Managing Sugar Cravings, Body Fats, And Making Peace With Yourself
We all come in different body shapes and sizes. This is something important to keep in mind. I don’t talk much about weight loss or weight management since I haven’t personally struggled with it. However, this is certainly one of the most common concerns in industrialised societies. Recently I happened to watch an interesting conversation where Tom Bilyeu interviewed Dr Herman Pontzer, and their interesting conversation inspired me to write about metabolism and weight.
Unfortunately I don’t have a magic formula for you to quickly lose 10 pounds. Yet, I can share how I keep myself sane and my life in balance in this often so complex and confusing world. I very much believe in the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. Of course mainstream media, Big Pharma, Big Food, and all the money behind them wants us to believe their stories and buy the things we don’t truly need to keep their businesses generating higher and higher profits. That’s life. You need to solve the underlying root cause in order to truly heal yourself and become free - instead of just treating your symptoms.
Different Types Of Sugars + Blood Sugar Basics
Sugar is a naturally occurring carbohydrate. Chemically speaking there’re several different types of sugar. They can be divided into monosaccharides (a single sugar molecule), disaccharides (composed of two monosaccharides) and polysaccharides (complex sugars -made up of chains of many monosaccharides). When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into simple sugars to use them as fuel throughout the body. Remember, glucose (a monosaccharide) is the brain’s primary source of energy and lack of it can lead to hypoglycaemia - or low blood sugar - causing symptoms like low energy, brain fog and dizziness.
There are many more factors to consider beyond the sugar number noted on the nutrition label. The biggest factors to consider are the source of sugar and whether it’s a natural or an added sugar. It’s best to stick with sugars that come in nature’s whole food form. For instance, natural sugars found in fruits are balanced by the presence of vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Fibre slows down the absorption of sugar and thus, helps to keep blood sugar levels from spiking and crashing. Furthermore, fructose, or fruit sugar, does not stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic cells. Therefore, fruits in whole food form do not make you fat! Fruit is one the nature’s most perfect foods. But again if you’re a huge fruit eater like me, choose organic as much as possible to decrease your exposure to toxins. At least try to buy organic the so-called Dirty Dozen. This is an investment in your health and into a brighter future!
And now to the Carb Phobia. Carbohydrates are not the enemy as I have discussed before. Like Dr Herman Pontzer explains the Hadza tribe - one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes in Tanzania - consumes a diet that consists of significant amounts of carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, fruits, and honey (!) - yet, they tend to maintain the same healthy weight, BMI, and walking speed throughout their entire adult life. Additionally, they lead an active lifestyle walking, climbing and digging for roots vegetables all day. Pontzer also points out that mental health and social life may also play a significant role: the Hazda don’t worry about their careers and money, and they spend their days outdoors with friends and family.
The issue in the industrialised world is that we tend to get our carbs from processed foods, white flour, hidden sugar, sweets, and sugary beverages. Added sugar is lurking in many packaged foods. Shockingly, added sugar can be found in many “health foods” like pre-bottled smoothies and juices, granola bars, matcha powders, bottled salad dressings, plant-based milks (almond milk is often the worst offender), and the list goes on and on. No wonder if excess fat starts to accumulate in your waistline especially if you happen to have a sedentary lifestyle. Note that sugar can have many other names on the ingredient list, like sweetener, suryp, juice or anything ending with -ose such as maltose, glucose.
A diet high in refined sugar can shift a healthy gut microbiome into a state of dysbiosis. This can manifest in many ways. You may struggle with candida overgrowth, inflammatory skin diseases (acne, and psoriasis), blood sugar issues, mood issues, low energy, and so on. Studies have shown gut microbial composition varies between obese and lean individuals: obese individuals have less bacterial diversity than lean individuals.
If you struggle with sugar cravings, the first thing is to ask where your food cravings come from. Do you truly need something sweet or are you getting thirsty? Do you get enough quality sleep? Or maybe you just need a bit more love to your life. If you need to add sweetness to your meal, try natural options like dates, maple syrup, or coconut sugar. Eating sweet fruit with some fat and protein, like with coconut yoghurt, could also help you to stay satisfied longer.
The Calorie Myth And Body Fat(s)
When it comes to calories, the real answer is more complicated and requires thinking beyond the number on the nutrition label and considering other factors like the source of energy and the food combinations. I do not recommend calorie counting since it can become another stressor in life or in more severe cases lead to obsessive behaviour. I’ve written about calorie counting and starvation mode before so I’m not going to repeat the same thing here. It’s better to stick with real, whole foods because your body knows exactly how to process and respond to them. Crazy fad diets are very likely to lead to yo-yo dieting, slow down your metabolism and cause thyroid issues. Create new healthier habits step-by-step. Remember, just as it takes time to get out of balance, it also takes time to rebuild your health. This kind of a long term strategy will help you to eventually reach your individual ideal body shape.
Our body fat can be categorised into three groups: essential, subcutaneous, and visceral fat. Essential fat is found in your brain, bone marrow, nerves, and cell membranes, and it has a major role in regulating hormones, vitamin absorption, and temperature. Subcutaneus fat is beneath the skin, and it keeps us warm and provides cushioning. Visceral fat, or “belly fat”, is the fat that’s stored within the abdominal cavity and can actively increase the risk of serious health problems like insulin resistance, blood pressure, and increased cortisol production. On top of that, belly fat (btw, not all belly fat is visceral fat) is hard to lose. Consequently, some body fat is healthy and essential. On the other hand, too many fat cells can store toxins and cause inflammation, and inflammation can lead to weight gain. So there’s a two way street between inflammation and weight gain.
Adding more excise doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss per se but it certainly supports overall health and healthy weight management for a number of reasons. For instance, it influences the composition of the gut microbiome, and makes your muscles stronger and leaner. It also improves mental health and body image. Of course the type of exercise you do has a big role too. Choose something that you genuinely like and where the environment is “healthy” and empowering.
Making Peace With Your Body
This is easier said than done, but you can do it. Everyone can do it. Imagine all that excess time that you’d have to create something genuinely valuable to this planet - instead of wasting your time and life worrying about certain body parts in front of the mirror. The key is to understand that your worth is not determined by your physical expression. You are a unique beautiful soul behind the experience. Our bodies will come and go, and if you understand and accept that, life will become magical and you will be able to create the things the Universe meant you to create.
RESOURCES:
Articles:
Duke Global Health Institute: What Can Hunter-Gatherers Teach Us About Staying Healthy
Videos:
Impact Theory: Everything You Know About Nutrition Is Wrong! Here’s Why - Herman Pontzer
Blog Posts: