Today is my fourth day concentrating on the following goals:
- Looking after my endocrine system
- Reducing my weight back to normal after gaining 3kg
- Completing four weeks of C25K
- Creating a balcony garden
Over the last week I’ve been taking notes about sugar and caffeine consumption and how that affects the endocrine system and body weight. Interestingly I have also learned that there is a direct correlation between estrogen levels and body weight. Having the endocrine system out of balance (high estrogen) leads to fat gain because estrogen causes food calories to be stored as fat and also inhibits thyroid hormone, which would normally turn fat into usable energy. Having high estrogen is one cause of hypothyroidism which is associated with sluggish metabolism and weight gain.
I am not new to weight management. Over ten years I gained 17kg of body fat and tried so hard to lose it, but without success. I then lost 15kg within three months when I simultaneously came off the pill and cut my sugar intake. I have maintained this lower weight for some time, but have recently and unexpectedly gained 3kg, which puts me on alert.
It’s no secret that two keys to losing weight are to reduce sugar and fat in the diet. Both sugar and fat are high in calories and the theory is that consuming calories in excess of the number of calories that are being burned through daily activity and exercise will lead to consistent weight gain. I already eat a very low fat diet as I found it made a big difference to dietary control of candida but I have historically had a sweet tooth which has caused troubles for me in the past. So my assumption was that I would just reduce the sugar in my diet and because I am exercising every day the weight should just go away. It just might happen like that, but if my weight gain is intrinsically tried up with a bigger metabolic system then it might take a little longer. In either case, reducing sugar is the first step for reducing weight.
The part that I didn’t know was how sugar consumption has anything to do with hormones. Well consuming foods high in sugar leads to adrenal fatigue because sugar fluctuations will cause the adrenals to kick into gear to produce cortisol which (along with insulin, a pancreatic hormone) regulates blood sugar. When the body runs out of the cortisol produced by the adrenals it will resort to converting progesterone into cortisol in order to keep up the supply. When progesterone is lowered, the ratio of estrogen to progesterone in the body is increased, further bringing the body out of hormonal balance. Once the body goes so far out of balance that an anovulatory cycle occurs (a menstrual cycle in which there is no ovulation), the ovaries will not produce progesterone the next month and the ratio of estrogen to progesterone becomes critically altered.
A diet in which there is more stable blood sugar levels will give the body a chance to both balance the endocrine system and enable weight loss.
I also mentioned caffeine in the title of this post, well I don’t really consume caffeine (it affects me tremendously) but caffeine has the same affect as sugar because it causes the adrenals to switch on immediately and produce adrenalin and cortisol, resulting in the same downward slide of progesterone and increase in estrogen.
The other big one affecting the adrenals is stress, but I’ll cover that another time.
So, what am I going to do personally to reduce sugar consumption?
- I cut out lollies and icecreams some time ago when I chose to eat a mostly raw diet, but I still eat a few sources of quick sugar – sweet fruits such as ripe bananas and fresh dates, dried fruits such as dried figs and sultanas, yeast-free flat bread and raw chocolate.
- On the calories side of things, I was surprised by how many calories there are in a packet of fresh organic dates or dried fruit such as figs or sultanas. A 250g bag of sultanas has 95% of its calories derived from sugar and contains a whopping 755 calories, more than the number found in three cheeseburgers. On a weight loss diet where there is some level of calorie restriction that is a significant part of the daily allowable calories.
- I am going to cut dried fruits out of my diet because I tend to get addicted to sugar and once I open a packet of dried fruit I do not stop eating until I have eaten the whole packet.
- Fresh ripe bananas I am thinking that I will choose to keep in my diet because they are good with smoothies, but I will balance them out with greens such as in a green smoothie and/or include lower sugar fruits such as berries.
- Flat bread I am currently keeping in my diet, although I am getting frustrated by the fact that it is not organic and it comes sealed in plastic. I am eating rye, barley and oat varieties to lower their glycemic index.
- Raw chocolate needs to be cut out of my diet because the caffeine increases my heart-rate and temperature noticeably after only a few squares, but since it is so yummy I usually end up eating quite a bit more than just a few squares! Plus as I discussed earlier, caffeine stimulates the adrenals, furthering any hormone imbalances. I do not consume caffeine in any other form. Its a shame because raw cacao/chocolate is a great source of magnesium, but for me I am just too sensitive to the caffeine.
- I will also plot my daily food consumption into nutridiary.com to make sure that I am reducing my sugar consumption overall.
- I will ensure that I am better prepared with food in my fridge at work. The only shop within very close range to my work is a little corner deli that sells no fruit or veg other than sultanas in cardboard boxes and some apples wrapped up in clingwrap. I had a hunger attack one day during the week and ended up buying some sultanas, but it was a big mistake because I did not feel well for the remainder of the day.
Popularity: 4% [?]
