If you have been following along the past couple days on IG story you will see me using my blood glucose monitor A LOT, and really I haven’t gone into great detail as to why so here we go!
In the middle of March or so, I watched an interview with a guru of shredding down bodybuilder and fitness models and it was very interesting to learn his protocols. For example, he has clients and he has to reverse them up from the previous show, or they have been bulking or whatever you want to call it (I’m not all up on the lingo) and it’s times to cut weight for the next show. Well, we KNOW that losing body fat you have to start a calorie deficit so what he was doing before he would start active fat loss is get his clients to test his blood glucose. He found the optimal fasted range was 80-83mg/dl or Canadian conversion 4.4-4.7mmol/L. If they were slightly above (where I have been testing) they still weren’t bad but still not optimal for fat loss! Just to clarify, that fasted range would be first thing in the morning after you have not eaten all night. After you eat you do want your blood sugars to rise, so again if you have been following my progress you can see that part is already in a great range!
He would have them start with new protocols of dropping their carbs in half and putting those calories into their fats, so the calorie count would still remain the same. The goal here is NOT weight loss, it’s pre-weight loss Prep!
After watching the video I ran to the drug store and picked up my monitor and strips and started testing! The CrossFit open was going and I didn’t want to pull the trigger and try this out, and truthfully the whole process makes me a bit nervous so I have been putting it off until FINALLY I woke up Monday and said it’s time. I love carbs.
The reason I have been hesitant is that you CANNOT expect to train the same (intense CrossFit). You need to minimize stress on your body and let your body reset, so this week I am just working on my weightlifting fixes, and teaching spin. Next week I’m gone on holidays and we all know its much easier to eat higher fats and not train so hard and I’m still a healthy time away from my competition at the end of July!
A little bit of science for you. Why exactly is insulin important? Insulin is a hormone made in the body, the pancreas. Its job is to help turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy and whatever energy is not used it’s then stored in your muscles, fat cells and liver for later use. Unfortunately, if you are resistant or over consume you will store fat from the carbohydrates. Insulin resistance comes from consuming processed foods, high sugar foods, and high starch.
Possible Signs & Symptoms
- Extreme thirst or hunger
- Feeling hungry even after a meal
- Frequent or increased urination
- Tingling sensation in your hands or feet
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Frequent infections
- Inability to lose or gain weight
- Sugar cravings
- Acne
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Urine contains odor
- Skin discoloration
- Evidence in blood work
- Fluid Retention and Swelling
**PLEASE NOTE*If you have any of these and your concerned you should TALK TO YOU DOCTOR!**
So your probably thinking well great now what! Well for me, I plan on continuing on a very low carb, high Fat and protein for the next two weeks or until I see the improvement I want to see and then I will bring my carbs back in so that I can function, train and recover and get ready for the Canwest games! I’m hoping that by committing to this reset that my body will start to utilize my carbs more efficiently and when I’m back to working on cutting some body fat, it will start coming off! I want to make it very very clear that this protocol is something that should be carried out after you have improved your diet, completed a reverse, smart training, good sleep habits, adequate water intakes and you’ve tried “it all” but the belly fat isn’t going. I don’t believe this should be your starting point when changing your lifestyle and diet habits.
As always I never implement a protocol I have not yet tried for myself or done some serious research into! I hope some of you reading this have a light bulb moment and start looking for answers as to why NO matter what you do, that stubborn belly fat just won’t leave! Good luck!