3PM Sugar Crash? DON’T DO IT
If you still haven't gotten into the habit of packing your meals each day, to ensure the quality of your food as well as the simplest way to stay well, evenly- fueled, you may experience this phenomenon:
The Dreaded Afternoon Sugar Crash"
You're at your desk, starting to feel sleepy, and your colleague says, "Hey, I'm heading down to Starbucks- want anything?". Just the thought of that Venti Chocolate Milkshake (come on, you know that's what it is!) starts to perk you up. How about some cake (aka a muffin or piece of pumpkin loaf) to go with it?
Suddenly, you're net 1,000 + KCals of JUNK, you're blood sugar surges, your pancreas responds by releasing insulin in order to spare fat metabolism, the sugar gets shuttled into the (inactive) skeletal muscle, which isn't placing a demand for nutrient at the moment, as well as the liver (which can only store so much glycogen- the stored form of carbohydrate), and guess where the rest goes? You've just welcomed about a 1/3 of a pound of what will become adipose tissue, going along with the idea that this one 'meal' will not be the only kind of this sort.
OK- enough of the diatribe. Is there a remedy that you can employ if you do find yourself starting to 'crash' and you don't want to repeat this vicious cycle?
YES- supply your body with what it needs to induce the antagonistic (glucagon) response: PROTEIN.
Simple, reach for your hard boiled eggs that you've brought with you to store in your work fridge. At home? Fix a quick salad topped with a healthy portion of grilled chicken and some avocado. On the road- even at a grocery store, you can often find natural, hormone- free, low sodium sliced turkey which you can pair with a piece of low glycemic fruit and some raw walnuts.
Think of it as a roller coaster. If you keep crashing, and keep spiking, your metabolism is not going to run efficiently and one major result of that is holding on to excess fat. This is not only important to those trying to get a bit leaner, but it's important to EVERYONE who is interested in NOT developing TYPE II Diabetes. (Interesting to note that it used to be called Adult Onset, yet now, young children are being diagnosed every day. Quite a sad state of affairs).
Keep it balanced, and keep it real (as in FOOD)- don't eat junk. Eat plants, eat lean proteins and unprocessed natural fats.
If you haven't read it yet, do so: read The Paleo Diet.
Enough said!
