Knowing The Difference Between Empty Calories And Supportive Calories
When it comes to weight loss theres a huge misconception about calories
. While its true you cant eat more calories than your body needs and lose fat, its more about the quality of calories than the quantity thats important. The food industry has done a magnificent job in deceiving people with low-fat, low-calorie, diet foods. Truth be told, its the processed and refined foods that are largely to blame for people not being able to lose weight.
The latest trend is the promotion of 100 calorie snack packs with potato chips, crackers, cookies, etc. The misconception is thinking that these foods are ok since they only contain 100 calories. The problem is the 100 calories are void of any real nutritional value. They do nothing to support lean muscle and the calories will only end up being stored as fat.
Make no mistakes about it, processed and refined foods are nothing more than empty calories. Eating these foods turn your fat storing genes on, regardless of the calorie content.
Lets look at two snack examples to see the difference. Snack #1 is a 100 calorie snack pack of Ritz crackers. Snack #2 is a handful of almonds (8-10 almonds) and a medium apple- approximately 160 calories.
The 100 calories from the Ritz crackers are empty calories void of any nutritional value. Youll also find unnatural ingredients in this food called negative partitioning agents, that help turn your fat storing genes on. Examples include partially hydrogenated soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup.
When you eat this food the negative partitioning agents prevent the natural secretion of hormones like Letpin that triggers a sense of fullness. Not only will you not feel full, youre likely to stay hungry due to the impact of high fructose corn syrup on serotonin levels.
Eating the 100 calorie Ritz cracker snack pack simply creates a hormonal mess in your body. Hormones that help trigger fullness are turned off while hormones that signal hunger are turned on.
Snack #2 with the almonds and apple constitute MORE total calories but the difference is the quality of calories. Since youre eating whole foods your body will receive nutrients that can feed muscle and not fat.
Theres also natural, healthy fats in the almonds that can trigger a Leptin release signaling a sense of fullness. These foods create the correct hormonal balances in your body for fat loss to occur.
As you can see its not just about the number of calories but whats in the calories that really matters. If you want to be successful with losing weight you must minimize the processed and refined dead foods from your diet. Theres just no getting around this fact.
As a fitness trainer who specializes in
Charleston weight loss programs, I often recommend that my clients eat Primal or Paleo type foods (whole, natural foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and healthy omega 3 fats).
You should eat only when youre hungry and only enough so youre no longer hungry. Never eat until youre full. When you eat natural foods your body will send the right hormonal signals to indicate fullness which will likely prevent over-eating in the first place.
Take your time and eat meals slowly. Dont be in a rush to gobble down your food or eat in a hurry. This impacts the normal hormonal secretions that help to signify that youve had enough to eat. The faster you eat, the more likely you are to consume excess calories.
Eating processed and refined foods, regardless of calorie content, will only leave you hungry and put your body in a hormonal tailspin signaling fat storage. Dont buy into any food that promotes itself as being low calorie, or low-fat. These foods are the real enemy in any weight loss program.
Shane Doll CPT, CSCS is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. As a specialist in burst training for body transformation and weight loss he provides nutrition and fitness coaching along with e-books, videos, and other resources on his website: www.shapingconcepts.com. Visit the website where you can download his free e-book,
The Lean Code Method Quick Start Nutrition Guide.
by: Shane Doll
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