Calories to Lose Weight

Image byjsogo - Flickr

Are all calories treated the same way? The American public has been told through the media that consuming more calories than the body burns leads to weight gain. Doing the simple math this statement seems to make sense but is only partially true.

My grandmother was a nutritionist well ahead of her time – she never believed the old school of nutritional thinking that all calories are created equal. She understood that fat, protein and carbohydrate calories are different. One way to visualize that belief is to ask yourself – ‘is eating 500 calories of pure sugar the same as eating 500 calories of pure protein?’

How could different forms of calories affect you? Modern research now shows that the calories from proteins, carbohydrates, and fats have different reactions within your body in a way such that some calories really are healthier than others.  The key to this notion is your metabolism.

Two hormones are primarily responsible for fat storage and fat energy – insulin and glucagon. These two hormones balance against each other to keep your body running properly. As you blood sugar waxes and wanes these hormones are released – for example, if your blood glucose is too low, the pancreas will secrete glucagon to raise it.

The key is to pay attention to certain foods that affect insulin release much more than other foods such as white breads, sugars, most baked goods, and most processed snack foods.  All these foods typically do is give you a short burst of energy and then a let-down. Proteins, however, will release glucagon which can decrease hunger.

How this is tied to The Diet Solution Program is that part of Isabel’s method focuses on balancing food intake that regulates these two hormones which will cause fat burning while building muscle. Food proportions in the correct ratios are key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.  If you tie that to the right foods for your unique metabolism type, the calories you eat when you are attempting to control appetite and lose weight should result in a healthier result.

Butter: Good Fat or Bad Fat?

People are often shocked when they see how much butter I use and eat in one day. But I know the real truth; Butter is a good fat and can actually help you lose weight.

Unfortunately, people thinking butter is unhealthy is a very common misconception. People still think that butter and saturated fats are the reason heart disease is one of the top killers in this country (and now in many other countries as well). The truth is that it’s not the natural fats that are causing this epidemic, its the sugar, processed and packaged foods and overconsumption of refined oils that are causing so much disease (and you can add Diabetes, High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure to this list as well).

I go into this topic in much greater detail in the Fats Chapter of the Diet Solution Program but here are a few nuggets of info to ponder:

1. Did you know that during the 60 year period from 1910-1970, the proportion of traditional animal fat in the American diet declined from 83% to 62%?

2. During this same time butter consumption plummeted from 18 pounds per person each year to 4 pounds per person each year.

3. During the past 80 years, the consumption of dietary cholesterol intake has increased only one percent.

So where is the problem? Why all the heart disease?

1. During the same period, the average intake of dietary vegetable oils (margarine, shortening, and refined oils) increased by about 400%.

2. During the same period, the consumption of sugar and processed foods increased by about 60%

Those are the facts, but there’s never better proof than the results I see with my clients and my readers. When people finally stop eating margarine, refined oils, “fake” butters, sugar and processed foods, their health sky rockets! (and by sky rockets I mean, gets better, greatly improves, elevates to whole new levels). Not to mention all the body fat they lose off their body (now isn’t that just an awful side effect?)

It’s important to mention that the butter I use is organic and grass fed. It has this beautiful deep yellow color and is not white like most conventional butters. It has gone through minimal processing and has no added growth hormones and antibiotics. I get all my butter from http://www.grasslandmeats.com/

Now that I told you butter is ok to eat, here is a delicious chicken recipe you can enjoy:

(Please remember that the mad scientist in me sometimes forgets to document the exact amounts so you may need to play around with this a bit.)

Chicken with “I’m not afraid of butter” dressing
Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts (approximately 1 lb of chicken)
6 Tbsp of melted butter
lemon juice from 1/2 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large pan. Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook chicken breasts in butter covered on very low heat. Do not let the butter get brown. Pour lemon juice in a seperate bowl. Slowly stir in the remaining melted butter as you stir mixture. Then slowly add the olive oil as you stir mixture. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Once the chicken is cooked through, served on a plate and pour the “dressing mixture” over your cooked chicken breasts.

Don’t be surprised if you are tempted to pour this dressing on your veggies and just about every other food item you can think of. It’s delicious!

Find out the real truth behind healthy fats and get started on your own fat loss goals right away with this free Weight Loss Guide.