What's Really Making Us Fat

Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you exercise, or no matter how many calories you cut, you still can’t get rid of the extra fat? There could be another reason for your size.

My friend has a twin born at the same time but one guy’s bigger and still is 40 years later. The bigger brother is overweight and the smaller one is thin and fit. The overweight brother can’t seem to lose the extra fat. At a family gathering, they always eat the same amount of food but the smaller one never gains weight. So what’s going on is pretty normal for siblings. I’ve read a lot about families with some overweight members and some thin members. 

Research shows that we are all different even when we’re twins. So even if we look the same, we all process our food differently. It’s your DNA that’s different. DNA is in every gene that you were born with and siblings from the same parents won’t have exactly the same DNA. So in that respect, we are all different. Science is working on this right now. If everyone at the family table eats exactly the same thing, for some of them, it’s too much and for some, it might not be enough, but it’s not just the quantity, because of different DNA each person processes that food differently. Maybe some of those people can’t eat starchy foods, for example, their system can’t process the starch and the body turns it into fat and stores it. 

That can happen with any food group, my wife can’t eat beef. She can’t digest it. Some people can’t eat dairy products, everyone’s different even though we all look the same or come from the same family. You can still overcome these differences by listening to your body and understanding what your limitations are. 

It will take some work on your part, but if you really want to slim down and get back to a healthy weight you must take your weight problem seriously and do the work, investigate your behavior, and find out what foods are causing your weight problem. I know guys that are seriously overweight and know that breads and other bakery goods are their problem, but they won’t stop. They won’t change, they are in denial. 

Guys are harder to convince that “they need to make the tough choices”. Generally, they won’t change until their Doctor has the big “come to Jesus” talk about their health. Personally, I think the overweight problem is mostly genetic. Because of your DNA maybe you who are African shouldn’t be eating Chinese or even Italian. Because of your ancestry, you should be eating more like Africans. Maybe the overweight problem in China is because of the recent prosperity and the introduction of food from different parts of the world. Even American fast food is becoming popular in China. 

Because of the DNA of different people and the relatively new craze of eating out and eating a big variety of different foods from different cultures, this may be contributing to the overweight problem. There’s another possibility, and this one your Doctor can help you with. If you seriously want to stop the cravings you have to stop eating food or drinks that spike your blood sugar. Your blood sugar will normally increase when you eat, but you want the increase to be slow and gradual. We know that sweet foods or sweet drinks will spike your blood sugar, but now science says that wheat flour also will spike your sugar levels.

 And what’s so bad about that, you might ask. I’ll explain as if you’re looking at a graph. If normal blood sugar is below 5.6 and you eat ice cream and your blood sugar spike to 8, and your body is working normally, your blood sugar will drop rapidly to say 4 because the effects of the sugar won’t last very long, but now you are below your normal level and your body will trigger another craving to get you back up to your normal level of 5.6. Now, these numbers are just numbers, and if you are concerned about your level you want to see your Doctor and get a blood test. 

When you are overweight it’s important to have regular checkups that include blood tests. High blood sugar levels are a serious problem. But let’s get back to cravings, people who snack a lot often don’t understand why, and snacks put on weight. It can be caused by your blood sugar or glucose levels spiking and dropping so that you keep creating cravings for more food. So we know sugary foods will spike glucose levels and now science thinks that wheat flour can do the same. Wheat flour is in almost any bakery goods. Bread, cakes, donuts anything that comes from a bakery. Now you might think because you don’t eat wheat bread that you are safe. 

All processed flour is made from wheat flour or partial wheat flour. You want to start reading the labels and avoid foods with processed flour. Ever wonder why gluten-free is so popular now. Gluten-free means there’s no wheat flour or any wheat in that food. Read the label on gluten-free bread and you find it’s made of rice flour. Gluten-free products will help you control the spike in your blood sugar. You can buy gluten-free bagels, pasta, and bread at any of the major grocery chains. So gluten-free will help you control your weight and avoiding sugary foods and drinks will also help cut your calories.

So how do I  do that you might ask? When you eat all-natural foods like fruits, nuts, and vegetables that you buy in open bins at the grocers and fresh meat (not frozen) from the meat department those foods have no additives. You still have to deal with the chemicals in the ground used to grow food and feed for animals, but you do eliminate the chemicals that are in manufactured foods. That ever includes canned foods and bottled or jarred foods that have preservatives. 

If you don't like reading labels like me, don't buy anything with a label. I only drink water, tea, and coffee with anything added.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.