Weight loss

A follow-up…


… to “Enduring the Cold for a Better Life”

So, a question occurred to me: Why is it important to know the glycemic index (glycemic load) of food?

Very simply put…The higher the glycemic index, the more sugar produced in the blood, which means higher insulin levels. Insulin works to keep your blood sugar in check. When your blood sugar increases, more insulin is produced to drive the blood sugar back down. When this happens, two not-so-good side effects happen:

  1. Because your blood sugar is low, you feel tired and when you feel tired, you want a ‘pick-me-up’. What’s the first thing you do? Find something heavy in sugar/carbs. And the cycle is repeated.
  2. When insulin spikes in your body, then your body’s fat-burning capabilities are halted. What can happen if your insulin is on a constant up and down roller coaster? You can’t lose weight and more than likely, you end up gaining weight. Yes, even if you are exercising.

And this I know from years of my up and down battle. I know what foods work to help me lose weight and what does not work. There is also a lot of research that explains how insulin and glucose levels work in your body. One other source I’ve found is the Harvard School of Public Health. The information I mention in this blog is located at The Nutrition Source – Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way. This page also links to a list of low glycemic index foods, e.g. healthy carbs.

The trick now is to be more diligent about putting the right kinds of carbs in my body.

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mtnairloversview

I am a photo-journalist at heart and an educator by trade who enjoys sharing life through a virtual rose-colored lens. I started this blog mostly to share my travels across the 25 scenic and historic byways of Colorado. My plan is to complete these 25 journeys before May 24th, 2014 (my 50th birthday). All of the roads have some unique feature/scenery along the way. A couple of the roads are 4-wheel drive accessible only and a lot of the roads have so many twists and turns that I will not only drive these roads by car and 4-wheel drive, but also by motorcycle. There's a bit of a story behind my dream of driving the Colorado byways and it will be told throughout the many blogs I will write over the next two years. One other thing I will work over the next two years is creating a way to pay it forward. I don't consider myself rich in the monetary sense, but most definitely rich in gratitude, happiness and compassion. If there is more that I can do by sharing my travels and unique perspective of the world around me, then I want to do as much as I can to make it happen. Photo copyright: All of the photos in my blogs are my own unless otherwise noted. If you are a for-profit organization, then please ask permission to use any of my photos.

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