How does my blood sugar level affect my weight?

When we eat, our bodies convert digestible carbohydrates into blood sugar (glucose), our main source of energy. Our blood sugar level can affect both how hungry and how energetic we feel, important factors when we are watching how we eat and exercise. It also determines whether we burn fat or store it.

Our pancreas creates a hormone called insulin that transports blood sugar into our body's cells where it is used for energy. When we eat refined grains that have had most of their fiber striped away, sugar, and other carbohydrate-rich foods that are quickly processed into blood sugar, the pancreas goes into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.

However, the greater concern with this insulin surge is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. This is because whatever we eat that we don't burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway. The greater concern is that the insulin surge is followed by a drop in insulin level that leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again.

What You Can Do

• Be aware of the amount of sugar you are consuming in beverages, especially coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and most drinks aren't filling.

• Be cautious with "fat-free" products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed.

• Be cautious with products labeled "no sugar added." It doesn't mean that the product doesn't naturally contain a lot of sugar.

• Sugar comes in many forms, including fructose (from fruit and honey) and high fructose corn syrup. 100% fruit products often contain concentrated fruit juice, still another form of fructose or sugar.

  Table sugar (sucrose) is often said to provide "empty calories" because it has no nutritional value other than providing fuel for energy. Honey and other more natural sugars are sometimes considered to be healthier because of the trace vitamins and minerals they provide.

  For diet planning purposes, however, all of these forms of sugar can simply be treated as sugar.

It is also important to understand what happens when we skip a meal or go on a crash diet. Our bodies were designed with the survival mechanism of hoarding fat to protect us from famine. When we skip a meal or go on a crash diet, our bodies think they are starving and slow down our metabolism to conserve energy. What is conserved is our fat stores; our weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.

Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity. Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs, provides consistent energy, and maintains metabolism efficiency.

When you will be away from home or work, plan your snacks and take them along so that you will be able to eat regularly and won't be tempted by junk food. This may be good advice for people that stay at home, too. But remember that it was probably snacking between meals that caused you to become overweight in the first place. It will be very important that the snacks are healthy; pre-portioned so that you won't be tempted to overeat; and that the meal sizes are reduced to compensate for the additional calories the snacks provide.

High fiber snacks and meals also help to regulate your blood sugar level. The fiber slows down glucose absorption and your rate of digestion, keeping your blood sugar level more consistent and warding off feelings of hunger. This makes eating apples and oranges a better choice than drinking (pulp free) apple and orange juice.

A Note about Diabetes

Some people either produce too little insulin or their body doesn't respond to it properly. This creates too high a level of blood sugar in their blood which leads to diabetes. For further information please visit the American Diabetes Association website.