Calories to Lose Weight

Are all calories treated the same way? The American public has been told through the media that consuming more calories than the body burns leads to weight gain. Doing the simple math this statement seems to make sense but is only partially true.

My grandmother was a nutritionist well ahead of her time – she never believed the old school of nutritional thinking that all calories are created equal. She understood that fat, protein and carbohydrate calories are different. One way to visualize that belief is to ask yourself – ‘is eating 500 calories of pure sugar the same as eating 500 calories of pure protein?’

How could different forms of calories affect you? Modern research now shows that the calories from proteins, carbohydrates, and fats have different reactions within your body in a way such that some calories really are healthier than others.  The key to this notion is your metabolism. 

Two hormones are primarily responsible for fat storage and fat energy – insulin and glucagon. These two hormones balance against each other to keep your body running properly. As you blood sugar waxes and wanes these hormones are released – for example, if your blood glucose is too low, the pancreas will secrete glucagon to raise it.

The key is to pay attention to certain foods that affect insulin release much more than other foods such as white breads, sugars, most baked goods, and most processed snack foods.  All these foods typically do is give you a short burst of energy and then a let-down. Proteins, however, will release glucagon which can decrease hunger.

How this is tied to The Diet Solution Program is that part of Isabel’s method focuses on balancing food intake that regulates these two hormones which will cause fat burning while building muscle. Food proportions in the correct ratios are key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.  If you tie that to the right foods for your unique metabolism type, the calories you eat when you are attempting to control appetite and lose weight should result in a healthier result.