The documentary Fat Head had me in stitches from start to finish. Health writer Tom Naughton took it upon himself to prove Morgan Spurlock (the man behind Super Size Me) wrong by showing that he could lose weight on a diet of burgers and fries. And he did so in a very hilarious way!
Before you jump into conclusions of your own, you have to see the movie. Naughton was careful to reduce his carbohydrate intake and replaced it with a fat-rich diet. The theory that stood out in this film was that a high-carb and low-fat diet is what makes us fat. In short, carbohydrates are the enemy. Well, too much of it, that is. Carbohydrates cause the insulin levels in your blood to increase which in turn tells the body to "store fat".
My penchant for checking facts led me to an article which says that the carbohydrate-insulin relationship is actually true. Here's a snippet:
What happens when you eat too much carbohydrate? Here's the answer: whether it's being stored in the liver or the muscles, the total storage capacity of the body for carbohydrate is really quite limited. If you're an average person, you can store about three hundred to four hundred grams of carbohydrate in your muscles, but you can't get at that carbohydrate. In the liver, where carbohydrates are accessible for glucose conversion, you can store only about sixty to ninety grams. This is equivalent to about two cups of cooked pasta or three typical candy bars, and it represents your total reserve capacity to keep the brain working properly.
Once the glycogen levels are filled in both the liver and the muscles, excess carbohydrates have just one fate: to be converted into fat and stored in the adipose, that is, fatty, tissue. In a nutshell, even though carbohydrates themselves are fat-free, excess carbohydrates ends up as excess fat. That's not the worst of it. Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates will generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin then lowers the levels of blood glucose.
The problem is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that's stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of body fat. In other words, when we eat too much carbohydrate, we're essentially sending a hormonal message, via insulin, to the body (actually, to the adipose cells). The message: "Store fat."
Hold on; it gets even worse. Not only do increased insulin levels tell the body to store carbohydrates as fat, they also tell it not to release any stored fat. This makes it impossible for you to use your own stored body fat for energy. So the excess carbohydrates in your diet not only make you fat, they make sure you stay fat. It's a double whammy, and it can be lethal.
Insulin also causes hunger. As blood sugar increases following a carbohydrate meal, insulin rises with the eventual result of lower blood sugar. This results in hunger, often only a couple of hours (or less) after the meal. Cravings, usually for sweets, are frequently part of this cycle, leading you to resort to snacking, often on more carbohydrates. Not eating makes you feel ravenous shaky, moody and ready to "crash." If the problem is chronic, you never get rid of that extra stored fat, and your energy is adversely affected.
So I guess the decision I've made a month ago to reduce my carb intake was a wise one. I have altogether eliminated rice consumption and I'm basically getting my glucose from fruits; I still eat bread though. I have not altogether given up fast food either. Also, I have made exercise a regular part of my day, walking mainly, and going to the gym at least 3 times a week. The result: I've lost 5 lbs! And that without even counting calories. Pretty neat, huh?
Before you jump into conclusions of your own, you have to see the movie. Naughton was careful to reduce his carbohydrate intake and replaced it with a fat-rich diet. The theory that stood out in this film was that a high-carb and low-fat diet is what makes us fat. In short, carbohydrates are the enemy. Well, too much of it, that is. Carbohydrates cause the insulin levels in your blood to increase which in turn tells the body to "store fat".
My penchant for checking facts led me to an article which says that the carbohydrate-insulin relationship is actually true. Here's a snippet:
What happens when you eat too much carbohydrate? Here's the answer: whether it's being stored in the liver or the muscles, the total storage capacity of the body for carbohydrate is really quite limited. If you're an average person, you can store about three hundred to four hundred grams of carbohydrate in your muscles, but you can't get at that carbohydrate. In the liver, where carbohydrates are accessible for glucose conversion, you can store only about sixty to ninety grams. This is equivalent to about two cups of cooked pasta or three typical candy bars, and it represents your total reserve capacity to keep the brain working properly.
Once the glycogen levels are filled in both the liver and the muscles, excess carbohydrates have just one fate: to be converted into fat and stored in the adipose, that is, fatty, tissue. In a nutshell, even though carbohydrates themselves are fat-free, excess carbohydrates ends up as excess fat. That's not the worst of it. Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates will generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin then lowers the levels of blood glucose.
The problem is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that's stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of body fat. In other words, when we eat too much carbohydrate, we're essentially sending a hormonal message, via insulin, to the body (actually, to the adipose cells). The message: "Store fat."
Hold on; it gets even worse. Not only do increased insulin levels tell the body to store carbohydrates as fat, they also tell it not to release any stored fat. This makes it impossible for you to use your own stored body fat for energy. So the excess carbohydrates in your diet not only make you fat, they make sure you stay fat. It's a double whammy, and it can be lethal.
Insulin also causes hunger. As blood sugar increases following a carbohydrate meal, insulin rises with the eventual result of lower blood sugar. This results in hunger, often only a couple of hours (or less) after the meal. Cravings, usually for sweets, are frequently part of this cycle, leading you to resort to snacking, often on more carbohydrates. Not eating makes you feel ravenous shaky, moody and ready to "crash." If the problem is chronic, you never get rid of that extra stored fat, and your energy is adversely affected.
So I guess the decision I've made a month ago to reduce my carb intake was a wise one. I have altogether eliminated rice consumption and I'm basically getting my glucose from fruits; I still eat bread though. I have not altogether given up fast food either. Also, I have made exercise a regular part of my day, walking mainly, and going to the gym at least 3 times a week. The result: I've lost 5 lbs! And that without even counting calories. Pretty neat, huh?
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| This is not my favorite exercise machine since I'm more of an elliptical girl, but it's the only photo I have. |
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