How to balance blood sugar and lose weight

Starving oneself is not a way to loose weight. The easiest way to loose weight is keeping the blood sugar levels balanced by eating plenty of fiber, making the right food choices and taking sufficient exercise. All of these can help you, not only to loose weight but also maintain energy levels; improve sleep and general well being.

The body keeps blood sugar levels balanced through the secretion of the hormone known as insulin. The insulin allows glucose to be transported into the cells from the bloodstream. Elevated levels of insulin may be associated with weight gain and difficulty with weight loss. This is why balancing blood sugar levels is key in controlling weight.

Here is how to keep your blood sugar level balanced and lose weight.

§  Eat protein at every meal and snack. This is crucial in balancing blood sugar levels. Protein foods such as fish, eggs, meat, dairy, tofu or pulses have virtually no effect on blood sugar levels and help insulin to be transported into the cells.

§  Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The fiber and water content of these foods assists in the elimination of waste products. Foods such as onions, spinach, celery, cucumber, cabbage, pears, blueberries and apples are all great foods for assisting weight loss.

§  Increase soluble and insoluble fiber content in your food. Fiber plays an important role in promoting healthy blood sugar levels. It slows digestion and bind to excess waste improving excretion. It also makes you feel full easily in so doing stops you from consuming surplus sugar in a meal.

§  Eat essential fats. Such include oily fish (salmon, tuna, and trout) nuts, seeds and avocados. They enhance the response of insulin to work more efficiently thereby helping blood sugar levels to be balanced.

§  Eat Tryptophan containing foods. These include chicken, turkey, eggs, oats, avocados, bananas, fish, nuts and seed. Tryptophan turns into serotonin (the happy hormone) which makes us feel less hungry.

§  Drink herbal teas. Green, peppermint, nettle and dandelion tea are particularly good weight loss herbs. They are natural diuretics and help digestion.

§  Drink plenty of water. Drinking about a pint of water before the meal helps in keeping the portions down. Increasing water intake will help to flush out any unwanted waste products building up in the body.

§  Avoid red meat. This is very high in saturated fat. Saturated fat is stored as body fat very easily and red meat is also difficulty to digest.

§  Avoid refined and processed foods. Such include cakes, white bread, white pasta, biscuits, chocolate etc. These are often high in fat, sugar and calories which lead to unexpected weight gain. Choose whole/natural foods instead such as whole meal bread, brown rice, oats, lentils, peas, kidney beans etc.

§  Avoid stimulants such as tea, coffee and alcohol. These disrupt blood sugar levels.

§  Quit smoking. Cigarette smoke interferes with insulin function and can make balancing blood sugar levels and therefore weight loss difficult.

Finally, applying the following discipline in behaviour will help in controlling/balancing blood sugar level and enhance weight loss: do not skip meals, especially breakfast. Stop eating when full, eat majority of your food before 7.30pm making breakfast and lunch the largest meals of the day to allow the body time to burn the calories for fuel during the day. Increase regular exercise is also basic in stabilizing blood sugar levels.