Why Low Fat?

Why would low fat diets even be fashionable? It actually is a fairly logical strategy. Of all the sources of calories, fat is the richest and most calorie-dense food source. With 9 calories per gram, fat is more than twice as energy-dense as protein and carbohydrates. It seems reasonable, then, to recommend cutting back on fats to reduce calories. Unfortunately, what sounded good on paper, didn’t quite pan out in practice. What actually happened was that people continued to eat as many, if not more calories, on low-fat diets as they did before restricting calories – remember: fat acts as a satiating food, and helps make us feel full.

“Fat Free”…?

As soon as “low fat”, “fat free”, and “light” became buzz words, the food science industry jumped on the bandwagon, possibly quicker than the consumers. Low fat foods were popular, and the food industry wasn’t about to lose money as consumers turned their noses up at all the tasty, high-fat snacks which had been flooding the market for years. Humans are designed to love fat and sugar (it makes sense, these are the two necessary nutrients for the TCA cycle – the metabolic process which makes energy for our body). It makes perfect sense, then, that the food industry began replacing the fat in their products with sugar. This way, consumers can still eat their favorite foods without violating their low-fat diets, and companies aren’t losing money thanks to fad diets. It seemed like a win-win scenario.

…Or Not

Of course, we know more today about fat-free foods than we did a decade and a half ago. We now understand (from experience) that cutting fat out of our diets does nothing to reduce calorie intake. Further, we know (from science) that foods high in simple sugars (foods with high Glycemic Index scores) contribute to plenty of health problems – notably storing fat. So, by following the trends in fad dieting, we actually ended up creating and eating foods which increased body fat rather than fat loss. Ironic.

Fat-Free Does Not Mean Free of Fat

We know, today, that what seemed healthy a decade ago is not actually healthy. By replacing fats with simple sugars, the total calories were reduced, but the metabolic function of the body is altered for the worse – fat storage is increased. This is not to say we should NOT limit our fat intake. It is true – less fat equals fewer calories. But “fat-free” foods sacrifice calories at a far greater cost. The key is to AVOID high fat diets, rather than to REDUCE fat intake. Cut fried foods from your diet and don’t add extra fat to your foods in order to limit calories; “fat-free” foods are only lower in calories, they were not created to burn body fat.

(Not) Your Average Low Calorie Diet

Fat Loss 4 Idiots is not just a low-calorie diet. True, it does work because you eat less than you burn (calories in are less than calories out). But, every diet on the market is a low calorie diet, even the popular “low carb” diets. Low-carb diets are great for really fast weight loss, but after that, they are just as effective as any other diet you can think of. After the initial weight loss, any weight you continue to lose is because you are simply eating fewer calories, not because something crazy is happening without carbs. Think about it, the majority of Americans get almost 2/3 of their calories from carbs. So, if you cut carbs from the diet, you can make up some of the calories with fat and protein, but probably not all of them; and there you have it, a plain old low calorie diet, at the heart of all the hype.

But, if dieting is just low calorie, why don’t we just cut back and not worry about it? Well, that’s the point of Fat Loss 4 Idiots. You’ve been provided with guidelines, meal patterns, and food combinations ensuring that your meals will be balanced and you’ll be cutting calories from both single sittings (meals) and your daily total. It’s great, because you don’t have to count calories or worry about balancing intake and output: the work has been done for you, your job is to eat!

Manipulating Calories

I mentioned earlier, and you know from reading the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, that one of the goals is to rotate your foods to manipulate you calories. But why? Because your body will “adapt” to food patterns. If you eat a high protein diet, your body will become accustomed to this habit, and your metabolism will adjust; your stomach will become more acidic, you will release more proteases (enzymes which digest proteins), your liver will change adapt, etc. The same goes for carbs – as you eat more of them, your body makes the necessary changes, and shifts its metabolism to use carbohydrates more readily than protein. Athough some of these changes happen instantlly, many of them won’t be noticed for a few days. How can we use this to our advantage? Fat Loss 4 Idiots monopolizes this feature of our metabolism by slowly switching back and forth between fuel sources. As your body starts to adapt to protein, your diet is shifting to carbohydrates. And, just as your body starts to grow accustomed to carbs, your diet is moving back to protein as the fuel source. The end result is that Fat Loss 4 Idiots will impair your body’s ability to consume calories. This multiplies the effect of “calories in, calories out”, because not all of the “calories in” actually count!

Why Not Fat?

Fat Loss 4 Idiots only manipulates protein and carbs as fuel. A smart observer might ask why fat is not manipulated as well. After all, fat has more than twice as many calories as protein and carbs, so a small change in fat would result in a relatively large change in calories, right? True, but the result on fat loss is pretty small. When eaten in excess, food sources (carbs, fat and protein) are stored as fat. But, fat can be stored directly as fat – 100% of fat eaten can be stored as body fat. In contrast, protein and carbs must be converted into fat in order to be sotred as fat. Therefore, since it is more work for carbs and protein to be stored, Fat Loss 4 Idiots manipulates only those two fuel sources, and keeps fat intake reasonable. In this manner, Fat Loss 4 Idiots “keeps your body guessing” when it comes to metabolism, and forces your body to work harder to store your food as fat.

Do You Know What You’re Eating?

I’m not opposed to the fast food industry. I’ll be the first to admit that I love the convenience of fast foods and restaurants. When I’m on the road and hungry, fast food is by far the easiest source of food, and where I inevitably turn first. If I’m looking for a fun time with friends or a romantic dinner, restaurants suit my tastes better than the arduous task of buying and preparing the meal myself. But we all must realize that whenever someone else prepares our food for us, we have just given up the initiative of our own health. By letting someone else do our dirty work, we no longer have control over what goes into our meals. Whenever you eat prepared food, you are completely at the mercy of someone else, usually a complete stranger. When we, however, prepare our own food, we are in complete control of our fat loss. Fat Loss 4 Idiots is about taking control of your fat loss, and one very easy way to do this is to prepare as many of your own meals as possible, so that everything you eat follows the diet, and you are never caught by surprise.

Plain Food, Plain and Simple:

Another reason Fat Loss 4 Idiots has you prepare your own food is to keep your diet simple. Fast food joints load their foods with extra food and toppings and condiments. It’s such an easy thing to remember to ask them to hold the mayo, mustard, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles, but forget to hold the ketchup. And frozen entrees are no better! Take a look at one of those next time you get the chance; they are loaded with all sorts of foods, not to mention additives and preservatives. The bottom line is (in case you haven’t caught on yet), by making your own food, you ensure that it meets your specifications. It is simple, healthy, and will help you follow the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, and more importantly, you can be assured (because you made it yourself) that there are no surprises. You can take initiative for your own fat loss by preparing your own food, for yourself.

Hidden Calories

Condiments can make or break our favorite dishes. With Fat Loss 4 Idiots, you aren’t being asked to give these up. That would be crazy. Your food would be too bland, boring, and generally unenjoyable. Assuming your fat loss didn’t fail under these circumstances, you would lose all passion for food, and that’s not the point – you’re trying to lose fat, not your love of food. But there is a caveat: these condiments are a sneaky source of calories. Obvious choices such as peanut butter and butter are very rich in calories, and we all know to use these sparingly, if we choose to use them at all. Some other condiments, though, might not be such obvious sources of calories. Jelly, jams, and preserves are typically reasonable additions to food, but with upwards of 50 calories in a mere tablespoon, the calories can add up quickly. Even ketchup and mustard can get sticky quickly. Although there are only 15 calories in a tablespoon of ketchup, even these can make a difference. It’s important to watch out for these hidden calories, because even though they seem extraordinarily insignificant, an excess of 12 calories per day can result in a gain of one pound of fat over the course of a year. That means only a single tablespoon of ketchup per day can cause us to gain a pound of fat each year!

More Than Just Calories!

There’s more than calories to look out for in these condiments. Something as seemingly harmless as soy sauce – virtually calorie free – is typically chock full of sodium. Barbeque sauce is not only a source of calories, but these come in the form of simple sugars (a low GI source of carbohydrates). Additional pitfalls include salad dressings, mayonnaise, peanut butter, and butter. These condiments are usually loaded with fat. Recall that fat, unlike carbs and protein, can be stored directly as fat, without any form of conversion; all excess dietary fat will be stored as fat.

Not to Worry

Even though condiments seem as though they might single-handedly be the source of fat gain and obesity, they are not so bad. Remember, Fat Loss 4 Idiots has given you a convenient meal plan to follow, so as long as you follow the diet, you needn’t worry about overeating. Just don’t go overboard on your toppings! As long as you use them to add flavor to your foods, condiments are a fun source of flavor, and can keep your diet varied and full of flavor. If you need to add flavor to a food, choose your favorite condiment(s) and add it in moderation, and don’t worry about gaining fat. Just don’t smother your food in sauce!

This is such a great rule to live by. Not only is this important while you’re following the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, but this is a rule that can (and should) carry on throughout your entire life. Portion sizes are huge these days – we all know this. But something inside of us won’t let us say no to super-sized portions. How much steak (or soup or salad, honestly) do we need to feel satisfied? Not much. Next time you are hungry, eat a handful of raw vegetables or a handful of almonds. Twenty minutes later, are you still hungry? If the answer is yes, stop and think about it: is this hunger (sharp, gnawing pains and rumbling) or appetite (the desire to urge, without discomfort or pain)? See, a lot of us eat because we have American appetites. Eating has truly become a way of life. We eat because we are upset, stressed, bored, happy, heck we even eat for fun or with friends and family on special occasions. One of the hardest, but most significant, changes you can make to ensure fat loss and weight maintenance is to be able to tune out appetite, and learn to eat to stop hunger.

Eat Until Satisfied…

The residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa have a saying: “Eat until 80% full”. While we as Americans might not find the percentage so easy to work with (a saying like “Stop before you are full” might have worked better), the underlying principle remains: don’t eat too much, and when you are no longer hungry, stop eating! The fact that the Okinawans use this phrase is interesting, because the residents of this island are four times as likely as Americans to live more than 100 years. Granted, we are trying to lose fat here, not live 100 years, but isn’t that amazing? To think that eating less might make us live longer is an incredible prospect. To tie those two thoughts together, it is worthwhile to point out that there are countless studies, both animal and human, which make a case for low-calorie diets as a method of increasing longevity, and within these studies, those subjects eating fewer calories had significantly less fat than those whose calories were not restricted. The short and sweet of it all is that if we can learn to eat enough to satisfy hunger (and no more), than there is a distinct possibility we could live longer and leaner.

…Not Until Stuffed

There are some more reasons to cut ourselves off before we reach that feeling of being stuffed. Obviously, if we limit our intake, we limit our calories, and that in turn helps us burn fat, which is a good thing. But habitually cutting our meals short can help us stay lean in the long run, through a different mechanism. That feeling of being “stuffed” is not normal. It is, in fact, because you are actually stuffed, which is a very bad thing. When you eat so much that you feel stuffed, you have stretched out the walls of your stomach. Like all muscles, the stomach is very elastic. The more it stretches out, the weaker its elasticity becomes, and the harder it is to return to its normal size. The more the stomach is stretched, the larger its “normal”, or resting size becomes. By stuffing ourselves, we are actually forcing our stomachs to grow. Not only are we eating more food and taking in more calories, we are making it harder to become satisfied! The “stretch” mechanism is also a means of monitoring satisfaction, and as the stomach becomes bigger (and it takes more to fill it), it will take more food just to feel satisfied. And a vicious, dangerous cycle is set into motion. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should eat only until we have stopped our hunger. This will help us live leaner, live longer, and prevent us from stretching out our stomachs.

Ever notice how sometimes you can just keep eating a food, and never get full, and other times, there’s no way you can clean your plate?  That’s because of “satiety”, or the feeling of fullness or satisfaction.  And it’s true, there are some foods which won’t satisfy you at all, no matter how good they taste.  That’s one of the pitfalls of potato chips, and most junk foods for that matter – they taste so good but you will just keep eating them until you literally can’t fit any more into your stomach.  On the other hand, it only takes a handful of some foods to satisfy me.  Carrots come to mind, and not because I don’t like the taste of them (I love carrots).  They just satisfy me.

Everyone has different satiating foods and preferences, as everyone is unique.  But certain foods are more satiating than others, regardless of individuality.  Bearing this is mind, Fat Loss For Idiots combines a few techniques and general ideas in order to keep you feeling full.

Satisfying Protein

One of the foods which tends to be most satiating is protein.  Most people feel a high degree of satiety after eating protein.  Imagine eating a bag full of patato chips compared to a bag full of beef jerky.  Chances are, you could eat a lot more potato chips than beef jerky.  High quality protein simply makes us feel fuller than most other foods.  Protein which comes from animals (meat, fish, eggs and dairy) is the most satiating; plant proteins such as nuts, grains, etc. will satisfy us, but not as much as animal products.  The Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet works, in part, because it keeps us feeling fuller with less food by providing high quality proteins.

Bulky Fiber

Fiber is almost as satisfying as protein.  Fiber is found in plant products, and the less processed the product is, the richer it is in fiber.  Raw fruits and vegetables and nuts are chock full of fiber.  Fiber takes up a lot of room in the gut, and can’t actually be digested, which may be why it is so satiating.  A quick glance at the foods included in the Fat Loss 4 Idiots should give you an idea of just how much fiber you’ll be getting.  As an added benefit, fiber not only bulks up your meals and keeps you feeling satisfied and full, but it can help reduce cholesterol as well as reduce the risk of cancer.  Diets high in fiber, like Fat Loss 4 Idiots, can kill a few birds with one stone!

Rich Foods High in Fat

Although Fat Loss 4 Idiots tends toward lean and low-fat foods, high fat foods can also create a feeling of satiety.  For example, think about eating a piece of cheesecake.  Any time I eat cheesecake I make it about halfway through my piece before feeling absolutely stuffed.  Most desserts like cheesecake are not high in protein, and I can’t think of many desserts with a lot of fiber, but almost all sweets and desserts are loaded with sugar and fat.  And fat is one of those foods which satisfies us.  From a biological perspective, this makes sense, because fat is the nutrient highest in calories.  Therefore, we don’t need as much fat as other nutrients.  Most of the foods included in the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet are not fatty or greasy, but at the same time, this is not a fat-free diet.  Fat, while rich in calories, is also very filling.

Stuffed is Stuffed

One final way to feel full is to simply fill up.  Although Fat Loss 4 Idiots tells us not to eat until we are stuffed, one measure of satiety is actually how full your stomach is.  Fiber, which adds bulk and no energy to our diets, helps fill your stomach without adding extra calories.  Water is another great way to fill up your stomach, making you feel full, without eating too much and gaining fat.  Remember that Fat Loss 4 Idiots tells us not to eat to much at a given meal.  Remember also that Fat Loss 4 Idiots tells us to drink more water.  Well, if you’ve eaten your meal and are still feeling a little hungry, why not fill up on water?  Your stomach will be more full, you won’t have eaten until you’re stuffed, and you’ll have drank more water.  This trick will help you achieve three of the ideas outlined in the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, and by the end of the meal, you should feel quite full (hopefully, full of protein and fiber in addition to the water). Take Me To The Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet.

Calories are an important, but difficult, part of fat loss.  We all know that if we eat too many calories, especially in one sitting, that we’ll gain fat.  But we can’t just stop eating.  We also know that if we don’t eat enough calories, we get hungry – our stomachs rumble, we get hunger pangs, become irritable and cranky.  In fact, if we don’t eat enough calories for long enough, we’ll waste away and starve.  So fat loss becomes a tricky balance between eating too many calories (and gaining fat), and not eating enough calories (and starving).  Fat Loss 4 Idiots works because it finds that balance.  With Fat Loss 4 Idiots, you will be getting just enough calories so that you will not waste away, while not eating so many calories that you gain fat.

Calorie Density

One of the strengths of Fat Loss 4 Idiots is that it avoids foods which are “calorie dense”.  Calorie dense means, as you might have guessed, that a food is dense, or rich, in calories.  But some of the foods you can eat on Fat Loss 4 Idiots have a lot of calories.  In fact, many of these foods actually have more calories than foods which are avoided.

Nutrient Density

That’s because nearly every single food you can eat on the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet is nutrient dense.  Which, of course, means that these foods are rich in nutrients.  Nutrients like vitamins and minerals, which are vital to building healthy tissues and maintiaing a healthy metabolism.  Nutrient-dense foods can be calorie-dense, but the term calorie-dense is rarely used ti include nutrient-dense foods, which can sometimes be confusing.  Just remember that nutrient dense is good, and calorie-dense might be bad.

Vitamins and Minerals

Calories come from carbohydrate, fat and protein.  Carbs and fat are used to create energy, and protein is used to build most of the tissues.  But vitamins and minerals play a role in all of this, too.  Vitamins are used in every single metabolic process in the body.  The convert carbs into energy requires B-complex vitamins.  In your eyes, Vitmain A helps translate light into images your brain can translate.  Vitamin A is also necessary to “read” your DNA.  Vitamin E keeps your skin and tissues healthy, actually working with Vitamin C to prevent and repair damage to the cells.  Vitamin D is important for maintaining and building healthy bones.  All of the minerals are important parts of the structure of every cell – we all know that calcium is as important in bones as protein is (most of us think of calcium in the bones before we think of the protein that also makes up the bones).  And this is just a glance at what vitamins and minerals are used for.  Every part of your metabolism relies on vitamins and minerals to work properly.  Fat, protein and carbs are important parts of metabolism, but vitamins and minerals ensure not only that we build and maintain healthy tissues, but also that we can break down and use fat, protein and carbs.

Bang For Your Buck

So, easy enough.  To lose fat and keep things running smoothly in your body, you avoid foods providing you little more than lots of calories, and eat a diet full of foods rich in vitamins and minerals.  But how do you know which foods are nutrient-dense, and which foods are simply calorie-dense?  Fat Loss 4 Idiots provides you with only high-quality, nutrient dense foods.  This ensures that you have the “tools” for your metabolism to build and maintain a healthy body.  More importantly, it means that the calories you eat are not being wasted.  With Fat Loss 4 Idiots, food means more than energy, it means nutrition.  Instead of simply eating to provide your body with energy, you are eating to provide your body with all of the vitamins and minerals to stay healthy and active.  Fat Loss 4 Idiots has done the footwork for you, and made sure you are eating foods which will give you the most bang for your buck, in terms of nutrition.  You will be trading calorie dense foods for nutrient dense foods. Enough Already, I’m Ready To Get Going With Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

If you cut carbs out of your diet, your body can no longer run the TCA cycle, and in order for normal metabolism to occur, your body will find new ways of creating energy.  This “new” method of creating energy involves breaking down fats to create molecules similar to glucose (sugar), called “ketone bodies”.  The good part about this is that it means your body can survive and carry out normal functions without carbs.  The bad part is that ketone bodies are toxic if too many collect in your bloodstream.

Ketosis – The Result of Not Enough Carbs

When too many ketone bodies are made, and they start to collect in tissues and the blood, it can lead to a condition called “ketosis”.  This simply means that carbohydrates are no longer being used to create energy, and ketone bodies are being produced.  Since ketone bodies are not usually created, and can be toxic, the body will get rid of them as quickly as possible.  The body will get rid of these ketone bodies through the lungs or the urine; ketone bodies are either “breathed out” or eliminated when you use the restroom.  If more ketone bodies are being made than can be disposed of, they may continue to collect in the blood and cause the blood to become acidic.  At this point, it is called “ketoacidosis”, and it has become a very serious condition.  Not to worry, though, ketoacidosis is not very common in low-carb dieting.  Both ketosis and ketoacidosis are actually steps involved in starvation – a starving person will develop ketosis very early on, and may later develop ketoacidosis.  Although low-carb diets do not actually starve you, they do deprive your body of a very important nutrient: carbohydrates.  For this reason, Fat Loss 4 Idiots is not a low carb diet.  It just separates “good” carbs from the “bad” ones.

But Don’t Low-Carb Diets Work?

They sure do!  This is one of those confusing parts about fat loss.  Low carb diets actually do work.  In fact, it’s possible that you might lose more weight on a low-carb diet than with Fat Loss 4 Idiots… at first.  The problem is, your body will eventually adapt to the lack of carbs.  At this point, your fat loss will slow down and possibly even stop.  All thw while, you are building and collecting ketone bodies, moving closer and closer to unhealthy disease states.  Fat Loss 4 Idiots has overcome this obstacle by including carbs, part of a natural and healthy diet.

Eating Enough Carbs – But Making Sure They’re the Right Carbs

So, obviously, we don’t want to develop toxic conditions and make our blood acidic.  But we also want to eat the “right” carbs.  Some sources of carbohydrates have a greater effect on blood glucose than other carb sources – we call this the Glycemic Index (GI).  Low GI foods have less effect on blood glucose than high GI foods.  Further, studies have shown high GI foods to result in fat gain and muscle loss, as well as causing damage to the pancreas (a very important organ in normal metabolism).  So, to get enough carbohydrates – which we know we need to – it is clear that we should look for carbs from low GI foods.  Foods like vegetables, dairy products, fruits, and even nuts and seeds are sources of carbohydrates.  Be careful, though.  Fruits and dairy can be very rich in carbs, and can often have high GI values.  Conveniently, Fat Loss 4 Idiots has taken the guesswork out, and has outlined exactly which of these foods are the best carb sources, and which ones to avoid. Learn More About Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

Stoking the Fire

One reason explaining why more meals means more fat loss claims that more frequent eating increases our metabolism.  It’s pretty simple: digesting food takes work.  Furthermore, food is used as energy and as “building blocks” for our body.  So, after eating, we have more energy, and more materials to maintain our body; this allows your body the luxury of “cranking up production”.

Think of it from a practical perspective.  Eating takes energy.  You have to chew and swallow your food.  When it gets to your stomach, you have to churn it around and mash it all up – the stomach is, in fact, a very powerful and active muscle.  After that, your intestines have to push to food through almost 30 feet of guts before you are finally done with your food.  10% of the energy you expend daily goes to digesting your food, and your metabolism is raised for a full 2 hours after eating.  In fact, after you eat, blood is diverted from many areas of the body to supply oxygen to the stomach and intestines to support their increased workload (this is why you cramp up if you try to swim after eating).

If you are eating more frequently, you are spending more energy digesting food.  Additionally, you are forcing your metabolism to remain more active for longer.  Think of your body like a campfire: you want to provide fuel frequently to keep the fire burning hot, all day long.  If you wait too long, the fire starts to die down, but if you feed it too much, you smother the fire and kill it off.  With Fat Loss 4 Idiots, you provide small, regular meals to keep the “fire” of your metabolism burning hot.

Stopping Hunger

There is another reason you eat more frequently on Fat Loss 4 Idiots.  Remember, what’s most important in terms of calories is that you don’t overeat at a given meal.  But if you feel like you are starving, you are almost certain to overeat next time you eat.  One of the reasons you eat so often with Fat Loss 4 Idiots is that it keeps you from feeling starved, and you don’t feel so hungry all the time.

Although we are less concerned with calorie intake over the course of the day on Fat Loss 4 Idiots, this is the way your body estimates how “starved” it is.  If it has been 7 hours since you ate last, your body knows – your stomach is empty and food has passed through a large portion of your small intestines.  This triggers signals letting you know it’s time to eat, and you will feel starved, regardless of how much you ate at your last meal.  Now, if it has been 2 hours since your last meal, your body won’t feel quite so deprived.  You have food in your stomach still, your body will not feel hungry at all.  Why should you be hungry, you just ate?  The meal timing of Fat Loss 4 Idiots will keep you from overeating at your next meal, because you are far less likely to be hungry.  In fact, you should feel like you spend your whole day eating with Fat Loss 4 Idiots!

Two-Pronged Attack on Fat

Fat Loss 4 Idiots uses meal timing to lose fat through two different methods.  Your metabolism will be higher, and you’ll be burning more calories over the course of the day.  Additionally, you will feel more full, and actually eat less at your meals.  By burning more calories and taking in fewer, it should be clear why the meal frequency of Fat Loss 4 Idiots is optimal for fat loss. Get The Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet.

Occasionally diets will classify carbs as either “good” or “bad”.  While Fat Loss For Idiots avoids the terms “good carbs” and “bad carbs”, it does follow the principle which gave us these terms – the Glycemic Index.  The main idea is that foods with a low Glycemic Index are better for you than foods with a higher Glycemic Index.  Or… low Glycemic Index carbs are “good”, while high Glycemic Index carbs are “bad”.

The Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index, or “GI”, is simply a way we measure how much effect carbohydrates have on blood glucose levels.  Foods with a high GI (the ones you are avoiding on Fat Loss 4 Idiots) will result in higher blood glucose levels, while foods with a low GI (those foods which you are eating a lot of with Fat Loss 4 Idiots) will result in lower blood glucose levels.  The difference in blood glucose levels is mostly due to the fact that lower GI foods are digested and absorbed more slowly than higher GI foods.  As these foods are slowly digested and released into the bloodstream, they can be “taken up” slowly and steadily.  With higher GI foods, they are easily digested and absorbed, therefore the glucose from these foods is basically dumped into the bloodstream, causing a significant increase in blood glucose.

Blood glucose values are especially important for people with diabetes, whose insulin does not work as well as non-diabetics.  Insulin is released as a result of blood glucose values.  Higher blood glucose levels will result in the release of more insulin.  The take home message is that with low GI foods, insulin sensitivity may improve, and a “healthier” metabolism might be achieved.  High GI foods do not always result in large insulin release, however, and low GI foods do not always result in smaller insulin release.  But, in general, low GI foods are a very effective way to control insulin and create a healthier, more normal metabolism.  One of the reasons Fat Loss 4 Idiots causes fat loss so effectively is because you will be avoiding those high GI foods, and eating so many of the low GI foods.

Low GI (Good Carbs) and Weight Control

Research leads us to believe that high GI foods, or “bad carbs”, may be a factor leading to fat gain.  One study performed in 2004 found that rats eating a high GI diet were not only fatter than rats with a low GI diet, they also had less lean body mass.  Imagine that simply by eating white bread and cake, you are building up fat and losing muscle; that’s what this study says may be happening.  Realize that although this study was done on rats, and not humans, much of what we know from science is a result of animal studies and not human trials.  (It is far more ethical to force rats to gain weight and waste their muscles, than if we were to do that with human beings!)  Thus, we have sometimes come to call low GI carbs “good”, while we refer to higher GI carbs as “bad”, and we will want to avoid bad carbs while following the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet.

So… Now I’m Never Allowed to Eat High GI Again?

At this point, high GI foods probably look pretty evil.  In fact, Fat Loss 4 Idiots, with a very few exceptions, has virtually banned you from eating these.  This is a pretty depressing outlook for a lot of us, especially considering many of the tastiest foods are undoubtedly high GI.  Does this mean you’re never going to eat a piece of birthday cake again?  Almost certainly not.  You should avoid these foods while you’re following the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet, there’s no bones about it.  But, once you’ve achieved your fat loss goal, you’ll find it’s OK to eat these foods every once in a while.  Eat some cake at your best friend’s wedding, or have a piece of pizza at the big game on Monday night, but don’t go crazy, here.  Remember, these foods do still contribute to fat gain.

The point is, while you are losing weight with Fat Loss 4 Idiots, eating high GI is just getting in the way.  What’s the point of trying to lose fat, and eating foods which you know will make your body store fat?  You will only be shooting yourself in the foot.  Once you’ve lost the fat, it’s not the end of the world to eat a high GI food every once in a while.  At this point, you are not trying to lose fat, and hopefully, Fat Loss 4 Idiots has taught you enough healthy behaviors that you are following out which will balance out the “junk”, and you will not put on fat.

Is It Ever OK to Eat “Bad Carbs”?

Actually, yes.  There are occasions when it is actually preferable to eat high GI foods rather than low GI.  Again, these times are not while you are following Fat Loss 4 Idiots and trying to lose weight.  High GI foods have great nutritional value for athletes during and immediately after exercise.  An athlete will want low GI food before exercise, because these will release glucose (carbs, which you will remember are energy) into the bloodstream steadily over the course of the exercise.  During the exercise, high GI foods will release glucose quickly into the blood, providing an available source of energy immediately.  Following exercise, high GI foods are also preferable because they quickly provide a readily available source of energy to replenish used fuel sources, and also to repair damaged tissues.  However, these foods are most useful at exercise intensities far above what you will be doing with Fat Loss 4 Idiots (unless you are training for a marathon, or some other sport at a similar intensity).