If you’re over 50 and struggling to lose weight, you need to know that not all calories are created equal. Some foods can stop you from losing weight even if you’re eating a low-calorie diet.
Darling, a 62-year-old writer, asked, “why am I not losing weight, I only eat a muffin for breakfast and it only has 250 calories?” I thought that was a great question because all calories are not created equal.
The average muffin contains 9 teaspoons of sugar.
Why Sugar Calories Make You Gain Weight
Elevated blood sugar, which is what you get when you eat sugar every day, causes weight gain because elevated sugar leads to insulin resistance. Insulin tells your cells when to store energy as either fat or glycogen, the storage form of glucose. (Glucose is the main type of sugar in your blood). So, if you have insulin resistance, you gain weight. Or you could be eating very little and the scale remains stuck. After all, 250 calories are not much, but if 9 teaspoons of those calories are sugar, your body will continue to store unused energy as fat.
Another thing that high blood sugar levels do is promote leptin resistance which is a vital hormone that works as an appetite suppressant. With leptin resistance, you will feel hungry. Being hungry is probably one of the worst feelings you can have when it comes to dieting. It’s hard to stick to any diet when you’re hungry.
Why All Sugar is Not Created Equal
The sugar in fruit is not the same because your body spends more time digesting an apple due to the fiber, so natural sugar absorbs more slowly. On the flip side, the added sugar in soda, muffins, etc arrives all at once in your system like a sugar bomb. All that extra sugar gets converted to fat quickly. I told Darling this and she responded, “but I work out and the scale is stuck and I don’t eat much all day.” What happens is your body is on a cycle of burning the same daily sugar calories from the muffin. However, if you want to lose weight, you need to have a calorie deficit. So, if you’re only burning what you ate, you will plateau and be on a cycle of eat the muffin, exercise and burn only the calories consumed from the muffin. This may be OK for maintaining your weight, but not for losing weight.
Better Sugar Substitute Option
Plant based sugar substitutes like Stevia or Monk Fruit.
Stevia comes from the plan, stevia rebaudiana, and has very few calories. A study found that Stevia is also helpful for people with high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
Monk Fruit, a small green melon that originated from Southern China, has no calories, carbohydrates or fat. A little Monk Fruit goes a long way. Monk fruit is much sweeter than sugar so you can use it sparingly.
Both Stevia and Monk Fruit can be put in the same foods you put sugar in.
Also, if you’re really serious about getting the weight off, eat your fruit with breakfast and lunch. Don’t eat any fruit after lunch. If you’re really hungry at night, eat some vegetables, drink some relaxing tea, or some broth. If you’re over 50 and serious about losing weight, you can do it by following this important tip.
Thanks for taking time to be with a very important person – you!
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