Why Your Past Diets Have Failed (and why it's not your fault): Part 2

This is part 2 of a 3-part series that walks you through why you have been struggling with your weight and why it's not actually your fault. You have been doing everything you were told to do, but it's just not working. Why? Well, if after 40 years of the same advice and with over 60% of American women now overweight or obese, maybe it's time to re-examine what you were told to do. What if the advice you've been given has been wrong the whole time? 

Science moves fast and we are in a very interesting time. We are the generation where the new advances in research technology and numerous brilliant minds have opened a new chapter in nutrition science on how our body controls fat accumulation and fat burning. It's the new way.

In part 2, let's pretend you are told different advice, better advice. You learn that your weight is controlled by your hormones, mainly two hormones, insulin, and cortisol. [1] It's called the Hormonal Theory of Weight Control.

When you eat food, it is broken down into three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrate. It also contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of molecules we are only beginning to understand, like polyphenols. The body responds uniquely to the mixture of food that you eat. [2] It doesn’t track calories, it tracks what macronutrients you eat.

When you eat any food, you release a major hormone called insulin. Insulin is the master controller, like a traffic cop telling your body what to do with all the fats, protein and carbohydrates you just ate. All food stimulates insulin, but some more than others. [2]

Carbohydrates stimulate insulin the most. Then protein a bit and finally fat, which has a negligible effect on insulin secretion. This is how food impacts your hormones, by stimulating, or not stimulating your insulin. [4]

Insulin tells your body to burn sugar instead of fat. It also tells your body to hold onto the fat you have. It helps the amino acids (building blocks of protein) get into your muscle cells for repair and building. It stimulates your fat cells to preferentially store more fat. [1] Insulin is a big deal.

You understand the role that insulin plays in your how you store and burn fat and start to cut sugar out of your diet. You choose eggs instead of bagels for breakfast, you opt for a tuna salad sandwich (without the bread) and big greek salad dripping with olive oil and vinegar dressing and switch to dark chocolate after dinner.

You start to lose weight. Like a lot, like 5 pounds in one week. Don't worry, it's mostly water, you'll rebalance your fluids soon thanks to your body’s obsession with balance. [5]

You purchase full-fat natural food items, such as whole milk, 5% whole fat Greek yogurt [6], and salad dressings. You are not seduced by the low-fat movement because you know that fat doesn’t make you fat. And fat doesn’t cause heart disease. [7,8,9]

Fat keeps your insulin low and allows your body to burn your stored fat throughout the day in balance with your sugars.[4] You understand that consuming the low-fat products only make you fatter, because of their fat replacer: the carbohydrate, sugar.

Inside your body, your insulin is lower, even between meals and your cells are loving it. [10] They start to function better and your liver starts to burn the old stored fat deposits from too much sugar. As you liver naturally cleanses itself, your body begins a natural detoxification process and your skin starts to glow.

Because you are controlling your insulin levels, your energy levels are high and even, not fluctuating wildly throughout the day. You are never hungry, as your go-to snacks of avocados, nuts, and olives keep you full and satiated all day long.

Without high and persistent insulin levels, you begin to lose your stubborn belly fat. [10]

The stubborn fat that you’ve had for years starts to melt away. You are stunned. You stick with it, starting to watch your meal timing to help influence your insulin even more.

You eat out and entertain with ease and never feel restricted. You have second helpings of anything that doesn’t raise your insulin without the guilt of the calories.

You spend less time on the treadmill.

You lose more fat and you feel amazing. Your head is clear, you're focused throughout the whole day, your mood is patient and gracious.

You have moved beyond the old dis-proven theories about calories (Energy Balance Hypothesis) and fat causing heart disease (Diet-Heart Hypothesis) and you embrace the new emphasis on insulin control (Hormonal Theory of Weight Control) and you eat delicious food.

There is a different way.

There is a better way.

Sources:

[1] Erion KA, Corkey BE. Hyperinsulinemia: a Cause of Obesity? Current Obesity Reports. 2017;6(2):178-186.

[2] Medeiros, D.M., Wildman, R.E.C. Advanced Human Nutrition: Third Edition. Burlington: Jones and Barrett Learning, 2015. Print.

[3] Polonski K, Given B et al. Twenty-four hour profiles and pulsatile patterns of insulin secretion in normal and obese subjects. J Clin Invest. 1988 Feb;81(2):442-8.

[4] Newsholme P., Keane K., Gaudel C., McClenaghan N. (2015) (Dys)Regulation of Insulin Secretion by Macronutrients. In: Islam M. (eds) Islets of Langerhans. Springer, Dordrecht.

[5] Phinney, S.D. et al. The Human Metabolic Response to Chronic Ketosis Without Calorie Restriction: Physical and Biochemical Adaptation. Metabolism. 1983 Aug;32(8):757-768.

[6]Kratz M et al. The relationship between high fat dairy consumption and obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease. Our J Nutr. 2013 Feb;52(1):1-24.

[7]de Souza RJ, Mente A, Maroleanu A, Cozma AI, et al. Intake of saturated and trans unsaturated fatty acids and risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ. 2015;351:h3978.

[8] Siri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91:535–546.

[9] Nettleton JA, Brouwer IA, Geleijnse JM, Hornstra G. Saturated Fat Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke: A Science Update. Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism. 2017;70(1):26-33.

[10] Velasquez-Mieyer P, Cowan P, Arheart K, et al. Suppression of insulin secretion is associated with weight loss and altered macronutrient intake and preference in a subset of obese adults. International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2003;27(2):219-226