3 tips to combat the fat storage hormone!

‘Fat storage hormone’… sounds horrific doesn’t it? Well, unfortunately it does exist. Personally I want to burn fat rather than storing! I believe most of you feel the same, right? Today, I would like to talk about how we can avoid over producing the fat storage hormone. 

So what is the fat storage hormone?

The answer is insulin! Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin, which transports glucose into our body’s cells where it is used for energy.

When we are getting too much glucose by eating sugars (dairy products are also sugar!), refined grains, or other carbohydrate-rich foods lacking fiber, it leads to high blood-sugar levels, which our body can’t break down and stores as fat. The more glucose (sugar) in your blood, the more insulin you produce. So Getting control of your blood sugar is the key! Blood sugar levels can also affect how hungry and energetic we feel as well! An insulin surge can cause too much blood sugar to be transported out of our blood and this results in our blood sugar and insulin levels dropping below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and lethargic and wanting to eat more.  The unfortunate result of this scenario is we want to eat something else with high sugar content. When we do, the cycle begins all over again. When our body does not use the glucose in our blood, then it will be stored as fat.  That is bad news enough, but it can be even worse. Too much insulin hinders the body’s ability to breakdown fat that has already been stored. So… WHAT CAN WE DO? These are

3 action steps to control your blood sugar level

EAT OFTEN – eat every 3 to 4 hours!

Sounds fabulous, doesn’t it? Most people eat 2 -3 big meals per day. They go 6 to 8 hours without foods. When you don’t eat for that long time, your blood sugar level really drops.  And then when you eat more than 6 hours later, your blood sugar spikes that causes there to be excess insulin in your blood. When there is excess insulin in your blood, your body stores fat more easily. This is also why it is very important to eat breakfast and have some snacks between the meals. My favourite snack is konnyaku sashimi.

It is extremely low GI and rich in fiber.  Simply eat sliced konnyaku or konnyaku lasagna sheets with soy sauce and wasabi. I am very Japanese! For you, nuts and apple would be a great one.

EAT FAT OR FIBER RICH FOOD FIRST

Have you heard of sequential eating order? Basically it means Finding the best order to eat your food in for weight loss. Simply by changing the order in which you eat your foods, you can prevent the excess storage of fat in your diet because it avoids sugar spikes as well as giving you want you need to stop overeating. Eating salad (fiber rich vegetable + oil) before you eat high carb foods such as pasta, rice and bread is perfect. Every morning, I take flaxseed oil, which, to me tastes disgusting but I eat a piece of fruits or green smoothie, which is high GI as a reward. This flaxseed oil avoids sugar spike as well.

EAT BLOOD SUGAR LOWERING JAPANESE SUPERFOODS

Some of Japanese superfoods contain blood sugar level lowering property.

Those foods are konnyaku, matcha and wakame (and other brown seaweeds).

KONNYAKU

Konnyaku contains almost no calories or sugar, it is a great substitute for carbohydrate foods such as rice, noodles and pasta in meals. Glucomannan, called miracle fibre in Konnyaku plays a role to lower blood sugar level. Its bulk-forming property delays stomach emptying, causing slower absorption of sugar and reduces blood sugar level. This effect is particularly helpful after a meal, which can reduce the elevation of blood sugar levels.

WAKAME

Wakame and other brown seaweeds contain three types polysaccharides, alginic acids, fucoidan and laminarin and they act as natural dietary fiber since they are not digested in the upper digestive tract and help to control blood glucose by slowing down the action of carbohydrates in the gut. Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid that is found in only brown seaweeds like wakame aids reduction and control of blood sugar and insulin levels in people with type 2 Diabetes.

MATCHA

It has been shown that the polysaccharides in Matcha green tea have the same ability to regulate blood sugar as insulin. The polysaccharides in Matcha absorb glucose and can thus reduce blood sugar levels in the blood. The polyphenols present in matcha green tea also play a role in lowering blood sugar level. Starch in any form is converted into sugar, and this is done with the help of an enzyme called amylase. The polyphenols in green tea extract reduce the amount of amylase produced, which means the blood sugar level also decreased.

Let’s eat smart way so we can still enjoy food we love and keep our shape and health! One last thing I want to stress is that…

DO NOT ELIMINATE CARBS COMPLETELY

Quite a few people think carbs are evil and cut it out of their diet completely.

Well, not getting enough sugar can also lead to putting on extra kg! Eating too little glucose can lead to a low blood sugar level, causing your body to go into “starvation mode” where it burns your lean muscle instead of the fat. So cutting carbohydrate completely isn’t our answer! It is not sustainable anyway.  So just follow three tips above and eat carbs moderately then we will be ok! When you follow these tips, you really don’t need to starve yourself to lose weight. I hate starving…. And love food very much. Weight loss has been challenging for me. In Japan, I was feeling under pressure to be thin so my first dieting started at 13! Since then I failed miserably many times… basically end up putting even more weight because I was starving, feel deprived from enjoying the food …. Basically the methods I did were not sustainable. In my natural weight loss with Japanese superfoods cooking classes in Sydney ( gluten free, dairy free and plant based cooking class) , I am focusing on using these three Japanese superfoods above for you to use in many ways and enjoy the meals and deserts at the same time.  

You don’t live in Sydney?