Let’s face it. We, as Americans, have an overall unhealthy relationship with food. We are the only country that glorifies junk food. Did you know that junk food is cheaper than healthy food? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Many people love junk food. They love the immediate gratification of it including the flavor, the convenience of it (there is literally no preparation needed for the consumer), and the comfort it induces. My daughter, for example, loves McDonalds. Whenever she got out of her day camp this summer, she would always ask for a McFlurry and a large order of french fries. Treats like these are ok occasionally, but should never become the norm.

Glycemic Index

Food can affect us emotionally, energetically, and physically. We can either get more energy, or pep, from it, or we can get depressed or even sleepy. Foods that cause extreme energy fluctuations normally fall into the category of a high glycemic index.

The glycemic index, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a ranking system of carbohydrate foods. The higher the number that food is assigned, the more carbohydrates that food contains. It can be a useful guide for making healthy food choices. White bread, for example, contains an average of 14 grams of carbohydrates and has a glycemic index of 72. In contrast, raw carrots have a glycemic index of 14 and only 6 grams of carbs. Essentially, the higher the sugar content, or carbohydrates a food contains, the higher the glycemic index.

Insulin Resistance

People who are overweight and eat an overabundance of carbohydrates can suffer from insulin resistance. This happens when the body no longer responds to the hormone insulin, which is responsible for removing blood sugar in the body. Insulin resistance can lead to and exasperate type 2 diabetes.

Why is this so important? For those patients who suffer from diabetes, eating foods high in carbohydrates can can cause their glucose to spike to dangerously high levels. This condition, known as hyperglycemia, can damage blood vessels that supply blood to the body’s vital organs. Hyperglycemia can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, neuropathy, and loss of the body’s extremities.

My mother suffers from type 2 diabetes. She has lived a very sedentary life and has bad eating habits that include sweets, baked goods, and fried food. She was diagnosed in 2011 with a glucose level of 600 and spent a few weeks in the hospital because of it. Since then, she suffers from painful neuropathy that keeps her up at night. She also has high blood pressure. When her blood sugar gets too low, she becomes disoriented and confused. She started on oral medication to manage her diabetes when she was diagnosed, but she is now on insulin due to her inability to manage her blood sugar through her dietary choices and lack of exercise.

Emotional and Energetic Effect of Carbohydrates

With all this said, another aspect we need to consider with high glycemic index foods is the emotional and energetic effect. I am sure you have heard about children experiencing a sugar high from eating sweets. They can get very hyper and then suddenly, they crash. The same phenomenon occurs in adults. Have you ever eaten a big pasta meal and an hour later, you feel like taking a nap? That is because high glycemic index foods cause glucose levels to spike within the body during the first hour of ingestion. This can give us the same spike in energy levels as a child. After the first hour, the body’s glucose levels drop significantly, causing drowsiness and the sensation of a “food coma.” You may even experience hunger or cravings two hours after eating these foods. That is because the body needs more glucose to maintain its energy levels. For someone trying to lose weight, this can lead to overeating and ultimately weight gain.

Emotionally, eating foods like bread, potatoes, and chocolate can cause a brief feeling of happiness. Sugar (glucose) acts very much like an addictive drug releasing dopamine and serotonin into the body the same way a narcotic or alcoholic substance would. Subsequently, just like a narcotic or alcohol, once the body has processed these chemicals, it can crash as glucose levels drop, leading us to feel depressed or anxious. In turn, that same person will eat even more of these foods to experience the same high again.

You can counteract these effects by making the proper food choices. Low glycemic index foods like peaches, apples, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins like fish or skinless chicken breast, non-fat or low-fat yogurt, and cottage cheese can provide long-term sustained energy throughout the day. By controlling the glucose levels in our bodies, we can also reduce food cravings and drops in energy.

Befriend Your Food

The key to having a healthy food relationship is to first accept that food is fuel for the body. Make what you eat work for you, not the other way around. For example, runners and cyclists have been known to carb load the day before a big race. They will eat pasta and other carbohydrate-rich foods for stored energy. The stored glucose will provide them the energy needed for long-term vigorous activity.

If you are going out to eat for a special occasion, you can budget the food you eat. In other words, say you are going to a birthday dinner and want to eat cake. You know that cake will be at least 600 calories or more, but you still want it. What are you going to do to make sure you minimize the chance for weight gain? One method is to choose an activity that will burn close to or the same amount of calories as that piece of chocolate cake like cycling, running, or a group aerobic class. If you are unsure how many calories vigorous exercise can burn, you can access it here.

How Food Affects Your Metabolism

How frequently you eat can also affect your metabolism. Over the past few years, many new diet fads have come out including Intermittent Fasting. While these methods can result in weight loss, over the long term, methods like Intermittent Fasting can ultimately lead to weight gain. The reason being is that the body is built for survival. During times of starvation, the body’s metabolism will slow down to conserve energy. Over time, the body will adapt to this method and cause the body’s metabolism to ultimately slow down making it harder to lose weight.

Eating small portions frequently will help increase your metabolic rate, as the body needs to work harder to digest food. How many meals should one aim to eat daily. The goal is to eat three to five small meals daily. This includes healthy snacks. This method will provide long-term sustained energy throughout the day; thus, reducing cravings and the propensity to overeat.

Dieting Versus Healthy Eating For Weight Loss

Keep in mind that if you are trying to lose weight, 80 percent of weight-loss is attributed to your dietary choices, and 20 percent is attributed to exercise. The key, however, is not to diet, but to make healthy choices on a daily basis. Many diets can be very restrictive and back fire due to lack of compliance and consistent practice. Additionally, many of these diets cannot be maintained over a long period of time.

No matter what method you choose, know that every diet boils down to one factor: calories in versus calories out. The only way to lose weight is to have a daily deficit of 300 to 500 calories daily combined with exercise. Aim to lose no more than two pounds per week. Anything more will cause the body’s metabolism to slow down in the long term and can cause your body to plateau or even gain weight.

Next week, I will discuss how exercise plays a role in obtaining increased lean body mass and reduced body fat.

Thanks for reading!