Let me say
this: like many females, my body tends to respond poorly to a high (if healthy)
carb diet. Now having said that, I can honestly say that I did seem to do
better with a relatively high carb diet in my twenties and thirties, as long as
I consumed the more benign forms like potatoes, (even potato chips if they were
cooked in lard—or technically all “natural”) and I steered very clear of
“sugar” in any form.
By the time
I reached my forties, however, it was different story. Now, if I ate white
potatoes in any form I’d begin to see a weight gain almost immediately, but not
necessarily a lot of water retention or bloat. Throughout that decade I almost
constantly had to watch and reassess my carbohydrate intake—something I’d never
had to do before—it was disconcerting.
Hahahahaa..
I had no idea what I was in for in my fifties; I’m currently 52. The changes to
my body have been what I consider to be radical. Although in some ways it’s
almost easier for me to maintain a fit body, (most likely because I’ve been at
it for so long) I have water retention and inflammation issues that I couldn’t even
have comprehended prior. Now I find myself battling not only my allergies
almost constantly, (an inflammation reaction) but a harsh sensitivity to carbs
in terms of water-weight and even swelling. (I also experience far greater
water-retention from sodium than I had previously.) Even “healthy” starchy
carbs can bloat me to a depressing extent if eaten late in the day, or in a
somewhat larger quantity throughout the day than is the norm for me.
So what’s my
point?—you may be asking. Well my point is this exceedingly important and far
too commonly overlooked one. One diet clearly, does not fit all.
Having done
this kind of “Health/diet consulting” for many, many years now, I can’t stress
enough how contradictory my experience with clients has been to the “This is
the diet that works” one size fits all mentality that saturates our culture. Is
it any wonder that women, (women in particular since they’re the target market)
have low self-esteem regarding their weight? How undeniably discouraging it is
to try the latest surefire techniques, one after another, only to fail
miserably—again.
In the
spirit of reader retention, thus hopefully brief enough to be “readable” I’ll
cut to the chase here and provide you my objective, as I could indeed go on
(shocker). : )
Out of
necessity, I’ve researched this seemingly wide variance in diet results for
some time now. After all, it’s not so easy to be touted a fitness guru of
sorts, when you’re at a complete loss for answers regarding the topic of weight
loss—even and especially with the traditional knowledge base. (Isn’t book
learning for the birds on some topics??)
But a simple assessment of the results, (or lack thereof) in your own
circle, screams that it’s no secret—no one really has “The Answer” do they? If
they did, I wouldn’t be pounding out this blog at seven thirty in the morning,
as it would clearly be a colossal waste of my time. But there most certainly IS
an incredibly enduring need as evidenced by the multimillion dollar diet
industry that continues to flourish.
The most
recent conclusion I’ve reached is that a person’s insulin reaction to carbs
(and eating a meal in general by the way) is highly individual. For reason’s I
won’t go into now, many things occur throughout one’s life that influence
current homeostasis, which may or may not be in a healthy state. If you have
what seems to be an inconsistent reaction to carbs, meaning that on any given
day carbs seem to make you feel better—more energized and clear headed,
suddenly followed by a feeling of lethargy, body aches and brain fog, you
probably have a low sensitivity to insulin (or you’re insulin resistant) and it
takes more insulin being dumped into the blood stream to sense and handle the
carbs in you tissues. Those individuals who are insulin sensitive handle carbs
better.
In my
situation, and again, unfortunately you’re going to have to do a little work to
figure out exactly what your own situation is, it turns out that I need to carb
up a bit before, during and after a workout, followed by almost no carbs for
the rest of the day—who the heck knew?? But when I exercise my glycogen stores
simply get so depleted if I don’t do this, that the next day follows with the
response described above (previously unbeknownst to me). I’m too exhausted to work out again, I’m
craving carbs like crazy and I’m suffering brain fog to such an extent that I’m
convinced Alzheimer’s is knock, knock, knockin on my door.
Before you
decide it’d be easier to simply shoot yourself than to deal with these complications,
understand that I’ll be following up with more information to help you figure
things out—a great deal of the work’s been done for you. In the meantime, you
can start paying attention to how your body’s currently responding to carbs.
Make notes as you notice reactions—it’ll make this process far easier in the
long run and you’ll actually be able to lose weight!!
In addendum,
it’s decidedly important that you pay attention to the glycemic index of the carbs
your ingesting when you begin this endeavor. As has been noted for some time
now, high glycemic carbs in particular inflict the most harm to your system—especially
for those who are insulin resistant.
Fortunately,
Shakeology continues to meet and exceed the standards required to effectively
and healthfully lose weight, while sustaining good nutrition and glycogen
stores. It’s by far still one of the best resources out there, beyond all doubt.
Thanks for reading guys! Until next time.. : )
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