Fat Does Not Make You Fat…Sugar Does.
It also weakens the immune system, causes diabetes, and has been linked to colon and other cancers., and you know what? Our bodies really do not require much sugar at all! We get all of our glucose and fructose from the healthy fresh foods we eat, and it is really plenty for a strong healthy, illness-free body.
Now let’s talk about added sugar. Added sugar is sugar that we add to our diets that is not coming naturally in our healthy foods. Many of you will say…” I never add sugar” or “I don’t like sweets”…but unfortunately there are added sugars hidden in our food every day.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:
- Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)
- Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons)
But regrettably, the average added sugar consumption per day is 76.7 grams – – an incredibly dangerous amount for the body to process.
This week we are going to break our addiction to sugar, or at least put a big dent in it.
Keto, once known as Adkin’s (same concept, small differences) is not just a reduction of sugar in your diet. They are about going back to the body’s natural metabolic processes which create energy. Again, we mentioned that you can actually get all of the sugar you need with natural foods…but if you pay even close to those items your body changes its system to find fuel.
Our bodies are full of fuel. Stored fuel…in our fat cells. But no one can seem to really burn it off. That is because there are still already so many easily available energy molecules in your system. Since our American diet clearly has us eating WAY over the recommendations…the sugar is stored as fat.
To burn the fat you have to remove the easily available energy sources. That is the added sugars.
The body is super efficient and always looks for the easiest processes to do something. If it needs energy/glucose it breaks down the easiest source for that to use it. We have to starve the easy sources so that the body has to CHANGE the way it metabolizes…and this is called KETOSIS.
When the body is in Ketosis, it has to look for energy in other sources…and it takes work. The source it will find is our reserves…our fat. In Ketosis the body switches into a different system. Always working to supply the brain with what it needs, the brain is the largest glucose user in the body. In fact, your body protects your brain by making it the number one prioritizer of glucose.
Now…Let’s Get Ready!
Stock your fridge. Fresh veggies and lean meats…and guess what? Butter! I recommend European butter, it tastes better and is made from free-range cows. You can get it at any grocery store.
Pick things you know you like…but here are a few suggestions:
- Tri-Color Peppers
- zucchini
- squash
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- olives
- asparagus
- NOT POTATOES
- chicken
- steak
- lean pork
- seafood
- lemons
- herbs
- liquid aminos
Journal Assignment:
How do you start your day? Do you put sugar in your coffee? Are you a cereal person? What time do you start adding sugars to your diet? Please take time to write in your “Daily Thoughts” section of your journal on this, or any other subject that is on your mind.
Tomorrow we will discuss the addictiveness of sugar…see you then!