Jan 2021
Jacqui Lewis - BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
Weight Loss = Fewer Calories In, More Calories Out, Right?
If you’re more than 40 years old, you’ve probably grown up knowing what a calorie is, and what they do - you know too many make you gain weight and you know if you want to lose weight you just need the right amount of calorie deficit and Voila' - off comes the weight right?
So why doesn't that work for everyone?
Why when you reach a certain point does the maths stop adding up? Why does nothing change for some people who are flogging themselves at the gym all week, packing a salad for lunch and saying no to all the other “food gifts” life has on offer!
It can be pretty frustrating, and frankly - it’s easy to think that you’ve got it all wrong somehow.
Well, yes, and no!
Calories are little pockets of fuel that come from all sorts of food sources - Meats, Grains, Fruit and Veg, even shop-bought goodness has a bunch of calories right?
It’s all the same thing, isn’t it?
Food = Calories,
Well, yes, and no!
WHAT? I hear you say! How can I ever work out this riddle we call energy/calories?
Well, not all calories are created equal - well they are and they aren’t:)
Does it get more convoluted?
A calorie is a calorie it equals 4.2 KJ If you go by those measures.
But WHERE you get your calories from is where the difference lies
Where? They all come from food right - well yes!
But different foods (all containing calories) will have different effects on your BLOOD SUGARS - and this is where the difference lies.
Take this breakfast as an example:
2 Poached eggs, ½ Avocado, 4 Mushrooms, ½ piece bacon. - I’m guessing it’s about 300 cal
Compare with this breakfast
1 cup Nutri grain, 1/2 cup skim milk, piece of white toast - again let’s say this is also 300 cal.
So wouldn’t you agree - either breakfast would fit the bill as a good 300 cal meal, repeat this on a daily basis, with 2 other 300 cal meals and a few 100 cal snacks and weight loss is yours right?
Well maybe and maybe not!
See, the first breakfast is rich in protein, has some good fats and is also LOW GI (low glycemic index)
The second breaky is made up of refined carbs that will result in a spike in your BLOOD GLUCOSE levels. To ameliorate this - the body releases a hormone from your pancreas called INSULIN and that helps to manage this influx of Glucose.
What's the big deal?
You see it's IMPOSSIBLE to access your fat stores for energy in the presence of INSULIN
So the more your food affects your blood glucose levels, the more you will be relying on insulin to manage that - and the windows of using your fat stores for energy can be low to non-existent if you are also snacking on high GI foods
So the trick to this weight loss gig is to enjoy protein-rich foods at every meal (will keep you full and keep blood glucose levels on an even keel) explore foods that have a GI of less than about 50-55
Snack on protein-rich foods and keep moving both are good for reducing insulin resistance.
There is a lot more to this little mystery, here’s a good article if you’re keen to learn more:
Click here
Here’s more info on the GLYCEMIC INDEX
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Jacqui Lewis
BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine