Do You Burn Fat Or Sugar?
January 29, 2013
Do you know there are two different ways that your body creates energy throughout the day? One is an immediate energy system (from burning sugar) that provides short bursts of energy, while it increases your appetite, makes you crave harmful foods, causes your body to be weight-loss resistant, lowers your energy, fuels cancer, lowers your immunity, and increases your risk of many chronic diseases. The other system (that burns fat) is an energy storage system. When your body draws energy from this fat burning system, you will maintain consistent energy all day long, sleep better at night, crave healthy foods, increase your immunity, and prevent most diseases including cancer and heart disease.
The crazy thing is that YOU determine which one of these systems is operative in your body. You likely agree that the fat burning system is clearly the preferred way to get energy. Yet most Americans have programmed their bodies to seek and produce short-lasting energy from burning sugar.
According to Ron Rosedale, MD:
“Health and life span is determined by the proportion of fat versus sugar people burn throughout their lifetime. The more fat you burn as fuel, the healthier you will be. The more sugar you burn as fuel, the more disease ridden you will be, and the shorter your life will likely be.”
So how do you know if you are a sugar burner or fat burner?
- You are a sugar burner if you:
- wake up tired and find you need caffeine/sugar to keep you going throughout the day.
- crash at 3pm, and get a second wind at 10pm at night.
- take naps often and don’t wake up from them feeling rested.
- are a restless sleeper, waking up often (especially around 2am).
- crave sugar and carbohydrates.
- are hungry often, and can be ravenous if you go without food for long periods.
- can’t lose weight no matter what you do.
- notice that you are gaining weight with no explanation for it.
- experience mood swings, cloudy thinking, and/or brain fog.
- get colds often.
- take several medications (including high blood pressure & cholesterol).
- often have headaches.
- have chronic musculoskeletal pain.
- feel exhausted all the time.
You are a fat burner if you:
- can go several hours without food and don’t feel like you will pass out.
- have a moderate to low appetite.
- have a strong immune system.
- have consistent energy throughout the day and don’t crash at 3pm.
- don’t need caffeine to keep you going.
- go to sleep easily at night and rarely wake up.
- wake up energized and refreshed.
- find you lose weight easily.
- take little to no medications.
- rarely have musculoskeletal pain.
- have injuries and illnesses that heal quickly.
- have good mental clarity and often feel optimistic.
- can workout in a fasted state and don’t feel the need to carbo load before a workout.
- feel the healthiest you have been in a long time.
Regardless of where you are today, you can program your body to burn fat instead of sugar. It just takes the right combination of foods and the correct type of exercise. This is EXACTLY what you will learn at our Makeover on Saturday, February 2nd.
If you haven’t signed up yet for this life-changing event, do so now before we sell out (we are super close to being out of tickets). This will be the most important nutrition and fitness event that we teach all year!! Rearrange your schedule, get a sitter, cancel a prior engagement, and make a commitment to YOU!
Together we can make 2013 your BEST year yet!!
6 Tips For Making This Your Healthiest Summer Ever!
June 4, 2012
Summer can be one of the best opportunities to relax and rejuvenate. In my office, we are dedicating our summer to helping you be the healthiest you possible! The following are six simple steps you can easily incorporate into your daily summer activities. Give yourself the gift of health this summer and watch your life blossom.
1. Eat Fresh & Colorful
Make it a rule to have colorful fresh fruit or vegetable with every meal. Add a green salad, red pepper, or orange slices to your meal. Raw fresh fruits and veggies are packed with enzymes that help your body breakdown your food. You’ll get of tons of energy, antioxidants to boost your immunity and fiber to keep your digestion on track.
2. Give your adrenals a rest
Carve out time to just chill out. This will rebuild fatigued adrenals and help repair damaged cell tissue and get your energy back where you are thriving. Our adrenal glands secrete chemicals that give us energy, boost our moods, and keep us moving. Grab a good book, turn off your smart phone, dust off your lounge chair, and just relax. If you are feeling especially depleted from your hurried life, talk to your chiropractor about vitamins that are specifically designed to support your adrenals.
3. Hydrate your way to health A general rule of thumb is to avoid thirst, it is a state of dehydration indicating your body has lost 2% of its water weight. Dehydration can cause fatigue, headaches, body aches, back & neck pain, and overall lethargy and malaise. It is incredibly difficult for your body to function optimally when it is not well hydrated. Try coconut water for a burst of electrolytes.
4. Commit to daily movement
Movement is a GIFT you give your body. The gift is more energy, loss of anxiety, a boost of immunity, revved up metabolism and a happier you! You will never regret time spent moving your body. Take twenty minutes everyday to walk, run, bike, swim, hike, or whatever type of movement is easiest for you to do. Just move!
5. Create a 30-Day discipline
A great way to make a change in habits that are not supporting your health is to commit to one new health habit for 30 days. It takes an average of 21 days for a habit to stick. Summer is a fantastic time to make that commitment. Give up sugar, take a dance class, a new exercise program, or run a 5k. You are sure be a success!
6. Get a dose of daily laughter
Best selling author Dr. Norman Cousins claims he healed himself from cancer by watching movies that constantly made him laugh. In his memoir, Anatomy of an Illness, Dr. Cousin’s points out laughter can releases pain-suppressing opiates, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, improves memory and learning, Find people and activity that puts a smile on your face and a laugh in your belly. ‘Laughter truly is the best medicine.’
As always, let me know how I can help you. My passion is helping people get their health back on track in a fun, easy, and enjoyable way. Cheers to your healthiest summer ever!!
Is Your Posture Killing You?
February 7, 2012
Did you know that having a good posture is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body? Numerous experts are now stating that posture is not just about looking good, but could be the key to better health. According to an article in the American Journal of Pain Management, “Posture effects and moderates every physiologic function from breathing to hormonal production.
For the past fifteen years, I’ve been working with patients to improve their health by improving their posture. With the increasing popularity of smart phones and tablets, long hours at the computer, and a more sedentary modern lifestyle, poor posture is becoming a major health problem. The challenge that many people are starting to face is that poor posture can lead to cervical disc injuries, shoulder injuries, arthritis, breathing problems, hormonal imbalances, gastrointestinal problems, depression, and an impaired immune function.
Why does our posture affect our health so dramatically? The first thing to realize is that when we are standing up we have both the effects of gravity and the weight of our head pushing down on our bodies all day long. The thoracic cages’ job is to protect the vital organs, be an anchor for muscles, and a support system for the head and neck. If the head is directly over the thoracic cage, it will put the least amount of strain on the thoracic area and vital organs. The minute the head pulls forward you now have not only extra strain on the thoracic cage, organs inside of it, but your risk of neck and shoulder injury greatly increases. This type of posture is now being labeled Forward Head Syndrome. Unfortunately, this forward head posture is becoming the normal posture for most people, especially in our younger population.
What are the harmful effects of Forward Head Syndrome? Rene Cailliet, M.D., director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California, wrote about the effects of forward head syndrome in his book “Rejuvenation Strategy.” According to his book:
- Incorrect head positioning leads to improper spinal function.
- The head in forward posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine.
- Forward head posture results in loss of vital lung capacity. In fact, lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems.
- The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function and evacuation is a common condition that comes with forward head posture and loss of spinal lordotic curves.
- Forward head posture causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins in production many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as pain.
- Forward head posture causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion lessens. Soon, one becomes hunched.
Recently, Dr. Roger Sperry, a Nobel Prize recipient for brain research, demonstrated that 90% of the energy output of the brain is used in relating the physical body to gravity. Only 10% of the brain’s energy is used for thinking, metabolism, and healing. If you want to improve your body and brain’s performance start with better posture.
What can you do to improve your posture?
1. Be aware
The very first step is to be aware of your posture. I recently had a teenager in my practice who went off to the Marines. When he left he had the slouched appearance that we see in many teenagers. Three months later, when he came back into my office, he was standing tall, shoulders back ,and his head held high. I asked him what he did to change his posture and he said that they were constantly on him to stand up straight. It was an incredible example of how quickly you can retrain your body by just being aware.
2. Stretch your front side and strengthen your back
What is happening to most people who sit at computers today, is that the chest muscles are shortening and the upper back muscles are lengthening. This causes the shoulders to round and the head to come forward. Start stretching your chest muscles by standing in a door way with your arms on either side and lean in. Similar to the picture to the right. Daily stretches to the chest muscles will stop them from pulling your shoulders forward. At the same time, doing upper back exercises, like seated rows, to strengthen your rhomboids will help hold those shoulders back.
3. Try a yoga class
Yoga is a great place to start if you are serious about changing your posture. What I love about yoga is that it stretches and strengthens the muscles at the same time. If you are going to yoga specifically for posture changes, let your instructor know. A good instructor will assist you throughout the class and make sure you are doing the poses correctly.
4. Go see your chiropractor
Nothing will change your posture as dramatically as a chiropractic adjustment. You can stretch and strengthen the muscles repetitively, but if the spine is not moving properly the muscles are more likely to fall back into their spasmed position. The spine has two jobs: protect the nervous system and be an anchor for muscles. Your nervous system is the mechanism in which your brain and body communicate. Just like Dr. Calliet noticed in his study, when your posture changes it damages the spine and nervous tissue the spine protects. Bad posture will ultimately lead to a poorly functioning nervous system. The key to great spinal health and great posture, starts with an evaluation from a chiropractor who specializes in posture retraining.
So stand tall, go see your chiropractor, try a yoga class, do your stretches and you will make sure your posture doesn’t take you down the path of bad health.
