The question of healthy weight loss and a healthy lifestyle are easily misunderstood by the majority of people. There would appear to be a basic lack of understanding about what constitutes a healthy well balanced diet. Most people have the unrealistic belief that whatever they eat their body will somehow deal with it and all will be well. However that is far from the truth. We are all well aware that if we own a car we need to ensure that it is filled up with a particular type and quality of petrol and oil, but seem totally unaware that our bodies need particular nutrients from good quality food to enable us to perform at an optimum level.
When considering healthy weight loss, it is important to remember that we actually have a family of hormones and enzymes that are intended to fight the fat. However if we do not eat a healthy well balanced diet, changes can take place in the body that make it more difficult to lose fat and subsequently sustain any weight loss.
It can be all too easy to miss a meal or consume an excess of carbohydrates. This can cause our bodies to react as if we were in a life threatening situation, by raising the level of the stress hormones. The body then releases stored glycogen into the blood to raise the blood sugar. If this happens on a regular basis the body’s blood sugar levels will continually rise and fall and the body will be unable to maintain equilibrium.
So how does the body deal with raised blood sugar levels? This is done by releasing insulin to lower the blood sugar. However it is important to remember that insulin levels will remain high if the body is consistently under nourished. If the body experiences excess insulin and in addition there is no muscular activity, the inactive muscles become insulin resistant resulting in unused calories being stored in the fat cells. If this is allowed to continue the whole body will become resistant to insulin making it impossible to lose weight successfully.
A complete change of approach is vital if we are to deal with the complexity of this situation and encourage healthy weight loss to take place.
Janet Matthews is an experienced educationalist and health professional who believes in promoting good health through personal responsibility. This responsibility primarily entails being informed. Her articles aim to inform the general public and to lead them to a healthy fulfilling life.