FAT Loss

[djjdnap 78]

Ok so this might get a bit long winded.

 

So everyone believes that their metabolism is what keeps them skinny or fat, which to an extent is true, but in reality what you eat is.

In simple terms

Calories In > Calories burned  = Fat Gain

Calories burned > Calories in = fat loss

 

Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and
drink into energy. During this complex biochemical process, calories in
food and beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy your
body needs to function. Even when you're at rest, your body needs energy
for all its "hidden" functions, such as breathing, circulating blood,
adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells.

The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions
is known as your basal metabolic rate — what you might call metabolism.
Several factors determine your individual basal metabolic rate:

• Your body size and composition. The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest.
• Your sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than do women of the same age and weight, burning more calories.
• Your age. As you get older, the amount of muscle
  tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight, slowing down
  calorie burning.

Energy needs for your body's basic functions stay fairly consistent and
aren't easily changed. Your basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60
to 75 percent of the calories you burn every day.

In addition to your basal metabolic rate, two other factors determine how many calories your body burns each day:

• Food processing (thermogenesis). Digesting,
  absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes
  calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each
  day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food
  stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.
• Physical activity. Physical activity and exercise —
  such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and
  any other movement — account for the rest of the calories your body
  burns up each day. Physical activity is by far the most variable of the
  factors that determine how many calories you burn each day.

Unfortunately, weight gain is most commonly the result of eating more
calories than you burn. To lose weight, then, you need to create an
energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the number of
calories you burn through physical activity, or both.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006

 

 

So basically if you eat every 3 hours your body is going to continue to burn the food in your system and not the fat stores.

The body stores fat for energy, so why would we want to not use it?

Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven.

 

The Fuel for the human body takes three basic forms:

carbohydrates (sugars/glucose/glycogen),
protein,

and fat.

Humans are capable of burning all three of these
fuels, but do so at different times, rates, and under different
circumstances. Using an extreme example, under starvation conditions the
body burns its fat stores. Once fat stores are depleted the body begins
digesting non-essential proteins and then finally essential proteins,
which ultimately leads to organ damage and death.

 

Carbohydrates

   

Let’s start by discussing carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates, or “carbs”, are simply sugar molecules linked to one
another in varying arrangements. For example, starch, the most important
carbohydrate in the human diet, is nothing more than numerous glucose
molecules linked together in a long strand. Potatoes are an excellent
example. Another example of a carbohydrate is glycogen. Glycogen is how
humans store excess glucose (a single sugar molecule) for later use.
Unlike starch, which is a long chain of individual glucose
molecules, glycogen is a highly branched structure that allows the body
to rapidly cleave off individual sugar molecules to be burned for
energy.

    Carbohydrates can be further broken down into 2 categories: simple and

complex. We’ve all heard of the term “complex carbohydrates”, which is
basically a fancy way of saying multiple sugar molecules linked together
in a complicated way. Contrarily, a simple carbohydrate is merely a few
(1 to 3) sugar molecules linked together.

Why do we make the distinction between simple and complex carbs?
For starters, simple carbohydrates are rapidly absorbed by the gut and
enter the bloodstream very quickly. Candy bars are a great example! If
you need a quick boost of energy you can eat a candy bar.

The problem is that since simple carbs enter the bloodstream so
rapidly they get metabolized quickly. This causes you to lose that
energy boost fast, which is why you often feel “de-energized” an hour or
so after eating "junk food". In contrast, complex carbs get degraded by
the gut much less rapidly, and therefore trickle into the bloodstream
slower. This gives you a more sustained, but less pronounced energy
boost. Whole grains are a great example of complex carbs.

Why all the hub-bub about carbohydrates? Because they are the first
energy source that is utilized during exercise. This forms the basis
behind “carbo loading”, or eating a meal rich in carbohydrates the night
before, or morning of, a planned work out. During exercise, the body
will then utilize the individual sugar molecules in the carbohydrates to
provide energy for your muscles and brain. Once you run out of sugar
(or the form that humans store it in, glycogen) your body turns to the
other alternative fuel sources: protein and fat.

Fats

The next fuel that gets burned is fat. All
human beings have a certain percentage of body weight that is fat. From
an evolutionary stand point this is advantageous. During times of
drought or famine there were not enough crops to provide adequate
carbohydrates, and thus humans survived by “burning” their fat stores.
In biochemical terms, fat is nothing more than long chains of carbon
atoms linked together. Suffice to say that it is the carbon in the fat
that ultimately gets utilized to form energy that your muscles and other
body tissues use.

Why not burn fat first? Because fat is not as efficient an energy
provider as sugar. This is the reason that endurance athletes, a few
hours into a work out, hit the proverbial “wall”. The wall represents
the point where they have burned up all the carbohydrate in their body,
and are now running on fat reserves. The decreased amount of energy
gained per unit of fat, when compared to what you were getting with
carbs, results in the feeling of fatigue.

These principles can also be used as aweight loss system.
Using the basics of carbohydrate and fat metabolism it makes sense that
people have difficulty losing weight when they exercise vigorously for
only half an hour. This is because the quick vigorous exercise burns
only carbohydrate stores in the liver (ie: glycogen); the body never
touches its fat reserves! In contrast, running a marathon (or a nice
long walk or jog in the park) causes the body to tap into its fat
reserves. This is also the idea behind exercising early in the morning
before having breakfast. In the morning your body has been burning
carbohydrates to keep all your organs functioning; therefore, in the
morning your body has less carbohydrate available to burn because it was
slowly getting eaten away during sleep. If you exercise at this point
you’ll have to tap into your fat stores earlier than you normally would
so that your muscles can get adequate energy to keep going.
    
Proteins
The 3rd and final fuel is protein. The body

rarely burns protein as its sole fuel source, and when it does it is
usually under conditions of starvation. Interestingly, when no
carbohydrate is present in the diet, the body will use the amino acid
backbones of protein to form glucose (a carbohydrate) in order to supply
the brain with adequate energy. It was once thought that protein
provided the energy that athletes used during exercise. This was the
basis behind the “steak-and-eggs” breakfast prior to an athletic event.
This has fallen out of favor as biochemists (and athletes) now realize
that the body prefers to burn carbohydrates, then fat, and finally
protein if all else fails.
 

 

http://www.virtualmedstudent.com/links/healthy_living/understanding_how_the_body_burns_carbs_proteins_fats_simple.html

 

So The three main fuel sources in humans are carbohydrates, fats,
and proteins. They are used preferentially under different conditions.
In general, the body burns carbohydrates, then fats, and then proteins,
in that order.

 

Now lets think here so if I eat my body is going to be using that energy to burn glycogen and carbs instead of fat.

So the longer i go with out eating the more fat is being used as energy.(Ketosis)

A lot of people are confused by the term "ketosis." You may read that
it is a "dangerous state" for the body, and it does sound abnormal to be
"in ketosis." But ketosis merely means that our bodies are using fat
for energy. Ketones (also called ketone bodies) are molecules generated
during fat metabolism, whether from the fat in the guacamole you just
ate or fat you were carrying around your middle. When our bodies are
breaking down fat for energy, most of the it gets converted more or less
directly to ATP.

 

You can also get into a Keto state by eating low carbs.

As you read above the body burns fat stores when its not burning carbs.

 

glycogenolysis-break down carbohydrates, or glycogen, into simple glucose molecules

lipolysis-breaks down fats into glycerol and fatty acids

 

What about insulin you say?

Insulin
is a hormone secreted by the pancreas to help maintain optimal blood sugar
level.  Insulin's job is to remove sugar from the blood and store it,
either as glycogen in the muscles and liver or, more frequently, as fat. 
Insulin is good.  It helps maintain balance in the body.  However,
when triggered at the wrong times and in great amounts, insulin will make you
fat.  Preventing frequent and intense insulin responses is the single most
critical step in reducing bodyfat for many people.

Insulin also has a negative affect on resting metabolic rate.

When you are not eating, your body is not absorbing food. If your body is not absorbing food, there is little insulin
in the blood. However, your body is always using energy; and if you're
not absorbing food, this energy must come from internal stores of
complex carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Under these conditions,
various organs in your body secrete hormones:

 

When you eat carbohydrates by themselves, they digest too
quickly and the sugar enters the bloodstream all at once, sending your blood
sugar level soaring.  This sets off an alarm and the pancreas secretes
insulin into the bloodstream to take some of the sugar out.  This is a
good response, preventing a dangerous situation, but it comes at a cost.

Severe insulin responses cause excess fat storage and low blood sugar.  Low blood
sugar causes a number of problems.  The first is lethargy.  Even mild
activities seem exhausting.  Another symptom of low blood sugar is mood
swings.  The greatest problem caused by low blood sugar when trying to
reduce bodyfat is hunger.  There are a number of
different triggers for hunger and satiety.  When blood sugar is the
trigger, guess what specific cravings are usually manifested?  You guessed
it, carbohydrate.  This sets up a vicious cycle:

Eat Carbohydrate

Increased Blood Sugar

Insulin Secreted

Carbohydrate Stored as Fat

Low Blood Sugar

Hunger (Carbohydrate
Cravings?)

Eat Carbohydrate...

Eating can make you hungry and reduce energy levels.  Repeatedly triggering the
insulin response causes fat storage, hunger, and lethargy.  Nobody
intentionally makes themselves fat, hungry, and tired,
but many people unknowingly do so several times every day.

 

Carbohydrate is a very simple molecule that digests very rapidly and easily.  Protein,
on the other hand, is a very large, complex molecule, which digests much more
slowly.  Remember that when you eat different types of food together, they
move through the digestive tract together, being digested and absorbed at the same
rate.  If you eat protein and carbohydrate together, the protein
dramatically slows the carbohydrate digestion.  Instead of a large amount
of carbohydrate entering the bloodstream all at once and driving the blood
sugar level up dramatically, the carbohydrate trickles slowly into the
bloodstream.  Protein "time-releases"
carbohydrate.  As digestion occurs, blood sugar is gradually burned
off almost as quickly as it enters, preventing quick increases in blood sugar
level that cause the insulin response.  Blood sugar remains just slightly
elevated for a long period of time.  This creates the perfect situation:
good mood, feelings of energy, minimized hunger, and a slow, steady supply of
sugar to be burned with fat to provide the body with energy for daily activities.

Fat digests very slowly, just as protein, so logically it could be combined with
carbohydrate to prevent dramatic blood sugar fluctuations.  While this
will prevent the insulin response, think carefully about the logic behind
consuming fat to be sure that the carbohydrate you eat will not be stored as
fat.  You store fat calories as fat calories instead of storing
carbohydrate calories as fat calories.  You get fat for a different
reason.    Fat is the most calorie-dense of all biological
fuels, having about 2¼  times more calorie per
gram than either protein or carbohydrate.  Better to stick with low glycemic index carbohydrates and combine them with protein
in a relatively low fat diet.                                     

http://inthezonefitness.com/Bodyfat.htm

Consuming protein with carbohydrate helps ensure that the carbohydrate is not
stored as fat.

So when you here of people talking about spiking thier insulin this is why.

Say you work out and burn off all your carbs until you are in a keto/fasted state of burning fat.

Your insulin is low.

You go home eat some fruit or low fat candy like sweet tarts and your insuling goes sky high.

You then proceed to chug a protein shake after that and supposedly the protein goes straight to your muscles.

Most post workout shakes have carbs in them already to do this FYI, just read the labels.

 

 

In closing.

- Workout 3 times a week with weights.

- Eat 1g protein / lb lean body mass.

- Reduce calories to lose 1-2 lbs / week.

 

-Drink plenty of water

 

 

Shameless plug for Yohimbe HCL

yohimbine HCl is a selective alpha 2 antagonist.



Norepinephrine and Yohimbine

Ativation of the alpha 2 receptor inhibits the release of NE. Thus,
by binding to this receptor, NE functions as its own negative feedback
signal. In other words, it shuts off its own release. Obviously, this is
not a good thing for fat loss. This is particularly true at rest
(which, unless you are a marathon runner is 95% of your day) -- this is
because alpha 2 receptors are activated at lower catecholamine levels
than are the beta receptors (1). Thus, thermogenesis is basically always
turned off. It is the differences in regional distribution of alpha 2
and the beta receptors that is responsible for the gender differences in
bodyfat storage (2). Basically, females have a large number of alpha 2
receptors and few beta receptors in the gluteofemoral area (hips,
thighs, and butt), while men have the same problem in the midsection.
With exercise or the use of compounds such as the ephedrine/caffeine
stack, catecholamine levels can be increased to a point where the alpha 2
induced inhibition of lipolysis is partially overcome (1). However,
even then, the alpha 2 receptors ARE still acting to reduce lipolysis.
Yohimbine is a selective alpha 2 antagonist (3) and can thus short
circuit this feedback loop, maximizing NE levels, thus maximizing fat
loss, particularly in these problem areas.



Basically if you have dieted and it seems like you lose the fat in
all the wrong areas and not where you want to lose it, then yea this
might help you.

 

[Shogen 325]

Geez! I'm only able to read al this cuz I'm.on the shitter right now with the squirts.

Nice post. Now give us a thread on your bb stuff. I find it very interesting to see people's transformations. :-P

[kirill007 52]

"Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven."

If they mean that you won't burn muscles if you still have fat, then this statement is true.

If you have no fat left, only then you will start burning muscle.

[Truconcept 58]

my problem is when i get hungry i turn into a real mean diva

[djjdnap 78]

"Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven."

If they mean that you won't burn muscles if you still have fat, then this statement is true.

If you have no fat left, only then you will start burning muscle.

 

True but if you were something ridiculous like 8% body fat, why would you want to lose weight.

I mean if you were in a show i could see it, but for most people that are no where near being that lean and want to lose weight I don't see it mattering.

And if your trying to gain muscle cutting shouldn't even be a topic imo.

[Truconcept 58]

correct me if im wrong please,

i heard that if you do the "eat barely anything" diet

the first to go is your muscles because there is more protein in muscle

this is why you have to workout + diet to keep the muscles up?

[ssh 924]

"Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven."

If they mean that you won't burn muscles if you still have fat, then this statement is true.

If you have no fat left, only then you will start burning muscle.

 

Once glycogen stores are depleted, muscle protein is catabolized into glucose as needed. Burning fat can't fuel the body for everything. Ketosis can play a big role here, but I don't want to expand on that unless specifically asked.

Edited March 19, 2013 by stefanhinote

[djjdnap 78]

"Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven."

If they mean that you won't burn muscles if you still have fat, then this statement is true.

If you have no fat left, only then you will start burning muscle.

 

Once glycogen stores are depleted, muscle protein is catabolized into glucose as needed. Burning fat can't fuel the body for everything. Ketosis can play a big role here, but I don't want to expand on that unless specifically asked.

 

 

correct me if im wrong please,

i heard that if you do the "eat barely anything" diet

the first to go is your muscles because there is more protein in muscle

this is why you have to workout + diet to keep the muscles up?

 

As it was explained to me the body is a fat storing entity.

It stores fat so that it can use it for energy later.

The body is not a muscle storing or making entity otherwise we would all sit around and get ripped from doing nothing.

 

Now to answer truconcepts question it really depends.

In my case i have not seen any muscle loss.

When

i have been at 189lb's of muscle for the longest whether i went up in

weight or down, the percentage of bf has stayed at 189lb for whatever

reason.

 

so last month I did the eat every 3hrs diet and still worked out as usual. I lost maybe 2lbs

This month i have been doing intermittent fasting, which technically isn't eating less.

Instead you dont eat for atleast 16hrs and have an 8hr eating window where you consume all of your calories.

My personal window however is been more like 2-4hrs and eating considerably less calories, but lots of protein within that time.

Now

i still work out with heavy weights, I believe that this preserves

muscle as well, because your body isn't going to respond to that stress

by throwing out whats keeping those weights moving.

 

 

 

Now I have dropped to more than 10lbs. within 3 weeks, 16% bf still leaving me at 189lbs of muscle.

As they say u cannot gain and cut at the same time and i see why.

 

HOWEVER..............

everyones body reacts to things differently.

Insulin resistant

Carb sensitive

thyroid problems

 

it really depends on what works for you.

Now 5yrs from now maybe i will have found something better who knows, the body is an adaptive beast.

 

 

stefan I am interested to hear what you have to say as well.

I agree your body cannot use fat for everything, but the majority of what you burn while sitting, walking is fat.

Thus the labels on treadmills and other machines that have a cardio, heart healthy and fat burn chart.

usually fat burn is 130-140 for heart rate.

 

the best analogy i have read is that the body is like a boat.

It will throw out what it doesn't need before it throws out the essentials.

If you are lifting heavy I believe that your body considers your muscles essential.

Now

if you strain yourself and your heart rate stays sky high then your

body or boat is going to panic and do all it can to keep that boat

going.

[Jolia 0]

Here are really nice and most informative post. According to me you should take proper diet and also do some cardio exercise. Make sure that you take low fat and carbs in your diet and drink green tea. It's boost your metabolism and helps you to burn extra body fat. In cardio, I think cycling and swimming are best exercise.

[95Honda 486]

^^ Her next post will probably be SPAM.

[ssh 924]

"Everyone says that you will burn muscle if you do not eat, which has never been proven."

If they mean that you won't burn muscles if you still have fat, then this statement is true.

If you have no fat left, only then you will start burning muscle.

Once glycogen stores are depleted, muscle protein is catabolized into glucose as needed. Burning fat can't fuel the body for everything. Ketosis can play a big role here, but I don't want to expand on that unless specifically asked.

>correct me if im wrong please,

i heard that if you do the "eat barely anything" diet

the first to go is your muscles because there is more protein in muscle

this is why you have to workout + diet to keep the muscles up?

As it was explained to me the body is a fat storing entity.

It stores fat so that it can use it for energy later.

The body is not a muscle storing or making entity otherwise we would all sit around and get ripped from doing nothing.

Now to answer truconcepts question it really depends.

In my case i have not seen any muscle loss.

When

i have been at 189lb's of muscle for the longest whether i went up in

weight or down, the percentage of bf has stayed at 189lb for whatever

reason.

so last month I did the eat every 3hrs diet and still worked out as usual. I lost maybe 2lbs

This month i have been doing intermittent fasting, which technically isn't eating less.

Instead you dont eat for atleast 16hrs and have an 8hr eating window where you consume all of your calories.

My personal window however is been more like 2-4hrs and eating considerably less calories, but lots of protein within that time.

Now

i still work out with heavy weights, I believe that this preserves

muscle as well, because your body isn't going to respond to that stress

by throwing out whats keeping those weights moving.

Now I have dropped to more than 10lbs. within 3 weeks, 16% bf still leaving me at 189lbs of muscle.

As they say u cannot gain and cut at the same time and i see why.

HOWEVER..............

everyones body reacts to things differently.

Insulin resistant

Carb sensitive

thyroid problems

it really depends on what works for you.

Now 5yrs from now maybe i will have found something better who knows, the body is an adaptive beast.

stefan I am interested to hear what you have to say as well.

I agree your body cannot use fat for everything, but the majority of what you burn while sitting, walking is fat.

Thus the labels on treadmills and other machines that have a cardio, heart healthy and fat burn chart.

usually fat burn is 130-140 for heart rate.

the best analogy i have read is that the body is like a boat.

It will throw out what it doesn't need before it throws out the essentials.

If you are lifting heavy I believe that your body considers your muscles essential.

Now

if you strain yourself and your heart rate stays sky high then your

body or boat is going to panic and do all it can to keep that boat

going.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier, and reply.

The percentage of fat that can be used for energy is directly proportional to VO2 Max. *A ketogenic diet will alter this energy substrate % vs VO2 Max.

So yeah I definitely agree that fat can be used for the majority of one's energy requirements, but during high intensity work the body primarily uses glucose, and when glycogen stores are depleted then the body converts muscle protein into glucose by gluconeogenesis.

So the above statement about muscle not being used for energy until ALL fat is gone is technically incorrect, but it's probably a better explanation to the average person as otherwise they'll overreact and believe they'll lose all their hard earned muscle if they miss a few meals here and there, or if they forget to take their protein shake/carb shake.

----------

Now I'll be a little more anal: in the beginning you state that more calories consumed than burned off equals fat gain, and vice versa, but calories are not always equal.

A calorie is based on the amount of energy required to heat one gram of water 1C from burning food. 9kcal per gram fat, 4kcal per gram protein, 4kcal per gram glucose.

Now the issue we run into is that the amount of energy required to digest and absorb each substrate is not equal, and neither are our metabolic pathways. No system is 100% efficient, and we are no exception. In simple terms food composition does affect the amount of energy being used, and at what substrate proportions. Generally this is all a moot point, but sometimes it does matter. Gary Taubes has an excellent presentation about it, video is a bit long, but worth watching if you have time.

---

At least this is all what I choose to believe.

Edited May 1, 2013 by stefanhinote

[djjdnap 78]

whoo an hr long geeez

 

yea i'll catch it before bed or something.

 

In essence i think we are saying the same thing.

 

Your right about the intense workouts burning protein, Why most bodybuilders walk on the treadmill or do stairs at a slow rate. nothing to get the heart rate above 140 or so.

 

And I also agree that yes not all calories are created equal because the body uses them differently.

So yea calories to me haven't been as inportant as say the amount of protein and carbs and fats i get a day aka macro-nutrients  why i guess the new thing is "Does it fit your Macros"

[ssh 924]

whoo an hr long geeez

 

yea i'll catch it before bed or something.

 

In essence i think we are saying the same thing.

 

Your right about the intense workouts burning protein, Why most bodybuilders walk on the treadmill or do stairs at a slow rate. nothing to get the heart rate above 140 or so.

 

And I also agree that yes not all calories are created equal because the body uses them differently.

So yea calories to me haven't been as inportant as say the amount of protein and carbs and fats i get a day aka macro-nutrients  why i guess the new thing is "Does it fit your Macros"

"You gotta pay to play," so to speak.

 

Yeah pretty much. Everyone is different, effort vs reward, and law of diminishing returns comes into play.

 

For me I've had two goals: healthy eating, and muscle gain. Initially I took what I believe as healthy eating as precedence over muscle gain, but after eleven months of such I've grown lazy and unmotivated. So now I take muscle gain over what I consider healthy, and so I pretty much eat anything as long as it's not heavily processed, or primarily sugar, and whatever it is, I eat as much as I possibly can. So everything that I've learned about nutition for me right now is utterly useless. Though in a few years when I'm no longer an ectomorph than I'd like to believe that I'll shift my eating back to being healthy instead of piling almost anything into my mouth.

[Penguin4x4 1,761]

Yohimbine can cause extreme anxiety in individuals predisposed to anxiety, and can also trigger manic psychosis or suicidal episodes in people with bipolar disorder. There's also a high chance of it negatively interacting with neurological medications. If you take any neurological medications, synephrine, often referred to as "bitter orange", is a safer alternative.

[Penguin4x4 1,761]

Also, don't forget your creatine!

[trod2902 26]

I'd like to clear up your statement about carbohydrates. Not all carbs are created equal and thus do not spike your insulin levels the same. Carbs can be simple (glucose) or complex (starches). The most important difference for the two is the rate of digestion. Simple carbs do not require much energy or time for break down, resulting in a larger insulin spike and fat storage. Complex carbs, such as those from legumes, take more time and energy to break down making them more beneficial for weight loss. The best way to compare foods by their ability to spike insulin is through the glycemic index. The GI is scale from 1-100 that compares the rate of increase in blood glucose of the test food to ingestion of pure glucose, with glucose being 100. Thus the lower the GI the better in terms of overall health benefits and weight loss as a steady release of glucose into the blood yields a steady release of insulin and not a spike. There is also the problem of high fructose corn syrup, but thats another matter.

[ssh 924]

I'd like to clear up your statement about carbohydrates. Not all carbs are created equal and thus do not spike your insulin levels the same. Carbs can be simple (glucose) or complex (starches). The most important difference for the two is the rate of digestion. Simple carbs do not require much energy or time for break down, resulting in a larger insulin spike and fat storage. Complex carbs, such as those from legumes, take more time and energy to break down making them more beneficial for weight loss. The best way to compare foods by their ability to spike insulin is through the glycemic index. The GI is scale from 1-100 that compares the rate of increase in blood glucose of the test food to ingestion of pure glucose, with glucose being 100. Thus the lower the GI the better in terms of overall health benefits and weight loss as a steady release of glucose into the blood yields a steady release of insulin and not a spike. There is also the problem of high fructose corn syrup, but thats another matter.

 

Speaking of this GenerationUcan has a product called superstarches and they've been able to make the GL incredibly low, so for endurance atheletes it's pretty stellar (Getting glucose in without disturbing fat oxidation).

Edited May 1, 2013 by stefanhinote

[trod2902 26]

I checked out Generation UCan and they make a pretty interesting product. It shows that insulin remains unaltered and fatty acids are oxidized at a high rate, but they show no data about blood glucose levels. Still, its something that id like to try out.
Edit: I clicked the download link and found the published articles with the glucose data lol, gonna take a look at it later.

Edited May 2, 2013 by trod2902