Lots of people are spending lots of money buying protein bars thinking that they’re a healthy, convenient alternative to processed snacks and candy bars.
Not so fast.
In most cases they are highly processed, expensive candy bars with added protein & a sprinkle of synthetic vitamins and minerals.
Can we do a little science before we tackle the products & marketing?
I really need everyone to understand this: your body is constantly working hard to keep your blood sugar stable. It’s dangerous if it gets too high or too low. Plus, when it gets too high, fat burning is prohibited.
But do you know what stable blood sugar looks like within the blood stream, approximately? It’s 1 teaspoon of sugar dissolved throughout your entire blood volume.One single teaspoon.
That’s 1 teaspoon of sugar dissolved in roughly 5.5 liters of blood for your blood sugar to be steady and stable.
Now, how much sugar is in the bar you’re buying? Heck, how much sugar is in anything you’re buying?
Here’s a quick tip: 4 grams of sugar = approximately 1 teaspoon.
Why do you think there are so many bars on the market, with more added every day?
Because we buy them.
Because it’s pretty easy, through marketing & packaging, to make us feel like they’re healthy even when they’re not.
Why do you think there is so much sugar in them?
So we continue to buy them. So that eating one makes us crave a second! (Ever had that happen? Eat one bar and find yourself going back for a second?)
Let’s take a look at how much sugar is in some of these popular bars.
Ever had the Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch Balance Bar? Totally tastes like a Thin Mint. No surprise – each bar has 4 teaspoons of sugar! Four times as much sugar, in just one item, as your body needs to maintain stable blood sugar.
How about the Zone Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bar? Pretty great marketing in the name, no? I’m not quite sure what’s perfect about a bar that has 4.5 teaspoons of sugar in each one!
Lots of people look at Lara Bar as a more fat loss friendly choice because it seems more “natural” and they tout that this bar only has 4 ingredients. Sounds healthy, right? Except that each individual bar contains 4 teaspoons of sugar!
Here’s the important thing to consider: when you eat these bars, it’s not the only item that introduces sugar into your system each day! This is 4 teaspoons in a tiny bar which is only one of MANY things you eat each day!
You have to consider – do these bars work for you?
Do they represent an improvement for you?
Do they satisfy your hungry?
Are they REALLY fat loss friendly or are you believing what the marketing hype tells you?
Forget what you have heard! You can eat carbohydrates and still successfully meet your fat loss goals and maintain the results.
There are hundreds of opinions related to carbs & fat loss and it’s tough to know which one is most effective. We’re going to clear that up and ensure that you don’t have to subscribe to models of restriction or deprivation in order to burn fat and have plenty of energy.
In today’s episode, I discuss 4 smart carb strategies (aka The Golden Rules of Carbs and Fat loss) that, when implemented, will help you unlock your health and weight potential while increasing your energy, decreasing your cravings and stabilizing your hunger.
Months ago I shared a quiz to help people identify whether or not they are “carbohydrate sensitive”. The vast majority of people are. Fortunately, you can absolutely, positively improve your carbohydrate tolerance.
You are probably carb sensitive if you’re one of those people who feels like you gain weight at the mere sight of carbs. Or if you struggle with cravings & weight loss seems SO hard.
Many people feel like being carb intolerant or highly carb sensitive is just their lot in life but it doesn’t have to be.
In today’s episode I will introduce you to 3 specific strategies you can begin to implement today to improve your carbohydrate tolerance.
When you improve your carbohydrate tolerance, fat loss becomes easier, energy increases, cravings decrease, health improves and so much more!
In today’s episode I’m taking a deep dive into food, exercise & lifestyle strategies that will improve your carbohydrate tolerance, improve your insulin sensitivity and make weight loss much easier.
The three strategies include:
Adjusting the quantity, quality and timing of your carbohydrate consumption
Exercising more
Reducing stress
When it comes to achieving these goals of accelerating fat loss & increasing energy while decreasing cravings, we have to understand the role of muscle tissue in carb metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
There are 2 primary issues at play.
We have to make sure there is room within our muscle glycogen stores. If they are always full, that will reduce carb tolerance and increase carb spillover into the fat tissue.
We can increase the number and sensitivity of glucose transporters in the muscle tissue.
We need our muscle tissue to be more responsive to insulin. We can make this happen.
This responsiveness is related, in part, to glucose transporters. They live in our muscle tissue and are the doorways through which glucose enters the muscle tissue.
When we have more glucose transporters, our muscle tissue is more responsive and efficient to glucose.
In some people, there just aren’t that many doorways. They also might not be very responsive. The factors we need to consider are: how many are there & how responsive are they?
When the glucose transporters (doorways) aren’t responsive or there aren’t that many of them, it’s like a pile-up outside the door.
That results in blood sugar & insulin staying elevated for longer which impairs fat loss.
Imagine you have a people trying to get into a building. What are the factors in making sure that the people get in quickly?
How many people are there?
How many doorways are there?
How easy are those doors to get through?
Your glucose transporters are the same way.
Do you want a huge traffic jam of sugar, hanging out in the blood, keeping insulin elevated while waiting to get into the muscle tissue? No! You want to clear it fast.
Your ability to do so depends on:
How much sugar there is (how much you ate and what type of carb)
How many glucose transporters there are in your muscle tissue
How sensitive they are
Today’s episode explains how you can control #1 while improving #s 2 and 3!
Is fake flavor making you fat? What is fake flavor? Why does it seem like year after year we crave food more yet experience less satisfaction from it? What has changed?
A lot has changed.
Our food has changed. Whole foods are different and processed foods are different.
This combination makes fat loss tough and fat gain pretty easy.
In part 1 of this 2-part series we talked about how whole foods have changed. We went into detail on what has happened to our chicken, beef, pork, fruits & vegetables to reduce their quality and their flavor.
Today we’re talking about processed foods & how their flavor has skyrocketed as have their addictive qualities that set us up to overeat & keep coming back for more.
Most importantly, I invited you on a challenge with me. A challenge to break the chains of fake flavor and stop allowing your palate to be held hostage by the food industry. This 14-day challenge is 100% free and you can do it as many times as you’d like! I really hope you’ll take the leap & take control of your food choices and your life.
It’s not about eating fewer donuts. It’s about creating a situation where you don’t even desire the donuts. That is possible & I want to help you create that.
Is Fake Flavor Making You Fat – Part 2 –
Break The Chains
There are a couple problems I want to tackle in today’s episode:
Whole foods are being turned into processed foods
Processed foods are out of control, addictive & often dishonest
I want to help you understand how & why processed foods are causing problems, what foods are a problem & how we can overcome it.
We often approach dieting from the willpower first standpoint of “don’t eat the donuts”.
I want to challenge you to a new approach: “create a state where you don’t desire the donuts to begin with”.
That is 100% possible & that’s what I want to kick off today. Relying on willpower against processed foods is like trying to arm-wrestle a crane. We can be smarter.
There are several ways processed foods are engineered to hijack our palate:
Flavor (taste & smell)
Texture
Emotional state
Hormonal state
Brain response
These foods, from cookies to soups are fake, cheap & addictive.
Functional MRI (fMRI) is used to ensure addictive qualities.
Emotional profiling is used to ensure these foods satisfy emotional needs & trigger desired emotional outcomes.
Macronutrient profile is manipulated to ensure that we stay hungry, avoid satiety & experience cravings
Natural doesn’t mean natural
“Natural flavoring” doesn’t mean the ingredients are from natural sources. It may mean that the processing method was natural.
According to the Environmental Working Group, the chemicals used in natural and artificial flavors are often the exact same or nearly the same.
There is no legal requirement in the United States to disclose the components of “natural flavorings”.
Break the Chains of Fake Flavor – Free 14 Day Challenge!
Practical Implementation – How to Stay Away from Fake Flavor
Ask yourself, “Where did this flavor come from?” Is it coming from the plant or animal you are eating? If not, you might want to dial back.
Cook at home
Limit foods in a box, bag or can
Focus on foods that do not need labels or nutrition facts
Let’s talk about 5 common mistakes with carbs and cravings. I think we’d all agree that motivation & willpower can only go so far. If we’re battling cravings, fat loss is a lot harder than it needs to be.
I have ZERO doubt that cravings can be eliminated. And if you’re striving for fat loss & health, they should be.
In today’s episode we’re going to talk very specifically about 5 common mistakes & misunderstandings I see related to carbohydrates and cravings.
I want you to understand that carbohydrates are not bad. They aren’t. In fact, if you look at my average meal plate (or that of most of my clients) you’ll find that the majority of my plate is carbohydrates. What?!?! Yes! Non-starchy vegetables! Vegetables are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not the enemy.
They do not need to be eliminated for fat loss. It’s not the carbohydrate that is the problem. It’s lack of control of blood sugar & insulin that is the problem. When we don’t control blood sugar, we set ourselves up for fat storage, low energy, cravings and hunger.
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