There are certain foods that cause blood sugar levels to rise considerably. The body responds by releasing a significant amount of a hormone called insulin. Insulin has two primary functions:

1. It is responsible for keeping our blood sugar levels stabilized and storing the foods we eat into all the appropriate cells in the body. Picture insulin as a wheelbarrow carrying the foods you eat and placing them all in the appropriate places. If you eat the wrong foods at the wrong times insulin can be your worst enemy by storing the foods you eat in fat cells. When this occurs you will gain weight.

The PRIMARY foods that are most hindering when it comes to losing weight are listed below.

Forbidden Foods

1. ALL breads

2. Potato

3. Pastas

4. Any food or drink that contains more than 10 grams of sugars per serving. (2 teaspoons)

MOST meats are okay to eat considering they are not fried. If and when you do eat fried foods and/or foods high in fat eat them in small portions and make sure you do not eat ANY of the forbidden foods in the same meal.

Why? Because the forbidden foods cause insulin spikes and if you eat foods that contain fat - pork, hamburger meat, most red meats depending on preparation, fried foods, butters, cooking oils, etc. your body will store most of what you eat in fat cells. Remember, if fat cells increase in size so will you.

Important Technique #1 - For optimal results try not to eat ANY of the forbidden foods a minimum of 4 hours before sleep or exercise.

Why is it best to not eat any of the forbidden foods before exercise? Because they will increase the glycogen levels in the muscles and liver which in turn causes the body to release insulin. This is bad for two reasons.

1. Glycogen is a form of carbohydrate which is used by the muscles as it's primary source of energy. If your muscles are full of glycogen from eating the forbidden foods NO stored fat will be utilized for energy.

2. Insulin prevents the body from breaking down and utilizing stored fat for energy.

The key to weight loss is to deplete glycogen levels in the muscles which in turn will decrease insulin levels. This makes your body capable of utilizing stored fat for energy before, during, and after exercise. For that matter all times of the day and night. This is why we recommend not eating any of the forbidden foods a minimum of 4 hours before sleep. By eating as we described above your body will be forced to revert to stored fat for energy even while you sleep.

Fat is only used by the body for energy when it detects that everything is working well and it is being fed properly. If you starve yourself or go on a strict diet your body will revert to muscle proteins for energy and you will lose weight, however, most of the weight will come from muscle tissue. If this happens your body will become less firm and your metabolism will decrease and you will more than likely gain more weight in the form of fat when the diet is stopped. How many times have you heard of people going on diets and then after they stop the diet they gain all the weight back and then some?

NOTE: AFTER exercise and/or early in the day ANY foods including the forbidden ones can be eaten because the body will utilize most of what you eat to replenish glycogen stores (Energy) in the muscles.

What To Eat

The easiest way to determine what to eat is to choose 1 serving of a PROTEIN FOOD - lean chicken breast, grilled lean steak, lean turkey breast, tuna, grilled or baked fish, etc. combined with a small serving of a STARCH FOOD such as - small red potato, rice, beans, corn, etc. Combined with a serving of ANY GREEN or colored VEGETABLE. Remember, 1 protein food, 1 small starch food, and 1 green or colored vegetable.

Again, when eating a minimum of 4 hours before exercise and/or sleep you simply eliminate ANY forbidden foods and replace them with another green or colored vegetable, so now you have 1 protein food and 2 green or colored vegetables. Remember, the key is to have your blood sugar and insulin levels stabilized before exercise so your body will use stored fat for energy.

One thing to remember is that sugars and white carbohydrate foods PREVENT the body from utilizing stored fat for energy therefore preventing weight loss. Protein foods on the other hand HELP the body to burn stored fat.

A good weight loss program will include a sufficient amount of lean protein foods, whole grains, green and colored vegetables, and a minimal amount of white colored foods with the exception of white protein foods (egg whites for example).