Understanding the Power of Blood Sugar Stabilization

Your blood sugar levels determine how good or bad you feel on any given day. If your blood sugar is stable, you experience bountiful energy, it helps control hunger and prevents mood swings. If your blood sugar level is low, it can cause irritability, fatigue, lethargy, excessive hunger, moodiness, depression and cravings for sweets — factors which can undermine success in any health program. Scientists and Doctors alike are unleashing the power to successful weight loss and maintenance through managing your blood sugar level and for most people, this can easily be achieved through the foods we eat.

Blood Sugar is the form of Glucose within the blood stream. Your blood sugar is stable when it resides between 80mg/dl & 120mg/dl. Why does it need to be stable? Because glucose fuels our Nervous System, it creates the bulk of our Bodies energy source, ATP. Everything you do, every movement, every action is fueled through ATP. Glucose is the bodies main source of fuel.

So if our energy source is created through glucose then how does the body keep your blood sugar stable?

Your body houses a system of glands that produce hormones to regulate your body. When your body is in balance it works for you, very well. When it’s not, you experience any number of symptoms or issues and men, you are not immune. Your pancreas is your blood sugar regulator. It produces 2 main hormones to accomplish this job; Glucagon and Insulin. Glucagon’s purpose is to raise Blood Sugar, Insulin’s purpose is to lower it. There are 3 states of Blood Sugar that your body can be in: Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar), Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar) or Stable. 

So it’s simple right? If you feed your body correctly it will always release Glucagon and Insulin and it will stay within the 80-120 range. Your body already knows what to do, everything is as it should be… the key is feeding it correctly. 

What happens if you don’t feed it correctly? 

Low Blood Sugar / High Blood Sugar; The Spike and Crash of a bad day of eating:

Say you wake up in the morning around 6:30am and you don’t really feel hungry. You grab a cup of coffee. Your metabolism gets a jolt, you go on about your day probably consuming 1 or 2 more cups of coffee and realize that sometime around noon you’re starving. You grab your co-worker and head down to Café Topanga and are literally drooling at the smells as you walk to your table. The waiter sets down the garlic rolls and you wolf one down like you’ve been in the woods for 10 days, eying the second roll sitting on the plate, while your co-worker looks at you sideways. Still not satiated, you order the most carbs they can fit in the biggest bowl because it’s sounds sooooooo good on the menu. By the time it arrives, you’ve already consumed the other roll and the mini salad that came with your meal. At this point, if you’re thinking clearly, you’ll have them box it up to go, but since you were so hungry and so looking forward to it, you’re not thinking clearly, you’re once again in a sugar high state of complete bliss, so you manage to consume half the bowl before pushing it away feeling overstuffed and downright cranky with yourself for having eaten so much. 

So what just happened? Well, you were sleeping, your body was fasting, you awoke and needed to refuel to get going but your blood sugar was low (Hypoglycemia) so you didn’t really think about eating anything. Instead you grabbed a cup of coffee and instead your body burned a little muscle to stabilize your blood sugar. This spiked your blood sugar level up so you got an immediate feeling of good, but your body quickly crashed. If you’re anything like me, the best remedy is another cup of coffee, thus spiking again followed by another crash, now you’ve sent your body into starvation mode craving sugar (in the form of carbs, carbs and more carbs), your stomach is making obnoxious noises while it’s gearing up for some serious fat storage. Then you stock up on the bread at the table and everything else in front of you. Now you’ve consumed too many calories, carbs and your insulin is over expressed to stabilize your blood sugar all the while your body is storing all the fat it can, just in case this happens again. 

Stable Blood Sugar - Win for your body and mind:

When you wake in the morning you’re body has been fasting since your last meal. 8 – 12 hours… you do the math. The reality is you don’t even go that long during the day without consuming something. Your body needs fuel and you know this whether you’re hungry or not. So you eat something. I personally never wake up hungry so making eggs and toast sounds like more of a hassle then ‘mmmmmm’ to me, but since I know my body needs fuel, I make myself a smoothie. It’s quick to prepare and I can drink an 8 oz smoothie even if I’m not hungry. This will take me through the next 3.5 hours when I will then make myself breakfast and this is when eggs sound good. I usually opt for egg on a whole wheat English muffin with some low-fat cheese and salsa or a breakfast burrito. Now 3-4 hours later I eat my lunch. Call me old fashioned, but I do like sandwiches for lunch. A half turkey on whole wheat or tuna, or maybe even a chicken wrap. I like to add avocado for my fat and I love the olive oil mayo from Best Foods. It’s half the calories of regular mayo and no Saturated Fat (ugly word). Loves it… in moderation of course. 

What’s the difference? Well, the first example was how I use to eat and the latter is more like my day goes now. I learned to feed my body correctly stabilizing my blood sugar. My body has reached Homeostasis. I’m not perfect though. Sometimes I wake up and I take a wrong turn but I’ve learned that one little thing such as starting off with my smoothie, makes my whole day a lot easier. Once I’m on track, I continue to do the following:

1.  Eat every 3-4 hours

2.  Know my Nutrient Ratios – the right combination of Protein, carbohydrates and fatty acids combined keep me going.

3.  Look at Calories per Meal, not calories per day. Caloric intake is based on body composition. My body needs a lot more calories then you might think. None of this 1200 calorie super-model diet. I eat.
 

Your body is a feed as it goes machine. You burn as you consume. Smaller, more frequent meals, made up of the right Nutrient Ratios will ensure your body is releasing the correct amounts of glucagon and insulin to stabilize your blood sugar achieving Homeostasis and it’s benefits:

1.  Increased energy and heightened mental alertness

2.  Breakdown of body fat

3.  Increased lean muscle mass which leads to a faster metabolism

4.  Reduced sugar cravings

So when your Blood Sugar is stable, Fat is released into the blood stream. From there it is absorbed by the muscle and then burned inside the muscle as energy. 

Did you know that Every Pound of muscle burns 30-50 Calories per day? Now that you have stabilized your Blood Sugar, you have bounds more energy and what better way to burn it then at the gym! This is where I tell you to get proper exercise. So you commit yourself to a personal trainer and get to work. The only problem is now you’re hungry all the time. What you’re eating just isn’t cutting it. The good news? Add a meal. You’re building muscle and just 5 pounds of muscle, (which, by the way, takes up the same amount of space as 15 pounds of fat) is burning up to 250 more calories a day and since your blood sugar has been stable you’ve been burning fat efficiently making you smaller around the middle in spite of the fact that your food intake is getting bigger. 

Aside from the weight loss and the fact that your body is rockin’, you also notice you no longer suffer from Sugar Cravings. You have more energy, you’re more mentally alert, your stress level is much lower and your overall quality of life is improved. 

Can you change your eating habits making them better for the rest of your life? I’m pretty sure you can. If I can do it, anyone can. Get going!