A successful weight loss program needs to do 3 things
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- Use up more calories than you put in each week. (we are always looking at a weekly average)
- Ensure you consume enough protein so that the lost weight comes from body fat and not lean muscle.
- Manage your blood sugar levels (so that hunger, craving, energy levels and hormones are also managed)
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Here are some useful tips to manage your blood sugar levels.
- See your GP for a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). You MUST test for insulin levels, not just blood sugar levels.
- Reduce the overall portion size of your meals. Even a healthy balanced meal will spike (then crash) your blood sugar levels if you eat to the point of feeling “stuffed”. And a so called “unhealthy” meal will not have a dramatic effect on your blood sugar if you only have a small portion.
- Eat slowly. You can slow down and reduce the blood sugar spike from any meal if you chew properly and eat slowly (not to mention the fact that you might stop eating sooner because you notice you are full)
- Reduce the carbohydrate portion of your meal and where possible try to choose a carbohydrate choice that contains fibre
- Include protein and vegetables with your meal. Your ideal meal should follow the Portion plate guidelines
- Include fibre with your meal. You can do this by adding lots of veg (ideal) or by choosing a carbohydrate choice that contains fibre, or by taking a natural fibre supplement with your least fibrous meal of the day (don’t do this too often).
- Get adequate quality sleep
- Manage stress
- Get regular movement throughout the day, especially after eating. Even 5 minutes here and there helps
- Include exercise sessions that use and overload your muscles a couple of times per week
- Perform short bursts of exercise that gets you huffing and puffing outside of your comfort zone a couple of times per week
- Limit alcohol intake
- Increase the amount of muscle you have. You can do this by undertaking a weight training program a couple of times per week
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HELP !! – It’s too late, I already over ate.
The following tips are what to do to manage your blood sugar levels AFTER you have had already consumed a poor choice of meal / drink or simply eaten too much. Hey, it happens to us all.
- Move. The sooner the better, the more intense the better. But any movement is better than none. It will use up some of the glucose in your blood stream, in turn reducing the blood sugar spike and reducing the chance at fat storage.
- Exercise and overload your muscles (soon after eating). Some of the excess glucose will be stored in your muscles instead of in your fat cells
- Drink water. There is some evidence that this will help slow down the blood sugar spike, however this will only make a small difference.
- Remind yourself that we are NOT micro-managing each week. More at one meal and less in the next is fine. Compensate by having a lighter soup or salad meal as your next meal choice.
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Daily carbohydrate management (that doesn’t mean low carb)
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Adequate fibre and protein intake
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Stress and sleep management
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Daily movement
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2 – 5 X Effective exercise sessions each week
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Safe alcohol consumption limits
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Blood sugar management
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Better insulin sensitivity
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Easier and Faster fat burning
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Yay
** This is part 3 in a 4 part series on managing your blood sugar levels for health and weight management
- Part 1 = Managing blood sugar levels for health and weight loss success
- Part 2 = Insulin resistance and your weight
- Part 4 = How Rosie lost weight by balancing her blood sugar levels and hormones
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