Not all calories are created equal

Calories are measured the same throughout our food system, however the speed at which they enter the bloodstream can make them very different from each other! Some calories are very easily absorbed, and their energy becomes rapidly available in our bloodstream without a lot of work on the part of our digestive tract, usually from sugary or starchy foods.

Most high glycemic or sugary foods that cause sugar spikes are also the ones that make it hard to lose body fat. This is due to circulating sugar in our blood, which locks up the process of burning fat for energy until the sugar and insulin levels drop back down in the blood. When this happens your body will look for energy to make up for the low blood sugar and can release stored energy from our fat cells thus reducing their size. 

Most of the fast-absorbing calories are from foods that are either sweet, taste sweet or rapidly brake down into a starchy mush in the mouth. When we eat this especially when combined with a sugary drink, it will rapidly enter into the blood, raising blood glucose/sugar levels. 

When these calories rapidly enter the blood stream, our insulin will transport them to either working muscle or fat storage and it does this (in order to keep stuff from getting sticky and toxic in all the places our blood goes to). When insulin is not doing this properly, we have what we know as insulin resistance or diabetes. An active lifestyle helps keep blood sugar levels in check and takes a big burden off our insulin-producing pancreas!

It’s not always a bad thing to use these fast absorbing and easy to digest calories, especially when we are going to be physically active after eating these calories. The body converts food into blood glucose for the purpose of supplying energy to working parts of the body and when we get active after eating something that is sugary or rapidly converts to sugars (such as starches) it allows us to burn these calories off as they enter the blood.

Inactivity after eating easy to digest calories causes our body to store this excess spike of calories in our liver and fat cells. And this helps cause a fatty liver and enlarged fat cells! 

The above does not apply to someone following an extended period of not eating, such as fasting, our body will rapidly suck up these calories (as long as it’s not overdone), to feed, refuel and nourish our vital organs and skeletal muscle.

When we eat foods that break down slowly such as dark colored vegetables, beans, lean proteins etc. it helps slow the release of energy into our system and is a much better form of fuel prior to periods of inactivity or very slow activity.

These foods break down slower and have a higher thermic burn rate then the fast-absorbing foods, meaning our body will burn a lot of calories digesting these slower digesting foods! 

Opt for grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, brown rice and beans vs. candy bar and soda. Even though about an equal amount of calories, the prior will take much longer to digest and will also burn a lot more calories throughout the digestion process then the candy bar and soda will.

Kindling is great when used at the right time in starting a fire, but it will rapidly fizzle down and die out if not continually fed. If we use real logs and only use a little kindling to kick start our fire, we will have a constant source of heat and energy that lasts long term.