain, it becomes a little easier to "reverse engineer" weight loss. By lowering our carb intake - most especially simple vs. complex carbs - we now have better control over getting our body to burn stored fat rather than consumed carbohydrates.
That is called a state of Ketosis. Yes, the basis of a Keto diet. While I do not promote the Keto diet (I do not promote diets period!) the mechanics of it are really what is the key to permanent weight loss. Because when you fully understand how your body works with the food you eat, you are then the one in control.
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