The-Food-Frequency
2021-4-29_ Is your food frequency on fleek? On overload? Or is it about to combust? What the heck is Paige talking about now you ask? What I"m talking about is exactly that...your food frequency...how often are you taking in calories throughout the day? Eating throughout the day, eating multiple smaller meals throughout the day or even grazing all afternoon (as some call it) is no bueno. Maybe your'e doing this because you were under the impression that it was helping your metabolism and keeping you in "fat burning mode." Wrong! Maybe you're doing it because of boredom or stress or even good ole fashion hunger. I challenge you to stop and take these reasons into consideration.
Last week I talked about insulin resistance and the many complications that come along with chronically elevated insulin levels. Regardless of calorie quality, insulin levels will rise every time you eat something and this is normal. How high those insulin levels rise is dependent on the quality and type of food that you are eating. THIS IS WHY EATING PROCESSED FOOD IS HARMFUL FOR LONG TERM HEALTH. If you are obese or have diabetes type 2...insulin levels run high anyway so eating a poor quality meal only contributes more to the problem. Taking in more carbohydrates or eating a carbohydrate laden meal provokes a big rise in insulin also. Poor sleep, stress, smoking, lack of sun exposure and gut issues are also contributing factors to elevated insulin levels.
What you eat and how often you eat absolutely matters in relation to keeping your insulin levels low, and trust me that needs to be your focal point. Insulin is at the heart of weight gain, it is at the heart of every modern disease and it is the key factor in longevity. Pursuits will be difficult and likely fail if you try to eliminate the practice of eating constantly when the quality of your calories remain poor. It's crucial to address satiety when minimizing food frequency and in order to successfully do this we must address the quality of your plate.
In other words, you must shift from a nutrient poor diet to a nutrient rich one. Stick to whole food sources high in healthy saturated fats, protein and packed with nutrients like farm fresh eggs, grass fed butter, avocados, wild seafood and grass fed grass finished red meat. Ditch a diet comprised of highly processed foods and transition to a more species appropriate diet focused on high quality protein sources, healthy fats and the least toxic plant foods. In doing so not only will you naturally start eating fewer meals throughout the day thanks to satiety, but your insulin rises will not be as high post prandial and over time your fasting blood glucose levels will lower (which is excellent!). Additionally, lowering your insulin will also lower your body fat and improve overall body composition, how exciting is that!
Reconnect the disconnect prevalent in our society that disassociates the direct cause and effect our food and beverage choices have on our health status. We are what we eat and for best results eating a species appropriate diet that centers around food sources we have consumed since the beginning of time is crucial for optimal health.
To Your Health! xo the health coach paige
