Carbohydrates, the Insulin response and weight gain - My OPINION

NOTE - This is my OPINION, I am not a medical expert or a nutritionist but have explored this theory and it works for me.  I have been ultra low carbohydrate for a while now and in my estimation have lost about 5% body fat in that time.

With the benefit of hindsight I now realise why I always struggled with my weight, until now that is. I must thank a series of videos on You Tube, by Dr. Greg Ellis, for finally making sense of it and, as he puts it, 'LEARNING THE RULES, ONCE YOU KNOW THE RULES IT IS EASY'.

Quite simply, for me, it was a diet high, not in fat, but in Carbohydrates and sugar.

Carbohydrates, particularly starchy ones (bread, pasta, rice etc) are broken down in the body into small sugars. Sugar causes a spike in insulin. When you have insulin in your blood your body stops burning food and fat for energy and insulin sets about removing the sugar from your blood. If you are not using the sugar for energy, for example by exercising, the body stores this sugar as fat. The end result is you have gained a little fat and are hungry again.

I've not researched the effect of the carbohydrates in vegetables but the general opinion out there is that you can pretty much discount these having an insulin effect, they are fibrous and contain a lot of water.

The trouble with sugar is that it causes you to crave more of it - just try eating one biscuit out of a packet !

If your diet is high in carbohydrates and has been for a long time there is a good chance you are insulin resistant meaning insulin is present in your blood for prolonged periods, removing the sugar from your blood, storing it as fat, making you hungry again and so the cycle goes on.

I cannot see how carbohydrates are essential for the body. I am very rarely hungry. I have increased my fat intake, I cook food in coconut oil, love 100% 'nothing added' almond butter and drink lots of spring water (sparkling is my preference).

I have never been fitter and more defined in my life.