I work out four to five days eachweek. I eat “low fat / no fat" everything and I carefully count Calories. Inever eat after 6:00 P.M. and I rarely eat desert. I eat whole grains and tryto follow the recommended food guide. I have been faithful to this program fornearly two years but I still can’t lose those twenty excess pounds.

If the foregoing scenario soundsfamiliar despair not for you are not alone. Also, don’t be discouraged becausethere are some answers to your problems. Read on.

If your are troubled by thisfrustrating, routinely recommended “diet and exercise" system and find that youalso tend to gain all of your shed kilograms / pounds back every time youdigress from your program you are likely among the 75+% of the population whohave not been controlling your Insulin levels.

The Heller’s of “The CarbohydrateAddicts Diet" fame would call you an addict. Some would call you Insulinresistant and others would call you “Pre-Diabetic". It doesn’t matter what yourcondition is called, the reality is, you are likely not controlling yourinsulin levels.

North Americans are eating less fatthan ever recorded in history and yet they are gaining weight to a point wherethe World Health Organization has called it an epidemic. We also have a Type IIDiabetes epidemic in progress and a new case is diagnosed every 8½ minutes inCanada. Type II Diabetes is the condition where you produce enough or a lot ofinsulin but appear to be resistant to its proper utilization - it is know asNon Insulin Dependant Diabetes or Adult Onset Diabetes)

The form of Diabetes is totallycontrollable by diet although few choose that route. Most Type II Diabeticsgain weight because the excess insulin (the storage hormone) prevents themobilization of free fatty acids to be burned for energy.

Could the problem be that the“Politically Correct" diet recommendations are in fact less than correct forthe majority. Scientific publications contain a wealth of documentationdemonstrating that excess insulin may be the culprit responsible for excessweight gain. Dr. Norman Kaplan, author of the medical text book “ClinicalHypertension" states ‘most overweight people are hyper-insulinemic’ (too muchinsulin in the bloodstream). Dr. Calvin Ezrin, professor of endocrinology atUCLA and author of “The Endocrine Control Diet and its second edition “The TypeII Diabetics Diet" outlines very clearly the research on hyperinsulinemia andits many negative effects on human health.

Insulin, the famous storage hormonesecreted by the pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar, might be dubbedthe Good guy / Bad guy. You can’t live without it, just ask any Type I Diabeticbut too much causes a virtual smorgasbord (pardon the pun) of problems.

Problems like :

·        Frequent hunger

        ·        Fat storage

·        Sodium retention - leading to fluid retention andhypertension

·        Essential Fatty Acid Metabolic interference leading to hormonal     imbalances and inflammatory conditions

·        Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides

        ·        Prostate growth.
 

Excess insulinis the result of either a condition of insulin resistance or from an oversensitized pancreas which over produces insulin in the presence of rapidlyrising blood sugar. Regardless of the cause the ONLY SOLUTION is to control theamount of blood sugar and the rate at which blood sugar rises.

So to answer the questionposed in the title: Because you are not controlling your blood insulinlevels.

The only way to control bloodinsulin levels is through careful and responsible selection of carbohydratesources and to exercise. Exercise does reduce insulin levels but only for abouttwo hours (less if you follow your exercise with a high carbohydrate drink orsnack which is a good idea to speed recovery following exhaustive exercise�"nota good idea following moderate aerobic exercise designed to help you burnCalories and lose weight).

I have found the least painful andhealthiest way for dietary control of insulin is to follow a food selectionprogram of 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat. (Remember that even theAmerican Heart Association does not endorse fat intakes below 30%). This planhas been dubbed the 40-30-30 plan as opposed to the typical dietary habits andrecommendation of 60-15-25 or 55-15-30 or the athletes diet of 60-20-20. A fewsimple rules need to followed in a 40-30-30 eating plan (which is not a shortterm “diet" but rather a responsible lifestyle choice):•           Eatprotein in every meal and every snack�"no exceptions

            • Eatsome of your protein and fat first to control the rate of blood sugar        Elevation     
•  Chooselow Glycemic Index (raise blood sugar slowly) vegetable and         fruit as your main sources of carbohydrates. They have highernutritional     density per Calorie and more fibre. Minimize pop, juice, driedfruit,             bananas, root vegetables, and corn.
• Choosefewer grain products as your carbohydrate choices and always         use the mostunprocessed versions.

            •  EssentialFatty Acids (EFAs) and high quality proteins are the “spark             plugs tometabolism" choose them wisely. Be sure there are some EFAs     in every meal.

•  FoodSupplementation is not an option for enduring good health. It is a     necessity. -Start with a complete and reputable Multi Vitamin andsome      EFAs like Lecithin and GLA.

Good choice examples

Breakfast: 2 eggs,½cup plain yogurt, 1 slice whole grain bread, 1cup strawberries and 1 Tbsp ofslivered almonds (adds good fat).

Lunch: 4 oz.grilled chicken, 2 cups of lettuce, ¼ cup each of onions, mushrooms andtomatoes, some spices of choice with 2 Tbsp of Oil & vinegar dressing andan orange for desert.

Dinner: 5½ oz.fish fillets, and ½ oz of shredded cheese ; 1 cup chopped spinach salad withonion, red pepper and lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of oil & vinegar dressing. ½ apear for desert.

2 snacks for theday could include : ½ cup of plain yogurt or 1 oz of cheddar cheese and

½ an apple, or 1 cup of 1% milk and4-6 almonds or 1 oz of soft cheese and 1 cup V-8 juice