If you’re at all overweight (and over 65% of Americans are to some extent chubby) when you escape the carbohydrate parade you’ll inevitably begin to steadily shed pounds.
Many researchers call insulin the “weight
regulating hormone” because of it’s strong “double whammy” role in
both preventing the body from burning fat and at the same time
enhancing the body’s ability to easily and rapidly pack on the
pounds.
Any attempt to diet away surplus pounds will lead to failure and
heartache if you don’t first get your blood sugar and blood insulin
levels under control by limiting your refined carbohydrate intake.
This is why the Atkins Diet works so well. Those who habitually consume refined carbohydrates have what Atkins called “carbo-burning bodies”. Their bodies burn the readily available carbohydrates in the foods they eat rather than mobilize energy from their fat reserves. This is why so many commercial weight loss diets have such miserably low success rates.
Just walk into any commercial diet center and ask
the obvious question – “what is your long-term success rate?” Then
listen as the representative squirms, smiles and coughs up their
list of excuses. They’ll say “Oh, we don’t keep statistics.” Or
they’ll say “We can’t release that information due to privacy
issues.”
They have a million excuses but I promise you you’ll never see an
accurate accounting because their overall success rates are
embarrassingly low – despite the impressive claims that you’ll find
in their literature.
In fact several studies have found that most
commercial weight loss programs have long term success rates below
two percent when tracked over five years or longer!
Here’s the other joke about commercial weight loss programs. While
most boast of their incredible success, the song they sing to
investors and stockholders is a very different tune.
The message is a simple one – because our program only works temporarily the dieters keep coming back over and over and over again. This is what makes the diet industry so incredibly profitable. Now you know.
The bottom line on weight loss isn’t at all
complicated. You’ll never lose weight and keep it off if you
don’t first get your blood insulin level under control. This is
the only way to safely and effectively switch your body from
carbohydrate burning to fat burning.
Insulin and Serotonin
Carbohydrate-rich foods can boost the level of a critical brain chemical called serotonin. You’ve probably heard of serotonin-boosting medications like Prozac, Paxil and Luvox, Zoloft and Lexapro.
These drugs can help depressed and stressed patients improve their mood and also help them feel more calm and relaxed.
Refined carbohydrates also cause a temporary boost in brain serotonin levels. This can leave us feeling a bit happier and more relaxed after a meal rich in refined carbohydrates. Many people are addicted to this mood-boosting effect.
The most concentrated refined carbohydrates such as hard candy and sugary pastries will elevate serotonin levels the most. While the natural carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables trigger a much smaller, more manageable increase.
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This carbohydrate provided boost in mood is another reason why so many Americans are addicted to refined carbs. Since the mood boost lasts only around two hours, it’s right in step with the drop in blood sugar that same carbohydrate food will inevitably cause. Your blood sugar tumbles just as your serotonin level crashes. No wonder you feel fatigued, mildly depressed and eager to get a “fix” by consuming even more refined carbohydrate snacks.
How do refined carbs cause this effect? After you
consume a carbohydrate-rich meal the level of insulin in your blood
naturally rises. One of insulin’s many effects is to help the amino
acids (the building blocks of protein) in the blood pass into body
tissues.
This effect works quite well with one exception, the amino acid
tryptophan - which is the precursor of serotonin. This increases the
level of tryptophan in the blood and that means more of it will be
passing into the brain where it can work it’s magic.
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