Are You A Sugar Burner or Fat Burner?

If someone asked you which you would rather be, a sugar burner or a fat burner, I think most of us would answer, fat burner. Especially if you are trying to lose fat.

Being a sugar burner means exactly that. Your primary source of fuel is glucose, which means your body has absolutely no reason to reach into your fat stores for energy. Your body is perfectly content to run on a steady supply of carbs that you are providing.

How do you know if you are a sugar burner? Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you hungry shortly after eating?

2. Do you experience large swings in energy levels from high to low?

3. Do you have a craving for carbs and sugar in every meal?

4. Are you struggling to lose belly fat?

When you are a sugar burner consuming a high carb diet, your blood sugar increases forcing your body to produce more insulin. That insulin spike blocks the appetite control hormone leptin which prevents your brain from getting the signal that you are full. This creates an unhealthy cycle that leaves most people feeling continuously hungry, over-weight and in danger for developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other inflammatory problems.

The goal is to be a fat burner: to train your body to burn fat for fuel by eating the right amount of carbs, protein and healthy fats. 

When you are a fat burner, your body still burns the food you consume for fuel, but then it turns to fat stores for the rest. Using fat stores for energy means that your body can go for 6-8 hours without feeling hungry, you will lose fat and feel an increase in energy.

Fat burners still consume carbs, but they do it at the right time and for the right reasons. Intermittent fasting helps the process of becoming a fat burner because you aren’t giving your body a steady stream of glucose and your insulin levels remain low. Fat burners who carb cycle don’t experience energy crashes and are able to listen to the body’s hunger signs.

Pro fat burners pair intermittent fasting and carb cycling with the right workouts to increase the body’s fat burning process and build lean muscle. The more muscle you have, they higher your metabolism and the more fat your body burns naturally. 

If you answered yes to any of the questions I asked earlier, you can turn your body into a fat burner by joining my next round of FASTer Way to Fat Loss®. I will show you how to burn fat and get fit fast through straightforward nutrition and strategic workouts. Details and sign-up information here.

Sleep is Important to Burn Fat

There are a lot of factors that affect our body's ability to effectively burn fat and sleeping well is one of them. Not sleeping enough can reduce and undo the benefits of good nutrition and exercise, which is why rest is the second most important part of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program.

Here are some reasons that getting a good night's sleep is important:

1. Lower cortisol levels - when your body is sleep deprived it produces more of the stress hormone, cortisol. Higher cortisol levels can cause the body to store fat and increase the hunger hormone.

2. Increased motivation - poor sleep or not enough sleep leaves you feeling exhausted, dazed, even a little grumpy. Any motivation you had to reach for good food choices or to take time for exercise goes out the window.

3. Managed hunger hormones - Those who get adequate sleep tend to eat fewer calories than those who don't. Sleep deprivation disrupts the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones and is believed to cause poor appetite regulation. This includes higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, and reduced levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite.

4. Reduced insulin sensitivity - lack of quality sleep can affect insulin levels. When insulin levels are off, your body will start to store fat instead of burn it.

When you cut back in sleep, you also cut back the amount of fat loss you can lose by half.

Try these tips for better sleep:

1. Do your workout at least 3 hours before bedtime. Physical activity promotes deep sleep, but too close to bedtime can stimulate the body and keep you awake.

2. Reduce your screen time. Playing on your phone or laptop, watching television can prevent the body from producing the sleep hormone, melatonin.

3. Create a sleep sanctuary. Dark and cool rooms promote better sleep. Use black out curtains, cover the glow on your digital clock, wear a sleep mask to block out light. Decrease the temperature in the room you sleep in to signal the body that it is time to go to sleep.

4. Eat whole foods. What you eat throughout the day can promote better sleep. Avoiding processed foods will help you fall asleep and stay asleep longer. Consuming proteins, healthy fats and complex carbs will promote the fat burning process and muscle growth while you sleep.

So, in addition to making good food choices and exercising daily, getting enough sleep is important for fat loss and our overall health.

See information on my next round of FASTer Way to Fat Loss® here.