OnFitness Magazine - March/April 2022 - 35

35 WWW.ONFITNESSMAG.COM | VOL 22 NO 5 | 2022
Don't eat past 8 p.m.: Sleep can be
prime fat-burning time or prime fat-storing
time. The best way to assure you will be
burning and not storing fat at night is to
get adequate sleep. Sleep helps release
human growth hormone (human growth
hormone), which is a powerful fat burning
and muscle-building hormone.
High blood sugar at night has been
shown to decrease nighttime human
growth hormone. Therefore, going to bed
on an empty stomach or only consuming
protein before bed is a good fat-burning
strategy. Many people eat sugar within a
few hours of going to bed and shut off
their fat-burning potential at night.
Use the bite rule for starch and sugar:
Insulin is a fat-storing and fat locking
hormone, which means when it's around,
calories will be stored as fat and fat can't
be used as energy. The major trigger for
insulin release is starchy foods and sugar
like bread, pasta, potatoes, cookies,
crackers, rice, etc.
Your body will do best with a small
amount of starch/sugar, but excess intake
will increase fat-storing. By limiting the
amount of starch/sugar to bites, you'll be
able to simply and effectively control
insulin levels while avoiding drops in
blood sugar that can cause cravings and
low energy.
In general, most people will want to
limit starch/sugar intake to three to fifteen
bites at a meal depending on how insulin
sensitive they are.
Eat the right fats: Certain fats will
help you burn fat. Fat has several
advantages for helping burn fat. First, fat
helps control hunger through the release of
a hunger hormone called CCK. Next,
certain fats like omega-3 from grass-fed
animals and wild-caught fish actually can
turn on fat-burning genes by interaction
with cell receptors called PPARs.
While decreasing fat is a good thing,
complete avoidance is not smart. The best
approach is to eat your fat in the form of
fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and
grass-fed or wild animals.
Eat lean protein at every meal: Protein
has many beneficial effects on fat burning.
First, when eaten it will release the fat
burning hormone glucagon which directly
opposes the action of insulin and helps
burn fat. Protein also is very slow to digest
and requires work by the body to break it
down. This increases the number of
calories and heat the body has to use.
Another beneficial effect of protein is
it's very satisfying and helps us stay full
and maintain blood sugar levels to avoid
drops in energy. Extra protein also helps
build and maintain muscle which is the
body's most important metabolic tissue.
The surest way to create cravings and feel
deprived is to skimp on protein.
Use bars and shakes for quick meals:
Bars and shakes are handy functional foods
that can quickly decrease cravings and
hunger. These should be used as small
snacks in between meals to decrease
hunger, provide building blocks for muscle
and stabilize energy.
Learn the metabolic effect label rule:
Packaged foods are difficult to decipher.
Will they make you store fat or burn it? If
you subtract the fiber and protein from the
total carbohydrates on a label, the total
should equal ten or less. The lower the
number, the better.
In addition, the fat content should be
less than fifteen. If not, this food will not
be effective at helping you manage your fat
loss goals.
Avoid foods that increase hunger:
There are several foods and beverages that
will increase hunger because of their effect
on stress hormones and insulin.
These include coffee, synthetic
sweeteners, and sweet snack foods. Avoid
these foods to keep from developing
cravings. Opt for water, green tea,
unsweetened chocolate, protein, and fiber
instead.
Always eat breakfast: When you
awaken in the morning, the body secretes
stress hormones to wake you up and get
you going. Breakfast will help regulate this
response in a way that serves you. If you
skip breakfast, these stress hormones will
only sustain you for so long before they
send you into a ravenous search for food.
Ironically, those who are not hungry in
the morning probably have an increased
stress response and will benefit even more
from breakfast. The biggest mistake you
can make in the morning is not eating, as
you will soon find yourself on a roller
coaster ride of cravings, hunger, and dips
in energy all day. Often the choice to skip
breakfast leads to continued eating at
night.
Never let yourself get hungry: The
only time you should feel hungry is when
you awaken in the morning. The hunger
urge is a powerful subconscious drive.
Once you let yourself get hungry, all bets
are off.
Eat every two to four hours and eat
before you feel any desire for food, and
this will help balance your hormones and
elevate your metabolism. Z
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OnFitness Magazine - March/April 2022

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