When we eat, our body converts carbohydrates into blood sugar for energy. Our blood sugar levels can affect how hungry and how much energy we have. It also determines whether we burn fat or store it.

Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that puts blood sugar into our cells and it is used as energy. When we eat foods that are refined grains that have had most of the fiber stripped away, sugar, or other carbohydrate rich foods that are quickly processed into blood sugar, the pancreas goes into overdrive to produce the insulin necessary for all of this blood sugar to be used for energy. The insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.

The greater concern with the insulin surge is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don’t burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway.

The real concern is that the insulin surge causes more blood sugar to be moved out of our blood and this results in our blood sugar and insulin levels to drop below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The result of this is that we want to eat something else with a high sugar content and when we do eat this, we start the whole cycle all over again.

What to Look Out For

• Simple Carbs: Because of the smaller molecular size, simple carbs can be metabolized quickly and are more to cause and insulin surge. Simple carbs include the various forms of sugar such as sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (dairy sugar), and glucose (blood sugar).
• Hidden sugars in processed foods – Watch for “hidden” sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups.
• Sugar in Beverages – Be aware of the amount of sugar in beverages, especially coffee and soda. These calories add up quickly and they aren’t filling.
• Fat-Free Products – Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. Without fat to slow the absorbtion of the sugar, it is then absorbed into your blood stream faster.
• Cereal Box Claiming “low sugar” – Many newer cereals do contain less sugar, but the calories, carbs, fat, fiber and other nutrients are almost identical to the full-sugar cereals. The manufacturers have simply replaced sugar with other refined, simple carbs.
• No Sugar Added – It doesn’t mean that the product doesn’t naturally contain a lot of sugar. 100% fruit products often contain concentrated fruit juice, still another form of fructose or sugar.

What You Can Do

It is also important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet. When you skip a meal, your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. When you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.

Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat burning capacity. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency.

When you will be away from home or work, plan your snacks and take them along so that you will be able to eat regularly and won’t be tempted by junk food. This may be good advice for people who stay at home, too.

But remember that it was probably snacking between meals that causes weight gain in the first place. It will be very important that any snacks are healthy, they are pre-portioned so you won’t be tempted to overeat, and that meal sizes are reduced to compensate for the additional calories the snacks provide.

High fiber snacks and meals also help to regulate your blood sugar level. The fiber slows down glucose absorption and your rate of digestion, keeping your blood sugar level more consistant and warding off feelings of hunger. This makes eating apples and oranges a better choice than drinking (pulp free) apple and orange juice.