Great workout 6am'ers! Did Fran kill the rest of you off yesterday? My legs hurt so bad today that I have to make sure no one is around everytime I go down the stairs at work. I did 3 rounds today +10 box jumps.
Today is Tuesday, which means it is time for some nutrition talk. Hello? Hello? Have I lost you already with the “n” word?
I was just browsing the current coupons for a certain membership warehouse store and guess what? Of all the discounted foods there was not ONE SINGLE ITEM for sale that I should put in my mouth. Okay, the last page had some vitamins, but of all the things to chew and swallow there was not ONE healthy choice. That’s not to say they don’t offer any at all but the healthier items are never on sale. Sad, huh?
Moving on to our discussion… So we’ve tried to reduce our carbohydrate consumption, but why? To review ONE reason let’s get totally nerdy and talk some biochemistry (one of my favorite courses in college, which explains why I didn’t date much). You may not want to know some of these technicalities, but remember what the cartoon G.I. Joe said, “Knowing is half the battle.” If you know why you’re making certain food choices, then it’s easier to make the right ones. We’ve all heard of insulin, right? Consider it the fuel regulator in your body (which is an oversimplification but let’s go with it). It arrives on the scene when glucose appears and decides where to send it. As part of that function insulin is the primary regulator of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme which signals the release or storage of fat in adipose and muscle tissue. This regulation differs in each type of tissue. In fat tissue, insulin raises LPL activity, making your fat cells store more fatty acids. In muscle tissue, insulin decreases LPL activity, forcing the muscles to burn glucose for energy. When insulin levels are low the opposite reaction occurs. Low insulin reduces LPL activity on fat cells so fat cells release fatty acids. Low insulin leads to increased LPL activity in muscle cells allowing the uptake of fatty acids for fuel. Interestingly, the activity of LPL is also influenced by other hormones which explains the differences in fat distribution in both men and women and how that distribution changes with age. “Who cares!!??” you exclaim. Well, you do. Want to raise your insulin and consequently store fat? Then raise your blood glucose by eating lots of refined carbs and grains. Bring on the flour and sugar! Want to burn fat as fuel instead of leave it hanging around? Keep your blood glucose and insulin levels reasonably low by reducing carb intake—eat foods that have a lower glycemic load. Don’t get the wrong message. Insulin is not evil and neither are all carbs. We need this precious hormone to fuel our bodies through our crazy lives. And the small amount of carbohydrates we need are easily obtainable from all the great vegetables and few fruits we are eating. So go show that LPL who is boss and eat some broccoli!
PS-This is a FANTASTIC article by Mark Sisson about carb/fat consumption: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/
Great workout 6am'ers! Did Fran kill the rest of you off yesterday?
ReplyDeleteMy legs hurt so bad today that I have to make sure no one is around everytime I go down the stairs at work.
I did 3 rounds today +10 box jumps.
That's a funny picture! But the smile does represent my happiness at a PR deadlift of 190#
ReplyDeleteToday's workout was fun. I'll apologize for the Brittney Spears on the play list, but don't act like you didn't like it.
I finished 4 rounds plus 11 sit ups. Also did some push ups for the bonus, my score on the tabata was 9 (knees).
Today is Tuesday, which means it is time for some nutrition talk. Hello? Hello? Have I lost you already with the “n” word?
ReplyDeleteI was just browsing the current coupons for a certain membership warehouse store and guess what? Of all the discounted foods there was not ONE SINGLE ITEM for sale that I should put in my mouth. Okay, the last page had some vitamins, but of all the things to chew and swallow there was not ONE healthy choice. That’s not to say they don’t offer any at all but the healthier items are never on sale. Sad, huh?
Moving on to our discussion…
So we’ve tried to reduce our carbohydrate consumption, but why? To review ONE reason let’s get totally nerdy and talk some biochemistry (one of my favorite courses in college, which explains why I didn’t date much). You may not want to know some of these technicalities, but remember what the cartoon G.I. Joe said, “Knowing is half the battle.” If you know why you’re making certain food choices, then it’s easier to make the right ones.
We’ve all heard of insulin, right? Consider it the fuel regulator in your body (which is an oversimplification but let’s go with it). It arrives on the scene when glucose appears and decides where to send it. As part of that function insulin is the primary regulator of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme which signals the release or storage of fat in adipose and muscle tissue. This regulation differs in each type of tissue. In fat tissue, insulin raises LPL activity, making your fat cells store more fatty acids. In muscle tissue, insulin decreases LPL activity, forcing the muscles to burn glucose for energy. When insulin levels are low the opposite reaction occurs. Low insulin reduces LPL activity on fat cells so fat cells release fatty acids. Low insulin leads to increased LPL activity in muscle cells allowing the uptake of fatty acids for fuel. Interestingly, the activity of LPL is also influenced by other hormones which explains the differences in fat distribution in both men and women and how that distribution changes with age.
“Who cares!!??” you exclaim. Well, you do. Want to raise your insulin and consequently store fat? Then raise your blood glucose by eating lots of refined carbs and grains. Bring on the flour and sugar! Want to burn fat as fuel instead of leave it hanging around? Keep your blood glucose and insulin levels reasonably low by reducing carb intake—eat foods that have a lower glycemic load.
Don’t get the wrong message. Insulin is not evil and neither are all carbs. We need this precious hormone to fuel our bodies through our crazy lives. And the small amount of carbohydrates we need are easily obtainable from all the great vegetables and few fruits we are eating. So go show that LPL who is boss and eat some broccoli!
PS-This is a FANTASTIC article by Mark Sisson about carb/fat consumption:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-metabolic-paradigm-shift-fat-carbs-human-body-metabolism/
Finally made it there tonight great work out. Thanks Dave and Marco for pushing me!
ReplyDelete