4 Ways to Turn Your Body into a Fat-burning Machine

What in the world is wrong with us? Look around. We are fatter and sicker than ever before in anytime throughout history. Seriously, think about it. At no time in history has disease been so prevalent. Nearly 70% of us are obese or overweight, and 30% of the U.S. is diabetic or prediabetic. We’re suffering from a disease. Our bodies don’t know how to manage the food we eat. As a result, it’s estimated that one in five deaths in the U.S. is associated with obesity (American Journal of Public Health April 5, 2013), nearly 520,000 deaths a year.

Compare that with the bubonic plague. Over a 7 year period, it is estimated to have killed anywhere between 75 and 250 million people throughout Europe. Obesity over a 7-year period will have killed 3.6 million in the U.S. alone.

So what’s the deal? Why does this disease continue to spread? Well, let’s look at the bubonic plague again. Once they figured out the plague was being spread by fleas carrying bacteria from rats in unsanitary inner cities, they were able to get a handle on the disease.

This raises the question, what is causing obesity? For years, we’ve blamed it on the individual. We’ve blamed it on their lack of will power or lack of self-control. For decades experts have said it’s an imbalance in energy. We eat more energy (calories) than we burn throughout a day. The excess energy is stored as fat. According to this theory, all we have to do is eat less. Gary Taubes, in his book “Why We Get Fat,” explains this isn’t the case. There are examples throughout history and cultures of very poor populations who don’t get enough calories in any given day who are still obese. How is it possible someone could be consuming so little food and still be obese or overweight? There’s something more going on inside our bodies.

The problem lies in our hormones, specifically insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates how we use energy. It tells our cells to use food for immediate energy or store it as fat. If we’ve met our needs for immediate energy, everything else is stored as fat. Whenever we eat, our bodies release insulin to start managing the influx of food. Food is converted to sugars. Insulin then decides how to use the sugar—does it go to immediate energy needs or does it get stored as fat. Once the sugars from food are all used up, insulin levels drop and return to normal.

Here’s where the magic happens. Once our bodies have rid themselves of insulin, if we need energy, guess where we turn? Fat stores. Our bodies turn to fat for energy. In other words, this is when we slim down. The key is getting insulin out of bodies. If we keep insulin at bay, we burn more fat.

Think about this for a moment. We eat, food is converted to sugar, sugar enters our bloodstream, then insulin is released to use up the sugar. Now if our goal is to rid our bodies of insulin as much as possible, it makes sense to give our bodies time to rid itself of insulin, right? Ideally we’d give ourselves 4 or so hours in between meals to use up the insulin and start burning fat.

Here’s the problem. How often do we eat in America? Well we’ve got 3 meals a day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plus, we have snacks because we need something to chew on or sip. The snacking industry is huge–$124 billion a year. That’s a little over one dollar ($1) a day for every man, woman and child in America. Interestingly enough, that’s also what you’d pay for most snacks in the vending machine. If we’re snacking all day, if we’re munching on something or sipping on a coffee or soda, what does that do to our insulin? Based on the average American diet, we’re bathing our bodies in insulin all day long. In other words, with insulin as a constant in our bodies, we’re storing fat all day long. If that’s the case, it’s no wonder 70% of us are obese or overweight.

So what’s the solution? Here’s a list of things you can do today to regulate your insulin levels and start tapping into fat stores.

1. No snacking—Give your body and your pancreas a rest between meals. Let your insulin levels drop down to normal after eating. I know there are a lot of people that say to eat 6 meals a day or snacking is important. That’s only true if you’re a professional athlete. If you’re reading this, guess what? You’re probably not a professional athlete. It’s okay. Neither am I. All we need is 3 meals a day. Eat your meals, no snacking, and start tapping into fat stores.
2. Eat foods low in sugar and carbs—Foods all have a different impact on blood sugar and insulin levels depending on their fiber, carbohydrate and protein levels. This impact is measured on a scale called the Glycemic Index (GI). Foods with a lower GI score, have less of an impact on your insulin, meaning you can get rid of insulin faster and start burning fat more quickly. To see the GI levels of different foods, reference glycemicindex.com.
3. Eat protein—protein releases sugar more slowly into the body, meaning it won’t spike insulin, resulting in less insulin released into the body.
4. Eat Soluble Fiber—Soluble fiber gets sticky and creates a gel like substance in the stomach. This fiber traps sugar and releases it slowly into the bloodstream. Foods with higher fiber content have lower GI scores because they don’t allow for sugar rushes. Good sources of soluble fiber include beans (black beans are my favorite), oats (a good bowl of oatmeal – not instant oatmeal – for breakfast or ground up in a protein shake is awesome), flaxseed and some fruits (apples and oranges).

I know these seem like small changes, but incorporating them into your lifestyle will make all the difference in the world.

At Prime, we believe education is the best way to help people make healthy changes in their lives. We help clinics and med spas incorporate nutrition education and weight-loss programs in their business. Our goal is to help everyone change his or her body from a fat-storing machine into fat-burning machine. We guarantee we can help anyone reach their Prime at any age or any weight. For more information on our program visit PrimeTransformation.com, myprimeaffiliate.com or email us at [email protected].