Revisit Follow Up Post: Change Your Diet…

Change Your Life! See entire series here… 

THE FORMULA- a Personalized 40-30-30 Weight-Loss Program 

Chapter 2: The Real Power of Foods

The real power of the Formula is the hormonal response generated from the foods that you eat. There are two very important hormones that we will talk about, insulin and glucagon which are biological opposites. Think of insulin as a fat storing hormone and glucagon as a fat burning hormone. Eat a meal that controls the release of insulin and elevates glucagon. Do that and you win!

Insulin converts glucose (sugar) into glycogen, removes it from the bloodstream and stores it in the liver and the muscle cells. Your body can only store small amounts of glycogen, and the excess glucose that your body can’t store as glycogen will be converted into fat and stored in your fat cells.

If too much blood glucose is stored away your brain will not get the proper preferred fuel. This causes low blood sugar which triggers mood swings, (I know from my own mood swings, lol) hunger and cravings for more carbohydrates. (This used to happen to me when I ate a bag of potato chips or corn chips all at once.) Now when I have the desire to hear the crunching sound I choose almonds and I am satisfied. Over an extended period of time elevated insulin levels can cause hypoglycemia or diabetes. We all love food that has lots of starch, sugar, and carbohydrates and this is why Diabetes is on the rise for children and adults.

High carbohydrate meals elevate blood sugar and stimulate the release of the hormone insulin. When blood sugar levels rise too high or too quickly, insulin’s job is to siphon the excess into storage. Elevated insulin levels force the body to burn glucose for energy instead of stored body fat. High carbohydrate meals will elevate your insulin level which burns glucose for energy instead of your stored body fat. This is not healthy for your body. A balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats are much healthier for you. Only eating carbohydrates is not healthy for you, as well as eating low carbohydrates or no carbohydrates as your body goes into ketosis. The body burns fat for energy and this is not a healthy way to lose weight even though many people choose to lose weight this way.

Some negative effects that could occur will be that you get water loss of valuable electrolytes such as potassium and this can cause leg cramps (In the past I had many times) and muscle fatigue (my legs were very weak before I changed my eating habits). Now with the Arbonne Figure 8 line that I start my day with having the protein shakes, vitamins, detox tea, and energy drinks regularly I am getting all the supplements that I need. As I combine this with exercise from my fitness and training program of Gena, www.genalivings.com, I no longer have leg cramps and my legs are getting stronger each and every day. Another negative symptom that you can get when your body is in ketosis is bad breadth, breath or a nasty taste in your mouth or you could have horrible body odor. I remember when I did a high protein diet with no carbohydrates and I always had a bad taste in my mouth, and I had no idea why. After reading the Formula I realized why this had occurred.

In the state of ketosis our body not only burns fat for energy but also sacrifices valuable muscle tissue and body proteins in order to fuel the “brain” for energy. This is important because our brain is an energy hog and relies heavily on healthy carbohydrates for fuel. If our brain doesn’t get adequate amounts of fuel (glucose) from the healthy carbohydrates that we eat, our body will sacrifice something else (like lean muscle mass) in order to make up for it. This is not healthy as this causes our bodies to be out of balance which causes all the other side effects that are stated above.

A balance meal helps stabilize blood sugar levels, controls insulin and elevates the hormone glucagon. Glucagon will mobilize stored glycogen in the liver to maintain and balance blood sugar levels. This allows stored body fat to be released as fuel. Fat slows down digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, so that glucose goes gradually into the blood providing a steady supply of glucose. The protein stimulates the glucagon, controlling insulin’s effects and maintaining blood glucose concentrations within a normal range for a longer period of time.

When you go off of high protein or low carbohydrate diets you gain weight at an alarming rate. Many people that I know that have gone on high carbohydrate diets such as Atkins have all have gained all their weight back and more. Instead of an extremely unbalanced diet, try a balanced approach of 40-30-30 Formula. You will get all of the benefits of a high protein diet with none of the horrible side effects. The Formula offers a safe and balanced approach to fat burning and weight loss. The object of eating is to control insulin and elevated glucagon; you do this by eating balanced meals throughout the day.

We have learned in chapter 2 that we actually WANT to train our body to burn fat as the main source of energy instead of ONLY burning carbohydrate (sugars) for our energy source. Burning fat IS NOT a bad thing at all but it has to be done in a balanced way so that we don’t sacrifice our body proteins and go into a state of Ketosis. We need to burn both fat and sugar together. It is unhealthy to eat a high Protein diet without any carbohydrates because our body needs a certain amount of carbohydrates for energy, especially to fuel our brain. If we don’t have this, our body is so SMART that it will start breaking down our muscle (which is not good) and our fat to convert into sugar for the brain. (Our body is that intelligent to actually “transform” muscle and fat into sugar to fuel our brains!) It’s not the healthiest way to go about burning fat in our bodies because that compromises our hormonal balance and our immune system.

After reading this chapter I finally understood why so many people that were on Atkins have gained all their weight back and some even more. I also learned about the side effects of how your body reacts to what food you put into it and how this cause emotional mood swings. I never thought about this in this way. I will continue to observe my behavior patterns after what I eat as this has been a great exercise for me. I also reflected on how my mom was diagnosed with diabetes at 35 and almost died. I always heard this would happen suddenly, and it was my brother who saved her life by driving 100 MPH to the hospital as she went into a diabetic coma, barely conscience and near death. My mom always was challenged by her mood swings as her sugar levels were not under control as they fluctuated from high to low especially if she did not watch what she was eating. This was Just another sign that things needed to change. So there you have it, many reasons why you should eat a balanced meal with carbohydrates, proteins and fats in every meal. So why not give it a try and observe the changes to be the YOU that YOU can be. Come visit again to review Chapter 3 as we will give discuss and give examples of the 40-30-30 Ratio.

Bonnie S. Gortler

Bonnie Gortler, Consultant, Coach, and Author specializing in Wealth and Well-Being, is a successful stock market expert who has been instrumental in managing multi-million-dollar client portfolios within a top-rated investment firm during her over 35-year corporate career. As the author of “Journey to Wealth,” Bonnie has made it her mission to share the importance of risk management and how to enjoy real financial well-being by applying the technical and mental sides of investing. Bonnie has an M.B.A. and is a certified life coach. It is through her love of coaching, consulting, blogging, and social media that she creates change in the lives of many and inspires people from around the world. Bonnie is fully committed to your personal growth and development as she shares her winning spirit and powerful techniques with you. Visit BonnieGortler.com to gain tips and insights about investing, personal development, and inspiration through her articles on Wealth and Well-Being.
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