Refeed days - method to the madness

Despite some people thinking its not true, there is acually great reward in doing a proper refeed when you have been dieting for a while.  

Have you heard of the hormone called 'Leptin'?  When you diet for a long period, your leptin levels drop very low, stalling your weighloss.  ( I'm putting this in the most simple manner) 

Leptin is actually made in fatty tissues, therefor, the lower your bodyfat, the less leptin you have.  Can you see why lean people do need refeeds then?  Leptin's main function in the body is to play a significant role in regulating both hunger, food intake and energy expenditure. As leptin levels fall, the greater your cravings become for all those wonderful foods that you used to eat when you weren't dieting.

Along with hunger pangs, low leptin also creates a slowing metabolism. Whenever you are on a low diet for an extended period of time, your body will begin to slow its metabolic functions in an effort to addapt to the amount of fuel that it is being given. Know what this means for you? Little or no fat loss. Not a good situation. aka starvation mode. 

Now your goal is to raise your Leptin level again and speel up that slow metabolism. Leptin is highly responsive to glucose metabolism so when doing a refeed, you will benefit much more if the majority of your  calories are coming from good sources of carbs that will turn into glucose. When done this way, leptin levels will show a significant rise over if you had eaten a surplus of calories coming from more protein, fat or fructose.

"

REFEEDING

How much should you refeed yourself? This will depend on how long you have been dieting, how intense your diet is, and your current level of bodyfat. Those who are at a lower level of bodyfat will need to refeed more often than those who aren't. Similarly, the more extreme the diet being followed, the more intense the refeed.

Basically this has to do with how low leptin levels are. The lower the levels, the more calories above maintenance you will be needed to bring them back up.

Usually, a refeed should consist of 20-50% more calories than required for maintenance for 12 hours to two days. The higher you decide to bring your calories, the shorter period of time you will want to refeed for. If your leptin levels have almost dropped of the earth, you will want to refeed for a full week, but keep your calories slightly more moderate.

The downside to a refeed is that sometimes you will have to accept a small amount of fat gain. But, looking on the bright side, when you go back to your diet, your metabolism will be humming again and you should jump start the fat loss process. In a few individuals, they will actually become leaner during the process; however this is not the norm.

You can include some of your more desired foods in the refeed, after all, this is partly to relieve you psychologically from the restraints you feel during the dieting process, however make sure the rest is coming from good sources."

Coconut flour cookies - and my view on sugar addiction

Staying on point with a eating plan this time of the year can be a challenge right?  I am consumed with sugar cravings at the moment. 

After being on cortisone injections for a few weeks (many of my friends know I have been going through something with my skin - which is 'sort of' under control now) , my appetite has been out of control (not under control ...lol ) . 

It is so hard to get your mind focused again after derailing a little bit. For people who think they have weak will power, it is not as simple as that.  Don't beat yourself up too much.  You teach yourself to get stronger at begin good with your diet, over time. 

A pattern of avoiding and binging -- not sugar itself -- may lead to addict-like effects. Sugar even affects the same "feel-good" brain hormones as street drugs. Nobody would say sugar is the same as heroin, but it can still mess with your brain and body.

You may have an eating disorder or a plain bad habit. Anyone can use sugary foods in ways that aren't healthy. Some signs: You may lose control and eat more than you planned. You may feel bad when you skip your daily cookie "fix." These low blood sugar symptoms include feeling a little nervous and shaky.

Sugar fuels every cell in the brain. When you overload on sugary foods, it may alter the parts of the brain that control how much you eat. 

 Alot of hormones is involved when it comes to eating.  There is never just a simple answer.  

I simply cannot have one bite of something sweet though, it sends my body into overdrive, every fibre urging me to have more sugar.   So... I did a bit of searching and testing for a cookie recipe.  These are not sweet, so it will not activate any triggers! Still easing the mind that I am having cookies.  

Retrain your tastebuds.  Gradually reduce high sugar foods in your diet.  Excange it for fruit or honey. Your tastebuds will adapt to this over time and cravings for simple sugars will reduce. 

Cook recipe:

1/3 cup of coconut oil 

6 eggs 

2 tablespoons honey 

3/4 cup of coconut flour 

1 teaspoon of baking powder 

Pinch of salt 

Pinch of xantham gum 

Mix all ingredients and bake 20-25 minutes 

Food addiction - FACT

Good morning, 

I want to talk about a subject that comes up so much.  Food

I am convinced that food is the most addictive drug there is, much worse than ... uhem... okay, I don't know the names of drugs. lol...  In food, the culprit being sugar of course.  A new study has found that high-sugar snacks activate an area of the brain that is also stimulated by hard drugs.

I will quote the study from The Dailymail,  for you to read.  I found this quite interesting. 

''The study involved creating two milkshakes - one with a high, and one with a low glycaemic index. 

The milkshakes were otherwise identical, with similar calories and taste.

The drinks were then given to 12 healthy, overweight men on different days and in random order. 

Four hours after the high glycaemic index shake, participants were hungrier than those who had consumed the low glycaemic index shake.

Experts also carried out functional MRI imaging on all participants. 

The images revealed intense activation of the nucleus accumbens, a critical brain area in the dopaminergic, mesolimbic system that mediates pleasure eating, reward and craving.

Similar activation patterns have been found in people after consumption of addictive substances, such as heroin and cocaine.

Dr Lennerz said that their findings 'provide qualified support for the possibility of food addiction'.

She added: 'While food is necessary for life, we eat for reasons beyond our daily energy needs. When overeating becomes a pattern that is hard to break, we say someone is "addicted" to food.'

Finally Dr Lennerz concluded that while more research is needed to examine the concept of food addiction, 'the fact that a food may affect addiction centres in the brain, independent of calories or pleasure, provides the basis to rethink current dietary recommendations'.''

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2402746/Food-addiction-DOES-exist-Junk-food-activates-region-brain-hard-drugs.html#ixzz2kn6knhgT
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook