Weight Loss 101
In this section I want to cut through a lot of the diet myths out there and give you the truth about food and weight loss. It’s actually not as complicated as everyone seems to make it. I’m going to make this short and to the point so you can remember this and make better lifestyle and eating decisions every day.
Are Carbs Making Me Fat? I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say “I can’t have smoothies because they are too high in carbs”. Yes, fruits are a source of carbs and the sweeter they are, the more carbs they tend to have. BUT, carbs are not the problem. The problem is sugar, more specifically glucose. The reason carbs get such a bad rap is because in your body carbs are broken down into glucose which is partially released in the blood to be used as energy. Some of the glucose also gets stored directly in your muscles and a limited amount gets stored in your liver. Now the confusion lies in the fact that any excess glucose that is not used by the body is stored as fat. So people make the conclusion that eating too many carbs leads to gaining fat. What isn’t discussed however, is the TYPE of carbs and the SPEED at which they are broken down into glucose which directly influences fat storage. Carbs come in two forms, simple and complex. Simple is just what it sounds like, they are broken down rapidly and poured right into your blood stream. This includes table sugar (sucrose), fructose (found in fruit - more on this in a minute!) and lactose found in milk. Complex carbohydrates have sugar in them but are balanced out by a hefty does of fiber that slows down the absorption of the sugar in your body. So instead of that quick glucose spike, you get a slow release and your body has more time to use up the energy instead of storing it as fat. The problem is that a lot of complex carbohydrates are refined which removes the fiber component and makes the sugar hit your blood faster. This includes any products made with refined flour (white bread, snacks, cookies, etc) and white rice. Did you know white rice is just brown rice with the healthy part removed!? See, you’ve learned something already and we’re only on page 3! The
THE SMOOTHIE DIET – © Drew Sgoutas
Page 3
