I wanted to share a story with you today about something that came up yesterday during a talk I was having with a personal training client in my Charleston studio. We were reviewing his diet and something he said really made me stop and think. His comment, which I’ll share with you in a second, made me realize just how much misinformation there is out there about the best way to eat for fat loss. Before I get into the discussion I had with my client I want to make sure I clearly explain one thing…
Eating “healthy” and eating for fat loss are NOT necessarily the same thing
My expertise strictly revolves around fat loss, period. I would never advocate any approach to manipulating your diet that wouldn’t be “healthy,” but as you’ll see here in a second there’s some “healthy” ways of eating that don’t necessarily support fat loss.
Now I don’t make claims to be a dietician or nutritionist and I have no interest in being one either. Knowing how to eat for fat loss is a science all by itself and it’s highly personalized to each individual. It’s taken me years of research and study to become an expert on this subject.
You don’t need someone wasting your time (that won’t be me) by giving you the obvious recommendations like eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. Who doesn’t already know that? But here’s something you might not know.
My client informed me that he was eating a piece of fruit several times a day for snacks, normally an apple or an orange, and thought he was on point with everything.
He was surprised to find out when I told him this is NOT a good idea…
Not a good idea? How could that be? Eating fruit has got to be healthy! Yes, but as I had to calmly remind my client, “my job is to help you burn fat.” Is that what you want to do or not?
Here’s the scoop on what was happening to my client and the lesson on how to avoid the same mistake. My client was eating fruit by itself (key words, by itself) several times a day for a snack. I don’t recommend you eat fruit by itself when you’re trying to lose body fat. Why? Because of one simple reason….blood sugar levels.
If you want to optimize the fat burning zone for your body you MUST lower blood sugar levels and stabilize them throughout the day. Your body will see no need to tap into “lipolysis,” or the utilization of stored body fat for fuel, unless you give it a reason to through lower blood sugar.
Think about it. You never need to tap into a reserve if there’s always energy available from the foods you’re eating.
Make no mistake about it. Sugar is the enemy to fat loss…
This doesn’t get near enough discussion but sugar is sugar is sugar. When it comes to the hormonal balances required to enter into a fat loss state your body doesn’t care if the sugar came from an orange or a Snickers bar. It simply doesn’t matter. Sure the orange is “healthier” but that’s not the point. The point is…are you creating a fat storing or fat burning state in your body with the foods you’re eating?
The fruit “by itself” strategy is not recommended because of the impact it will have on your blood sugar levels. A much better strategy is to eat the fruit with a protein and/or fat. An example would be eating an apple with some peanut butter. The fat in the peanut butter helps to slow down the release of sugar into the bloodstream, helps to release hormones like leptin to signal fullness, and helps to provide a much more steady release of energy.
Sure fruit is healthy but you have to be careful with how you eat it, how much, and how often if your goal is to maximize fat burning…
Remember, the same rules don’t apply to someone with a fast metabolism who is at their ideal weight and burns energy quickly. The amount of carbohydrate in your diet is very important if you want to burn fat.
If you don’t eat enough carbs you’ll miss your ideal fat burning window (that is unless you’re cool with cannibalizing your own lean muscle…not a good idea by the way) eat too many carbs and you won’t enter into lipolysis.
Each person will be different in terms of the amount of carbs they need due to their metabolism. That’s one of the reasons why a metablolic profile assessment is so valuable. Most people though eat far too many carbohydrates and wonder why their not burning fat. Remember, you need to change your way of thinking from just eating “healthy” to eating for fat loss.
Here’s a typical mistake I see being made all the time with meal planning…
Let’s say for example you need 1500 calories per day and after we do the math we determine your initial target for carbs is 150 grams per day or approximately 30 grams per meal (150 grams divided by 5 meals per day). It’s not difficult getting 30 grams of carbs in a meal.
Let’s say you go have a 6” deli sandwich from Subway. Sounds like a good choice right? Jared lost weight by eating those all day long. Well here’s the problem, he was a 300 lb man. It’s not whether or not it’s a healthy or bad choice, of course it’s a ”healthy” choice. But is it the best choice for you?
If you ideally wanted to keep your carbs to 30 grams or less per meal and you eat the subway 6” turkey on whole wheat, you just took in 47 grams of carbs! You think since you’re eating “healthy” it’s got to be ok to throw in a fruit cup. The next thing you know you’re at 73 grams of carbs!
Oops…you can forget about getting into the fat loss zone with this meal. Do you see how it can be so misleading? It’s not just about whether or not something is “healthy” but more importantly is the ratio of carbs, protein, and fat correct so you can achieve the necessary hormonal balances for fat loss?
The lesson….all carbohydrates are sugar and although you need carbohydrates for fat loss you need to look at how you eat them and how much you eat.
Here’s a quick summary and the bottom line.
1. If fat loss is your objective look to not eat fruit by itself and always combine with protein and/or healthy fats.
2. Keep your total carbohydrate intake within your specific energy requirements (test your metabolism to discover the specific requirements for your body).
3. Sugar is sugar is sugar. You’re body doesn’t know the difference between the sugar from fruit and the sugar from a candy bar. An apple has approximately 15 grams of sugar which is the same as the regular size (32 g) Snickers Bar.
Now before you write me in a tizzy telling me that how dare I claim that eating a candy bar is the same as eating an apple remember the point I’m trying to make. Of course, I’d rather see you eating natural foods over processed junk but the idea is that at the end of the day it’s all going to come down to caloric and hormonal balances.
Did you take in more energy (from carbs) than your body needed? Did your body have a need to access stored fat for fuel, yes or no? You can eat all the “healthy” foods you want but it you don’t create a need for your body to call on energy reserves (from fat stores) you’re not going to see much of a change in your waistline.
Shane Doll is a Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert and founder of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studios. You can learn more about how you can test your metabolism through a metabolic profile assessment to create a personalized plan for fat loss, guaranteed.
Posted:
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
View Our Web Site - Click Here 
RSS Feed - Click Here
Category:
nutrition, weight loss.
Hey Shane - Thanks for the article. It was very interesting. I had a metabolic assessment done last week and found out my metabolism is slow. I was not given any information on how many carbs/proteins/fats to eat per day. According to the assessment I need to eat about 1100-1200 calories per day. Shawn told me something about a 1/1 ratio according to the zone diet. He did not endorse the zone diet. I’m left feeling very confused about my diet, how to keep up with calories.. AAGH! Any words of wisdom you have would be most appreciated because I really want to be successful at this program.
Thanks,
Phyllis DeCoursey
Shane - can you write an article about this for Your Beauty?
Good points about fat loss and eating healthy not necessarily being the same thing.
One thing I thought was interesting after reading your post was that a snickers bar has an estimated glycemic load of 21, with 29 grams of sugar. An apple with equivalent calories and 23 grams of sugar only has a glycemic load of 6.
Does the sugar in apples count less due to the reduced insulin response?
I’ve always felt that sugary foods, such as apples, with a lower glycemic index number were okay (in moderation). Am I crippling my ability to burn fat here?
Also, love the posts. Please continue them.
I heard about the effects of fruit on losing bodyfat while I lived in Russia; being careful with fruit is a common advice on weight-loss websites there. However, this is the first time I saw somebody in America mentioning that (other than Dr. Atkins).
The idea that combining fruit with protein can be better than just eating it by itself was new to me. Now question: carrots seem to be full of sugar; should they be consumed as “fruit”?
Hi,
Very interesting! I need some suggestions as to what I need to eat with my daily 10 AM banana.
Many thanks,
lynn
Hi Shane,
I have been reading your emails this afternoon (at the office), nevertheless I realize I made the right choice by signing up with Tina Whetzel yesterday. I am a vegetarian, I eat fish and try to eat the right amount of veggies and fruit but don’t quite hit the mark. I ordered Juice plus and have my metabolic rate measurement and grocery store run this friday. I can’t wait to get started. I have been going to the gym off and on, try to take my vitamins and try to live a healthy lifestyle, yet I have never been as unhappy with my body and nutrution as I am now. I am 41 and am ready to learn! I look forward to it.
Thanks for all of your input and support. I’m only Day 1 into it and I feel your positive energy already. Thanks
Kristine, thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment. It sounds like you’re off to a good start. You’re going to do great. Tina is a wonderful trainer and you’ll be in very good hands. Please let me know if you have any questions as you go through your program. I’ll be sending you my tips and will be encouraging you from my end. Thanks again and welcome to the Shape Con family…..Shane
Hi Lynn, yes absolutely. You’ll want some protein with that banana. Here are a few ideas for you to test..
1/4 cup almonds or nuts of choice
1 hard boiled egg
2-3 slices of deli meat
1 can of tuna fish
1 cup cottage cheese
Hope that helps..Shane
Hi Anna, great question. Although carrots do have more sugar than other veggies I’d still view them as a veggie (1 cup = approx 6 grams of sugar). You’re right though, they’re not your average veggie and as a starch and should be eaten in moderation, unlike the leafy greens which are sort of free game all the time…in the “eat as much as you want” category.
Yes Katherine, absolutely….I’d be happy to. We’ll do it for the next edition….Shane
Hi Amy, GREAT question. This is an excellent point and I’m glad you brought it up. Yes, the glycemic load is significantly less for the apple than the snickers bar (primarily due to the fiber in the apple). This does make it naturally a better choice. No surpises there but in terms of blood sugar levels (not initial insulin response) you’ll wind up with about the same levels. The key is reducing this amount to get your body more conditioned to pull energy from other substrates (fat and protein). The glycemic load is helpful in looking at how foods react (hormonally) if eaten “by themselves.” That’s the only way the GI can be measured. Since I don’t endorse eating carbs alone anyways you don’t have to concern yourself too much with the GI (the combination with protein and fat from the other foods will slow absorption). Try to get as close as you can to your carb requirments (in grams) from any natural, whole food and then look to always combine with protein and or fat. You’re probably not crippling your body’s ability to burn fat by eating an occasional apple by itself but the ideal strategy is what I’ve shown above. A lot depends on an individuals metabolism. Great question once again…I hope that helps..Shane
Very cool, I’ve never really thought of lowering overall blood sugar levels. It’s a perception changer and simple to implement.
Thank you.
Phyllis, yes I would be happy to help you out. I’m sorry this was not clearly spelled out during your consult. I’ll work you up a plan that shows you where you need to be with your ratios and send it to you. I want to make sure you fully understand this and you know your numbers. Thanks for letting me know. I’m always here to help at any time….Shane
Hi, cool site, good writing
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
The topic is quite hot on the Internet at the moment. What do you pay the most attention to when choosing what to write about?
Thanks, I enjoyed reading your post. It
The message to this post is met with skepticism. Why? Simple. While fruit is high in sugar, and sugar is sugar regardless of the source, it is also packed full of fiber. Fiber, especially soluble fiber, as you being a personal trainer HOPEFULLY know, is essential in lowering blood sugar rise; it helps slow down absorption of glucose in the blood. So you need to realize, if your client is eating a cup of raspberries as a snack, having 5 grams of sugar for 8 grams fiber, this should promote fat loss while eating healthy. In addition to that small bit of information, a cup of raspberries glycemic load (the most telling factor of a food’s effect on glucose levels) is only 3. Compare that to a slice of white bread which is 50 (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2053/2).
While raspberries certainly won’t raise blood sugar levels, even still they are a perfect snack by them selves, because of the fact that raspberries will make you feel full faster due to the massive amount of fiber per gram carb; so with all due respect, I think you should revise this article. By telling people NOT to eat fruit alone or in only restricted manners (with protein, etc.), is some bad dietary information.
After all, if you walked into a weight watchers meeting, how many people do you think became fat by eating too many raspberries, bananas, apples, nectarines, strawberries, etc.? I’m willing to bet the number would be 0. ;).