Losing weight isn’t about eating less, but more about eating healthier. That’s why consuming sugar may be ruining your potential for weight loss. It’s more than just empty calories, although it is that. It’s addictive and makes you crave even more sugar. Eating sugar causes the body to release dopamine, since it binds to the opioid receptors in the brain. Just like opioid drugs, not only do you crave it and have withdrawal, you also crave increasing amounts to get your “fix.” Sugar also tends not to fill you up, even when you’ve consumed adequate calories.
Sugar can cause fat storage.
Sugar can cause an increase in the production of fatty acids and storage of fat, compared to other carbs, like those from fresh fruit and vegetables. If you want to shed those extra pounds around your waist, sugar certainly won’t help you. Just cutting out sugar can save thousands of calories a month and help you lose weight faster.
Sugar affects your microbiome.
Your microbiome is the collection of bacteria, fungi and other micro-organisms in your body. They perform everything from digesting your food, to affecting your mind and your body. A healthy microbiome keeps your body functioning correctly. Sugar can destroy your microbiome and destroy the delicate balance that keeps you healthy. Can destroying the microbiome affect your weight? Sure it can. Consider why cattle are given antibiotics. Not only do antibiotics prevent disease, it alters the microbiome they have and causes them to gain weight.
Sugar can cause insulin resistance.
What is insulin resistance? You produce insulin every time you eat. Insulin is the hormone that opens the cells to take in glucose for fuel. Consuming too much sugar can cause a condition cause insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. It often occurs when you gain visceral fat, which is belly fat, and causes inflammation that changes the cell’s response to insulin. That causes blood sugar levels to build and can lead to diabetes. Insulin resistance also makes it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it.
- Consuming too much sugar on a regular basis slows protein, fat and other carbohydrates metabolism by stimulating the production of cortisol—a hormone linked to abdominal fat.
- When you consume natural sugars in fruit, the fiber in the fruit slows the absorption of the sugar, so it doesn’t have the impact of regular sugar or even fruit juice.
- Don’t be tricked by the promotion that high fructose corn syrup—HFCS, a form of sugar, is natural, so therefore healthy. HFCS increases the potential for both leptin and insulin resistance. Leptin is the hormone that makes you feel full.
- Other names for sugar include fructose, maize sugar (corn syrup) and dextrose. Manufacturers try to trick you by using several types of sugar, so it’s never first on the list of ingredients.
For more information, contact us today at LIV Fitness