Tired? Overweight? Here’s how to lose weight and boost your energy simultaneously

Eat the right foods. We hear this mantra all of the time, like a television blaring in the background, the media, the government, friends, family, and health care pracititoners going on and on about eating good foods instead of bad foods.

Well, what exactly are good foods and what are bad foods?

Understand this, there are no good and bad foods. Each food has a function to it and the body will respond in a particular way to that food. So, lets examine a few of these myths perpetrated by generally good intentioned but misinformed people:

MYTH #1:

Fat is bad: We need fats in our diet to perform some of the most basic functions.
According to food journalist Sally Fallon:

“Fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in the diet; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormonelike substances. Fats as part of a meal slow down absorption so that we can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption and for a host of other processes.”

That said, animal protein consumption should be in moderation for the benefits to outweigh the risks. Trans fats are disruptive to digestion, metabolism, and to the cell membrane (which is made up of fat substrates) and should be avoided. Other processed fats (like in pasteurized dairy products) should also be avoided as they are inflammatory.

Myth #2:

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie: Ummmm. OK. This sounds like a pitch from the processed food industry to me. If a calorie is a calorie is a calorie in the context of the effect of food ingested by the body, why then, in groups of people with similar body types and lifestyles, do some get fat while others stay thin? The problem is, its not that simple.

The foods that we eat have an enormous effect on our internal environment. Take for example, our beloved bread. Wives tales have it that bread is fattening. Well, there is some truth to that. So, lets take a look at what happens when you ingest, digest, and absorb a slice of, say, delicious SF sourdough bread.

The bread is broken down into simple carbohydrates, is absorbed by your intestine and enters the bloodstream. Digested simple carbohydrates are otherwise known as….sugar. The blood sugar rises quickly as the white bread is easily digested and absorbed, the pancreas pumps insulin out to lower the blood sugar level to one that won’t send you into a coma, but since the sugar spike was not a gradual one, rather, a steep, quick , injection, your pancreas misjudges and over shoots its secretion of insulin.

As a result, too much insulin is secreted and most of the sugar is stored…as …FAT. Not only that but now our blood sugar has fallen considerably and we experience 2 things in sequence: FOOD COMA as we have diminished our blood sugar supply (and stored it as FAT) and then HUNGER because we now need energy. So, we eat another piece and the cycle continues…

What is the moral of the story? Well, if we don’t want to get fat, we need to minimize our intake of simple carbohydrates and replace them with an alternative that causes the following scenario:

We eat a piece of sprouted whole grain bread with a similar caloric content to the piece of sourdough used in the previous example. Our body digests and absorbs this bread more slowly as it is made up of complex carbohydrates and fiber. The sugar enters the bloodstream more slowly, the blood sugar stays within the range of normal body function and the pancreas secretes little insulin resulting in…..are you ready….MORE ENERGY and LESS FAT. Its really that simple.

If we subscribe to the myth that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, we then have disconnected ourselves from scientific and medical understanding of the fundamental processes of digestion and absorption. Belief in this myth is the primary reason why temporary “dieting” fails. One gains weight by eating foods that have a tendency to be stored. One loses weight by either burning more energy than one takes in and/or by eating foods that are burned by the body more than they are stored by the body. In general, refined, processed foods get stored and whole foods not so much..


MYTH #3:

Grains should make up the bulk of our diet: Grains have inflammatory properties and cause bloating, gas, and disrupt proper gut floral balance. Limit grains to whole grains, pre soaked to pre digest them and slow their conversion to sugar. Eat up to the amount you can hold in one hand at one sitting.

Complex carbohydrates that have a high fiber, nutrient, and vitamin content (like fresh fruits and vegetables) should make up the bulk of our diet for maximum energy levels and overall health. A balanced, health conscious diet consists of mainly organic fresh fruit and vegetables and some sort of animal protein: the things that pre agricultural humans would have hunted and foraged for. Ditch the processed foods. When pondering the current state of chronic disease in the world today (diabetes, etc) one should also consider the fact that the average American today eats f 276 lb of sugar per year while pre agricultural man ate less than 1lb annually. Refined carbohydrates and grains are easily and quickly converted into sugar in our bloodstream. This is one of many reasons that they are not the optimal choice to make up the bulk of our diet.

So, to restate, there are no good foods or bad foods. Each food has its own effect on the body, given our body type, activity level, and overall food choices. Healthy living is ultimately a lifestyle choice and, for most of us, requires a process to change our lifestyle. When we decide to change our lives, our wants and needs change to reflect our new direction.

When we want to learn a new skill, like skiing for example, we take a class. Then we go try what we learned on our own and come to the next class with questions. In essence, we work with a coach to create rapid and lasting change. The same is true about changing ones diet and lifestyle. If you want to get fit for life, hire a coach or a trainer. If you want to change your eating habits, your weight, and your health for the rest of your life, develop your skill set with an expert.

Manny Aragon is an internationally recognized Body Performance Breakthrough Expert. He has helped thousands of individuals literally take years off of their bodies over the past 11 years. If you would like to find out more about how Manny could help you transform your body, from fragile to agile, CLICK HERE to apply for a personalized, complimentary strategy session (limited to first 10 respondents).